Power Concept

Power Concept

“Nearly all men can stand adversity. If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”                                                                               -Abraham Lincoln

“Power is the potential ability to influence behavior, to change the course of events, to overcome resistance and to get people to do things that they would not otherwise do.”                                                                                                -Pfeffner

“Power is the ability to influence people or things, usually obtained through the control of important resources.”                                                          -White and Blender

“The probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will, despite resistance.”                                          -Max Weber

The term ‘Power’ has been derived from a French word ‘Pouvoir’, which means power or to be able. Power basically refers to the capacity that one individual ‘X’ has to influence the behavior of other individual ‘Y’, so that ‘Y’ acts in the same manner as ‘X’ wishes. So in other words, power may be defined as the ability to get someone to do something that you want to be done and make things happen in the way you want.

The essence of power lies in the fact that one can regulate the behavior of other person according to his/her wish. Power is needed to get the work done in the organizations. Power exists naturally in any group or organization and is an indispensable base for management and leadership. It makes others dependent for execution of work. The figure below depicts how one individual is perceived to be stronger, greater and bigger than the others with the acquisition of power.