POLITICS:Sources of Politics in Organizations, Final Word about Power

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Organizational Psychology (PSY510)

Lesson 35

POLITICS

When people get together in groups, power will be exerted. People want to carve out a niche from which to

exert influence, to earn awards, and to advance their careers. When employees in organizations convert their

power into action, we describe them as being engaged in politics. Those with good political skills have the

ability to use their bases of power effectively.

For our purposes, we can define political behaviour in organizations as those activities that are not required

as part of one's formal role in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution

of advantages and disadvantages within the organization.

This definition encompasses key elements from what most people mean when they talk about

organizational politics. Political behaviour is outside one's specified job requirements. The behaviour

requires some attempt to use one's power bases. Additionally, our definition encompasses efforts to

influence the goals, criteria, or processes used for decision making when we state that politics is concerned

with "the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization." Our definition is broad

enough to include such varied political behaviour as withholding key information from decision makers,

whistle blowing, spreading rumours, leaking confidential information about organizational activities to the

media, exchanging favours with others in the organization for mutual benefit, and lobbying on behalf of or

against a particular individual or decision alternative.

It is important to note that legitimate political behaviour refers to normal everyday politics-complaining to

your supervisor, bypassing the chain of command, forming coalitions, obstructing organizational policies or

decisions through inaction or excessive adherence to rules, and developing contacts outside the organization

through one's professional activities.

However, there are also illegitimate political behaviours that violate the implied rules of the game. Those

who pursue such extreme activities are often described as individuals who play hardball. Illegitimate

activities include sabotage; whistle-blowing and symbolic protests such as wearing unorthodox dress or

protest buttons and groups of employees simultaneously calling in sick. All organizations, particularly large

ones are political.

The vast majority of all organizational political actions are of the legitimate variety. The reasons re

pragmatic: The extreme illegitimate forms of political behaviour pose a very real risk of loss of

organizational memberships or extreme sanctions against those who use them and then fall short in having

enough power to ensure they work.

Organizations are political for the following reasons:

1. Organizations have power structures that compete amongst themselves. Different coalitions are formed

in organizations between people who think alike in the organization. These coalitions then therefore

compete for power in the organization and politics stem from this competition.

2. Various groups within organization protect themselves. In order to achieve this protection they may

either try to acquire power themselves or join coalitions in the organization what help them gain power.

3. Power within an organization may be unequally distributed, which is dehumanizing. The unequal

distribution of power creates a sense of unfairness in the organization and causes the people to react by

yearning for power.

4. Organizations are faced with change which encourages politics.

Sources of Politics in Organizations

Politics within organizations comes from the following sources:

· Limited resources

Resources in organizations are limited, which often turns potential conflict into real conflict. If

resources were abundant, then all the various constituencies within the organization could satisfy their

goals. But because they are limited, not everyone's interest can be provided for. Further, whether true

or not, gains by one individual or group are often perceived as being the expense of others within the

organization. These forces create competition among members of the organization which results in

politics.

· Ambiguous decisions

Most decisions have to made in a climate of ambiguity in the organization-where facts are rarely fully

objective and thus are open to interpretation-people within organizations will use whatever influence

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they can to taint the facts to support their goals and interests. That, of course, creates the activities we

call politicking.

· Ambiguous goals

Another potential source of organizational politics is ambiguity of goals. If goals in an organization are

ambiguous, the people may want to interpret them to meet their personal goals. This also causes politics

to stem up.

· Change

In today's world, change is important for every organization; organizations need to adapt to the rapidly

changing environment in order to survive. People in the organization are often resistant to the change

and try to evade the change through acquisition of power. This also causes politics to stem up in

organizations.

Insight into Power in Organizations

Following is a detailed insight into power tactics in organizations:

1. Maintain alliance with powerful people

Formation of coalitions and alliances within organizations is a tactic of acquiring power. These

coalitions could be formed between the managers and the workers as well. Therefore, the influence of

the manger serves as the power for the worker. This power may be useful for the organization and if

used negatively can also be harmful for the organization.

2. Embrace or demolish

Embrace or demolish principle applies especially to organizations which have been acquired. The top

managers of acquired firms should either be sacked or embraced. If sacked they would do not harm but

if demoted or relegated, shall be a source of potential danger.

3. Divide and rule

It is a military strategy which can be applied in organizations as well; as organizations face politics, if

people are divided, they are less likely to form alliances and coalitions.

4. Manipulate classified information

Having key information about the organization is a potential source of power. Therefore, manipulation

of classified information serves to be a potential source of politics in organizations.

5. Look good on important projects

It is important to appear good on important projects to get the attention of higher ups in the

organization. Once the attention has been attained, better and more important projects shall be

assigned and will result in acquisition of power.

6. Collect and use IOUs

Power seeker in organizations should provide favours to people, help them, get them out of distress

and cause them to be thankful to him or her. These people shall pay back when needed.

7. Avoid decisive engagements

Not opting for revolutionary change in the organization but making the things to change gradually

should be the policy of power seeker in the organization. This is what is suggested by the strategy of

avoiding decisive engagements in the organization.

8. One step at a time (Camel's head)

This strategy is drawn from the story of the Arab and the Camel. It is important for power seeker to

make one move at a time and not to look for huge changes or achievements.

9. Wait for a crisis

It is important for a power seeker to wait and watch for a crisis which he or she can mange. It would

then be easy for him or her to take charge and become the leader.

10. Take counsel with caution

It is important for managers and power seekers to take advice with caution and to assay each and every

advice before acting upon it.

Final Word about Power

Power Ito be kept within "ethical" limits. The first question you need to answer addresses self-interest

versus organizational goals. Ethical actions are consistent with the organization's goals. Spreading untrue

rumours about the safety of a new product introduced by your company, in order to make that product's

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design team look bad, is unethical. However, there may be nothing unethical if a department head

exchanges favour with his division's purchasing manager in order to get a critical contract processed quickly.

The second question concerns the rights of other parties. If the department head described in the previous

paragraph went down to the mail room during his lunch hour and read through the mail directed to the

purchasing manger-with the intent of "getting something on him" so he'll expedite your contract-he would

be acting unethically. He would have violated the purchasing managers' right to privacy.

The final question that needs to bad dressed related to whether the political activity conforms to standards

of equity and justice. The department head who inflates the performance evaluation of a favoured employee

and deflates the evaluation of a disfavoured employee-then uses these evaluations to justify giving the

former a big raise and nothing to the latter-has treated the disfavoured employee unfairly.

It is important to keep power within ethical limit in the organization and to refrain from activities which

might hurt the organization.

REFERENCES

· Luthans, Fred. (2005). Organizational Behaviour (Tenth Edition). United States: McGraw Hill Irwin.

· Mejia, Gomez. Balkin, David & Cardy, Rober. (2006). Managing Human Resources (Fourth Edition).

India: Dorling Kidersley Pvt. Ltd., licensee of Pearson Education in South Asia.

· Robbins, P., Stephen. (1996). Organizational Behaviour (Seventh Edition). India: Prentice Hall, Delhi.

· Huczynski, Andrzej & Buchanan, David. (1991). Organizational Behaviour: An Introductory Text

(Second Edition). Prentice Hall. New York.

· Moorhead, Gregory & Griffin, Ricky. (2001). Organizational Behaviour (First Edition). A.I.T.B.S.

Publishers & Distributors. Delhi.

FURTHER READING

· Power (sociology) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_(sociology) - 59k

· Positive and Negative Power: Thoughts on the Dialectics of Power: Abell, Peter 1974: http://intl-

oss.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/1/1/

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