Transcript Power
Chapter Ten – Power and
Political Behavior
Understand a definition of power as being both an
individual construct and an organizational construct.
Distinguish the various types of authority and power.
Comprehend the consequences of power relations
within criminal justice organizations.
Grasp the importance of expressing power and
political behavior among criminal justice
administrators.
Describe effective types of power within criminal
justice agencies.
Power exists in relationships.
o Individuals and organizational units that are able to
deal with environmental uncertainty and instability
often possess more power.
o In stable environments, like criminal justice
organizations, power is possessed by the most efficient
or effective individuals and groups.
Power exists in people and the jobs they do.
o Individuals or groups that cannot easily be replaced
tend to be more powerful.
Power resides in the individuals or groups who determine
what other persons, groups or organizations do.
Power relationships exist between organizational units and
at the interpersonal level.
Power depends on:
o The ability to deal with uncertainties facing the
organization,
o Whether an individual or group function can easily be
replaced (substitutability), and
o The importance of an individual or group function to
the organization’s overall mission (centrality).
Terms are often used interchangeably.
Difference is in the perceived legitimacy of
their use.
Authority is generally perceived to be a
legitimate use of power.
Power may be used to influence the
behavior of others even without legitimate
authority.
Distinguished between power and authority.
o Power – based on coercion, not compliance. Often
used in organizations emphasizing strict obedience.
o Authority – compliance with the directives
necessary for achieving a common or shared goal.
Weber’s Three Types of Authority
o Traditional – vested in the position held by a
person.
o Charismatic – found in the personal attributes of a
particular individual or organization.
o Legal – based on the formal rules and regulations
of an organization.
Power exists in the interaction between the
o Power holder – the person who expresses the power,
and
o Power recipient – the person who receives the power.
Five bases of power in all organizations.
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Reward – Power holder can grant remuneration.
Coercive – Failure to follow orders will result in punishment.
Legitimate – Power holder actually has this authority.
Referent – Based on the recipient’s attraction to the holder.
Expert – based on the recipient’s belief that the power
holder has a high level of expertise.
Power can also be acquired by individuals or
groups within organizations that:
o Control information in the organization
(Pfeffer, 1977)
o Acquire resources for the organization
(Salancik and Pfeffer, 1977)
Power does not exist in a vacuum.
Power is contextually defined within individual
and/or organizational interactions.
Consequences of power relations within
organization are along two dimensions:
o Behavioral conformity, and
o Attitudinal conformity.
Types of power are not equally effective in every
situation.
Among inmates, Stojkovic (1984, 1986) found five
types of social power.
o Coercive – used by prisoners to gain ‘respect’.
o Referent – power often used by religious groups.
o Legitimate – rests with older and longer confined
inmates.
o Provision of resources – developed by inmates who
are able to ‘import’ and distribute contraband.
o Expert – prisoners who are knowledgeable about legal
systems and case law.
Social bases of power are more limited among correctional
officers. Stojkovic identifies three:
o Coercive
o Reward
o Access to information
These bases of power are often eroded by:
o Interactions with inmates who are themselves attempting to
gain power.
o Changes in the demographics of prison populations.
o Changes in the way correctional officers are encouraged, or
even allowed, to do their jobs.
Political behavior – actions that promote individual goals over
organizational goals.
More likely in criminal justice organizations when
o A lack of consensus among members about goals,
o Disagreement over the means to achieve goals, or
o Anxiety about resource allocation.
Often necessary in criminal justice agencies to
o Secure adequate resources through the budget process.
o Seek the legal authority to respond to an emerging crime
trend.
o Create or recreate an organization’s mission and values
statements.
The political process in criminal justice agencies can be used;
o Legitimately – if the agency adheres to its mission and
values
• To refocus the organization’s attention on an important
and emerging social trend, e.g. terrorism
• To define or redefine the organization’s mission and
vision.
o Illegitimately – if the agency departs from its mission and
becomes self-serving.
• When individuals within the organization use agency
resources and power to satisfy their personal needs.
• When the organization attempts to resist a legitimate
attempt to become more relevant.
Critical question – What types of power are
criminal justice employees most likely to
consider legitimate?
o The effectiveness of power is highly dependent
upon its acceptance within the organization.
o Even legitimate power can be ineffective if
subordinate employees disregard their leader’s
legitimacy.
Legitimate, charismatic and expert power are more
universally accepted.
Reward and coercive power can be effective if used
for a legitimate purpose
Reward and coercive power may lead to
dysfunctional effects if used illegitimately.
o Learned helplessness (psychological
dependence), or
o Resistance (psychological withdrawal).
Power can be understood and exhibited at both the
individual and organizational levels.
Power and authority are not the same thing.
Weber identifies three types of power – traditional,
charismatic and legal.
French and Raven identify five types of power – coercive,
reward, legitimate, referent and expert.
Other researchers include the control of information and
access to resources as sources of power.
Power relationships within organizations can be defined
along two dimensions – behavioral conformity and
attitudinal conformity.
Different expressions of power will have different impacts
on organizations.
There is a relationship between legitimacy and political
behavior in criminal justice organizations.
The political process is not inherently bad for criminal
justice administrators. In fact, in many cases the political
process is how things get done in criminal justice
organizations.
While driving home one evening the District Attorney of a rural
Midwestern county is injured when his vehicle strikes a deer.
This is the third time this DA has hit a deer on the roadway.
He decides that the excessive deer population in his county is a
threat to public safety. His appeals to the state wildlife agency
for assistance (increasing the hunting limits) are unanswered.
The following week the DA issues a press release informing the
public that his office will no longer accept poaching cases
involving deer.
Because game poaching cases must be prosecuted by his office,
this action effectively eliminates deer hunting limits in his
county.
Does the District Attorney have the power or
authority to make this decision?
What type of power or authority is the District
Attorney exercising?
Given what you know about the consequences of
power, what are the possible effects of the District
Attorney’s actions?