Meaning of Authority
Authority is a power to influence others. All Power is not authority. Legalised Power becomes authority. It is the official & legal right to command action to enforce compliance. Herbert Simon has explained authority as the Power to make decisions which guide the reactions of others. It is the relationship between two individuals, the superior & the subordinates. The subordinates have to carry out the decisions of the supervisor who wants compliance’s of the decision. Compliance is done through persuasion, sanctions, requests, force, constraints, coercion, motivation, incentives & routinisation. When superior influences others without having official & legal command, it is the purely use of Power. Authority is institutionalised Power.
Environment of legitimacy is essential for calling power as authority. Meaningful & operational authority is socially acceptable. Right having morality is authority. Subordinates morally & legally obey the authority of superior. Subordinates acceptance is the essential feature of authority. If authority is not accepted by subordinates, friction is created in the organisation. In other words, superior has no authority unless referred & conferred by subordinates.
Source: OB Books & Notes
Tags: Authority, Authority and Power, Herbert Simon, Meaning, of, Power
By: Management Duniya
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