Power and Interdependence in Organizations [Cambridge University Press]

Power is an inescapable feature of human existence. It plays a role in all social contexts and is particularly important in the functioning of organizations and work groups. Organizational researchers have certainly recognised the importance of power but have traditionally focused on its negative aspects. Yet power can also have very positive effects. Power and Interdependence in Organizations capitalizes on significant developments in social science over the past twenty years to show how managers and employees can manage power in order to make it a constructive force in organizations. Written by a team of international academics, the book explores both the positive and negative aspects of power, identifying opportunities and threats. It shows that harnessing the positive aspects of power, as well as controlling its more destructive effects, has the potential to revolutionise the way that organizations function, making them both more humane and productive.