...Power And Politics In Organizations One of the most desired human wants is power. In the business world, power and politics, to a large extent, determine the growth, stability and continual success of companies. Before comparing and contrasting power and politics in organizations it would be beneficial to define each term. For the purpose of this paper, power is defined as the exercise of influence or control over another’s behavior, while politics is defined as the tactics used to obtain a desired goal, position or status in a company. Two examples of the abuse of power and politics, as it relates to management and leadership in an organization, is the failure of the management of some companies to give credit where it is due and the underhanded practices used by others for career advancement. Power and politics are the top two elements used in a company that either can cause the downfall or success of that company. Knowing the positions of power and politics and the role they play in a company is critical to the awareness of organizational ethics and leadership practices. The organizational management and leadership practice of a company depend largely on power and politics. Power and politics within an organization involves resources, money, people, time and authority. Power is established by social responsibility, control, behavior, organizational culture, and empowered management teams. Politics is established by a personal structure surrounded by traditional and non-traditional...
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...POWER AND POLITICS Politics in work places simply put is about getting noticed and liked by the right people in other to advance up the career ladder in an organization and also to achieve position of power that confers a status of relevance in the scheme of affairs in an organization. This definition is supported by an old saying that ‘’it’s not what you know ,but who you know’’. It is upon this premise that human beings are classified as political animals and as such it is difficult to eliminate politics from workplaces.’’ While teamwork may be extolled as an organizational virtue ,in the real practice, workplaces are likely to be characterized by competition and conflicts as it is by cooperation (Fineman and Gabriel,1996). Politics is a means through which individual self-interests are pursued without regard to the their effect in the realization of the organizations objectives .Organizational politics is arguably one of the most researched concepts in the field of management’’ ( Boateng et al ,2013)the researches here are to understand the impact of organizational politics on business entities. One of these studies propagates that organizational politics may affect decision making and allocation of resources in an organization amongst other factors. Power on the other hand is the ability of a person or a group to influence others. If a person have influence, he or she is perceived as powerful. A person may hold power by having the ability to make decision, apportion...
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...communication, power and politics in organizations Introduction Organizations establishment function to fulfill needs of the people. In today’s competitive and yet challenging world, the organizations have to be growth-oriented. Organizations are composed of number of individuals working independently or in teams, and number of such teams makes a department and number of such departments makes an organization. It is a formal structure and all departments have to function in a coordinated manner to achieve the organizational objective [1]. The organization's base rests on management's philosophy, values, vision and goals. This in turn drives the organizational culture which is composed of the formal organization, informal organization, and the social environment. The culture determines the type of leadership, communication, and group dynamics within the organization. The workers perceive this as the quality of work life which directs their degree of motivation. The final outcomes are performance, individual satisfaction, and personal growth and development. All these elements combine to build the model or framework that the organization operates from. Perceived Behavioral Control is the individual’s belief concerning how easy or difficult performing the behavior will be. Pertaining to that matter, perception plays a key part in the organization behavior. Thus, factors such as the efficient of communication, use of power authority and empowerment of the politics within organizations are...
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...TOPIC:POWER AND POLITICS IN CORPORATE SECTOR Submitted to Regards, Miss Tejbir Kaur Kaushal Kishore(RR1903B42) POWER AND POLITICS IN CORPORATE SECTOR Contents: ➢ Introduction ➢ Power empowerment ➢ Objectives Of Power & Politics ➢ Defination of power ➢ Types of power ➢ Graphical Representation of power ➢ Defination Of Politics ➢ How power and politics means in corporate sector? ➢ Relate power and poltics ➢ Methodology ➢ Conclusion INTRODUCTION Power and Politics have been described as the last dirty words. People who got power but they supposed to deny and sometimes they misuse their power and they want it not to try and not look like they are seeking it, and those who are good at getting it are secretive and how they have to do so. Politic also plays an important role in corporate sector. All things should mentioned below, how they supposed to use their political work in an organization. By harassing the employees and specially the ladies for their sexual harassments. And they also made a group and create problem for other employees and also for an organization. ...
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...Running Header: Power and Politics Power and Politics Paper Wanda F. Carter Power and Politics A collective group of people with general goals is how organizations are first established and built. In order the goals to be achieved people will need to work together and behave in a way that is governed by rules, regulations, policies and other methods that have been established by the organization. This is normally accomplished through the process of influencing behaviors. Power is a task of ties of give-and-take and politics is the establishment and process of the application of power. “Power can be defined as the capacity of one party to influence the other parties and to act as first party desires. Power can influence the behavior through compliance, identification and internationalization.” (Schermerhorn, Hunt & Osborn, 2006, pg. 2, ch. 12) Politics is “the constitution and procedure of the application of power, to affect the various parameters such as definitions of goals, directions, etc. It is the behavior of self serving that outside the normal legitimate system of influences may become illegitimate.” (Tushman, 1977, pg. 217) Power and politics have been on the forefront of organizations for centuries, and is essential to people in positions of authority. Typically, people in position are the ones who typically have the power because it is a function that is necessary to ensure they can effectively play their role as the top or figure head...
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...Organizational Influence of Power, and Politics October 5, 2013 Abstract In researching power and politics, you find that they play a very key and large role in how the world works. This is especially true in the world of business. These influences govern how everyday decisions are made, and even how employees interact with one another. In businesses both large and small, the impact of power and control depends completely on the individuals using it and what their long-term goals are. Ultimately politics may directly influence who has the overall power and determine what the culture of the workplace will become. This paper demonstrates how the sensitive uses of power and politics affects our everyday lives. It also shows recognition to the importance of personalities, diversification, and fair power distributions, and how these traits can ultimately improve the overall quality of organizational life. Introduction Power and politics, two substantial and critical components of business, people desire to have the achievement and preservation of power, especially to wield the art of its influence. Humans are by nature competitive and anyone can see that competition surrounds us everywhere in the business world. Those who desire great success, the ability to have large incomes and social influence drives many people. Some people more than others perhaps get caught up in the competitive nature of the business world. Some...
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...Power and Politics An individual sets out in life, and in work, to achieve his or her own goals, and to promote his or her own interests. Therefore, in a hierarchal setting of an organization, individuals will naturally contend for their own interests. Aided by the use of personal power, politics, influence, and empowerment, many individuals achieve their goals within organizations. Through analyzing power and politics in the workplace and organization, one may understand the organizational behavior that is touched by power and politics in the workplace (Robbins & Judge, 2009). Leadership Practices that Influence Organizations A key organizational management and leadership practice that influences an organization is the exhibition of power and the resulting influence that exhibit of power has on organizational behavior. According to Schermerhorn, et. al., “Power is the ability to get someone else to do something you want done, or the ability to make things happen or get things done the way you want. The essence of power is control over the behavior of others” (p. 214, 2008). In contrast to power, which is the energy behind making people behave in a certain way, “influence is what an individual has when he or she exercises power, and it is expressed by others’ behavioral response to that exercise of power” (Schermerhorn, et. al, p. 215, 2008). Together, power and influence in an organization or workplace are fundamental behavioral practices that influence an organization...
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...The principle for both politics and power is the extent of an interconnection between individuals. As individuals pursue their own goals in a firm, they must also deal with the interest of others. Managers may see a power gap. The power gap and its associated political dynamics are twofold. One is that power and politics represent a closure of organizational life. Organizations are not equally comprised of individuals with the same power. Some people have a lot more clot than others. There are winners and losers in the battle of resources and rewards. Another is that politics and power are essential means of the organization and used in getting the work completed by managers. Many more organizational members can win when managers isolate the situations in which the individual and interest alike in the organization (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008). Compare and Contrast Power and Politics in Organizations. Within each organization a manager's power is in large part determined by his or her position and personal power and by his or her ability to build upon combinations of these sources. An essential source of power accessible to a manager derived only from his or her position in the organization. Specifically, position power derived from roots joined with the position. The essential perspectives of position power: legitimate, representative, information, coercive, reward, and process power. Position power enhances whereas a manager capable of demonstrating to others...
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...INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS POLITICS Power is the capacity to influence others through the control of instruments of reward and punishment – which can be tangible or intangible. Definitions of power abound. German sociologist, Max Weber defined power as "the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his own will despite resistance." Along similar lines, Emerson suggests that "The power of actor A over actor B is the amount of resistance on the part of B which can be potentially overcome by A." Power appears to involve one person changing the behavior of one or more other individuals – particularly if that behavior would not have taken place otherwise. Sources of Power are: (vi) Legitimate power – derived from the position e.g. kingship, managerial (vii) Reward Power – derived from control of resources e.g. promotion, recommendation, training etc (viii) Referent power– derived from association with powerful people (ix) Coercive power – uses the ability to force other people to act against their wishes through the fear of punishment. (x) Expert power – derived from the possession of expert knowledge or information that others need but have no alternative access. Politics is also the study of influence and the influential • Influence is measured on the basis of the number of shares one or a group has in the preferred values or attributes • The more values or attributes shared...
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...situation, in order to survive in the organizations, it's essential for leaders and managers to have self- improvement in various fields and strengthen their abilities such as the ability of controlling and using power, politics and conflict resolution to manage and settle conflicts in their working environment. In pursuit of achieving goals, people need to deal with the interpersonal and intergroup conflict or problems caused by different backgrounds, cultures, education and differences in core competencies; in a sense so that they can obtain more power and influences over decision-making opportunities. I experience a landscape that seeks various forms of each element mentioned above. It is necessary to realize how conflict and politics influence our life working in an organization. Additionally, having a clear understanding of the relationships between power, conflict and politics within an organization can contribute to comprehend what roles they are satisfying in the workplace. This brief paper gives an account of power, conflict and politics in various forms of my experience in organizational activity and the impact on performance. Foremost, the first part will demonstrate the definition of conflict and give a detailed description on the sources of conflict I perceive in some cases. It will then go on to illustrate power and politics in the following parts. Finally, it will assess some of the effects of power and politics on life within organization. Conflict is not avoidable...
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...THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS ON THE WORK OF THE INTERNAL HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONAL by Julie A. Paleen Aronow A Research Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Master of Science Degree in Training and Development Approved: 4 Semester Credits Dr. Kat Lui The Graduate College University of Wisconsin – Stout May, 2004 ii The Graduate School University of Wisconsin – Stout Menomonie, WI 54751 ABSTRACT Aronow Julie Ann Paleen ________________________________________________________________________ (Last Name) (First) (Middle) THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS ON THE WORK OF THE INTERNAL HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONAL ________________________________________________________________________ (Title) Training and Development Dr. Kat Lui May 2004 65 ________________________________________________________________________ (Graduate Major) (Research Advisor) (Month/Year) (No. of Pages) American Psychological Association, 5th Edition ________________________________________________________________________ (Name of Style Manual Used in this Study) The coveted epicenter for the contemporary human resource professional is partnering with other internal business leaders to fulfill the organization’s mission through sound and ethical business principles and human resource practices. Over three decades, the discipline has matured into one that includes transactional practices along side the more sophisticated organizational development...
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...Managing conflict Name Institution Thesis Management of conflicts, power, and politics focuses majorly on the interpersonal processes the affect the decision-making by the managers. It may also entail the organizational way of change and adaptation of their immediate environment. It includes the capacity to influence the behavior of others in a relationship involving two parties like groups, organization, or even countries. Organizational politics is the process of one person exerting more influence over another in the relationship acted on daily forum of an organization. Conflict management is a common phenomenon in organizations (Rainey, 2009). Managing conflict aims at lessening the interdependent between the conflicting groups. It can involve physical separation of the conflicting parties. Physical separation buffers the creation of the inventory between the units of workflow making it less independent and reduces conflict. Generally, conflict is unending in any society where people live together. Introduction Many people and organization wish to compete peacefully with their market competitors, family members, and organizational departments. However, conflicts are inseparable from persons they form part of our daily living. Conflicts are the long live Methuselah and were present even in the beginning between the two brothers that is Cain and Abel. The term conflict has no definite meaning but scholars who are interested in studying it...
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...Power and Politics Introduction Power and politics are two different concepts that represent the rough side of organizational life. Organizations are not democracies composed of individuals with equal influence. Some people will always have more power than others. On the other hand, power and politics are important organizational tools that managers must use to get the job done (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2008). To become a more effective manager is essential to understand how both of these concepts work and the difference between them. This paper will compare and contrast power and politics in organizations. It will also provide an analysis of organizational management and leadership practices that impact organizations as well as two real-world examples of the relationship between power and politics and how this relates to management and leadership practices. Compare and Contrast 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 to. The essence of power is control over the behavior of others. Organizations are lead by power and when someone exercises power is because he or she has influence. There are two types of power: position and personal. Position power is formal authority based on the manager’s position in the hierarchy and personal power is based on one’s expertise and referent capabilities. There are six important aspects of position power: legitimate, reward, coercive, process...
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...the concept of power and organizational politics using a situation you are familiar with, describe how power and politics have manifested itself. Introduction There is no accepted definition of politics and power but many scholars have attempted to define it and what is commonly among them is that, politics is ubiquitous in nature. Politics is indeed human, and one cannot separate politics from human activity. This means that whatever we do we are simply exercising the concept of politics whether in our organization, the economy, the family, the school, the media and finally in the political arena. Politics is to be found both vertically and horizontally in our society that is, from all the socio-economic and political angles of the society. This is universal in nature since it was captured in the works of a classical writer Aristotle, it is Aristotle that argues “man is not only a social animal but political in nature”. It is according to this statement that we engage in politics for the desired end to be achieved, “seek ye the political kingdom and shall be added unto it, for a man without politics there is no beatitude”. This line of thinking was also coined to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah the former president of Ghana. The aforesaid line of thinking signify that, we only engage on our organizational matters and other aspects of our life with a clear mind set of politics so that we can achieve the goals and the objectives that are a target to the relevant organization. The concept...
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...Organization conflict resolution Lecture 6 Date: 2 December 2013 1 Learning Objectives 1. 2. 3. 4. Understand the nature and sources of organizational conflict Know the mechanisms to obtain power, influence decision making and resolve conflict Identify sources of organizational power and tactics for playing politics Evaluate the costs and benefits of organizational politics 2 What is Organizational Conflict? • • • • Stakeholders compete for the resources that an organization produces. Shareholders want dividends, employees want raises. An organization must manage both cooperation and competition among stakeholders to grow and survive. All stakeholders have a common goal of organizational survival, but not all goals are identical. 3 What is Organizational Conflict? • The clash that occurs when the goaldirected behavior of one group blocks or hinders the goals of another Some conflict can actually improve organizational effectiveness – Can overcome inertia and lead to learning and change • 4 Cooperation and Competition Among Stakeholders 5 What is Organizational Conflict? • Beyond a certain point, conflict becomes a cause for organizational decline – Conflict leads to inability to reach consensus and indecision – Too much time spent on bargaining rather than acting rapidly to resolve problems • On balance, organizations should be open to conflict and recognize its value 6 Relationship Between Conflict and Organizational Effectiveness ...
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