There are many different examples of when someone has abused their power to demean or belittle people. According to businessdictionary.com, abuse of power is defined as; The act of using one’s position of power in an abusive way. This can take many forms, such as taking advantage of someone, gaining access to information that shouldn’t be accessible to the public, or just manipulating someone with the ability to punish them if they don’t comply.
In recent news stories we hear about how police officers, parents or celebrities have abuse their power and have wronged people around them. However, we have not been paying attention to the power that companies have and how that affects our daily lives.
I bought a house recently and I have had to install internet service since I work from home and go to school online. The only internet provider in the area is Armstrong Cable. I was given an introductory rate of $20 a month for internet, I don’t have cable or phone because I use my cell phone for calls and Netflix or Hulu for tv, but this month the promotion ran out and I am forced to pay $60 a month for the same service or I can upgrade to having cable tv with faster internet as well for $80 a month. I am in an area where there are no other competitors so Armstrong knows they can set the prices to whatever they want and I have to pay in order to have internet service.
Armstrong Cable is abusing their power because they know that their closest competitor,Comcast, will not move to the area and provide service because it is too far from their distribution center. Comcast would have to build another facility closer to me to move their service to my area and that is a very expensive cost for them. Armstrong will continue to use these business practices because they have no incentive not to.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/abuse-of-power.html#ixzz3YXTwQ5GI