Power is the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will, and that the members of that group are willing to abide by his/her rules. Therefore power, or domination, demands that some individuals rule others. This is Weber's main concept about domination. He speaks of organized groups and gives great importance as to which element of authority is fundamental to the group. Whatever the group, whatever the content of it's interests, the distinguishing feature of the group, for Weber, is an internal differentiation of roles with respect to authority. In a sense this derives from the orientation of the co-ordinated action to an 'order'; that is, the terms of the 'order' must be carried out and enforced, which in turn requires a responsible agency of administration and enforcement. So from the 'ordinary' members of a group, Weber distinguishes those who carry responsibility and authority and those who follow and live by the authority of this person/s. .
The basic uniformity in the structure of groups is compatible with a fundamental range of variations in the character of the structure of the authority within it. In the development of the concept of the structure of domination within a group, Weber lays particular stress on the importance of the relation of action in it, to an order. So in differentiating types of authority, he takes as his point of departure, variation in the nature of the claim of domination which is involved in an institutionalized status for the leader and the other members, and which depend on the character of the order to which they as well as the members are in some sense subject. From this starting point, Weber opens his analysis with the introduction of a classification of three basic types of authority; the 'rational-legal' authority, the 'traditional' authority and the 'charismatic' authority.
