Employees comply with their supervisor's directives primarily because they respect her character, admire her values, and want to emulate her leadership style. Which power base is operating?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Referent power is derived from followers’ identification with, admiration of, and desire to emulate a leader’s personal qualities.

1. Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- French and Raven’s classic bases of social power: legitimate (position/authority), reward (control of rewards), coercive (control of punishments), expert (specialized knowledge/skills), and referent (personal charisma, likability, identification).
- Referent power operates when followers comply because they respect, admire, or want to be like the leader—not because of formal authority, rewards, or fear.

2. Step-by-step reasoning
- The vignette states employees “respect her character, admire her values, and want to emulate her leadership style.” Those are direct indicators of identification and admiration.
- Compliance here is voluntary and stems from personal attraction/identification with the supervisor, which is the hallmark of referent power.
- No mention is made of the supervisor’s formal authority, control of rewards/punishments, or technical expertise.

3. Intermediate logical steps (mapping statements to power types)
- “Respect her character” → personal admiration → points to referent.
- “Admire her values” → value-based identification → referent.
- “Want to emulate her leadership style” → desire to be like the leader → referent.
- Absence of references to authority, rewards, punishment, or expert knowledge excludes the other bases.

4. Why the correct answer is correct
- Referent power explains compliance motivated by admiration and identification. Employees follow because they identify with the leader’s personality and values, not because of positional rights, expertise, or coercion.

5. Why the other options are incorrect
- Expert power: would require mention of specialized skills or knowledge; not present.
- Legitimate power: would be supported by references to organizational role, rank, or formal authority; not present.
- Coercive power: would involve threats, fear, or punishment; explicitly absent.

6. Conclusion
The correct answer is Referent power, which matches the provided answer.

Employees comply with their supervisor's directives primarily because they respect her character, admire her values, and want to emulate her leadership style. Which power base is operating?单项选择题

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