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Organisational
Politics
By Namrata Anand

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Organisational title
politics- thestyle
political subsystem
• Definitions
• According to Tushman, “politics refers to the
structure and process of the use of authority and
power to affect definition of goals, direction and
the other major parameters of the organisation.
Decisions are not made in a rational way but
rather through compromise, accommodation and
bargaining.”
• Politics refers to the way people gain and use
power in organisation. Power and politics are
closely related to each other. When employees in
organisations convert their power into action,
they are described as being engaged in politics. 2 2
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Political Master title style
behavior

• It includes such 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.

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Examples Master title
of political style
behavior

• Withholding key information from decision makers,

• Joining a coalition,
• Whistleblowing,
• Spreading rumors,
• Leaking confidential information about organizational activities to the
media,
• Exchanging favors with others in the organization for mutual benefit,
• Lobbying on behalf of or against a particular individual or decision
alternative.
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Characteristics title style
of politics

• Political behaviour is self serving in nature.

• Political decisions may not be rational from
the organisational point of view.
• Political behaviour is outside one’s specified
job requirements.
• Organisational politics involves the use of
some kind of authority, power or pressure
over other person or groups.

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Negative Master
aspects of title style
politics

Effect on Inequitable Organisational . Self interest.

managers. distribution of conflicts.
power

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Functions of Master title style
organisational politics
Organisation politics helps the people in the organisation to adapt to the
organisational goals and helps the organisation to succeed in ways that the
formal structure alone cannot guarantee. Organisational politics adds life to
the otherwise lifeless skeleton of the organisation.

• To ensure full debate.

• Execution of decisions.
• To substitute for formal authority.
• To cope with change.
• To channel personnel contracts.
• To overcome personnel inadequacies.
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Typestoofedit
Click political
Masteractivities
title style

• Reciprocity: An individual who has helped someone in the

past might expect or ask that person to do the same in future.

• Networking: to achieve the goals, people can establish

social relationships with others.

• Coalitions: A coalition influence person outside the group

and it is an informal group.

• Blame games: In this a bad image of someone is created in

the eyes of management in the organisation.

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Causes edit Masterbehaviour
political title style

• Psychological factor
• Organisational culture.
• Saturation in career.
• Lust for power.
• Technology and external
environment
• Scarcity of resources.
• Ambiguous goals.
• Non-programmed decisions.
• Organisational change.
• Discretionary authority.
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Managing MasterBehaviour
Political title style

• Study the political behaviour:

• The effects of political behaviour can be reduced or
minimized if management is aware with the causes of
such type of behaviour in the organisation.
• Open and honest communication:
• If the required information is available to everyone in
the organisation, then people would not think to engage
in political behaviour to obtain the information.
• Elimination or reduction of uncertainty:
• Political game play can be reduced by participative
decision making and all the information provided to
subordinates and employees in the organisation.

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Limiting the Master
effects title style Behaviour
of Political

Reduction of Open Creating Watch game Role model.

uncertainty communication awareness. players.

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Any Questions?

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Click to edit Master Q & A Session
title style

• What do you understand from the term

‘organizational politics’?

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Give some examples of political behaviour around you.

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Discuss some strategies to control the political behaviour at

the workplace.

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Case to edit Master title style

• Sandhya loves her job as a writer on a weekly television comedy series

but hates the internal politics. “A couple of the writers here spend more
time kissing up to the executive producer than doing any work. And our
head writer clearly has his favorites. While they pay me a lot and I get
to really use my creativity, I’m sick of having to be on alert for
backstabbers and constantly having to self-promote my contributions.
I’m tired of doing most of the work and getting little of the credit.”
• Are Sandhya’s comments typical of people who work in highly
politicized workplaces?
• Give her some suggestions about how she can handle this situation.

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