Bases of social power, leadership styles, and organizational commitment.

Affective organizational commitment reflects the extent to which organizational members are loyal and willing to work toward organizational objectives (Meyer & Allen, 1997). In particular, affective organizational commitment holds very important implications at all organizational levels (e.g., turnover rates, performance, and citizenship behavior). Whereas previous research has evinced the positive influence of transformational and charismatic leadership styles on affective commitment toward the organization (Bass & Avolio, 1994), little is known with regard to the nature of this relationship. In line with the interpersonal power/interaction model, the present investigation aimed to investigate the mechanism at play between transformational leadership style and affective organizational commitment. Specifically, we hypothesized that transformational leadership style would increase affective organizational commitment through its effect on willingness to comply with soft bases of power. In two studies, we subjected the foregoing hypotheses to empirical scrutiny. In Study 1, the proposed mediation model was empirically supported with Italian employees in the public sector. Attesting to the robustness of our findings, Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 with Italian employees from the public and private sectors. In addition, Study 2 replicated Study 1 using a different measure of transformational leadership. Both Study 1 and Study 2 provided results consistent with our hypotheses. Specifically, the present paper reports empirical evidence that (1) the more participants report having a transformational leader, the more willing they become to comply with soft (but not harsh) power bases, (2) in turn, greater willingness to comply with soft (but not harsh) power bases increases one's affective organizational commitment. These findings provide additional support for the interpersonal power/interaction model and pave the way for new research directions.

Understanding social influence in medical education.

Many aspects of the medical education system lead trainees to a host of maladaptive reactions and behaviors, but far too little attention has been focused on the impact that interactions between teacher and learner can have on the development of professionalism. The authors discuss the concept of "social influence," a change of attitude, belief, or behavior resulting from the actions of another person in the context of the medical education setting. Using the example of a medical student who has not adequately completed his inpatient medicine requirements, they identify ten strategies of social influence that a medical educator might invoke to change the student's behavior and evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of these strategies. This overview can be used by faculty to explore new strategies of teaching and to reflect on their current teaching styles.