Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior - Soltanieh ...

350 G ARY YUKL
reward systems, legal constraints, and union contracts. Four specific types of position
power are legitimate authority, reward power, coercive power, and information power
(French and Raven, 1959 ; Yukl and Falbe, 1991 ). Personal power is potential infl uence
derived from agent characteristics. Two specific types of personal power are expert
power and referent power.
The research on power and influence is too limited to provide clear and unequivocal
guidelines on the best way to exercise each type of power. Nevertheless, by drawing upon
a diverse literature in the social sciences that includes research on power, leader behavior,
motivation, communication, counseling, supervision, and conflict resolution, it is possible
to develop some tentative guidelines. This section of the chapter will describe specifi c
types of power and the conditions for exercising each type of power effectively.
Legitimate power
Legitimate power is derived from authority, which is the perceived right of the agent to
infl uence specified aspects of the target person’s behavior. The underlying basis for legitimate
power is the agreement by members of an organization to comply with rules and
legitimate requests in return for the benefits of membership (March and Simon, 1958 ).
The conditions for continued membership may be set forth in a formal, legal contract,
but the agreement to comply with legitimate authority is usually an implicit mutual understanding.
Legitimate power is strengthened by an internalized value among people that it
is proper to obey authority fi gures, show respect for the law, and follow tradition.
The amount of legitimate power reflects the chain of command and is usually much
stronger in relation to subordinates than in relation to peers, superiors, or outsiders.
However, even when the agent has no direct authority over a target person (e.g. a peer),
the agent may have the legitimate right to make requests for necessary information, supplies,
support services, technical advice, and assistance in carrying out inter- related tasks.
The scope of authority for a position occupant is often specified in writing by documents
(e.g. the job description, the employment contract, organization bylaws), but even when
such documentation exists, there usually remains considerable ambiguity about an individual
’s scope of authority (Davis, 1968 ).
Authority is usually exercised by making a request or command orally or in writing.
A polite request is more effective than an arrogant demand, because it does not emphasize
a status gap or imply target dependence on the agent. Use of a polite request is especially
important for people who are likely to be sensitive about status differentials and authority
relationships, such as someone who is older than the agent or who is a peer rather than a
direct subordinate.
Making a polite request does not imply that the agent should plead or appear apologetic
about the request. To do so risks the impression that the request is not worthy or
legitimate, and it may give the impression that compliance is not really expected (Sayles,
1979 ). A legitimate request should be made in a fi rm, confident manner. In an emergency
situation, it is more important to be assertive than polite. A direct order by a leader in
a command tone of voice is sometimes necessary to shock subordinates into immediate
action in an emergency. In this type of situation, subordinates associate confi dent, fi rm
direction with expertise as well as authority (Mulder, Ritsema van Eck, and de Jong, 1970 ).
To express doubts or appear confused risks the loss of infl uence over subordinates.