<P> Authority derives from the Latin word auctoritas and is a concept used to indicate the right to exercise power, which can be formalized by a state and exercised by way of judges, police officers or other appointed executives of government, or the ecclesiastical or priestly appointed representatives of a higher spiritual power (God or other deities). The term authority can also be used to indicate an academic knowledge of an area (as in an authority on a subject), or to refer to an original or natural obligation (as in the authority of a father). </P> <P> When the word authority is used in the name of an organization, this name usually refers to the governing body upon which such authority is vested; for example, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority or the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . The word authority can also mean the right to complete an action or execute an order . </P>

The ultimate basis of management authority in our society is