ON Jan 19, this column carried an article on "Exercising Power                                                                                   
as a Manager".                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
A couple of readers called MIM to say they are interested in                                                                                          
having a little more information on the five sources of power,                                                                                        
how they are usually applied in the workplace, the advantages                                                                                         
or disadvantages of use of each power-base, and how                                                                                                   
differently are they applied on different individuals.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Let us restate the five sources or bases of power:                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
1. Referent power, also known as personal power, charisma or                                                                                          
even magnetism.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
2. Position or legitimate power, also referred to as                                                                                                  
authority.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
3. Reward or resource power, as in the right to reward or                                                                                             
allocate resources to the subordinates.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
4. Coercive or physical power, also including the use of                                                                                              
threats or the instilling of fear in the workers                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
5. Expert power, also referred to as knowledge or information                                                                                         
power.                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
1. REFERENT POWER:                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
IF you have charisma or magnetism, then you have a rather                                                                                             
unique power to influence. Usually, personal power exudes from                                                                                        
individuals who are very successful, rich and influential,                                                                                            
very popular (for instance, film stars), or ordinary people                                                                                           
who are good-looking and are self-assured.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
The classic example in modern history of someone with great                                                                                           
personal power was Grigori Rasputin. He had tremendous                                                                                                
influence over the Russian Tzarist court of Nicholai II in the                                                                                        
1910s. Many modern-day religious charlatans have this power to                                                                                        
manipulate the naive.                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
The application of personal power in organisations, as in                                                                                             
other social situations, depends very much on the value                                                                                               
systems of the individuals. For instance, selfish and                                                                                                 
manipulative superiors will use this power-base to get                                                                                                
subordinates to perform tasks that are personal in nature. It                                                                                         
is unethical because the work may be carried out during office                                                                                        
hours and they do not contribute towards achieving                                                                                                    
organisational goals.                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
On the other hand, managers who are loyal to their employers,                                                                                         
or who are ethical will use this power to motivate their                                                                                              
subordinates to achieve greater heights for the company. When                                                                                         
subordinates become willing followers of a manager, it may be                                                                                         
a case of high employee respect for their manager and the                                                                                             
faith that the manager also has the long-term interest of the                                                                                         
workers at heart.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Managers who use their influence in this manner are extremely                                                                                         
rare. The American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "all                                                                                          
sensible people are selfish".  And how managers exercise power                                                                                   
is a measure of their selfishness or altruism.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
2. POSITION POWER:                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
IN the case of position as a Iegitimate power, the manager is                                                                                         
entitled to certain rights by virtue of the title he holds.                                                                                           
But as soon as the title is taken away, he becomes powerless                                                                                          
unless he has other sources of power such as expert or                                                                                                
personal power.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Position power comes from both the backing of the boss and the                                                                                        
rights the title holds.  For instance, in established                                                                                                 
western-oriented companies, a department manager has the                                                                                              
authority over and access to the following:                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
(a) Decision-Making: If the department is a profitcentre, the                                                                                         
manager has a lot of say in the way the department is                                                                                                 
organised or run, especially if he is capable of generating a                                                                                         
healthy return. He has credibility in the eyes of both                                                                                                
management and subordinates.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
(b) Information: Managers have access to more information than                                                                                        
those at lower levels of the hierarchy.  Proximity to the boss                                                                                        
and top management usually mean access to certain privileged                                                                                          
gossips especially "political intelligence". On the other                                                                                   
hand, if a manager has no access to the inner circle of top                                                                                           
management his credibility among his subordinates is reduced,                                                                                         
and therefore less influential.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
(c) Management Meetings: A manager's presence in management                                                                                           
committee meetings and other informal top management                                                                                                  
gatherings provide him the opportunities to express his views                                                                                         
and influence. In such meetings he can, if he chooses, support                                                                                        
or disagree with certain plans or strategies.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Official positions therefore provide the managers authority                                                                                           
over the resources put under his change.  There are times when                                                                                        
a manager may not get the support or backing from top                                                                                                 
management. When this happens the manager's ability to                                                                                                
influence becomes greatly reduced. He will be bypassed and                                                                                            
ignored, even by his subordinates.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
In many local companies, position power is deliberately left                                                                                          
to be vague and unclear. One way some owner-bosses do this is                                                                                         
to have no formal organisational chart. Without such a chart,                                                                                         
a manager is unclear as to the domain of his authority.                                                                                               
Managers are therefore forced to obtain approval from the top                                                                                         
on a case-tocase basis.                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Most managers exercise their position power in the following                                                                                          
ways:                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
(i) Force or Threats: Physical force is no longer an                                                                                                  
acceptable show of power nowadays. What is very prevalent is                                                                                          
the use of threats to instill fear in the minds of the                                                                                                
subordinates. If the manager himself has little power to                                                                                              
reward or punish, he will threaten to report any disobedience                                                                                         
to the top, or submit a very unfavourable written report when                                                                                         
performance-appraisal time comes around.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
(ii) Rules or Regulations; Most organisations rely on rules                                                                                           
and regulations (including company policies) to get their                                                                                             
workers to perform. We all are aware that chaos will set in if                                                                                        
an organisation cannot enforce its rules and regulations.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
In most organisations, managers have great power to enforce                                                                                           
rules and policies. It is a rather convenient way for top                                                                                             
management to use managers as "nasty guys" as the enforcement                                                                               
of rules can be an unpleasant task.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
While most subordinates have a healthy respect for their                                                                                              
managers it may become disrespect if the latter do not know                                                                                           
how to exercise position power.  Some know only how to give                                                                                           
orders or shout people down. They are unable to use their                                                                                             
charm or persuasive powers to motivate or encourage.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
Managers who are more perceptive learn over time the art of                                                                                           
using a combination of power bases, in addition to their legal                                                                                        
authority. For instance, respect and credibility from their                                                                                           
subordinates give managers much personal influence. A lot of                                                                                          
credibility comes from a manager's ability to handle difficult                                                                                        
problems or situations. More respect is earned if the manager                                                                                         
is sensitive and fair enough to consider the genuine needs of                                                                                         
the workers. In this manner, a healthy rapport between manager                                                                                        
and workers allows work to be carried out efficiently and                                                                                             
effectively.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Compliance by subordinates to a manager's instructions is one                                                                                         
of the ways workers respond to authority.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
The other reasons people respond to power from the top: (i)                                                                                           
admiration or respect for the superior; and (ii) agreeing                                                                                             
because the orders are in line with the individual's own                                                                                              
thinking or ideas.                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
But what is often the case is grudging compliance from                                                                                                
workers. In extreme cases, grudge turns to frustration and                                                                                            
anger. When this happens, they can be destructive to an                                                                                               
organisation's effectiveness.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Such negative power is an illegitimate use of power by                                                                                                
frustrated workers. Common examples are a deliberate                                                                                                  
distortion of information to create havoc, delaying tactics,                                                                                          
destruction of information or company assets, or sabotage like                                                                                        
throwing a dead lizard or broken glass into a food-processing                                                                                         
line.                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
It is useful to note that in organisations as well as in all                                                                                          
social situations, the use of power is not merely a top down                                                                                          
phenomenon. Power flOws in all directions, top down, bottom up                                                                                        
and side ways.  Failure to realise that workers have                                                                                                  
tremendous potential (though latent) negative power is                                                                                                
inexcusable as far as managers are concerned. In other cases                                                                                          
it may be misjudgement or an under estimation of the latent                                                                                           
negative power.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
A case in point is the five-and-a-half week long labour unrest                                                                                        
in South Korea over the controversial labour law passed on Dec                                                                                        
26, last year. The Union protests and strikes may go down as                                                                                          
the biggest in South Korea's history.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
3. REWARD POWER:                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
IN most organisations, there is a tendency for position and                                                                                           
reward power to overlap.                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
If a manager has little backing from top management (which is                                                                                         
an invisible power-line) and his official position does not                                                                                           
carry the right to increase salaries, promote or allocate                                                                                             
resources such as monetary expenses, materials space, staff                                                                                           
and time, he is a toothless tiger.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
To be effective as a manager, he will then have to rely on                                                                                            
indirect power, or coercive power, cetera.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Very often, because companies are reluctant to make clearer                                                                                           
what legitimate or reward powers managers have, they resort to                                                                                        
covert tactics or engage themselves in office-politicking.                                                                                            
Currying, favour in order to get the boss or senior manager's                                                                                         
backing is one of the most common practices in Malaysian                                                                                              
organisations. It is not uncommon in Malaysian organisations,                                                                                         
including subsidiaries of multinational companies, to have                                                                                            
secretaries to General Managers or CEOs whose powers are                                                                                              
equivalent to a dowager.                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
On the other hand there are employees (though a small                                                                                                 
minority) who dislike the notion that money can buy their                                                                                             
loyalty or hardwork. To such subordinates, the manager cannot                                                                                         
dangle rewards like carrots to rabbits. But again, it is human                                                                                        
greed or desire for materialism that drives consumerism that                                                                                          
enables factories and offices to provide jobs for the                                                                                                 
millions.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
4. COERCIVE POWER: COERCIVE power is also called "physical                                                                                       
power".  Organisations today frown on managers who bully the                                                                                     
weak. What is more prevalent is the use of invisible threats,                                                                                         
verbal abuses or pressure to get people to work.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
It must be acknowledged that a little fear is a rather good                                                                                           
thing. It keeps workers in line and boosts productivity. But                                                                                          
excessive use of fear will backfire in the form of negative                                                                                           
power or resignations.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
The use of a little force or pressure to make workers put in                                                                                          
more efforts is also healthy. Many good companies and CEOs                                                                                            
deliberately "stretch" their employees. Used correctly, a                                                                                   
benevolent dose of coercive power helps individuals to realise                                                                                        
their latent potential strengths. The key really lies in the                                                                                          
managers' judgement on people. A skill that takes time and bad                                                                                        
experiences to learn from.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Generally speaking, different individuals have different                                                                                              
threshold for coercive power or pressure.  Prolonged                                                                                                  
willingness to comply or work under pressure will show up in                                                                                          
the form of industrial accidents or negative power such as                                                                                            
subtle sabotages. But coercive lower is very potent in the                                                                                            
short term.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Changes in unemployment rates lifestyles, growing affluence,                                                                                          
increasing levels of education and so on, changes the balance                                                                                         
of power in organisations. In fact, because of Malaysia's                                                                                             
tight labour supply today, many managers who used to be                                                                                               
bullies before have to learn to be nice to the workers to                                                                                             
reduce the staff turnover.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
5. EXPERT POWER:                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
A PERSON has expert power because of his res cognised                                                                                                 
expertise. As a result, people show respect. And in matters                                                                                           
where he is the authority' others follow his advice willingly.                                                                                        
They subject themselves to his influence.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
When an expert falters, a credibility gap emerges and people                                                                                          
become more wary of his instructions, and his influence                                                                                               
suffers.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
It is useful to note that power (any form) is relative. Like                                                                                          
they say, "among the blind, the one-eyed Jack is King".                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
CONCLUSION                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
THE manner in which power is acquired and used in                                                                                                     
organisations or in the homes is a rather tricky business. As                                                                                         
a skill it is unlikely that it can ever be taught in a                                                                                                
business school. But skilful application of power definitely                                                                                          
adds respect and status to an already effective manager.