Review some of the ways in which a manager can increase his or her personal power

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The following are the types of power that can be used.
1. Reward power is the ability to provide subordinates something of value for their exemplary services, for example, salary increase, high performance appraisals, new equipment, desired days off, compliments, and so on.
2. Coercion power is the opposite of reward power. It is the ability to punish someone for inadequate service. When coercion power is used it generally entails using a department’s disciplinary system.
3. Legitimate power comes from an individual’s authority or position in the organization. For example, a police captain as a consequence of his or her position is vested with a level of power. In other words, position results in recognition and power.
4. Expertise power comes with someone’s familiarity and ability to perform some task or function. For example, evidence technicians are lower-level employees, but they derive power at crime scenes as a result of their knowledge of evidence.
5. Referent power comes from people having personal relationships with others who have power. For example, if the mayor’s son is a police officer, he likely would receive more deference as compared to other police officers. Many police officers attempt to develop personal relations with higher-ranking officers to gain referent power, which can be used for promotions, specialized assignments, and so on.