CULTURE, POWER &

POLITICS
A study of ODEL, Tesla and Google
Culture
• Culture encompasses
the shared values,
beliefs, and norms
within an organization
or society
(Khodaparast, Knight-
Lenihan and Dixon,
2014)
• Power distance,
individualism-
collectivism, uncertainty
avoidance, and
masculinity-femininity,
long – short term and
indulgence - restraint
 Power
• Power refers to
the ability to
influence others
and make
decisions
(Khodaparast,
Knight-Lenihan
and Dixon, 2014).
• Coercive power,
reward power,
legitimate power,
referent power,
and expert power
 Politics
• Politics involves the
distribution of power and the
strategies individuals
employ to gain and maintain
power (Hinck and Conrad,
2018).
• Forming alliances, engaging
in coalition-building,
engaging in negotiations,
and engaging in persuasive
tactics to influence decision-
making and achieve
personal or group goals
Comparison – ODEL, Tesla and Google
Recommendation

ODEL
Google –
Tesla -
“Coalition
“Data
and
Driven”
Alliances”
References
• Hinck, R. and Conrad, C. (2018) ‘Organizational Politics’, pp. 1–12. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119010722.iesc0125.
• Hofstede, G. (2001) Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and
organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Khodaparast, B., Knight-Lenihan, S. and Dixon, J. (2014) The influence of culture, power and
politics on the concepts and principles of SEA. Research. New Zealand: University of Auckland.
• Meyer, P. (2016) ‘Tesla Inc.’s Organizational Culture & Its Characteristics (Analysis)’, Panmore
Institute, 27 July. Available at: https://panmore.com/tesla-motors-inc-organizational-culture-
characteristics-analysis (Accessed: 27 June 2023).
• Naghavi, N. and Mubarik, M. (2019) ‘Negotiating with Managers from South Asia: India, Sri
Lanka, and Bangladesh’, in, pp. 487–514. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-
00277-0_21.
• ODEL PLC (2023) Annual Report 2021/22.
• Smithson, N. (2018) ‘Google’s Organizational Culture for Competitive Innovation’, Panmore
Institute, 4 September. Available at: https://panmore.com/google-organizational-culture-
characteristics-analysis (Accessed: 27 June 2023).
• Zaleznik, A. (1970) Power and Politics in Organizational Life, Harvard Business Review.
Available at: https://hbr.org/1970/05/power-and-politics-in-organizational-life (Accessed: 27 June
2023).