Page 62 - DMGT520_ORGANIZATION_CHANGE_AND_DEVELOPMENT

Unit 4: Power, Politics and Ethics in OD

reward and punish, being in control of critical skills, knowledge or information, being able to Notes
solve critical problems or exigencies, or anything that creates dependence of one actor or set of
actors on another.

Self Assessment

State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. Power is the intentional influence over the beliefs, emotions, and behaviours of people.
2. The positive face of power is much more prevalent than the negative face of power in
organisations.
3. Legitimate Power based on the power-receiver having an identification with (attraction
to, or feeling of oneness with) the power holder.

4. Mintzberg (1983) theory of organisational power “is built on the premise that organisational
behaviour is a power game in which various players, called influencer, seek to control
organization’s decisions and actions.”

4.2 The Concept of Organisational Politics

Politics, the study of dynamics of power in a group and its management, has been defined in
different ways. Organisational politics ‘involve intentional acts of influence to enhance or protect
the self-interests of individuals or groups (Allen et al. 1979) as quoted in French & Bell 1995.
Mayes & Allen (1977) (quoted in French & Bell, 1995) define organisational politics as ‘the
management of influence to obtain ends not sanctioned by the organisation or to obtain ends
through non-sanctioned influence means.’ French and Bell treat politics as illegitimate power.
“Politics is a subset of power... informal power, illegitimate in nature. Likewise authority is also
a subset of power, but formal power, the power vested in office, the capacity to get thing done
by virtue of the position held.”
Analysis of these definitions suggests that the concept of power and politics are very similar.
Both relate to getting ones way - effectance. Both relate to pursuit of self-interest and overcoming
the resistance of others. Organisational politics is power-in-action in organisations; it is engaging
in activities to get ones way in an organisational setting.
Politics is neither good nor bad per se but like power, has two faces.

Example: Negative face of politics are Pursuit of unsanctioned organisational goals or
the use of unsanctioned organisational.

Illegitimate uses of authority, information, and resources might also be examples of negative
face of politics. But a positive face of politics is shown whenever “hard decisions” must be made,
are made, and most organisational members feel good about what was decided and how it was
decided. In this regard, Jeffrey Pfeffer argues that politics are necessary if organization are to
function effectively and efficiently. Some organisation reflects a mostly positive face of politics
and other organisations reflect a mostly negative face of politics.
Organisational politics tend to be associated with the decision-making, resource allocation, and
conflict resolution processes in organisation. Those are the key decision points; those are the
areas where actors win and lose; those are where the ‘goods’ are distributed and the goals are
decided. In fact, one gains a quick understanding of the overall “political climate” of an
organisation by studying its methods of resource allocation, conflict resolution and choosing
among alternative means and goals.

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