Politics and Power Paper
It is not about “what you do”, “it is about who you are and who you know”. As employees, we have all heard sayings like this before when it comes to the business world. The “power and politic” mindset is a direct result of the type of tug of war experienced for millions of years; from prehistoric times through modern day. Ever since Ugha smashed Mugha in the head with a club back in prehistoric times, politics have been around in the workplace. Politics are a subliminal fight for survival and it actually happens in personal lives as much as it does in our work lives. Politics can go hand in hand with power, just as night follows the day. Many of the political situations that occur within a corporation are a result of growth and change. However, part of the task of becoming a viable asset to a corporation is to look beyond the surface and find out where the company is heading as a result of these changes. In this way, employees can position themselves to be a positive part of the growth and change.
Power and politics go hand in hand in the business world today. The likelihood of gaining power often depends on the ability to read and understand politics. Once power is gained, leaders tend to utilize politics to reach long term goals and visions. Pending on the style of leadership, personal agendas may come into play. While personal agendas are not always a bad thing, they are generally set forth with limited perspective and can potentially result in catastrophe. Because personal agendas restrict the flow of communication and constructive criticism, personal agendas are a major contributor to the negative aspects of power. However, there is far more to be gained than lost with regard to power. Power provides a solid structure and a clear expectation. Since people strive to please, measurable guidelines offer a foundation for success. When power is used effectively, appropriate politics can be set into place to obtain a desired outcome.
Politics are meant to go unnoticed and usually lie beneath the surface. Recognizing politics is half the battle in learning to handle and deal with them. Once politics are recognized there is an opportunity to benefit personally and collectively. Politics can promote the “I’ll scratch you’re back if you scratch mi...
... middle of paper ...
... has built its reputation on. (Schermerhorn, John R., Hunt, James G., Osborn, Richard N. Organizational Behavior, pgs 1-31).
What can you do to thrive in a political environment? There’s no magic formula, but common sense, fair play and sound judgment are good starting points. Work hard; absolutely. But instead of keeping your head down, keep your antenna up. Instead of keeping your nose clean and not getting involved in any of the politics, use it to sniff out information and opportunities. Instead of seeing power and politics as dirty words, put them to good use for yourself and others. One thing is for sure, power and politics will always survive in the business world, and it is imperative that we as employees find a way to use them to our advantage, because if we do not someone else will. As it is pointed out in one article, the great philosopher Plato once said “Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber” (Martinez, 2000).
References
Martinez, M. N. (2000). Politics Come With The Office. Information retrieved on
August 27, 2005 from www.graduatingengineer.com
Politics can be a stressful topic all over the world for a variety of reasons. The most obvious is whether the people elected will actually fulfill their promises and show that they are being honest and trustworthy. Unfortunately, it is more likely than ever that they will deceive the people instead. Artifice can be essential in political theater as well as consumer culture so I agree with Chris Hedges’ statement. A myriad of people have used it to gain fame, money, or power, and eventually abuse it. This can lead to disastrous situations because they might not be qualified for the job. They just need to capture the audience’s attention and woo them into believing their facade. The audience looks for that story in political leaders, waiting for the promises of a better future in their country.
Politics or politicking is a game that is more ostensible and reserved for the political arena; however, metaphorically, much of the political discourse can also be found within organizations. Politics in organizations, then, is design for groups to reconcile differences between interests, conflicts, and power (Morgan, 2006). The case study to be analyze (Cutting Back at City Hall) is one that illustrates all three aspects of interests, conflicts, and power as the City of Smithville, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the International Association of Firefighters (IAF), and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) deliberate the city’s proposed budget.
be an incessant clash of interests on the part of people who are only in it
Tost, L., Gino, F., & Larrick, R. P. (2013). When power makes others speechless: the negative impact of leader power on team performance. Academy Of Management Journal, 56(5), 1465-1486. doi:10.5465/amj.2011.0180
Political power has been an issue plaguing man since the beginning of politics itself. How to gain it, how to hold it, how to properly use it, how to exploit it. Throughout time power has been exercised by those that hold it over those that do not. As with anything, problems are sure to arise. These problems call for solutions if peace is to be restored. The primary perils of political power are a strong desire to keep it, a devotion to anything other than justice, an unwillingness to stand for the right thing, and ruling in a merciless manner. The remedies of political power can be (but are not limited to) confidence that laws are just, a willingness to negotiate, the sharing of power, and staying strong in what is just and right.
In this way, power is key. It confers the ability of top administration to allocate resources, almost in a way, to increase power and to consolidate power by bringing only the goals that they deem important to the core of the
pp. 146-170. Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A., (2004). Organizational Behavior (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
One question that many politicians ask now in our time, why citizens do not take more interest in politics and public policy? A question that is not asked very often until something major occur that will effect us as an individual. As an uprising politician of the community and as a youth leader, I find already that it will be very difficult to grasp the attention of the people when it comes to politics. From all of the news media outlets, to magazines and newspapers, politics has been pulled into a bubble of being a bad thing. Most of the time you often hear when politics is discussed, its dirty, they are all liars and they do whatever they want so why do we get involved?
In traditional and modern societies, politics tie into each other. In traditional societies politics were a different system. Some examples of this are: chiefs in tribal villages, pharaohs in ancient Egypt and kings, and queens in a number of other countries. These people who were in power at the time had complete control over everything. In a modern society, we still have a royal bloodline with kings and queens ruling, however, their powers are not as great as they once were. I agree with modern politics because it gives people more of a say in what happens to their city and country. Politics in modern societies have drastically changed because it has taken many different forms. The biggest change with politics is democracy. Democracy gives
Due to this negative connotation, many people seek to steer clear of office politics. There is good office politics though. It can help promote yourself and support your cause. It is more often called networking and stakeholder management. Individuals and groups can engage in office politics.
Stephanie, you discussed having seen some work teams where little to no energy because the person in charge has little power or authority. I have experienced some work teams that have been quite successful even when the person in charge is of a lower rank than the other group members. I believe that the reason for these successes is that the person has high levels of personal power. Personal power is, “influence derived from an individual’s characteristics” (Robbins & Judge, 2009, pg 415). More specifically I think that it come from referent power. In the lecture Dr. Fischer said that, “referent power is the ability to influence others and the ability to be likable” (Fischer, n.d.). Titus 3:1
Social-learning theory states that “people can learn through observation and direct experience (Robbins & Judge, 2009).” In many organic organizations, learning by “hands-on” is the essential ingredient to a successful organization. Their openness allows this type of training to flourish among the managerial-employee relationship. While social-learning may be applicable and positive for the concept of leadership, there may be a contrasting view in terms of the concept of office politics. In other words, learning by observation and experience from the daily transactions that go on in the organization will bring the best qualities out of leadership, and vice-versa, but it may bring about the worst of the organization in terms of politics.
The political environment can impact business organizations in many ways. It could integrate a jeopardy
To be able to achieve this leadership aspiration, the person needs to have a balanced sense of power. This means (1) they need to have the ability to get someone or a group to do something they would not otherwise do, in both the sense of good and evil (but hopefully good)(lecture, 8/31/2016). By having this skill will that help speed up the already slow process of policy making and bill passing that seems to create problems in most democracies, especially presidential. Additionally, they must (2) create incentives that make it seem like a rational decision for someone to do something (lecture, 8/31/2016). Weber would be able to point this out in the US democracy through the culture of lobbying. Many companies lobby politicians though an elaborated craft of enticement to get politicians to either create bills or vote against bills that might be helpful or hurtful for their business. Lastly, a leader who has a sense of power (3) follows norms that go with the flow and do not disrupt the peace and conformity of the setting of society (lecture, 8.31.2016). In the sense that Weber is promoting, using power in a productive way can help the slow boring politics become less slow and less
My experiences of Politics at A Level have shown me the fundamental part it plays in our lives, but it has also shown me that it cannot exist alone, and is inextricably linked to history, sociology, economics and, most of all, philosophy. I have found it useful in my other studies, in adding reality to academic analysis - and a sense of stability and proportion too.