Impact of power and politics in organisations Essay

more(prenominal) than 40 years ago, Harold Lasswell (1936) defined government activity as the study of who gets what, when and how. Certainly who gets what, when, and how are issues of fundamental wideness in understanding formal brass instruments. Nevertheless, organizational politics and exponent are both topics which are do conspicuous by their absence in management and organization literature. Therefore, source and politics in an organization can now be defined as the management of influence to obtain ends not okay ends through non-sanctioned influence bureau.The issue of whether or not organizational politics negatively impacts performance requires a specification of the dimensions that are to be used in evaluating organizational performance. For our purposes, performance in an organization refers to either of the standard indicators of organizational well-being, including profit in the case of a business firms and the ability to get projects consummate and within bud get with respect to non-profit organizations.Making organizations more innovative, responsive and responsible requires focusing on a number of leadership, spot and influence issues. These issues are critical in coping with the strategic environmental with alone its characteristics and strategic leader performance in that environment. The issues influence developing teams at the strategic level as well as managing organizational processes linked to values and ethnics, organizational culture, visioning and the management of change, much(prenominal) issues include Implementing strategic or adaptive change in the face of formidable resistance. Fostering entrepreneurial and creative deportment despite strong opposition. Gaining resources and support from bosses whose personal agenda might include organizational harmful semipolitical games. Avoiding destructive adversarial relationships with others whose help and cooperation are paramount to your success, but who are outside your chain of command and your post control. Building and developing an effective teams in an internal environment where the natural tendency is to conflict with from each one other. Fostering organizational excellence, innovation and creativity, and not getting mired in bureaucratic politics or dysfunctional power conflicts. For most leaders in an organization, the key to successful implementing organizational change and up(a) long term performance rests with the leaders skill in knowing how to make power dynamics work for the organizational, instead of against it.In John Gardners power in organizations he wrote about leadership and power in organizations, notes, of course leaders are preoccupied with power The significant questions are what means do they use to gain it? How much do they exercise it? To what ends do they exercise it? He further states, Power is the basic energy needed to intimate and sustain satisfy or, to put it another way, the capacity to translate intention in to reality and sustain it.Power is the opportunity to build, to create, to poke history in a different direction. The concept of organizational politic can be linked to Harold Lasswells (1936) where politics involves the exercise of power to get something done, as well as to enhance and hold dear the vested interests of individuals or groups. Thus, the use of organizational politics suggests that political activity is used to overcome resistance and implies a conscious effort to organize activity to challenge opposition in a priority closing situation.Because of scarce resources and enduring differences, conflict is central to organizational dynamics and power is the most important resource. betrothal is more likely in under bounded governances (less regulation and control) in an over bounded system with power concentrated to the top. Jeffories makes the point that organizations play the political game within the broader governmental context, but these individuals too play pol itics within organizations.And power is key in both cases, because it confers the ability both to portion resources- in itself a way to increase power and to consolidate power by bringing others with corresponding goals and objectives into the inner decision making core. Drummond, Helga asserted that organization diversity, interdependence, resource scarcity, and power dynamics will unavoidably generate political forces regardless of the players. Organizational politics cannot be eliminated or fantasized away. Leaders with s good power motive can learn to understand and manage political processes in the organization.Power in an organization is attractive because it confers the ability to influence decisions, about who gets want resources, what goals are pursued, what philosophy the organization adopts, and power also gives a sense of control over outcomes and may in fact convey such enhance control. In conclusion, the impact of politics and power cannot be over emphasized becaus e it is the only means through which an organization can achieve it goals and objectives without being too personal.SOURCES 1. Drummond, Helga (2000) introduction to Organizational Business. 2.Allen, R. W, & Porter, L. W. Organizational politics and its effects on members. 3. Harold Lasswell Organizational politics and its effects on members.Organizational behaviour 4. David K. Banner invention effective organisations 5. Stephen Robbins The Truth about Managing People and Nothing but the Truth. 6. Willie E. Hopkins Aligning organizational subcultures for competitive avail 7. Mishane and Von Glinow Organisational behaviour 8. Kreitner and Kinicki Organizational behaviour 9. Stephen J. Zaccaro The Nature of Organizational Leadership.