In the Grocery Store One Day You Spy a Mother

question 18

Multiple Choice

In the grocery store one day you spy a mother and her two unruly children.She consistently threatens that she is going to spank them when she gets them home.They ignore her threats.Finally,she swats one of them on the butt,making the other child laugh,suggesting that she has lost control of the situation.This could be called:

• A) coercion.
• B) idle threat.
• C) the paradox of authority.
• D) Keynesian authority.

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Definitions:

Legitimate Power

Authority that a person or a group holds that is accepted and recognized by others, often due to a formal position or role.

Reward Power

A type of power that comes from the ability to confer rewards on others for complying with one's wishes or directives.

Coercive Power

A form of power that is derived from the ability to punish or penalize others.

Informal Leaders

Individuals within an organization who influence others through personal forms of power and relationships rather than through formal authority positions.