Power and Leadership
Scenario: You are a middle manager for a retail company. There are 8 employees who report to you, two full-time and six part-time. Employees work various shift schedules including day, evening, and weekend hours. The pay scale is low; at or slightly above minimum wage. There have been issues of lack of motivation and productivity in your department lately. Some of the issues include employee tardiness, negative attitudes, and overall decreased production. As a manager you want to decrease negative attitudes and increase productivity. Address these points in your paper.
Summarize the four positions of power.
Choose two of the power techniques. How would you use them to positively influence motivation and productivity for your team?
Hard Power:
Legitimate Power is drawn from the position/title a person holds
Reward Power comes from a leader’s ability to provide or withhold rewards and employees comply in order to get the reward.
Coercive Power comes from a leader’s ability to influence with some form of punishment and employees comply to avoid the punishment.
Soft Power:
Referent Power exists in people who others like and respect. It’s based on a leaders personal characteristics, mostly those that people want to emulate
Expert Power is drawn from the understanding that knowledge is power. It’s based on a leaders expertise in a certain area and people trust and respect the decisions made by those with this type of power
How would you balance politics with influencing employees?
Summarize how you would implement such change while maintaining the overall vision of the department.
Your paper should be 2-3 pages plus a title page and reference page. Follow APA format. Include 2 outside academic sources to support your responses. Use outside sources other than the textbook, course materials, or other information provided as part of the course materials. Google scholar.