authority

In a political system, the capacity to take and enforce decisions. The nature, sources, and limitations of political authority have been much debated questions since the time of the ancient Greeks.

authority

In a business organization, responsibility for part of the organization exercised by a person or a group of people. People in authority have titles such as ‘manager’ or ‘supervisor’. They are in control of other people (their ‘subordinates’), of production processes, or of areas of the business.