Power: A central force governing psychological, social, and organizational life

Who has power, who is affected by power, and how power is acquired and exercised provide the foundation for understanding human relations. Indeed, to truly understand the dynamics of any organization or firm requires knowing where power resides and where influence flows. The dispersion of power within and between organizations can emerge from formal systems or through the process of informal interaction and is typically conveyed through organizational charts or network maps. In this chapter, we move beyond research exploring how power is achieved and represented in organizational forms and focus on how having or lacking power fundamentally alters basic thought, emotion, and behavior.