In public organizations, legitimate power is often derived from people’s positions or job titles. (CSLO 1, CSLO 3)Group of answer choicesTrueFalse

The statement is indeed true. In public organizations, legitimate power is primarily derived from an individual’s position within the hierarchy of the organization or their job title. This type of power is associated with authority that is granted to an individual through their role within the organizational structure, allowing them to make decisions, direct the work of others, and allocate resources.

Legitimate power is one of the key types of power identified in social and organizational theory, as proposed by French and Raven in their bases of social power model. This model identifies different forms of power, including coercive, reward, referent, expert, and legitimate power, highlighting how organizational context influences the power dynamics present in workplace relationships.

In essence, the title held by an individual comes with an expectation of respect and compliance from others within the organization, as it is recognized as a formal authority granted by the organization itself. Therefore, those in authoritative positions are typically empowered to enact decisions and influence organizational outcomes based on the legitimacy of their role.