| Types of Power | |||
| Coercion | Authority | ||
| Charismatic | Traditional | Legal - Rational | |
| People
forced to do as they are told under threat of punishment (for
example, in a prison or a school classroom - not the same thing,
whatever you might personally believe to the contrary...).
|
People obey because of the personal qualities of the person doing the telling. Well-known charismatic figures include Jesus Christ, Hitler and Chairman Mao. However, charismatic figures may arise in any social grouping and such people assume positions of authority over others on the basis of personal qualities of leadership perceived in that individual by other group members. | Those who exercise
authority do so because they continue a tradition and
support the preservation and continuation of existing values and
social ties (for example, Queen is Head of State in Britain, a
position she inherited on the basis of traditional rules
of succession for the monarchy). |
Those in
authority give orders (and expect to be obeyed) because the office they
fill gives them the right to give orders. Anyone who fills the
same position has the right to issue orders, which means that this type of
authority is not based on the personal qualities of the individual.
Orders are only to be obeyed if they are relevant to the situation in which they are given. For example:  |
 |
A
teacher could reasonably expect the order to "complete your homework by Thursday" to be obeyed by a student. The teacher could
not reasonably expect the same order issued to the student's parent would be obeyed. Similarly, the order to "go down the street and get me a newspaper" would not be seen as a legitimate order for a teacher to give his / her student, hence the student would not feel compelled to obey). This form of power is the typical form that exists in our society and is sometimes referred-to as "bureaucratic" power since it is based upon the status of an individual's position in a social hierarchy, rather than the individual herself. |
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