Convenience

reward power
The power to give or
withhold rewards,
such as salary
increases, bonuses,
promotions, praise,
recognition, and
interesting job
assignments
330
Part 4:
Leading
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Coercive Power
Coercive power
is the power to force compliance by means of
psychological, emotional, or physical threat. In the past, physical coercion in organiza-
tions was relatively common. In most organizations today, however, coercion is limited
to verbal reprimands, written reprimands, disciplinary layoffs, fines, demotion, and
termination. Some managers occasionally go so far as to use verbal abuse, humiliation,
and psychological coercion in an attempt to manipulate subordinates. (Of course, most
people would agree that these are not appropriate managerial behaviors.) The more
punitive the elements under a manager’s control and the more important they are to
subordinates, the more coercive power the manager possesses. On the other hand, the
more a manager uses coercive power, the more likely he is to provoke resentment and
hostility and the less likely he is to be seen as a leader.
6
Charlie Ergen, founder and
CEO of Dish Network, often uses coercive power. One former Dish executive says that
Ergen gets his way by “Pounding people into submission.” For instance, he requires long
hours, provides few paid holidays, routinely yells at employees, and commonly berates
people in meetings who disagree with him.
7
Referent Power
Compared with legitimate, reward, and coercive power, which are
relatively concrete and grounded in objective facets of organizational life,