Research Paper on:
Informal Versus Formal Power In Organizations

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
reward, legitimate, referent and expert power (Changingminds.org, 2009). To be more accurate, the authors said these were the sources of power. A few years later, the authors added another source  of power they described as informational (Peir? and Meli?, 2003). Within these broad categories, we can place formal power and informal power. Coercive power and legitimate power best describe formal  power while the others better describe informal power. Formal power comes from status or position in the organization (Rayner, Hoel and Cooper, 2001). For example, the CEO has the  most power in any organization but managers also have power. Their positions give them both legitimate and positional power. Informal power comes from numerous sources. It is the ability  to influence others regardless of position, it may be based on expertise, information, knowledge (Rayner, Hoel and Cooper, 2001). One factor that is very interesting is that two or more  persons may hold equal or lateral legitimate positions that inherently give them power but one person may have more influence over subordinates and others than the other. This person holds  both formal and informal power and frankly, this is the better manager. Legitimate power, i.e., that based on the persons given higher managerial position in the organization, also hold  authority (Rayner, Hoel and Cooper, 2001). These people have the authority to make things happen so they have both authority and power (Rayner, Hoel and Cooper, 2001). In some organizations,  people have been given the power to do things but they have no authority to make those things happen; this is an untenable positions and one that will cause the  individual to fail. Informal power may also be gained simply because an individual is a nice person and they have a lot of connections in the organization. In other