Mapping the Power Structure
Executives must first understand how power is distributed in the particular target community.
Political scientists identify three types of power structure. The first type is pyramidal power structure in which power is invested in ruling elite, which may be an individual, a family, a company, an industry or a clique.
The elite carries out its wishes through a layer of lieutenants, who in turn manage a layer of doers. The marketing strategist who wants to operate in such a community can get in only if the ruling elite approves or is neutral.
The second type is a factional power structure in which two or more factions (power blocs, pressure groups, special-interest groups) compete for power in the community. Political parties are an example. The competing parties represent different constituencies – labor, business, ethnic minorities, or farmers.
Here the c0ompanyy’s strategists must decide with which factions they want to work. In allying with certain factions, the company usually loses the goodwill of others.
The third type is a coalition power structure in which influential parties from varies power blocs form temporary coalition. When power is in the hands of a coalition, however temporarily, the company has to work through the coalition to secure its objectives, or the company can form a counter-coalition to support its cause.
Identify the power structure as pyramidal, fictional, or coalition is only the first step of the analysis. Executives next have to assess the relative power of various parties.
Mapping the Power Structure
