TYPES OF POWER

Power has been an important aspect of human civilization since time immemorial. Power
might be physical, political or social. In the context of business as well, power dynamics tend
to influence decisions and people transactions heavily. So defining power can be difficult as
it is understood and interpreted in several ways however power can definitely not be called a
force which gets you what you want. Power basically emanates from position or authority
which can influence people both positively and negatively.

For simplicity and understanding purposes power is usually classified into following
categories:

1. Coercive Power- This kind of power involves the usage of threat to make people do
what one desires. In the organizational set up, it translates into threatening someone
with transfer, firing, demotions etc. it basically forces people to submit to one’s
demand for the fear of losing something.
2. Reward Power- As the name suggests, this type of power uses rewards, perks, new
projects or training opportunities, better roles and monetary benefits to influence
people. However an interesting aspect of this type of power is that, it is not powerful
enough in itself, as decisions related to rewards do not rest solely with the person
promising them, because in organizations, a lot of other people come into play like
senior managers and board.
3. Legitimate Power- This power emanates from an official position held by someone,
be it in an organization, beurocracy or government etc. The duration of this power is
short lived as a person can use it only till the time he/she holds that position, as well
as, the scope of the power is small as it is strictly defined by the position held.
4. Expert Power- This is a personal kind of power which owes its genesis to the skills
and expertise possessed by an individual, which is of higher quality and not easily
available. In such a situation, the person can exercise the power of knowledge to
influence people. Since, it is very person specific and skills can be enhanced with
time; it has more credibility and respect.
5. Referent Power- This is a power wielded by celebrities and film stars as they have
huge following amongst masses who like them, identify with them and follow them.
Hence, they exert lasting influence on a large number of people for a large number of
decisions; like from what car to buy to which candidate to choose for a higher office
in the country.
6. Charismatic power in leadership employs the use of charm to engage an audience
and gather a following. A charismatic leader is often a good communicator and has
an attractive personality that naturally works to convince the audience about his
opinions and ideas.

So, power can be defined in a number of ways however what is important is the usage of the
power by people who possess it. Within the organizational context the power dynamics and
equations need to be carefully managed as they have a huge impact on the motivation and
engagement level of employees. It also defines the organization’s culture in general and
people transactions within the organization in particular. A very hierarchy and power driven
organization finds it difficult to accommodate new and innovative ideas, any change is
vehemently refused, egos clash and lesser opportunities are made available for the high
performers, thus delaying organizational growth. On the other hand, in an organization which
is flat in structure, people are encouraged to innovate and explore, thus bringing in new
concepts and ideas to accelerate organizational growth and expansion

The Balanced Scorecard is a strategic planning and management system used to align
business activities to the vision and strategy of the organization by monitoring performance
against strategic goals.

Balanced Scorecard Concept

Was first published in 1992 by Kaplan and Norton, a book followed in 1996. Traditional
performance measurement that only focus on external accounting data are obsolete. The
approach is to provide 'balance' to the financial perspective

The BSC suggests that we view the organization from four perspectives, and to develop
objectives, measures (KPIs), targets, and initiatives (actions) relative to each of these points
of view:
 Financial: often renamed Stewardship or other more appropriate name in the public
sector, this perspective views organizational financial performance and the use of
financial resources
 Customer/Stakeholder: this perspective views organizational performance from the
point of view the customer or other key stakeholders that the organization is designed to
serve
 Internal Process: views organizational performance through the lenses of the quality
and efficiency related to our product or services or other key business processes
 Organizational Capacity (originally called Learning and Growth): views
organizational performance through the lenses of human capital, infrastructure,
technology, culture and other capacities that are key to breakthrough performance

Use a Balanced Scorecard

Improve organizational performance by measuring what matters
Increase focus on strategy and results
Align organization strategy with workers on a day-to-day basis
Focus on the drivers key to future performance
Improve communication of the organization’s
Vision and Strategy
Prioritize Projects / Initiatives
HR Management and the HR Model define the basic prerequisites for the HR
Organizational Structure. Each organization designs its organizational structure differently
and uses different approaches to set the right level of managerial layers and the way of
cooperation between HR Front Office, HR Back Office and HR Centers of Excellence.
Generally, many similarities can be found in most organizations as they organize their HR
Functions. The HR Organizational Structure should be as flat as possible. The decision
making responsibility should be given to the lowest levels of the HR Organization. The
employees will not be seen as accountable in the organization, if they have no authority to
make a decision. The managers should be focused on the development of employees and they
should delegate the decision authority. Too many managers in the structure always delays the
decision making [Link] organizational structure has to be flexible. The priorities of
the organization can change quickly and the reaction is needed. The inflexible organizational
structure makes the appropriate reaction almost impossible or makes it inefficient. No
employee should take the current job position as the final [Link] structure has to
support the career development in Human Resources and the career paths in HR should be
aligned with the organizational structure

Diversity
In broad terms, diversity is any dimension that can be used to differentiate groups and people
from one another. It means respect for and appreciation of differences in ethnicity, gender,
age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, education, and religion.
But it’s more than this. We all bring with us diverse perspectives, work experiences, life
styles and cultures. As a source and driver of innovation, diversity is a “big idea” in business
and in society. At RBC we know the power of diversity is unleashed when we respect and
value differences.

Inclusion
Inclusion is a state of being valued, respected and supported. It’s about focusing on the needs
of every individual and ensuring the right conditions are in place for each person to achieve
his or her full potential. Inclusion should be reflected in an organization’s culture, practices
and relationships that are in place to support a diverse workforce.
In simple terms, diversity is the mix; inclusion is getting the mix to work well together.
Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats technique is an extremely useful way to debate an
issue, solve a problem or to arrive at an important decision. The technique encourages a
group to approach the issue at hand from all possible angles

White hat – neutral thinking in terms of facts , objective. In this type of thinking hat,ou focus
ob the data available. Look at the information you have, and see what you can learn from it.
Look for the gap in your knowledge and try to fill them or take an account of it.

The Red Thinking Hat - Wearing’ the red hat, you look at the decision using intuition, gut
reaction, and emotion. Also try to think how other people will react emotionally, and try to
understand the intuitive responses of people who do not fully know your reasoning. No
justifications, reasons or basis. All decisions are emotional in the end.
The Black Thinking Hat -When using black hat thinking, look at things pessimistically,
cautiously and defensively. Try to see why ideas and approaches might not work. This is
important because it highlights the weak points in a plan or course of action. It allows you to
eliminate them, alter your approach, or prepare contingency plans to counter problems that
arise. The black hat must always be logical. Overuse of the black hat may lead to an
unhealthy cynicism where people only seem to find fault with everything.
The Yellow Thinking Hat The yellow hat helps you to think positively. It is the optimistic
viewpoint that helps you to see all the benefits of the decision and the value in it, and spot the
opportunities that arise from it. Yellow Hat thinking helps you to keep going when
everything looks gloomy and difficult
The Green Thinking Hat -stands for creativity. This is where you can develop creative
solutions to a problem. It is a freewheeling way of thinking, in which there is little criticism
of ideas. It's an opportunity to express new concepts and new perceptions.
The Blue Thinking Hat - stands for process control. This is the hat worn by people chairing
meetings. When running into difficulties because ideas are running dry, they may direct
activity into Green Hat thinking. When contingency plans are needed, they will ask for Black
Hat thinking, and so onliThis is the hat of the leader/ facilitator. Use this hat at the start and
end of the discussion.
The main benefits of the Six Thinking Hats method are the following: BENEFITS allows you
to say things without risk; generates understanding that there are multiple perspectives on an
issue; is a convenient mechanism for “switching gears”; focuses thinking; leads to more
creative thinking; improves communication; and improves decision making.
Using Six Thinking Hats®, you and your team will learn how to use a disciplined process
which will..

 Maximize productive collaboration and minimize counterproductive

interaction/behavior
 Consider issues, problems, decisions, and opportunities systematically
 Use Parallel Thinking as a group or team to generate more, better ideas and solutions
 Make meetings much shorter and more productive
 Reduce conflict among team members or meeting participants
 Stimulate innovation by generating more and better ideas quickly
 Create dynamic, results oriented meetings that make people want to participate
 Go beyond the obvious to discover effective alternate solutions
 Spot opportunities where others see only problems
 Think clearly and objectively
 View problems from new and unusual angles
 Make thorough evaluations
 See all sides of a situation
 Keep egos and "turf protection" in check
 Achieve significant and meaningful results in a less time
The employee life cycle (ELC, also sometimes spelled as employee lifecycle) is a human
resources model that identifies stages in employees’ careers to help guide their management
and optimize associated processes.

Specific employee life cycle models vary but common ELC stages include:

Recruitment: This stage includes all the processes leading up to and including the hiring of a
new employee. E-recruitment software may be used to automate some of the selection
process, for example filtering applications and resumes for requirements. Personality
profileassessment tools such as the Predictive Index (PI) are also sometimes used to try to
ensure the best possible fit between job and employee.

Onboarding: In this relatively brief stage, the employee is added to the organization's
identity and access management (IAM) system. The stage includes ensuring that the
employee has access to any applications and systems that are required for his job.

Orientation:In this stage, the employee settles into the job, integrates with the corporate
culture, familiarizes himself with coworkers and management, and establishes his role within
the organization

Career planning: During the planning stage, the employee and management collaboratively
develop objectives and goals. Personality profile assessments are sometimes used in
conjunction with an evaluation of the employee’s performance to date.

Career development: In this stage, the employee matures in his role in the organization.
Professional development frequently involves additional training. The challenges in this stage
are employee engagement and retention.

Termination: In this final stage, sometimes referred to as “transition,” the employee leaves
the organization. The specific processes are somewhat dependent upon whether the departure
is the result of resignation, firing or retirement. However, in any case, offboarding is a feature
– the employee is removed from the IAM system. Many organizations schedule exit
interviews in an attempt to get useful input from the departing employee.