Conflict Mgmt. & Negotiation: The role of power in negotiating Legitimate power
ID: 468151 • Letter: C
Question
Conflict Mgmt. & Negotiation: The role of power in negotiating
Legitimate power belongs to someone who occupies a particular job, office, or position in an organizational hierarchy.
1. Present a relevant scenario/situation where it is preferable to utilize legitimate power in management/decision making.
2. Present a relevant scenario/situation where it would NOT be preferable to utilize legitimate power
3. And instead for that scenario listed for #2, state what power would be preferable in that scenario/situation and why.
Please indicate the associated # with the answer. Thank you.
Explanation / Answer
1. Legitimate power usually works in situations that are under the leader's formal authority. An example would be a Senior Manager assigning Project Management responsibilities of a standard project to one of his/ her reportees and incorporating the measures of success in the reportee's Key Responsibility Areas. This is very much under the Senior Manager's authority and if communicated properly, should be able to yield the desired results based on legitimate power alone.
2. Situations where it is not preferrable to use legitimate power are those of high uncertainty with many variables and many logical courses of action. An example could be decisions on spending on R&D behind a new technology. In such a scenario, the question of using one's authority to take decisions is usually sub-optimal.
3. In the above situation, the use of expert power would be more suitable. This could be because of experience accumulated over the years or by having the wherewithawl to obtain more concrete information. An expert in the particular field of technology or an Investment Manager with experience in similar technologies would be able to come up with much better insights into the decision alternatives and the various risks and mitigants.