ASSESSING POWER AMONG DISPUTANTS II:Sources of Relationship Power, Context and Power

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Conflict Management HRM624

Lesson 25

ASSESSING POWER AMONG DISPUTANTS II

Quotation

"I don't know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with

sticks and stones." Albert Einstein

This lecture is the continuation of previous lecture, in this lecture we will study

· The varieties of relationship power are context-dependent for their effectiveness.

· That the use of each type of power is associated with predictable side effects, including the creation

of alienation in the person on whom the power is exercised.

· That understanding your alternatives to a negotiated agreement, including the best alternative, can

help you maximize your use of power in many ways.

Expert Power

Expert power is the power of knowledge. Expert power is effective when the wielder has considerable

knowledge and the person he or she is trying to influence comes to accept this degree of knowledge.

It is critical for legal professionals and other dispute resolvers to be familiar with the expert power, the

power of knowledge.

Expert power, used honestly to persuade others, is considered the least likely form of power (1) to

disempower the person exercising the power and (2) to result in conflict escalation.

Expert power can be used illegitimately, and this misuse can create a sense of alienation in the person

against whom it is used- for example, a daughter whose father requires her engage in some action "for her

own good," when in fact, it obviously serves the father's interest, will cease to believe the father's honest

views of expert power. The illegitimate or dishonest use of expert power disempowers the wielder by

creating the belief, on the part of other disputant, that the claimed superior knowledge is a lie.

Conflict Escalation.

The United States gained a lot of expert power throughout the twentieth century in such arenas as conflict

resolution (as when it acted as a mediator in international conflicts), public health, and agricultural science

and technology.

Expert power can be used illegitimately, and this misuse can create a sense of alienation in the person

against whom it is used.

Ecological Power

Ecological power is the power to manipulate the environment. For Example, imagine a dispute between

two neighbors.

Although some social scientists list ecological power as separate type of power in the relationship domain,

in fact, it functions in the environmental domain as a means of exercising various types of powers.

Ecological power tends to be harmful as the type of power it is used to impose.

Disputant often use ecological means to exercise coercive power. Ecological power used to coerce and

ecological power perceived as illegitimately used by other disputants tend to create conflict escalation and to

eliminate the wielding disputant's ability to use broader power sources.

Power and Alienation

The term alienation refers to the extent to which a person becomes mistrustful of, hateful toward, and

unwilling to assist another.

It has been recognized that six types of power have different intrinsic tendencies to create alienation in the

person toward whom the power is exercised.

Of the six types coercive power is considered the most alienating; expert power the least alienating. Any

exercise of power that is perceived as illegitimate by the recipient also produces alienation.

Alienation is disempowering to the person exercising power. Suppose Disputant A Influences Disputant B,

In doing so A alienates B. Alienation directly impairs Disputant A's referent power by causing Disputant B

Conflict Management HRM624

to dislike Disputant A. Moreover by creating distrust, alienation also undermines disputant A's normative

and expert power.

In a relationship already marked by high degrees of alienation, the use of coercive power may be

appropriate if the relationship is likely to be short-term, so that one coercive move is likely to be sufficient

to produce desired results.

Sources of Relationship Power

We have considered six types of powers that can be used in the relationship domain. Where do these forms

of power come from?

Resources including tangible assets, such as money, are the important sources of power that operates in all

domains. Money and other forms of wealth can be converted to other types of power.

Personal attributes also influence power. Characteristics such as physical appearance, mode of dress,

articulateness, educational level, likeability and emotional stability are important sources of normative,

referent and expert power. Power also comes from the roles that people play in the society and

interpersonal relations. Social role expectations often seem to create a script like interaction between role

participants.

Type of Definition

Example

Sources of Power: Likelihood

Power

Examples

Alienation

from use

Coercive

The

ability

A disputant tries to

Physical strength, Very high

influence others by

get

the

other

weaponry, ability to

coercing,

disputant to agree to

file a lawsuit, ability

his or her terms by

to write threatening

threatening,

harming, irritating

threatening litigation.

letters, having the

law on one's side

Reward/

The

ability

A disputant offers to

Coercive

power, High

exchange

influence others by

dismiss a lawsuit if

wealth, possession

rewarding

the other disputant

of something the

agrees to terms.

other

disputant

withdrawing threats

wants

of coercion

Referent

The

ability

The power of a father

Improvement

of Moderate

influence

others

to influence his son is

physical

based on charisma

based on the son's

appearance,

and attractiveness

looking up to the

improvement

father.

how one comes

across

("charm

school"),

charismatic

spokesperson

Association with a Moderate

to A minister influences

Normative

The

ability

influence

others his

penitent's

"good cause," an

high important life choice.

influential

based

spokespersons,

moral standing

"image handling"

Expert

The

ability

Research,

A parent convinces a

Low

influence

others

child to behave in a

investigation,

based on availability

formal

learning,

certain way, based on

of knowledge

experts

the

parent's

experience.

Conflict Management HRM624

Ecological

The

ability

A disputant who Wealth,

research Dependent

influence others by

wants to sell a used into

options, what the power is

manipulating

the

refrigerator cleans the "elbow grease"

exercised for

environment

kitchen to give the

potential buyer the

impression that the

refrigerator has been

well cared for.

Context and Power

Power is context-dependent. Each of the six types of power exists to varying degrees depending on the

specific other person toward whom the power is directed. It also works in the specific situation where

power is exercised.

Powerful people and entities often have a lot to lose because they come to rely on their power and are

comfortable with the choices and advantages it brings with it.

A less powerful person, paradoxically, may be in better position because he or she has little to loose.

Summary

Power and its use is context dependent. Power is not all joy; it brings a lot of pressure and anxiety as well.

At times, the powerless is more at peace/comfort than a person who has power.

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