Organizational Power and Politics

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            The concept of organizational power and politics is ideally essential in all organizations. The organizational behavior defines its schemes of powers and the politics among the interest groups. Through organizational power and politics, individuals within interest groups use various methodologies and tactics in achieving the objectives within the parameters of the work groups. Organizational politics are always evident at every incidence of formality or informality in the work place. However, any personal objective can only be achievable via exercising sound power use while at position within the organization.

            However as a social structure, the organizations workforce is endowed with various people who come together with diversity into their goals and also objectives. Diversity into their goals is what brings out competition and also horror of conflict when their actions are within limited resource factor. Through competition, the application of politics and also power is what develops as a response factor. The political activity that operator within an organization is due to the diversity of advantages and resource distributions. To many however, this concept (of organizational power and polities) is understood differently. (http://www.geocities.com/athens/forum/1650/htmlpolitc01.html)

            At one point, organization power among some groups arises when such groups (people) find themselves the only able clients to perform a certain activity e.g. specialists. Therefore, such groups would increase such power within the organization in compliment to the special advantage they have. Either, power develops as a result of critical functionality within the organizational activity scope. Either, organization power can develop from the impact of other variables such as specific in control of resources, hierarchical authority, able to cope with uncertainty, centrality and non-substitutability.

            Either, organization power can be due to the expertise characters held by interest groups, constituencies’ sizes and nature of this organization, above that of the leadership quality. Here, expertise is synonymous to non-substitutability. However in a greater depth, the aspect of organization power relates to an independent variable of its structural system. Through one position, his power will develop in correspondence to the nature of his position which then dictates his accessibility to the other peoples, flow of information via is authority as well the effect of budgetary/financial structures. To stay in power implies the reinforcement on the existing organization structures.

            Elsewhere, politics is the process through which interests are recognized and reconciled of their competing characters at the organization scenario. However, depending on the nature and kind of organization, reconciliation process of these competing groups is of a diversified nature. On the other hand, organizational politics can be implements for democratic rule at the working environment. As organizations formulate methods of conflicting interests’ reconciliation, it formulates various rules and system through which the party groups can follow. This is not an exception to my organization where orders, regulations and systems of governance between the organizational governance are addressed. (http://www.geocities.com/athens/forum/1650/htmlpolitc01.html)

            Through both autocratic and democratic ruling systems, the order is created and maintained. The nature of autocratic system is where interest groups are authorized and dictated on what to do and undertake by a senior person. Here, the people under the senior person ought to subjectively follow the orders dictated by the senior person. Democratic system is where the people agree among themselves on what route to follow. However, both the two systems define standards of a unique political orientation and help to describe the nature of application of power with the organizational outlook. Organizational rules are the determinant of the legitimacy held in every rule. The main implement dictating organizational policies is the diversity in the interests of people. Diversity in interests occurs conceptually when different employees at their personal orientations conflict with one another in terms of their needs, wants, desires and interests. Every aspect of decision making within the organization has a passive compliment process. Within the decision making process by the different actors, they seek to fulfill the needs, which is a drive of personal interest above the general activity of satisfying the needs of the organization.  Therefore, various interest groups corporate adequately within the scope of their organizational activity. However, the same groups become rivals in the other process of benefiting from the rewarding of intangible capacity born out of their competitions (http://www.geocities.com/athens/forum/1650/htmlpolitc01.html)

            Therefore, organization politics will be highly inevitable due to the mature of human beings compounded by diversity in personal interests which are never congruent with the will of the organizational needs.  However, like a social structure organizational power and politics plays a subordinate role in defining the future hood of the organization. The nature of such relationships defines the level and the nature of the organizational behavior.

Summarily therefore, the subject of power and politics within an organization remains fundamental for the aspect of diversity in personal interest and the goals of the firm.  Since the factor of limited resources operate within the share of production, competition will always exist between the people and structures in such organizations.  Power and politics will therefore develop as a refuge to the effect of broad goals and limited resources.

Reference

Ratzburg, W. Defining Organizational Politics. Retrieved on 12^th December 2007 from             http://www.geocities.com/athens/forum/1650/htmlpolitc01.html