Power as an experiential concept

Abstract

Power is not a single social phenomenon. It is a socially constructed concept of certain social phenomena. This article presents some different concepts of power derived from empirical studies of organizational behaviour in various political, organizational and cultural contexts. Reference is made to a study of top managers in Poland and the United States, research on women in organizations, and a study of a reform in Swedish local governments. A comparison of these cases leads to an analytical model which can help us to understand the process of social construction of power in a variety of contexts.Power social construction of shortage economy horizontal power vertical power normative concept of power descriptive concept of power