Organizational politics

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Organizational politics or workplace politics are interactions between members of the group, that are influancing the way decision are taken in the organization. To deliver pro-organizational decision, one has to understand the politics, and kno how to desolve self-intrests decisions.

For instance, sometime when one manager is afraid that some oher manger will get into his teritory, he may resist a decision that may be good for the organization, but bad for him.

Causes

Causes of "irational" decision making in an organization:

• Fear that somebody else may takeover my ability to influance and get promoted.
• I want to revange for somthing wrong that other in the organization did to me (emotional bank).
• I want to make other negotite with me, and therefore take me into account and make me more important in decision making (Ariel Sharon used this tacitics many time (Ha' Roe'he)) .
• Lose of control, due to inability to undestand the decision, and a great need for control)
• Need for control, power and promotion: because of limited resources, one have to have advantage in gaining access to the resources a head of others. To do so, one has to harm others, make them percived as less capable, and he himself, should look much better adapted and capable of inheriting the position. It may make some, to criticize and dismiss other members suggestions,and use authoritative voice.

Tactics

Sending Others

Making others fight your war: you may notice that a naive member,that have a tendency to fight. you may infuriate him about your target, and let him attack him, and giving a bad name with gossip. This way you stay clean, and make your enemy look bad.

Gossip

Using gossip to create bad name for other member,and therfore to let him look less able in front of the group and his superiors.

Further readings

Goldstein Berne

Solutions

Dissolveing Tensions

Because many of the causes of workplace politics are caused by grudge between members, these animosities should be dissolved.There are many ways to disolve animosities. Listening circles are good way to dissolve tensions. Gaing mutual SON and perspectives are also important the solving the problem.

Transparency

because gossip can be very harmful to the image of members, and can serve as abase for manipulation, dishonesty and wars, it is better to make everything transparency, and to deal with conflicts in a constructed way.

Choosing the best decision makers or making the organization more flat

because one of the main reason for the conflicts are fights for getting control on the organization or subunit in the organization, if a good practice in selecting the beset decision maker and motivators, then people will acknowledge the upper decision makers, and I have sent that when there is a good manager, people like to work under his management. the best managers are those, how can take good decision, usually after hearing all relevant inputs, get the decision and explain the decision. and if the manager has an ability to highly motivate his workers and achieve high ROI, then people will want to let them control. the problem starts, when there are unsuited managers. Good managers, also need to know how to solve conflicts in his team, and elaborate high team spirit.

Truth, courage and building the organization

If truth is highly valued, and building a team spirit is in place and good decision making practices are in place, people will not be afraid and will not be intimidated by others, and so, less games will take place.

Courage to say the right thing in the right time