The term authority
identifies the political legitimacy
, which grants and justifies the ruler’s right to exercise the power of government; and the term power identifies the ability to accomplish an authorized goal, either by compliance or by obedience; hence, authority is the power to make decisions and the legitimacy …
Authority can
be used to protect our rights to life, liberty, and property
. Authority can be used to provide order and security in people’s lives. … Authority can be used to protect important rights and freedoms. For example: the First Amendment of the Constitution protects our freedom of expression and belief.
Authority in general sense has unlimited functions. It is
responsible for the determination and execution of systemic goals
. It performs the functions of coordination, discipline, growth, and delegation.
Authority also
establishes common norms and values that bind society together
, and thereby gives individuals a social identity and sense of rootedness. Critics of authority, including, particularly, libertarians and anarchists, point out that authority is by definition the enemy of freedom.
Authority refers
to accepted power
—that is, power that people agree to follow according to specific procedures. People listen to authority figures because they feel that these individuals are worthy of respect, or because they are in a position that inherently carries a degree of respect.
The three attributes of authority have been described as status, specialist skills or knowledge, and social position. Children consider the type of command, the characteristics of the authority figure, and the social context when making authority conclusions.
Power is an entity’s or individual’s ability to control or direct others, while authority is influence that is
predicated on perceived legitimacy
. Consequently, power is necessary for authority, but it is possible to have power without authority.
Authority refers to
the official capacity to make a decision or take an action
. For example, a manager might have the authority to make a hiring decision, decide to spend a certain amount of money on something, choose a supplier, set deadlines and priorities, or sign a purchase order.
The authority has
the power to give orders and instructions to its subordinates that they may work
. Responsibility means duties entrusted to a person at the time of delegation of authority. Authority may be delegated. Responsibility cannot be delegated. A superior can always share his authority with his subordinate.
When individuals respect the authority of social norms or the law,
it assures mutual security
. When people break the law, they may harm or infringe on the rights of those around them. For example, a person that drinks and drives could cause a tragic accident.
Some of the important characteristics of authority are:(a)
legitimacy (b) dominance (c) an informal power (d) rationality and (e) accountability
. Legitimacy, dominance, informality, rationality and accountability are the characteristics of authority.
limit of authority means
the maximum value of any single contract that may be approved by an approving authority
, or entered into by KCMUCo with the prior approval of a higher approving authority as set by KCMUCo in the Appendix 1 of these Regulations.
Max Weber
studied power and authority, differentiating between the two concepts and formulating a system for classifying types of authority.
- Academic authority.
- Charismatic authority.
- Expert authority.
- Founder authority.
- Legal governing authority.
- Organizational position authority.
- Ownership authority.
- Prophetic authority.
Examples of some of the charismatic leaders are
Gamal Abdul Nasser (Middle East)
, Saddam Hussein, Houari Boumediene, Yassar Arafat, Ayatolah Khumeini, etc. Egypt and Libya under Mubarak and Gaddafi as their charismatic leaders saw them directing their succession to their sons and families.
Authority is the
ability of a person or an organization to conduct a certain lifestyle for another person
or a group. … Authority is made by a certain social power. This power might be materialistic (such as a threat to harm someone) or fictitious (such as belief in a certain person’s power).
