French and Raven introduced five bases of power which can be seen or experienced in the workplace. The five bases are legitimate power, coercive, rewarding, expert, and referent. The legitimate form of power is considered formal as it means the ability to demand respect from others because of one’s position or authority. In the workplace, the managers have the ability to demand his or her subordinates to do something. People working under the manager or the CEO in the workplace must obey and agree to the demands of the manager or CEO. However, once they lose their positions, they can no longer demand the respect and obedience from the subordinates. In legitimate power, the scope of power may also determine the level of respect (Garrett, 56). However, legitimate power does not make one very successful if relied on as the only way to influence others.
According to French and Raven’s bases of power, the most efficient form of personal power would be the referent power. Referent power depends on how people perceive the individual. The leaders in the workplace should possess leadership characteristics and should portray attractiveness and worthiness so as to get respect from others. In the workplace, there is that leader that people think should be respected as they are worthy of the respect. Such leaders are effective as they do not force people to respect or do certain things. Such form of power is characterized by various attributes such as charisma, appeal, admiration and charm (Garrett, 77). However, a leader who gets respect and more power from being liked may not be as effective. The referent power should be coupled with the expert power to make successful. Referent power is easily abused, and also, it is considered as a big responsibility.
Work Cited
Garrett, Susan Corona. Adolescent Mothers and Social Influence: An Application of French and
Raven's Power Bases Theory of Social Psychology. 1995. Print.
