MHR 405 Final: HR Final Review Slides 12-20 of final review

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Human Resources
• Course: MHR 405
• Professor: Oxana Svergun

Document Summary

Substitutability: substitutability refers to the availability of alternatives. Power is strongest when someone has a monopoly over a valued resource. If you and no one else has expertise across the organization on an important issue, you would be more powerful than if several people in your company possess this valued knowledge. Conversely, power decreases as the number of alternative sources of the critical resource increases. Substitutability refers not only to other sources that offer the resource, but also to substitutions of the resource itself. For instance, labour unions are weakened when companies introduce technologies that replace the need for their union members. Technology is a substitute for employees and, consequently, reduces union power. Nonsubstitutability is strengthened by controlling access to the resource. Professions and labour unions gain power by controlling knowledge, tasks, or labour to perform important activities. For instance, the medical profession is powerful because it controls who can perform specific medical procedures.