Assessment Number 2 – Essay
Student : Jodie Ann Auld
Student Number : S0237988
Course : HRMT11010
Date : 30 April 2013
Version Number : 1
“Political Activity is alive and well in organisations. Critically discuss this statement. What factors result in Organisational Politics and what is the role of such behaviour on other people at work?”
Political Activity is alive and well in organisations – one of the biggest killers of productivity is not a lack of innovation, productive systems or visionary thinking, its politics (Fraser, 2013, p. 1). It is a major issue in organisations as the individual who controls their working relationship consumes time and resources for their own gain at the company’s expense. In this
…show more content…
Lower level of members within an organisation who have a low level of trust don’t believe that higher management will create favourable outcomes and the individual with low level of trust will need to take further action.
Efficacy
Efficacy is the capacity to produce an effect. Thus it refers not to the need to engage in political behaviour, but rather to the expectation that one’s political actions will yield desired outcomes and thus be worth the costs of action. (Farrell & Peterson, 1982, p. 409)
Those with low self-efficacy within the organisation will engage in little political behaviour. New employees or employees that have changed position within the organisation may indulge in political behaviour. However if their efforts are fruitless, or their perceived ability to influence does not come about then the level of political behaviour inferred will cease.
Organisational Factors
Organisations are social entities that involve individuals and groups to obtain benefits and goals in different ways. The struggle for resources, personal conflicts and a variety of influence tactics used by these social entities assists in obtaining them.
Politicking represents conscious self serving behaviours that are inconsistent with the goals of the organisation.
Some examples of Organisational Factors
. Reallocation of resources
. Trust
. Role Ambiguity
. High Performance Pressures
. Self-Serving Senior Managers
To explain these tensions O’Leary uses three lenses: Bureaucratic politics, Organizations and Management and Ethics with the help of three in-depth case studies and 21 mini cases. These case studies involve the
‘Political power often involves a struggle for control.’ To what extent does your study of people and politics support this statement?
You work as an external consultant specializing in understanding how internal politics impact organizational effectiveness. Recently, you 've been contracted to diagnose the political culture of a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) operating medical clinics and hospitals throughout Minnesota. Using Bolman & Deal 's political frame describe (in paragraph form) what you will seek to learn regarding the organization 's political culture.
Harold Dwight Lasswell, leading American political scientist or communication theorist, defined politics as “Politics is who gets what, when, and how.” Although Lasswell definition is broad, I completely agree with him on his thoughts about politics based on the lessons I’ve learned throughout, my major, Political Science. Politics is defined as the “activities associated with governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties trying to achieve power. The task of political science is composed of four parts: a concern for what is right or wrong in politics, research that leads to the task of empirical understanding, the combination of empirical studies, and prudential concerns.
The description that best influenced any preconceived notions I had about engaging in political conflict was in the readings from Caught Between the Dog and the Fireplug. Mr. Ashworth described a scenario in which a politician asked him to dismiss the tuition bills for a family member and Mr. Ashworth refused. The politician was than able to add an item to a bill that resulted in a pay cut for Mr. Ashworth. (Ashworth 2001) I feel that this was dirty and underhanded. I believe this happens much more than we realize. Due to these reasons, I would be happiest to remain behind the
A person’s success in an organization not only depends on his or her personality and ability, but also how he or she manages office politics and resolves conflicts. In order to successfully manage interpersonal relations within a corporate environment, one also needs to understand the power and influence structures in one’s organization. Failure to develop effective work relationships can cause job dissatisfaction, low work performance, unnecessary conflicts, and potentially getting fired from one’s job. Thomas Green Case is a great example of how different work styles and office politics can result in a career crisis.
Politics is a word that you mainly hear when you are talking about the White House or issues that are going on around our world. However, this word may be heard within an organization that is used to describe the power, position, influence and is sometimes mentioned with the phrase that it doesn’t matter what you know but who you know. George Phalen was the “who to know” because he was the individual who had the power to hire or fire you. George Phalen, Ben Short, and Dick Farraday were all managers who had the authority to control their teams so they thought. Jim managing abilities were often questioned and challenged by Ben Short along with Dick Faraday. Who was Dick Faraday? He was AstroTech Marketing manager hired by Phalen and was quick
Politics is the business of humans endeavoring to success over their own disarray, uncertainty, competitiveness, egotism, and betrayal; formulate all the comparisons you want, but a lot of politics is simply concrete and visible, instead of being realistic. Politician tries to obtain power for their self or for “people”. Once they obtain power they make sure to preserve it. Correspondingly countries also try obtaining power and maintain power politically, such as the United State. I do agree, “Politics is all about gaining and maintaining power”. Throughout U.S history we witnessed politician and country obtaining power for there own particular goals; through the demonstration of a real world occurrence of how obtaining and maintaining political power work in society a clear comprehending of the important nature of these ideas will be clarified.
In theory, politics exist to balance the various needs of individuals and to moderate conflicts between diverse interests. However, in reality there are no such ideal decision-making system; all governments have inefficiencies caused by manipulations, corruptions, and bureaucracies.
Obtaining power requires hard work; it cannot be done in a day. Attaining power isn’t an issue for me. To obtain power successfully, there is a process to follow and certain skills are required. According to Reardon, being political can helps to move up the ladder of employment. Currently I don’t consider myself as a political player. Being a political player requires the need to lead, extreme focus, to
Have you ever wondered what role politics and power play in organizations? When used effectively they can be compatible in reaching the organizations goals. Power is defined as the ability to get someone to do something you want done or the ability to make things happen in the way you want them. (Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, Chap. 15). Power is important within organizations because it is the way in which management influences individuals to make things happen. When power and influence combine, most of the time 'politics' become involved in some manner which may pose some problems. Organizational politics is best described as management influenced by self-interest through the use
The artifact I chose to demonstrate my knowledge in the areas of social and emotional intelligence, was completed during week five of the course. The assignment required me to address the concept of “Playing Politics” in a work environment and how it applied to my own workplace, and therefore, I had to complete a self-analysis and an analysis of my workplace and coworkers. Understanding that office politics can cause negative effects on the culture of an organization and damage relationships between coworkers is crucial to learning how to avoid becoming a person who uses such tactics and avoiding conflict with those who do. People who are willing to lie and place blame on others rather than take responsibility are dangerous to the overall balance, productivity, and success of an organization. Leaders and followers alike, must be able to recognize and deal with these kinds of toxic people.
Previously practitioners have widely recognized that organizations are considered to be political in its dealing and that organizational politics is a natural tendency. Managers and theorists consider the use of political behavior as a necessity in the organization to get their desired works done at the workplace (Buchanan, 2008).
In the article “Politics and Pseudo-Politics: A Critical Evaluation of Some Behavioural Literature” published in The American Political Science Review author Christian Bay creates an interesting and divisive definition of the word politics in response to his frustration with the ambiguous behavioural research and literature taking place in “the discipline that bravely calls itself Political Science.” Although Bay’s definition for politics assists in “guiding and interpreting (Political Scientist’s) empirical work” it is too specific to be used as a definition that encompasses the larger meaning of the word. Christian Bay and the authors of An Introduction to Government & Politics: A Conceptual Approach (9th Edition) and Critical
Now politics is not the way it should be. Politics has taken a dirty meaning; the methods used to win elections are mostly unfair practices. They forget the promises made to the public and indulge in