Management Foundation: Power, Influence, and Conflict in Leadership

This assignment delves into the multifaceted concept of leadership power within organizational settings, contrasting legitimate power (derived from position) with expert power (based on knowledge and skills). It highlights potential conflicts arising from disparities in these power types, such as when leaders with expert power lack formal authority or when those with legitimate power misuse their position. The paper underscores the importance of balancing legitimate power and technical expertise to effectively influence subordinates and minimize conflicts. It also examines the limitations of each power type, including the potential for legitimate power to breed dissatisfaction and the need for expert leaders to continuously update their skills. The assignment references relevant literature to support its analysis and conclusions, emphasizing the need for leaders to navigate these power dynamics skillfully to achieve organizational goals.

Management
FOUNDATION MANAGEMENT

QUESTION 2 1
A leader in an organisation derives its powers in various forms and exercises the same on
others to influence as well as to guide them for the achievement of the organisational goals.
The leaders either derive their power from their title in the organization known as the
legitimate power or through the possession of specialized knowledge and expertise, known as
the expert power (Raven, 2017). In an organisational setting, there may arise certain conflicts
among the leaders who have derived their powers from the position and the leaders who have
derived their power form the possession of expertise knowledge and skills, the same are
elaborated as follows.
The personal qualities and technical knowledge of a leader may influence the subordinates to
respect, and committed to their leader, and visualizing the individual employee goals as being
satisfied by the goals of their leaders. In contrast to this, legitimate power is necessitated to
promote the compliance of various rules and organisational policies (Jayasingam, Ansari and
Jantan, 2010). The conflicts may arise when a leader possesses expert power but does not
possesses the legitimate power and vice versa. In addition, it is significant to note that the
higher up the organizational hierarchy one is placed at, the more power the said leader holds.
If a leader possesses legitimate power, the subordinates believe that failure to follow their
instructions will lead to initiation of a disciplinary action and thus, subordinates have a
perception that another person has the authority to exert control over them. This perception is
significant to avoid individual conflict of interests of employees and to guide the employees
towards a common direction. However, the said power can lead to conflicts when a leader
with legitimate power tries to exercise that power over others when they do not have a formal
power over them. Further, the conflicts may arise when the leader’s individual performance is
substandard and lacks clear vision. In addition, the conflicting situation may arise when the
leader does not allow anyone to disagree with his or her opinion, thereby giving a sense of
autocratic leadership style within an organisation. The consistent reliance on legitimate power
may create dissatisfaction, resistance, and frustration among employees (Lunenburg, 2012).
In contrast to the above, an expert power is not a formal type of power, but rather a personal
power based on technical knowledge. The possession of an expert power can reduce the
friction within a team and enhance the performances of the members to enable them to reach
high levels (Pierro et. al, 2013). Further, a leader earns trust and respect towards the said
leader. However, conflicts may arise when expert power diminishes ones the expertise gap
closes. In response to this, the expert leaders need to constantly brush up their skills to

QUESTION 2 2
maintain their authority. Further, such leaders may always be viewing a scenario from the
lens of expert knowledge and may fail to look at bigger picture and the big challenges facing
their organization.
As per the discussions conducted in previous parts, it can be stated that a necessary balance
must be strike between the legitimate power and technical knowledge of an individual in the
organisational structure, to guide and influence the subordinates and avoid the conflicts in an
enterprise.

QUESTION 2 3
References
Jayasingam, S., Ansari, M. A. and Jantan, M. (2010) Influencing knowledge workers: the
power of top management. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 110(1), pp. 134-151.
Lunenburg, F. C. (2012) Power and leadership: An influence process. International journal
of management, business, and administration, 15(1), pp. 1-9.
Pierro, A., Raven, B. H., Amato, C. and Bélanger, J. J. (2013) Bases of social power,
leadership styles, and organizational commitment. International Journal of Psychology,
48(6), pp. 1122-1134.
Raven, B. H. (2017) The comparative analysis of power and power preference. In Social
power and political influence. UK: Routledge, pp. 172-198.