Management Thinkers

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Amitai, Etzioni

His analysis of power - the power to influence behaviour in organisations - is that it is a function of four factors: position information and access expertise personal qualities. A boss has power because he or she is the boss. Managers have authority to hire and fire, reward and punish, authorise payments and so on. Such power resides in the role and not the person. It may be that such power is diminishing in the modern company as ability to hire and fire (and so on) is gradually taken away from the line manager Access to information provides power and those who control the management information system can use such power. Those who are gatekeepers to information can also use the power to allow access to information. Expertise can give power and the modern organisation cannot function without its specialists - its accountants, lawyers, scientists and so on. The organisation frequently cannot proceed without their opinion or acceptance. Some people are charismatic. They get people to want to follow them. Sometimes this is a natural event and at other times it is the result of understanding what it is that the followers want personally and being the route through which they can achieve it.