Understanding Power Dynamics and Dependence in Organizations

Which Bases of Power Are Most Effective?

Research suggests that the personal sources of power are most effective. Both expert and referent power are positively related to employees’ satisfaction with supervision, their organizational commitment, and their performance, whereas reward and legitimate power seem to be unrelated to these outcomes. One source of formal power—coercive power—can be damaging.

The General Dependence Postulate

The greater B’s dependence on A, the more power A has over B. When you possess anything others require that you alone control, you make them dependent on you, and therefore you gain power over them. As the old saying goes, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king!” But if something is plentiful, possessing it will not increase your power. Therefore, the more you can expand your own options, the less power you place in the hands of others. This explains why most organizations develop multiple suppliers rather than give their business to only one.

What Creates Dependence?

Dependence is created by the following factors:

• Importance

  If nobody wants what you have, it is not going to create dependence. However, there are many degrees of importance, from needing a resource for survival to wanting a resource that is in fashion or adds to convenience.

• Scarcity

  We see the scarcity-dependence relationship in the power situation of employment. Where the supply of labor is low relative to demand, workers can negotiate compensation and benefits packages far more attractive than those in occupations with an abundance of candidates.

• Nonsubstitutability

  The fewer viable substitutes for a resource, the more power a person controlling that resource has. At universities that value faculty publishing, for example, the more recognition the faculty member receives through publication, the more control that person has because other universities want faculty who are highly published and visible.