From its earlier expression in ancient world as muscle power indicating that power resides in those who gain more physical strength than cognitive capacity, Societies praising leaders having more muscle power, kingdoms having more armed forces to fight for their expansion or to defend their realm, recognition gained by male counterparts in the society solely on the basis of their physical prowess, reinforces this ideology that- “power acquired through physical domination rules all.”
From muscle power, we witnessed a shift of locus of power to money power wherein advancements in every sector brought down by industrialisation or a capitalistic society worshiping wealth, money or profit influenced human psychology to a larger extent. Manifestation of money power can be seen through the Marxist theory – the emergence of two distinct and opposing social classes called – Proletariat and Bourgeoisie in a capitalist society leading to a class divide and the powerful establishment of hierarchical structure in the society.
In the modern era we are now slightly moving towards a new phase of power evolution which is highly centred around acquiring, sharing and retaining knowledge through reliable means in order to move in the direction of some pre-intended meaningful visions. Information technology, scientific and research advancements, data science and intellectual capacity has opened new avenues for knowledge to create its magic and provide today’s generation with equipped means and platforms to showcase their acquired wisdom.
As power moved from kings and leaders to wealthy nations and institutions and eventually to intellectual minds and information, in today’s time an individual having intellectual capital, resources, technology and a powerful personality can command more power than ever before. So, now in 21st century power is more distributed, more decentralised and could be attributed to a single individual.
Therefore, if we have to dive into the view of individual power within the context of organisations, we encounter a concept called individual power, which essentially means an individual’s capacity or ability to influence and leave an impact on others around. It results from two distinct sources of power namely- personal power and legitimate power.
Although both these sources of power are intricately connected to each other, suggesting a correlation between the two in which, Legitimate power arises out of one’s position in the organisation or the lawful authority one enjoys by playing a particular job role, while personal power professes out of an individual’s subjective perception to have an influence on their environment and to gain intended results. Primarily, it is a psychological self-concept or an existing state of mind that combines- self-awareness, confidence, ethical inclination and perceived responsibility toward others.
Although both these sources of power are intricately connected to each other, suggesting a correlation between the two in which, Legitimate power arises out of one’s position in the organisation or the lawful authority one enjoys by playing a particular job role, while personal power professes out of an individual’s subjective perception to have an influence on their environment and to gain intended results. Primarily, it is a psychological self-concept or an existing state of mind that combines- self-awareness, confidence, ethical inclination and perceived responsibility toward others.
Academic scholars are of the view that this personal sense of power is a product of both objective or socio-cultural factors like- (having a high societal status, possession of some seemingly scarce or valuable resources and acquisition of more wealth or property), and subjective predispositions emanating from dominant personality traits like – extraversion, openness, Machiavellianism and neuroticism.
So, cultivating a strong sense of personal power by positively assessing life situations, interpersonal ties and by sticking to ethical values despite unprecedented challenges, fosters resilience, humility and helps the formation of a better society and an even better world.
Dynamics of Politics and Power
Politics and power are fundamentally distinct yet intertwined concepts wherein one (politics) manifests through the influence of other (power), Whenever there will be power, there will be an inevitable presence of politics. To understand the nature of politics, one must understand the distribution of power. A well-fitted example of organisations can be highlighted in this case to better understand the dynamics of the relationship between power and politics, because in organisations power is distributed according to the structure which ultimately breeds politics or political behaviour.
Political behaviour demonstrated by individuals in their work-setting has been either described or agreed upon, narrowly as a process of influence or self-serving tactics aiming for gaining personal benefits even at the expense of one’s own organisation or broadly it has been defined as a complex interplay of relationship between control and influence. So, to gain better clarity of the concept, a well phrased definition includes:
Research has been done in the past to study the real-life experiences of employees, who have either encountered organisational politics before or are experiencing it in the current scenario. These studies revealed that the existence of politics in the organisation is very common and cannot be eliminated or excluded from its prevailing culture. Some studies view it as an instrumental force which leads to more creativity, innovation and discretionary effort by the employees while others indicated that it may lead to lack of trust, bad organisational culture resulting in favouritism, informal gossips and compromised productivity.
Therefore, gaining nuanced understanding of power and politics manifesting in organisations settings helps us to clearly make informed decisions or choices pertaining to career and of life as a whole as it brings more strategic awareness, emotional intelligence and rational decision-making, which when used for the collective-wellbeing of all, may result in a better engagement, innovation and ultimately to a good workspace culture.
References:
Anderson, C., John, O. P., & Keltner, D. (2012). The personal sense of power. Journal of Personality, 80(2), 313–344.
Lammers, J., Stoker, J. I., & Stapel, D. A. (2009). Differentiating social and personal power: Opposite effects on stereotyping but parallel effects on behavioral approach tendencies. Psychological Science, 20(12), 1543–1549
Mayes, B. T., & Allen, R. W. (1977). Toward a definition of organizational politics. The Academy of Management Review, 2(4), 672–678
Gandz, J., & Murray, V. V. (1980). The experience of workplace politics. The Academy of Management Journal, 23(2), 237–251.
So, cultivating a strong sense of personal power by positively assessing life situations, interpersonal ties and by sticking to ethical values despite unprecedented challenges, fosters resilience, humility and helps the formation of a better society and an even better world.
Dynamics of Politics and Power
Politics and power are fundamentally distinct yet intertwined concepts wherein one (politics) manifests through the influence of other (power), Whenever there will be power, there will be an inevitable presence of politics. To understand the nature of politics, one must understand the distribution of power. A well-fitted example of organisations can be highlighted in this case to better understand the dynamics of the relationship between power and politics, because in organisations power is distributed according to the structure which ultimately breeds politics or political behaviour.
Political behaviour demonstrated by individuals in their work-setting has been either described or agreed upon, narrowly as a process of influence or self-serving tactics aiming for gaining personal benefits even at the expense of one’s own organisation or broadly it has been defined as a complex interplay of relationship between control and influence. So, to gain better clarity of the concept, a well phrased definition includes:
An individual’s desire to achieve goals or outcomes that the organization does not approve of, even if he/she is using well sanctioned or approved methods.
Or
An individual’s desire to achieve goals or outcomes that the organization does approve of officially, but using methods or means that are not officially validated by the concerned organisation.
Research has been done in the past to study the real-life experiences of employees, who have either encountered organisational politics before or are experiencing it in the current scenario. These studies revealed that the existence of politics in the organisation is very common and cannot be eliminated or excluded from its prevailing culture. Some studies view it as an instrumental force which leads to more creativity, innovation and discretionary effort by the employees while others indicated that it may lead to lack of trust, bad organisational culture resulting in favouritism, informal gossips and compromised productivity.
Therefore, gaining nuanced understanding of power and politics manifesting in organisations settings helps us to clearly make informed decisions or choices pertaining to career and of life as a whole as it brings more strategic awareness, emotional intelligence and rational decision-making, which when used for the collective-wellbeing of all, may result in a better engagement, innovation and ultimately to a good workspace culture.
- submitted by Shalvi Solanki, PhD Scholar
References:
Anderson, C., John, O. P., & Keltner, D. (2012). The personal sense of power. Journal of Personality, 80(2), 313–344.
Lammers, J., Stoker, J. I., & Stapel, D. A. (2009). Differentiating social and personal power: Opposite effects on stereotyping but parallel effects on behavioral approach tendencies. Psychological Science, 20(12), 1543–1549
Mayes, B. T., & Allen, R. W. (1977). Toward a definition of organizational politics. The Academy of Management Review, 2(4), 672–678
Gandz, J., & Murray, V. V. (1980). The experience of workplace politics. The Academy of Management Journal, 23(2), 237–251.
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