Suits - Power

Topic - Power
TV Show - Suits, Season 1 Episode 8 "Identity Crisis"

Scene Summary - Suits is a show about corporate lawyers in New York. The show centers on Harvey Specter and his protégé, Mike Ross. In this scene, Louis, a junior partner in the firm, is trying to get in to see Harvey. However, he is stopped by Harvey’s assistant, Donna.

Concepts - Managers can amass several types of power in an organization. They use their power to get things done. Organizational bases of power include legitimate, reward, coercive, information, referent, and expert power (Champoux 332).

In this case, Louis is a junior partner in the law firm, and Donna is only an assistant. By being a junior partner in a prestigious law firm, Louis is able to exert legitimate power and influence over Donna. Louis also tried to use coercive power by describing himself in the firm’s food chain as a “humpback whale” while Donna is just lowly “phytoplankton.” He also uses reward power by trying to bribe her.

However, despite Louis’s power, Donna is able to counter it by her location in the communication network (Champoux 335). Although Donna is only an assistant in title, she works for Harvey, who is a senior partner in the firm. Therefore, she can also command great power in her own right. She controls Harvey’s schedule and also acts as a gatekeeper for those wishing to see Harvey. Additionally, she has information power. She knows something about Louis that will get him into trouble with Harvey. We also pick up shades of Donna’s personality in this brief clip that is part of her power. Power can also come from personal attributes (Champoux 332). She is resourceful enough to be able to get this information and use it as leverage. She is not intimidated by Louis, even though he is a junior partner in the firm.

In an organization, it’s always mindful to pay attention to those who may, on the surface, not command great notice but who hold great power because of their position. Assistants is one of those jobs.