Question

Suzanne is the most productive salesperson in the store. Her manager wants to schedule her full time but is afraid she'll quit since she is a full-time student. Suzanne's power in the relationship is __________ power.

A. substitutable
B. countervailing
C. coercive
D. legitimate

Answer 1

Suzanne has countervailing power in her relationship with her manager, which arises from her value to the store and the difficulty in replacing her productivity as the most effective salesperson.

Step-by-step explanation:

Suzanne's power in the relationship with her manager is likely countervailing power. This type of power arises from the ability of a lower-level member in an organization, like Suzanne, to influence a more senior member, such as her manager.

Since Suzanne is the most productive salesperson and her manager fears she might quit if pushed to work full-time alongside her studies, her power stems from the unique value she brings to the store and the difficultly the manager would face in substituting her skillset and productivity. There is an implicit negotiation in the sense that the manager must consider her needs and wants due to her high value, which gives Suzanne leverage, therefore constituting countervailing power.