For instance, destructive power is used positively when a doctor destroys a tumor. He also observes that while one type of power may predominate in some behaviors or organizations, generally there are elements of each type present. Boulding addresses the distribution of power by examining the social structures of power. He argues that power in groups tends to be hierarchical. Due to human limitations on the ability to communicate, decision-making roles develop.
Instructions flow down the hierarchy, while information flows up.
Within a hierarchical structure, power is limited by available knowledge. Power structures generally rest on a complex mix of the three types of power. Boulding says that the role of integrative power in maintaining structures is both the most important, and the least recognized or understood. The exercise of power over humans is greatly complicated by persons' independent wills. Generally the choice of which type of power to use will depend in part on the nature of the object.