2. Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. Define power
2. Recognize the nature, dimensions, types and
consequences of power
3. Analyze the nature, dimensions, types and
consequences of power
4. Assess how power is exercised in different
situations
3. Exercises: Is there exercise of power?
1. Your father sent you to buy a galloon of water.
2. Maria tries to escape the building on fire by
breaking the glass window.
3. A teacher ask 4 students to return the globe they
used in class.
4. Protestors on the streets forced the police to direct
traffic into an alternate route.
5. The president made sure that his constituents were
happy by giving them cash gifts this year.
6. The stage director kick out the lead actor after 100
retake.
4. What is power?
a. Definitons:
1. The ability to influence the behavior of others or
having ‘power over’ people and the ability to punish
or reward.
2. The ability of one person or institution to make
another to do something that he/she would not do
on his own.
5. b. Faces or dimensions of power
How power is exercised in our society.
01. Power as decision-making
02. Power as agenda setting
03. Power as thought control
1. Power as Decision-making
- conscious actions that in some way influence the
content of decisions.
* Who’s decisions are followed?
- the most powerful actors in the community are those
whose opinions are considered and upheld in
decision-making.
6. Faces/dimensions of power: Power as decision-
making
* The powerful are able to get what they want and
make others behave the way they wanted them to
behave.
* Decisions can be influenced in a variety of ways:
1. Use of force or intimidation(the stick)
2. Productive exchanges involving mutual
gain(the deal)
3. Creation of obligations, loyalty and
commitment(the kiss)
7. Dimensions/faces of power: Power as agenda
setting
- ability to prevent decisions being made by setting
the agenda or topics to be made
* in effect, this is ‘non-decision-making’
- this involves the ability to set or control the
political agenda so that issues or proposals are
prevented(or excluded) from being brought out in
the first place to your advantage.
8. Dimensions/faces of power: Power as thought
control
- ability to influence another by shaping what one
thinks, needs, or wants.
* How is this done?
1. use of propaganda
2. Ideological indoctrination
3. Psychological control
9. Types of Power
Power types(French and Raven, 1959):
a. Reward power - The target person complies to
obtain rewards he/she believes are controlled by
the agent.
b. Coercive power – The target person complies to
avoid punishments he/she believes are controlled
by the agent.
c. Legitimate power – The target person complies
bec. he/she believes that the agent has the right to
make the request and that the target person has
the obligation to comply.
10. Types of Power
d. Expert power – The target person complies bec
he/she believes that the agent has special
knowledge about the best way to do something.
e. Referent power – The target person complies bec
he/she admires or identifies with the agent and
wants to gain the agent’s approval.
11. Consequences of Power
3 consequences of power(Yukl, 1989)
a. Compliance – readiness or act of agreeing to
something
* What may create compliance
1. Legitimate or position power
- compliance to an order may occur if it is
perceived to be within the leader’s scope of
authority.
2. Reward power
- likely to happen if reward is something valued
by the target person.
12. Consequences of Power
b. Commitment – a state of being dedicated to a cause
activity, program, etc.
- more desirable outcome because of the trust and
emotional pledge that it causes.
* Loyalty and sense of devotion is observed.
* Likely consequence when Referent and Expert
power are used
c. Resistance – refuse or oppose
*Likely outcome if coercive power is used in a
hostile or manipulative way(Yukl, 1989)
* Coercion is best used in preventing harmful
behavior like illegal or violent activities.
