Prepared by: Lord Byron M. Ferrer LPT
Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Define power;
2. Identify the nature, types, and consequences of power;
3. Explain the nature, dimensions, types, and consequences of
power; and
4. Explain how power is exercised in different situations.
A Glimpse Back
Answer the following:
1. What political ideology in your society(or in general) do you like most?
2. In one sentence, describe that ideology.
3. Why do you like this certain ideology?
4. What political ideology (or in general) do you like?
5. Why do you not like this certain ideology? What aspect of this ideology
do you dislike?
Group Activity: Making Sense
Brainstorm on a definition of POWER.
Guide Questions:
Is power always positive? negative? both?
What is the purpose of power?
Test Your Stock Knowledge
Determine the situations where there is a clear use of power as
defined in political science. Check those statements that present a
clear use of power and put an X mark on those that do not present
a clear use of power.
1. Your mother asks you to buy flour in the bakery.
2. Agnes tries to escape a building on fire by breaking the
windows using her ukulele.
3. The teacher asks the class to return immediately the
classroom globe to its proper scale.
• Power is the capability to control and influence
people’s behavior as well as the capability to direct
the paths and result of events (Oxford University
Press, 2015)
• It can be perceived as good or bad, just or unjust,
and its exercise is accepted and acknowledged since
the beginning of time.
• Power may be expressed as Upward, where the
leader or superior influences the members or
subordinates; or it may be expressed as Downward,
where the members or subordinates influence the
decisions of their leader or superior (Bukowski and
Rajagopalan, 2000)
POWER MAY BE USED THROUGH:
1. INFLUENCE -the power to change or affect someone or
something;
-the power to cause changes without directly forcing them
to happen; and
-a person or thing that affects someone or something in an
important way.
2. AUTHORITY LEGITIMACY
Authority is the power to give orders or
make decisions; the power or right to direct or
control someone or something. (MerriamWebster, Incorporated, 2015)
Legitimacy means conformity to the law
or to rules. It is the acceptance of the
government by the governed because they
believe that their leaders have the right to
exercise power and authority over them.
Legitimacy is a product of power.
2. SOVEREIGNTY
Sovereignty is the highest
exercise of political power; it is the
supreme (and possibly unlimited
power) and ultimate authority that
cannot be overruled by a higher
power.
Sovereignty is exercised by
government (Waluchow, 2014)
Dimensions of Power
Power as Decision-Making
This face of power consists of conscious actions that in some way
influence the content of decisions. Identifying who has power is
done by analyzing decisions in the light of the known preferences
of the actors involved. The implication of this view of power is
that the most powerful actors in society are those whose opinion
are considered and upheld in the decision making. The powerful
are able to get what they want and make others behave the
way they wanted them to. Decisions can be influenced in a
variety of ways. Keith Boulding distinguished between the use of
force or intimidation (the stick), productive exchanges involving
mutual gain (the deal), and the creation of obligations, loyalty
and commitment (the kiss).
Power
Setting
as
Agenda
The second face of power is the ability to
prevent decisions being made: that is, in
effect, ‘non-decision-making’. This involves
the ability to set or control the political
agenda, thereby preventing issues or
proposals from being aired in the first place.
Power as Thought Control
The third face of power is the ability to
influence another by shaping what he or
she thinks, wants, or needs. This is power
expressed as ideological indoctrination or
psychological control. In political life, the
exercise of this form of power is seen in the
use of propaganda and, more generally, in
the impact of ideology which you learned
from Module 2.
TYPES OF POWER
Type of Power
Description
Reward power
The target person complies in order to obtain rewards he or she
believes are controlled by the agent.
Coercive power
The target person complies in order to avoid punishments he or she
believes are controlled by the agent.
Legitimate power
The target person complies because he or she believes the agent ha
right to make the request and the target person has the obligati
comply.
The target person complies because he or she believes that the
has special knowledge about the best way to do something.
Expert power
Referent power
The target person complies because he or she admires or identifies
the agent and wants to gain the agent’s approval.
Consequences of Power
There are three consequences of power:
1.compliance,
2.commitment and
3. resistance.
Compliance
refers to the readiness
agreeing to do something.
or
act
of
The two types of power most likely to
cause compliance are legitimate or
position power and reward power.
-Compliance with the order may occur if it is
perceived to be within the leader’s
scope of authority.
- Compliance is most likely to happen if the
reward is something valued by the target person.
Commitment
is an even more desirable outcome because of
the trust and emotional pledge that it causes. It
is perceived as loyalty or a sense of dedication or
devotion.
Commitment is most likely to be
the consequence when the powers
used are referent and expert.
Resistance
means to refuse or to oppose. It is the most likely
outcome when coercive power is used in a hostile or
manipulative way. It is best to use coercion power in
preventing behavior that is harmful to the society and
well-being of the people such as illegal and violent
activities. (Heywood 2007)
Analysis Guide
1. How will you use different types of power to affect the behaviour of other people.
(e.g., your classmates or group mates during debates , group projects, school
program)?
2. Power can corrupt an individual. How can a person avoid being corrupted by
power or abuse of power given to him/her?
3. Explain the quotation by Lord Acton “ Power tends to corrupt and absolute power
absolutely”
4. Explain the quotation by William Gaddis “ Power doesn’t corrupt people, people
corrupt power”
5. 5. Explain the quotation from Eric Hoffer “ The only way to predict the future is to
have the power to shape the future”