ABSTRACT
Power is the medium through which conflicts of interest are ultimately resolved. In recent years' organization and management theorists have become increasingly aware of the need to recognize the importance of power in explaining organizational affairs. The sources of power are rich and varied, providing those who wish to wheel and deal in the pursuit of their interests with many ways of doing so. This chapter examines how these sources of power are used to shape the dynamics of organizational life. They are, formal authority; control of scarce resources; use of organizational structure, rules, and regulations; control of decision processes; control of knowledge and information; control of boundaries; ability to cope with uncertainty; control of technology; interpersonal alliances, networks, and control of "informal organization"; control of counterorganizations; symbolism and the management of meaning; gender and the management of gender relations; structural factors that define the stage of action; and the power one already has.
