question#1 Please tell the class about a very good (or very poor) leader that you have encountered.(Disguise the name please)!

What made this person a great (or terrible) leader in your view?

question#2 Think of a time when you were working and wielded some power.What was the source of the power (i.e., legitimate, reward, coercive, referent, etc.)?How were you able to influence others?What were the ultimate consequences of your use of power?

Just to illustrate, a good friend of mine (an engineer) was hired by a utility company.He was hired by this company because he had interned at our local power company for a few years and he had learned a new software that was being "pilot tested" at the company.He learned it very, very well.As it turned out, this software has since become fairly standard throughout the industry.At the time he was hired, his knowledge of the software made him extremely valuable.He was hired on and he kept calling me and reporting the "glories" of his new job.He was able to exert a lot of influence!He got the best office, everyone liked him, he could come and go as he pleased, etc.Of course, all of this was being exchanged for his expertise on the new software.Fast forward a few years and his reports on his job were very different.It seems that he had shared his expertise thoroughly and his knowledge was diffused throughout the company.In short, he was no longer an "expert."Everyone had his knowledge.It made him tell me that he wished he had been careful to hoard that information for a while longer than he did.Note that "hoarding information" is pretty much a textbook example of "political behavior!"

I was just wondering if you all had any experiences or observations about the use of power and/or politics that you could share.Reading about it in a book is one thing, but talking about how it works in actual organizations might prove more interesting.

question#3 Why do you think companies are moving toward flatter, more organic structures? Do you think this is appropriate? Why or why not?