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Unit 9: Delegation, Authority and Power

6. Expert Power: Expert power comes from your knowledge in a specific area through which Notes
you influence others. You have expert power because your subordinates regard you as an
expert in your rating. Subordinates may also have this type of power. When you combine
expert power with other types of power, you will find it an effective tool in influencing
others. However, when you use it by itself, you will find it ineffective.

9.4 Distinction between Authority and Power

According to Jackson and Carter, "power is about getting someone to do something irrespective
of their desire to do it or the extent of their resistance to doing it, while authority rest on
assumptions that the person is willing to obey, and accepts the right of the person doing the
ordering to expect compliance."

Thus power is the ability to affect change while authority is the right to make any given decision.
It's easy to see how these are different: the person actually doing the work has all the power
while the person who signed off has the authority. Sometimes these things are embodied in the
same person.

Power is the ability to get things done by others. The principle of power is to punish and reward.
Power can exist with or without authority whereas authority is the power to enforce law and
take command, and to expect obedience from those without authority.

Example: An armed robber has power but no authority.
Authority can exist with or without power,

Example: A teacher has authority over the pupils but no real power.

Task Analyse the concepts of authority and power and list the similarities
between them.

Caselet Bringing Kids into the Family Business

ringing offspring into the family business can be a source of pride for parents who
are business owners; it can also be a sore spot, a source of destructive politics for
Beveryone involved. Employees may automatically question a young family
member's talent or commitment to the business. Senior managers may worry about the
security of their jobs as the person rises in rank at the company. "They may feel their own
chances for advancement are now limited, or they may be worried about being caught in
the middle of family conflicts, such as, getting one set of directions from the older
generation and another set from the younger one," explains Jeff Wolfson, an attorney who
specializes in family business at the Boston law firm of Goulston and Storrs.
Should parents who own businesses avoid hiring their children, or hide their children's
identity once they are hired? Of course not. But Wolfson says they can prevent or end
destructive politics in a number of ways.

Contd...

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