Definition of Influence and Power at Workplace

INFLUENCE

The term influence is used often, and in all facets of life. But what does it really mean, especially in a workplace context? And how does it differ from related concepts, such as power and persuasion? This articles answers these questions and sets the stage for a greater understanding of influence and how you can develop and apply it at work. Power,influence,and persuasion have one thing in common: Each is some thing we use to get what we want from others—a tangible item,a particular behavior or change in behavior),or acceptance of our ideas or modes of thinking. Let’s consider each of these concepts in turn.

POWER

Power is the ability to get what we want by virtue of command or compulsion. In the workplace, people who occupy certain positions as executives,managers,and supervisors are invested with some level of power. They are authorized by the organization within certain limits to give orders, allocate or withhold resources, and make decisions.Thus,your boss has the power (again,within certain limits)to make decisions on who will be hired and promoted and how work will be done. For example, it’s likely that your boss has the power to determine when you and other subordinates will take vacation days. When the CEO tells the head of manufacturing,‘‘I want costs reduced by 10 percent over the next six months show me how you are going to do it,’’she’s not asking the department head to do something.She’s not trying to influence or persuade him.Instead,she’s using her power of position to command or compel a particular behavior. Most people in Western societies have a visceral distrust of power and power differences between people;they favor quality between people.They are uncomfortable with the idea that some individuals can command or compel others.To them,power harkens to historical conditions in which one party arbitrarily exercised his or her will over others.This discomfort with powers pills over into the modern workplace,where people can be less responsive to direct orders than to a manager’s appeals for their cooperation.

Thus,new managers quickly discover that their positional power doesn’t get them very far;bossing people around is very unproductive. These managers may have the power to command certain actions,and their subordinates may be obliged to obey, but compulsion seldom enlists a person’s best efforts.If anything,it may produce resistance.If the work must be done quickly and well, managers find that appeals for collaboration are generally more productive than compulsion. This is not so say that power has no place in organizations. Power is, infact, essential in organizational life. Let’s look at some situations when the use of positional power is necessary to get things done: