BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Accountancy, Business Economics and International Hospitality

Management
GRADUATE SCHOOL

“POWER TO CONTROL OR POWER TO INFLUENCE”

A Position Paper on
Human Behavior on Organization

Presented to
Dr. Nickie Boy H. Manalo

Presented by:
Dafniejo P. Tobeo

2018
 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Accountancy, Business Economics and International Hospitality Management
GRADUATE SCHOOL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE
TABLE OF CONTENT .....................................................................................2
ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................4
POSITION AND DISCUSSION ........................................................................4
RELATED LITERATURE .................................................................................6

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 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Accountancy, Business Economics and International Hospitality Management
GRADUATE SCHOOL

Abstract

In every organization, team, or even companies, there is always a great

leader that inspires each one to work with admiration and enjoyable. This person

has the power to make the team work effectively or in either way. Having a power

depends on how a person’s use it. Whether you are a person with power to control

or a person with power to influence.

Most of the time, power to control can be found at the top management. He/

she may be our company president, the vice president, the managers, supervisors

or section head. And most of the time, employees follow them, because they have

the power to control.

However, having the power to influence, whether you are from the rank and

file level has great impact. You can lead even at a small group of co-workers. In

view of this, if the top managers can have this power to influence, a great

organization with full respect and admiration may be established.

In this paper, the stand of the researcher on the power to influence over

power to control is discussed. To seek influence is to succeed simply by speaking

or even thinking. To seek control, on the other hand, is to continually feel anxious

about failing at it. In our search to gain more control over ourselves and our lives

we frequently and foolishly seek to control other people. But to attempt to control

others, while perhaps making life more convenient, is also to attempt to curtail their

autonomy; and what genuine pleasure could we take from our interactions with

others who live as nothing more than our pawns.

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 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Accountancy, Business Economics and International Hospitality Management
GRADUATE SCHOOL

Introduction

Organizations are made up of individuals that exercise greater or lesser

degrees of power. Sometimes, authority stems from a person's title in the

organization, or from specialized knowledge and expertise. Others may exercise

power through interpersonal relationships or the force of their personality. And still

others gain influence through an ability to grant access to important resources.

Power play a huge role in an organization, from governing how decisions

are made to how employees interact with one another. In organization, whether

big and small, the impact of power depends on whether employees use positive or

negative power, a power to control or a power to influence others in the workplace.

Control can be simply defined as having power over something. It may be

fair to say that there is a common perception for many in our culture that everyone

needs to be in total control of themselves.

Influence on the other hand can be defined as producing some effect

without exerting direct control or power over it. When people focus on influencing

things they can have more variability and options in their choices to their response

to situations. This allows someone to avoid the black and white choice of control

or no control. We have to be accepting of the fact that we will never have full control

of everything.

This paper shows why power to influence is more significant than power to

control when it comes to its effects in the whole organization.

Position and Discussion

It is all about influence. It is how to lead the organization through your

influence. No matter how much power you have in controlling the organization, it

is always the respect and admiration can run it all. If you lose that respect and

admiration, no one will care to obey you in your organization. Unless you really

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 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Accountancy, Business Economics and International Hospitality Management
GRADUATE SCHOOL

had the power to control which may suffer them for disobeying you. If this kind of

power exist in the organization, the worker’s productivity will surely suffer.

Control is an all or nothing concept. You can’t “kind of” or “pretty much”

control anything. Therefore, if it doesn’t pertain to your primary existence, the

concept of control doesn’t apply. You can’t control the way your friends, spouse,

partner, children, students, co-workers, employees, board members or customers

think, nor can you control how they behave. At best, you can influence their

thoughts and behaviors. Realistically, this is the limit of your control. Until you let

go of any fantasies about being able to exert control in the secondary world, you

can’t begin to find your true potential of your power to influence.

According to Dr. Alex Lickerman, “to seek influence is to succeed simply by

speaking or even thinking. To seek control, on the other hand, is to continually feel

anxious about failing at it. In our search to gain more control over ourselves and

our lives we frequently and foolishly seek to control other people. But to attempt to

control others, while perhaps making life more convenient, is also to attempt to

curtail their autonomy; and what genuine pleasure could we take from our

interactions with others who live as nothing more than our pawns? The price of

having satisfying relationships, then, lies in the fact that others will often not do as

we want, frustrating us, yes, but also challenging us to become our better selves.

And if we succeed in becoming those, we may, through the power of influence,

help them to become theirs”.

As one of the administrative staff of Rosario

National High School, under Division of Batangas

Province, I have interviewed our School Head. If

she is going to choose between power to control

or power to influence, what will she choose? She

answered me “Being the head of this school, I

prefer to have a power to influence. Why?

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 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Accountancy, Business Economics and International Hospitality Management
GRADUATE SCHOOL

Because no matter how much power to control has vested in me for being a school

head, you and my other staff do not follow me wholeheartedly when I use my

authority to control you. You are not all productive since you don’t like what you

do. All of my staff worked only for compliance and not enjoy working if I tried to

control each of you. But then I realized when I started to use my power to influence

my people by doing good to them, leading to do to make them, the more respect I

gained, the more that I can lead you all without hurt feelings”- Anicia R. Indicio,

Ed.D (2018).

Related Literature

In the article “Leading with Control Versus Leading with Influence” Edmonds

(2017) states that if leaders want to have a healthy team environment, he/she must

learn to control less and influence more. The differences are measured in the

results of creating a healthy team. In an organization where control is dominant,

the following characteristics are visible:

 The leader’s ideas win over the team’s ideas – every time,

 The team follows, but only out of necessity (for a paycheck) – not willingly

 Change happens through fear and intimidation – not motivation.

 People are managed closely – rather than led.

 Team members feel unappreciated and often under-utilized – rather than

empowered.

 The organization is limited to the skills and ability of the controlling leader –

not the strength of a team.

 Passion is weak – burnout is common.

But, in an organization where influence is dominant:

 The ultimate goal is what’s best for the organization, not an individual.

 Team spirit develops as relationships and trust grow.

 Willing followers, and other leaders, are attracted to the team.

 Leadership recruitment and development is a continued endeavor.

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 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Accountancy, Business Economics and International Hospitality Management
GRADUATE SCHOOL

 Change is promoted through desire and motivation, not obligation.

 The organization has the expanded resources of a team of unique

individuals.

 People feel empowered and appreciated.

Mr. Michael Hyatt, an author of the Journal “Ways to Become a Person of

Influence” says that leadership is about influence, not control. I am not the first

person to make this observation, but it is worth repeating. The truth is that control

is an illusionHowever, while you can’t control anyone (except perhaps yourself),

you can influence nearly everyone. This is the essence of true leadership. By this

definition, Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. were great leaders. They had

control of virtually no one, yet their influence changed the course of history.

Beth Kuhel (2017), a writer at Forbes Coaches Council, write an article

about “Control Vs. Influence: Knowing the Difference Could Make or Break Your

Company” wherein she cited that there are two distinctive types of leadership. One

is control and the other is influence. These two styles are often considered

synonymous, as if you have one, it’s assumed you probably have the other. But a

closer look at these two forms of leadership shows they work in widely different

ways. If you have influence and share it with nine people, you increase your

influence nine-fold as your influence spreads.

Highly effective leaders seek to uncover the greatness in each individual.

These influence leaders are more likable than "power control" leaders, as they

consistently identify a common point of interest with others and compromise

whenever possible so both sides leave satisfied. The best leaders also tend to be

great negotiators: They seek to understand the other side's perspective so they

can offer options that benefit everyone. Pressure to achieve doesn't override an

influence leader's compassion for people when they make a mistake. Actually,

influence leaders encourage people to take calculated risks, accept failure and get

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 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Accountancy, Business Economics and International Hospitality Management
GRADUATE SCHOOL

back in the game with renewed knowledge of the problem. They don't fear failure

as much as they fear not trying to find innovative solutions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Zimney, K. (2016). Control versus Influence. Evidence in Motion. Retrieved from

http://www.evidenceinmotion.com/blog/2016/10/20/control-versus-

influence/

Lickerman, A. (2012). Influence vs. Control. Psychology Today. Sussex Publisher,

LLC. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happiness-

in-world/201201/influence-vs-control

Hyatt M. (2017). Ways To Become a Person of Influence. Retrieved from

https://michaelhyatt.com/leadership-control-vs-influence/

Edmondson R. (2017). Leading with Control Versus Leading with Influence.

Retrieved from http://ronedmondson.com/2017/05/leading-with-control-

versus-leading-with-influence.html

Kuhel B. (2017). Control Vs. Influence: Knowing the Difference Could Make or

Break Your Company. Forbes Coaches Council.Retrieved from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/11/02/