Project Description:

For this project, you will examine and analyze the role of power and politics in organizations. As your textbook states, $$you don$$t have to be a manager to have organizational power.$$ Employees have varying degrees of personal power in different situations. An employee can be a leader utilizing seven bases of power.

$1.$ Refer to Chapter $8,$ pp$.283-285$ of your textbook and the following article on The Role of Power in Leadership $,$ and then answer the questions below.

a$)$ Choose one of the seven bases of power and describe someone you know who has used this base of power. How did this person use this power to gain control or influence over others and$/$or resources?

b$)$ Did the person have a positive or negative impact in the department and$/$or organization due to his$/$her use of the particular power? Explain.

$2.$ Read up on the case study at the end of Chapter $8$ called $$Latoya Jefferson Use of Power and Politics$$ on page $304$ and then answer the questions below:

a$)$ What source of power does Beth have, and what type of power is she using during the meeting?

b$)$ What source of power does Latoya have, and what type of power is she using during the meeting?

c$)$ What would you do if you were Beth? List the possible steps.

d$)$ If you were Latoya, knowing you had no verbal supporters during the meeting, would you have continued to defend your position or agreed to stop using a graduate assistant? Why? Justify your response.

e$)$ Discuss the role of leadership in this case. Could Beth have used her leadership position more effectively to address the ethical issues and power dynamics at play? Explain.