What Is Coercive Power in Business Management

Adherence to soft power tactics is positively associated with employees` intrinsic motivation, desire to move forward, and employee self-esteem.7 Adherence to hard power tactics is positively associated with extrinsic motivation and desire to get along with others, while it is negatively associated with intrinsic motivation and self-esteem. The Cambridge English Dictionary defines “coercion” as “the use of force to convince someone to do something they don`t want to do.” In business, coercive power is the power that managers must threaten employees with some kind of punishment if they do not follow instructions and achieve the desired goal. Depending on the circumstances, coercive violence can be mild or severe and is usually modulated according to employees` resistance to a manager`s demands. The main thing to remember is that any manager or supervisor who uses coercive force must be willing and able to follow any threat they pose to an employee. For example, if you`re in charge of the sales department and one of your sales reps doesn`t make the required number of sales calls each day, you can tell that person that they`ll be downgraded if they don`t meet the standard within a week. It`s important to remember that coercive violence is not about making threats, but about forcing stubborn employees to follow the protocols and rules you`ve established for your business. In the workplace, there is often a hierarchical order of power and authority that must be followed. Power is defined as the possession of control or authority over others. Those in positions of power in the workplace must understand the extent of the influence they have and must strive not to use coercive force to exploit those below them in titles and prestige. Electricity is often needed in the workplace to ensure that business operations are conducted at a high level, but there is a fine line between efficient use of electricity and misuse. Power should only be used as a positive tool in the workplace and should not be used to induce fear or coercion in any way.

The slippery slope framework postulates that while coercive and legitimate power stimulates similar behavior, their underlying cognitions differ.12 Depending on the framework, cognitions influenced by both power bases include trust in authority (implicit or reason-based), relational (whether antagonistic or service-based) and motives for contribution (forced compliance versus voluntary cooperation). In particular, coercive violence reduces implicit trust, induces an antagonistic climate between authority figures and others, and leads to forced conformity. In 1965, Raven added a sixth power base, the power of information.3 This power base occurs when an influencer makes social change by sharing information and changing cognitive patterns of purpose. Information power is a type of personal power, and its addition has had no bearing on the conceptualization of coercive power. When it comes to heterosexual relationships, men tend to have more coercive violence than their partners because of their physical strength and size.8 However, coercion is a corrosive way for people to get what they want in a relationship, and it can encourage resistance, so partners who are forced tend to be less compromising than if they had been approached with force. Softer.9 Power, which is used positively in the workplace is often identified as a legitimate or rewarding power. Legitimate power refers to the management position that uses influence to keep employees at work and oversee business operations. The use of this power to assess productivity is necessary. Reward power is a type of power given to an employee as an incentive. This means that you offer incentives to motivate and achieve more productivity. In looking for coercion as a deliberate persuasion tactic, the researchers found that soft power tactics (speaker, expert, and information power) tend to be more favorably absorbed than hard power tactics (rewards and coercion).7 A person`s personal motivators influence both the power strategy chosen by the agent of influence and the goal`s willingness to adhere to it.3 Goodstadt and Hjelle found that the University students with an external control location are less likely than those with an internal control location to rely on personal persuasion tactics and use coercive force (i.e.B much more frequently.

threaten to fire someone) if they were dealing with a resistant worker.13 Students with an internal control location relied more on information power than those with an external control location. Based on the persuasion and power tactics used, participants with an internal control location were more convincing than those with an external control location (the “psychologically powerless”).13 In 2017, a team of researchers set out to better understand the underlying cognitions for increased cooperation resulting from coercive and legitimate power.12 The researchers conducted four experiments, study cognitive differences caused by extremely high or low concentrations of coercive and legitimate power. .