Industrial Psychology by Bhattacharyya Dipak

Author:Bhattacharyya, Dipak [Bhattacharyya, Dipak]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Industrial Psychology
Publisher: Universities Press (India) Private Limited
Published: 2017-03-19T16:00:00+00:00

Leadership and power

Power, in the case of leadership, is divided into six categories that are interrelated. Expert and informational power is concerned with skills, knowledge and information, of which the holders of such abilities, are able to utilise, to influence others, for example, technicians and computer software professionals. Reward and coercive power, involves the ability to either reward or punish persons being influenced, in order to gain compliance. Legitimate power, is that which has been confirmed by the role structure of the group or organization and is accepted by all as correct and without dispute, such as in the case of the armed forces or the police force. Referent power, on the other hand, involves those being influenced, identifying with the leader, for example, rock stars or film personalities using their image to enter the political arena.

Most leaders make use of a combination of these six types of power, depending on the leadership style used. Authoritarian leaders, for example, use a mixture of legitimate, coercive and reward powers, to dictate the policies, plans and activities of a group. In comparison, a democratic or participative leader would mainly use referent power, involving all members of the group in the decision-making process.

Leadership Styles

The problem of leadership style is basically concerned with deciding the extent to which a manager should be dictatorial and the extent to which he is supposed to be participative or consultative. Different leadership styles can be categorised as follows: (i) Authoritarian or leader-centred or autocratic style (ii) Democratic or participative or consultative or group-centred style (iii) Laissez faire or free rein style (iv) Paternalistic leadership.

Autocratic styie of leadership

This type of leader is characterised by centralisation of authority and decision-making and very limited participation by subordinates of the group. The autocratic leader accomplishes the results through use of authority, fear of deprivation, punishment and other coercive measures. Since it is negative in character, authoritarian approach will succeed only in the short run and will fail to induce subordinates for better performance in the long run. Resentment, absenteeism and higher turnover rate for employees are some of the most natural consequences of this approach. Still autocratic style deserves consideration because of the following reasons:

There may be very little time for participation, particularly in a crisis.

Confidential matters may not permit normal consultation.

The leader may have more knowledge to compensate for participation.

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