Power is defined as “the potential capacity to influence behavior, to change the course of events, to overcome resistance and to convince people to do things they wouldn't do. do otherwise. » (Pfeffer, 1992. p.29). Organizational power can be divided into power bases. These power bases can be grouped into two general labels: formal and personal. The purpose of this essay is to identify, describe and differentiate the bases of power, as well as draw an analogy with the use of power by managers in an organizational setting, accompanied by examples. To do this, this essay will first address the foundations of power as well as the two general labels; followed by the description and differentiation of the bases under their respective label. Next, this essay will demonstrate the use of power by managers in an organization, and finally the six bases of power will be applied to managers through examples. The different bases of power, as identified by French and Raven, are reward, coercion, legitimacy, expert, referent and informative. The last of these six bases, informative, was initially extracted from the expert bases. (Raven, BH 1993.) As noted earlier, these power bases are grouped into two categories – formal and personal. The formal bases of power include: coercion, reward, legitimacy and information. The expert and the referent are therefore considered personal. Personal power comes from a “unique characteristic of an individual” (Answers.com. 2014) which can otherwise be seen as a reflection on the individual's power over their personality and mentality to influence others. Formal power can come from the ability “to coerce or reward, from formal authority or control of information.” (A...... middle of article......12. Influence of power bases on leadership strategies adopted by managers in information technology organizations. European Journal of Business and Management, 4 (11), pp. 101 --108. Accessed from: [Accessed: March 18, 2014]. 1992. Understanding Power in Organizations, 34 (2), pp. 29--50 Accessed from: [Accessed: March 3, 2014]. (4), pp. 227--251. Accessed from: DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1993.tb..01191.