Flashback types of power.

[Eridanus]

Day 52, Summer of 506 AV
Early Evening
Wright Memorial Library, University of Zeltiva

[With that in mind, I shall then propose a more fitting model of leadership, and it's relation to power.]

The words trailed off as a single quill lay raised above the parchment. It was held by a hand, connected to a weary looking ethaefal as he rubbed his temples, looking at the piles of books stacked around him. At this time quite a number of people have already left the library, leaving him as one of the few rushing deadlines.

It's all Wejerx's fault.

His magecrafting professor had insisted for him to take a short course on leadership, organization and control. It was supposedly for him to take better control of apprentices and assistants in the future, for it was already proven that large-scale projects cannot be completed solely by even a master. He had to be aided by helpers should he wish to complete the project in a reasonable amount of time.

Still, Eridanus felt that the course was unnecessarily punishing in terms of workload, and the final assignment due was equally as academic and obscure. In that view, he refused to follow the dry, academic theme that the rest of his coursemates took. Instead, he aimed for something more practical, but had to do much more research before he could do so.

Oh yes, he was going to construct something useful out of the dry analyses by old, withering scholars over musty, decomposing books. He was going to throw their own words back at them but with a much greater utility. That would teach them.

[Eridanus]

[I propose that there exists agent and a subject, where the agent asserts authority upon the subject. Imagine two circles, one in another. The one within is the subject, upon which power is asserted, while the outer one is the agent, whereby power is asserted from. Within the donut-shaped space in between the two circles, lie various segments similar to cracks in a wheel. Each segment is a type of power that, as a whole, corresponds to the entire formation of power.

Therefore, the effectiveness of the authority of the agent over the subject lies in the completeness of this power. In other words, the completeness of the wheel in this model. In the following paragraphs, I shall elaborate on these various segments of power that forms the theory of power.]

Reaching forward to take one of the books, the ethaefal flipped quickly to the page that he bookmarked before, seeking the words he sought, before checking the other texts that already laid opened before he wrote down the next words.

[Firstly, a form of power is that of authoritative power. Power granted by some sort of authority has always existed since the start of civilization (Aldruin, 490). Moreover, according to Tervan & Mirey (501), "authority stems from either legally endowed recognition and divine granted right". Adding to this point, Himmsey (503) added that this authority also stems from "perceived strength from the masses."

Therefore, authoritative power is defined by the above definitions in this paper. Whether by authority granted by a superior being or organization, or by amongst one's peers, or even by the perception of popular support, this form of authority is deemed to be legitimate by the subject upon who this power is exerted upon.

However, it must be noted that both Tervan & Mirey and Himmsey did not mention the exception, in that this form of power can be weakened if the agent and subject do not comply and align to the same values. In other words, the effectiveness of this power can only be optimal if both circles belong under the same domain, and that the origin of power stems from this same domain as well.]

[Eridanus]

The first segment done, the student breathed a sigh of relief momentarily, but not totally for his job was not done yet. Fortunately, the planning was already one in his head for many days prior to this event, and so he rearranged the books on the table. Discarding those that he no longer required to one side, he opened the texts to their required faces and opened scrolls to the needed side for easy reference.

[Another form of power is that of professional recognition. As stated by a surveying team in Alvadas, it is found that there is a "correlation between positions of authority and individual skill in the related or associated industries" (The Census Bureau of Counterfactual Denominations [CBCD], 500). While correlation is not causation, Jimhist (495) also independently arrived at a theory whereby individuals with greatly respected skill in their profession are able to easier gain respect over their less skilled peers through many interviews among smithing crews in Syliras.

I therefore put forward that professional recognition is indeed one of the determining factors of power and recognition of authority. While realistically this form of power may be active or passive, in this model it is indeed asserted (despite of intentions) upon the subject by the agent if the following requirements are fulfilled and that the effectiveness of this power depends on the extent to which these requirements are fulfilled, with some of these requirements alluded to briefly by Aldruin (490).

1) The agent possesses a higher level of skill than the subject.
2) The agent and subject belong to the same domain.
3) The superiority of the agent must be recognized and acknowledged by the subject, regardless of the authenticity of (1).
4) The skill must be in the same domain.
5) If the skill is in a different domain, or the agent and subject belong to different domains, (3) must apply to counteract these opposing forces.]

Eridanus cracked his neck briefly as he stretched, then put his quill down to work to finish the rest of his paragraph.

[As such, professional recognition, like authoritative power, is not a binary form of power, but indeed a variable depending on the fulfillment of certain variables in order to determine the effectiveness of this sort of power exerted by the agent upon the subject.]

[Eridanus]

Like a ritual, the moonchild rearranged the books yet again, opening and closing them monotonously but rapidly as he put away texts he did not require and to bring forward those that he needed for the next part.

[Another segment of power proposed is that of charismatic influence. While in theory similar to that of professional recognition, in that the base of this form of power draws from and originates from the masses, it is vastly different in the rationale for its origination.

According to academics in the field, "leaders are most often charismatic" (Aldruin, 490), they "command idolatry in fluency of deeds and ability (CBCD, 500), and that they may possess a "gruff and firm attitude in controlling their subordinates" (Jimhist, 495).

Moreover, Forhey's (478) study into the many anecdotal accounts of emotions, before and after a speech by a "charismatic leader" show that many were "willing to fight unto death". It was also observed that the removal of this leader from the community, be it from death or retirement, would disproportionately cripple the classical management of the community, though in the latter the effect is softened somewhat (Aldruin, 490).

It is for the above reasons that this paper appoints charismatic influence as one of the major overs of authority. Power is asserted when the agent is able to gain the subject's respect and idolatry from various factors that will not be explored in this paper for the sake of brevity and focus. Of course, this segment is more binary than the previous few, and it must be noted that it is likely such authority is either loved or hated. There is little middle ground.]

[Eridanus]

[Finally, the last segment of power is rounded off with that of material strength. What I mean by this is that of the agent's ability, or perceived ability, to inflict rewards and punishments upon the subject. It is the most popular form of power in unorganized society, though working cooperatively or second to that of authoritative power in established societies (Aldruin, 490).

There have been many forays into the effect of incentives and disincentives as motivation factors, ranging from social analysis (Dilgey et al., 486), hypnotic experiments (Jeles, 487), and straight-up, generic interviews (Jimhist, 495). It is therefore of common academic opinion that material strength is sufficiently coercive to force obedience. However, the effectiveness of this form of power upon the subject is variable on the real or perceived ability of the agent to inflict this power upon the subject, the magnitude of the coercion or punishment, and the belief of it ultimately happening.]

Sighing as he finally finished the last bit, the bulk of the paper had been done, with only the various conclusions tying up and linking the rest of the article left. Quickly, he finished up the rest of the essay, checking for spelling and grammatical errors as he did so.

Glancing at one of the paragraphs, in the conclusion, he frowned as he made sure that he tied up his main points properly.

[Therefore the proposed model has an interior circle known as the subject, the receiver of power being asserted upon. The subject experiences assertion of power from the outer circle - the agent - which is the director of this power.

The segments of the circle in between them form the basis of the types of power, namely Authoritative Power, Professional Recognition, Charismatic Influence and Material Strength. The extent to which these forms of power are successful correspond to how much they can 'color' in the segment of the circle.

Therefore, the more the circle if colored, the harder it is for the subject to escape the chains of power exerted by the agent, and it is hypothesized that should the entire circle be colored completely, the hold of the agent upon the subject is absolute and complete.]

It was then with great relish that he ended with the reference list that he had been keeping track off.

[References

Forhey, G. (478). Forward Unto Death: The Spirit-Raising Rhetoric in Moving Speeches. Alvadas: Acumen Asylum Press.

Dilgey, P., Giu, R. Z., Yanley, G., Weners, F. (486). Incentives and Disincentives in Contemporary Society. Zeltiva: University of Zeltiva Press.

Jeles, M. (487). Hypnotic Analysis of Motivations in Humans. Alvadas: Acumen Asylum Press.

Aldruin, T. (490). Rise of Civilization: Comparison of Pre-Valterrian and Post-Valterrian Cities. Zeltiva: University of Zeltiva Historical Society.

Jimhist, J. (495). Interviews with Metal: The Working Dynamics of Blacksmiths in Syliras. Syliras: Qayala's Quill.

The Census Bureau of Counterfactual Denominations. (500). A Survey of Expertise in Leadership Positions. Alvadas: Alvadas Government Press.

Tervan, L. & Mirey, K. (501). A Study of Authority and Legality. Zeltiva: University of Zeltiva Press.

Himmsey, M. (503). A Deeper Look into Authority and Legality. Zeltiva: University of Zeltiva Press.]

And he was done with his final assignment for the course! Judging from the many painful days of juggling his other courses with this unnecessarily demanding one, he'd better get a proper grade from the professor or he would be quite disappointed indeed.

With relief on his mind, he packed up the books, returning them to their proper shelves as he cleared up his supplies, carefully rolling up his scroll and making sure not to lose it as he brought it back to his room to be submitted the next day.

[Eridanus]

Skill Requests

• Writing
• Leadership
• Organization

Lore Requests

• A Proposed Model of Leadership and Power by Eridanus
• Forward Unto Death: The Spirit-Raising Rhetoric in Moving Speeches by Galen Forhey
• Incentives and Disincentives in Contemporary Society by Pierce Dilgey, Roy Zin Giu, Goran Yanley & Ford Weners
• Hypnotic Analysis of Motivations in Humans by Mike Jeles
• Rise of Civilization: Comparison of Pre-Valterrian and Post-Valterrian Cities by Terry Aldruin
• Interviews with Metal: The Working Dynamics of Blacksmiths in Syliras by Jimmy Jimhist
• A Survey of Expertise in Leadership Positions by The Census Bureau of Counterfactual Denominations
• A Study of Authority and Legality by Loren Tervan & Kale Mirey
• A Deeper Look into Authority and Legality by Malowan Himmsey

[Cascade]

Adventurer's Loot Eri's Loot : Skill XP Reward Writing +4 Organization +1 Lore: A Proposed Model of Leadership and Power by Eridanus Forward Unto Death: The Spirit-Raising Rhetoric in Moving Speeches by Galen Forhey Incentives and Disincentives in Contemporary Society by Pierce Dilgey, Roy Zin Giu, Goran Yanley & Ford Weners Hypnotic Analysis of Motivations in Humans by Mike Jeles Rise of Civilization: Comparison of Pre-Valterrian and Post-Valterrian Cities by Terry Aldruin Interviews with Metal: The Working Dynamics of Blacksmiths in Syliras by Jimmy Jimhist A Survey of Expertise in Leadership Positions by The Census Bureau of Counterfactual Denominations A Study of Authority and Legality by Loren Tervan & Kale Mirey A Deeper Look into Authority and Legality by Malowan Himmsey Why you do this to your titles. Why. Anyway, nice approach. You actually wrote a research paper... ICly. I can't give you leadership points because you actually have to practice it to become more skillful, but enjoy your lores. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me!