Five Bases Of Power | EssayIvy.com

Five bases of power

According to the study by Raven and French in 1959 on power, they divided power into

five forms. Later in the year 1965, Raven revised the model which leads to separation of the

informational power base as different and distinct from the expert power base. From the studies

on social communication, it is clear that power and leadership are closely linked. Further studies

suggest that one's leadership and success is affected by the different forms of power and

therefore this idea is mostly applied in organizational communications and even in the workforce

process. The five bases of power are coercive, legitimate, reward, referent and expert. (Raven,

1965)

Coercive power usually uses the threat of force which may be informed of social,

physical, political, emotional or economic means in order to gain compliance from another. It is

where an individual is forced to do something that he/she is not willing to do. This power will

require consistent watch over the person by the influencing agent in order to get positive results.

This power is used in our organization (Duke University) especially where students are required

to provide original work when doing their assignments. Professors normally check for plagiarism

every time the students submit the assignments to ensure they provide their original work.

(Raven, 1992)

Reward power is where an individual is entitled to a right to be offered or denied with social,

tangible, emotional, or spiritual rewards for doing what is expected. In our organization, this is

mostly used. Students who get good grades are given Masters Scholarships that are for a positive

reward. For negative rewards, students who are found cheating in exams are expelled out of

school. . (Raven, 1965)

Legitimate power is associated with elected, selected, or appointed position of authority.

It may even be supported by the social norms. Legitimate power is the ability to link or

administer certain feelings of obligation or notion of responsibility to another or the management.

It is where the individuals who are appointed to lead certain organizations to carry out the

rewarding and punishments to the subordinates. In our organization (Duke University), the Vice-

Chancellor has a legitimate power to fire the subordinate members who do not follow the rules

and regulations of the organization. . (Raven, 1965)

Referent power is associated with the affiliations people make. It can also be the groups

and organizations an individual belongs to. One's affiliation with a group and the beliefs

associated with that group are shared to some extent. This power can be positive or negative. For

example in our organization, some employees got promoted because of relating and associating

with students and lectures well. (Bass,1950)

Expert power is based on the skills, experience, talents or what one knows. Expertise can

be demonstrated in form of reputation, actions, and credentials that certify expertise. Its impacts

and effectiveness may be positive or negative. On our organization, a professor submits school

transcripts in order to demonstrate discipline expertise.( Raven,2004)

In conclusion, these five power bases have been effectively used in our organization.

From the professors submitting the transcripts to demonstrate discipline expertise, students being

given masters scholarships because of their good performance, the Vice-Chancellor has the

legitimate power to fire those who break the rules and regulations, lectures ensuring students

submit the original work and many other activities that are done which use this five power bases.

Every organization needs these power bases for their smooth running.

References

Bass, B. M. (1990). Handbook of leadership (3rd ed.). New York: Free Press.

Raven, B. H. (1965). Social influence and power. In I.D. Steiner & M. Fishbein (Eds.),Current

studies in social psychology. New York.

Raven, B. H. (1992). A power interaction model on interpersonal influence: French and Raven

thirty years later. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 217-244.

Raven, B. H. (2004). Power, Six Bases of." Encyclopedia of Leadership.Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA.

SAGE, 1242-49.

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