Upward Power

Examples of Upward Power in the following topics:

• Sources of Power

  • Power is the ability to get things done.
  • Although people sometimes regard power as evil or corrupt, power is a fact of organizational life and in itself is neither good nor bad.
  • On the other hand, subordinates can also exercise upward power by trying to influence the decisions of their leader.
  • Power comes from several sources, each of which has different effects on the targets of that power.
  • Also called "positional power," this is the power individuals have from their role and status within an organization.

• Upward Communication

  • Upward communication moves from lower to higher levels within an organization.
  • In this way, upward communication indicates the effectiveness of a company's downward communication.
  • The communication channel, or mode of sharing information, strongly influences the upward communication process.
  • The availability of communication channels affects employees' overall satisfaction with upward communication.
  • This is likely to make employees feel satisfied with their level of access to channels of upward communication and less apprehensive about communicating upward.

• Causes of Workplace Stress

  • According to the Department of Labor, there has been an upward trend in hours worked among employed women, an increase in work weeks of greater than forty hours by men, and a considerable increase in combined working hours among working couples, particularly couples with young children.
  • However, less powerful employees (those who have less control over their jobs) are more likely to experience stress than employees with more power.

• Middle-Level Management

  • Middle managers may also communicate upward by offering suggestions and feedback to top managers.
  • Note that middle management is tasked with (1) their tier of technical skills, i.e. information management systems, as well as (2) communication of system efficacy upward to senior managers and (3) delegating tasks downward to workers.

• Employee Promotions

  • Evaluate human resources' role in creating promotion opportunities to motivate employees and develop upwards mobility within an organization

• Delivering Constructive Feedback

  • The 360-degree assessment may be contrasted with "upward feedback," where managers are given feedback only by their direct reports, or with a traditional performance appraisal, in which employees are most often reviewed only by their managers.

• Technical Skills of Successful Managers

  • Successful managers in an organization must therefore learn to use the technological assets at their disposal, collecting critical information and data to communicate upward for strategic planning.

• McClelland's Need Theory

  • David McClelland describes three central motivational paradigms: achievement, affiliation and power.
  • Psychologist David McClelland developed Need Theory, a motivational model that attempts to explain how the needs for achievement, power (authority), and affiliation affect people's actions in a management context.
  • People who are strongly power-motivated are driven by the desire to influence, teach, or encourage others.
  • McClelland proposes that those in top management positions should have a high need for power and a low need for affiliation.

• Porter's Five Forces

  • ., low buy power, low rivalry, low risk of new entrants, etc.).
  • Bargaining power of buyers: The bargaining power of customers is also described as the market of outputs.
  • Picture a supply and demand curve: if the supply greatly outstrips the demand, the buyers have more power than the suppliers.
  • Bargaining power of suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers is also described as the market of inputs.
  • Similar to power of buyers, this bargaining power relies on scarcity and basic economics of supply and demand.

• Increasing Empowerment

  • Empowerment is a process that enables individuals and groups to fully access personal and collective power and employ this power when engaging with other people, other institutions, or society.
  • Empowerment does not give people power; rather, it helps to release and express the power that people already have.
  • This can be a powerful and positive aspect within an organization that promotes shared power and enables checks and balances in decision-making processes.
  • When turning responsibility over to others, it is important to keep in mind that diversifying power creates more voices and therefore potentially more conflict and discussion.