Effective Use of Leader Power

Although all six types of power are potential means of influenc­ing other, in actual usage they may engender somewhat different lev­els of subordinate motivation. Subordinates can react to a leader's di­rection with commitment, compliance, or resistance. With commit­ment, employees respond enthusiastically and exert a high level of effort toward organizational goals. With compliance, employees exert at least minimal efforts to complete directives but actually do the ab­solute minimum, possibly even attempting to sabotage the attainment of organizational goals. For example, when Chicago scrap-metal czar Cyrus Tang bought the ailing Mc.Louth Steel Product Corporation, he relied on legitimate and coercive power to gain worker cooperation. Workers reacted with production slowdowns and a wildcat strike that eventually led to the further deterioration of the company and its sale to employees.

Managers usually rely on several different types of power in or­der to be effective. When Jim Lynn was chosen to be chairman of the Aetna Life & Casualty Company, the firm had just been through the painful process of a competitive price-cutting program, had suffered write-offs from several ill-fated acquisitions in noninsurance areas, and was facing the lowest earnings in 9 years. At that point, Lynn, a 6-year veteran on Aetna's board of directors, a previous partner in two prestigious law firms, and a former Nixon administration cabinet member, had a reputation for being effective with both handing people and solving problems. In establishing himself at Aetna, he clearly had the legitimate power of his new chairman's position. However, he relied heavily on building referent power. According to one former Aetna senior vice president, Lynn went out of his way to "portray a peer relationship with everybody". He also used reward power to boost the morale of the heads of Aetna's three principal businesses, each with revenues of more than $3 billion, by awarding them the title of president in recognition of their major roles in the company.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-20