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Chapter 10 - Using Power

This document discusses power in collaboration from multiple perspectives. It distinguishes between power over, power to, and power for. Power over focuses on control and one party's gain, while power to and power for emphasize mutual gain. Power exists at both the macro level between organizations and the micro level between individuals. At both levels, power can shift over time as knowledge and resources change hands. The document also outlines various points of power at the micro level, such as setting the meeting agenda or deciding membership, that allow some individuals to shape the collaboration.

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118 views

Chapter 10 - Using Power

This document discusses power in collaboration from multiple perspectives. It distinguishes between power over, power to, and power for. Power over focuses on control and one party's gain, while power to and power for emphasize mutual gain. Power exists at both the macro level between organizations and the micro level between individuals. At both levels, power can shift over time as knowledge and resources change hands. The document also outlines various points of power at the micro level, such as setting the meeting agenda or deciding membership, that allow some individuals to shape the collaboration.

Uploaded by

Amethyst Online
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 10

Using Power
What is Power For in Collaboration?
• We should not always think about power from one
perspective that of its use by one party over another for
that party’s gain.
• Power is also considered in ways that are more
collaborative, as a way of enhancing the joint venture and
to empower others.
• We distinguish between three perspectives of power:
– Power over
– Power to
– Power for

N.B. In this chapter, we will be using the perspective of power over

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What is Power For in Collaboration?
• Power Over:
– Its an own gain perspective
– The concern is with the control of the relationship and
thus power over others
– Such mechanism is mainly used when trust fails
– Notion of bargaining power relates to this form of power
– It is not always clearly recognized.
– It can be made to look harmless as a positive move
towards trust building
– This type of power is as well known by discursive power;
i.e. a logical type of power which means that power is
attributed to people because of the way we, collectively,
talk about them.

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What is Power For in Collaboration?
• Power To:
– It is used for the mutual gain of the relationship.
– Power is exercised by one party in the interests of the
collaboration as a whole.
– It can be used as well by one party over another as a way of
maintaining stability in relationships. This perspective lies
between power over and power to.
– Power to draw from others is also borderline depending
whether the power is drawn jointly by the partners or by one
from the other. To influence decision making process,
organizations need to draw on each other. Such attitude will
permit to take away the negative connotations of power,
emphasizing its definition as “the ability to do” and suggesting
that collaboration can unite and extend individual power

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What is Power For in Collaboration?
• Power For:
– It is concerned with using collaboration to transfer power to another
party or parties.
– The notion of shared power sits on the border between power for and
power to perspectives.
– It is a mutual gain perspective given the “shared transformed
capacity”
– It refers to “user involvement”, implicating that power is being given
away by the provider of goods and services
– Such process is hence summarized in the concept of collaboration
empowerment
– Collaboration empowerment is defined as the capacity to set priorities
and control resources
– Capacity building is very much emphasized here for both weak and
strong parties.

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Power at the Macro-Level:
Sources and Dynamics
• We are interested at the macro-level with two aspects:

– Various Sources of Power


• Bargaining power : it derives from having some type of resource that another
party needs. The resource is often in the form of skills, knowledge or information
as well as more tangible forms. The strength of bargaining position can change
over time, especially if one organization acquire a resource that was scarce.

• Mismatches in the importance of the collaboration aims of partners: if it is


relevant to one organization than other, the former is in a poor position to
bargain. The availability of alternative ways to tackle the issue, of alternative
partners, etc. put an organization in a strong bargaining position.

• Structural relationship between partners: those with acknowledge authority


clearly have a source of power. In addition, those that have relationships with
many other organizations are in a strong position to influence others in the
network.

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Power at the Macro-Level:
Sources and Dynamics
• We are interested at the macro-level with two aspects:

– The way that power changes over time


• The balance of power changes over time in several respects. It may
shift from one partner to another as the collaboration develops.
• This is very obvious in situations where knowledge is transferred
between partner organizations, agenda is approved and new activities
come to the front.
• The power may shift as well between individuals within organizations
• If the collaborative process is working effectively, power can be
shared as partners learn how to trust each other
• However, there is a tendency that power becomes unequal with time.

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Power at the Micro-Level:
Points of Power
• Macro-power issues are largely considered at the organization
level whereas micro-power issues are considered at the
individual level.
• The most direct way in which power is played at the micro-
level is by influencing the purpose of a collaboration and the
choices of issues that the members focus on.
• The potential points of power or power infrastructure can be
summarized by the following elements:
– Name: we mean by that the name given to the collaboration. It is
one of the most important aspects of power infrastructure and is
very significant since it defines the range of operation of the
collaboration.
– Membership: who should be part of the collaboration, there is here
a power of choice. The particular combination of members will
have a strong influence on the collaboration
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Power at the Micro-Level:
Points of Power
– Identity: identity of each participant (i.e. skills, range of experience, etc.).
Who gets to participate in the forming of identity groupings is in a
significant point of power.

– Invitation and buy-in: the way to approach participant (over a drink,


personal contact by telephone, formal letter of invitation, etc.) as well as
the content of the invitation are significant points of power.

– Bringing people together: for example, venue of the first meeting, nature
of the meeting (face-to-face, virtual, etc.) especially when collaborative
activities are diversely located hence the need to well organize the
communication process. People who make decision about the place,
timing, etc. of the meeting have access to some sources of power.
– Meeting management: who will manage the meeting (there is a need here
to take into consideration various skills of the or those who will manage
the meeting: time management, facilitation skills, etc.). Those who are in
this position have a point of power.
– Meeting agenda and format: what format to adopt (short, long, formal,
informal, etc.) who will set the meeting agenda, what points to include,
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etc. Decisions about meeting structure is as well an important source of
Power at the Micro-Level:
Points of Power
• Those who manage to access these points are in
powerful positions to shape the future of the
collaboration.
• When we refer to power at the micro-level, we
refer to day-to-day activities that can make the
collaboration happen.
• Some individuals have the luxury of having the
power to choose when to be powerful.
• For others, being powerful is related to “being
here” (i.e. present). While others even if they are
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Power Interfaces
Outside In and Inside Out
• Many points of powers relate to the relationship
of the collaboration and members of that
collaboration with external parties or external
social objects (such as legislation, laws, etc.)
• Power from within the collaboration (exerted on
those not yet in) – Inside Out
– Power of manipulation in order to persuade and
motivate potential members to join the collaboration
– Power to exclude potential members
• Power from outside the collaboration – Outside
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Using Power In Practice
• There is a presumption that power can be in the hands of
the apparently less powerful.
• Visualizing power as dynamic can lead to more creative
thinking about ways in which everyone can have some of
the power some of the time.
• Both the macro and micro levels of power management
are important in using power to the advantage of the
collaboration and the organization.
• The macro level forms the broad context for the
engagement with the micro-level points of power.
• Using power involves understanding what is going on at
both levels:
– At the macro level,LY -there is - B325
Lebanon Branch a need to understand the
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