POWER & AUTHORITY
their relationships to actors, actions and roles.
©2006 Edward G. Rozycki, Ed. D.

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edited 061814

Working definitions:

a. an actor has power to the extent that he or she can get something done despite opposition by others.

b. an actor has authority if other people , in the appropriate circumstances, would recognize the actor's right to command, decide or act in a particular manner.

I. Match an arbitrary actor with an arbitrary action to make an event, e.g. E1, An armed robber takes your wallet without permission. (Mix and match others.)

Locate the event-point, E1, on each of the scales given below: Power, Authority

ID by role Actor Action
 

A. A Supreme Court Justice

1. takes your wallet without permission.

 

B. A pickpocket

2. assigns homework

 

C. A policeman

3. puts you in jail.

 

D. Samuel X. Buford

4. administers medication.

 

E. An armed robber

5. eats a sandwich.

 

F. Jennifer Sheehan, CPA

6. reverses a Court ruling.

 

G. A school teacher

7. restricts a child's activity.

 

H. A registered nurse

8. sneezes.

 

I. Rob Henkin, weightlifter

9. tells you to leave the premises.

chart 1

Locate actor-action pairs on the grid below.

A
U
T 		Total

High 		G2 A6    
H
O
R 		Moderate        
I
T
Y 		Low     E1  

POWER 		Low Moderate High
Total

chart 2

II. Note in chart 1 that the column ID is blank. Using the terms, (as an) individual, by role, by activity, identify the actor in column ID. Does this identification matter to the placement of the event-points?

III. Are there any activities that cannot be performed by some actors, no matter how much power they have? Why? (Can an armed bandit annul a marriage through threats?)

IV. Suppose the following statements are true. What can you infer from them that is likely to be true about the authority or power of the actors?

a. Mary's check was cashed by the bank teller. d. Bob Smiles kept Sara from entering her house.
b. James Smith fined the driver $300. e. The fireman kept Jane from entering her house.
c. Harry Carr made Sam Smith hand over $300. f. The magistrate married Larry and Barbara.

 

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