Power and Politics in Organizations - Essay Example

SELF-REFLECTION and Self-Reflection Throughout this I have acquired immense knowledge concerning business operations and how businesses interact with different issues in their environment. Therefore, this paper presents a personal reflection on some of the key issues that stood out for me during the course module and through the various seminar activities. The reflection addresses various issues, including the relationship between the knowledge I have gathered from the course and the practical application in a professional environment. The three main themes that I found to be interesting from the module and the seminar activities are power and politics in organizations, change and organizational culture, and the concept of merging people with groups. This reflection paper focuses on discussing and reflecting on the seminar activities as well as the course content, assessing their importance in learning, and evaluating how the ideas learnt can be integrated and applied in a professional work environment. Power and Politics in Organizations This is one of the three themes that stood out for me in this course. I could relate to most of the course content and the seminar activities that we engaged in during the course. This is because this theme discussed several issues related to managing organizations, most of which are applicable in a real life professional scenario (Weiss & Wilkinson, 2014). The theme of power and politics in organizations is related with the concepts of leadership and working with people in organizations (Lengnick-Hall, 1992). As such, it was very important to go through the module topics and seminar activities covering the issues of power and politics. This is because as a person, I hold the issues of organizational leadership in high esteem. Consequently, I was very keen during week nine, when covering this topic so as to get useful insights that I could implement in my professional practice in the future. Essentially, the theme of power and politics attempts to approach the element of change in organizations from the perspective of power and politics in contemporary organizations (Yaeger, & Sorensen, 2009). The structure within which the lecturer used to disseminate the information during lectures as well as the seminar activities was very critical in helping me understand the key issues covered in the topic. For instance, the presentations began with definitions of key terms from different perspectives, thereby broadening my understanding of the main issues. For example, we were introduced to Robin’s definition of political behavior in organizations, in which he identified political behavior as the activities “that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the organisation, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organisation.” Therefore, politics in organizations can simply be defined as organizational power in action. I found this definition simplified yet comprehensive in such a manner that it helps one to relate both the elements of power and politics in understanding organizational behaviour within the context of change (Krackhardt, 1990). Similarly, I came across several definitions of power, but I found Morgan’s definition (1986) the most appropriate. According to Morgan, power is the ‘the medium through which conflicts of interest are ultimately resolved. Power influences who gets what, when and how’. Buchannan & Badham (2008) went a step further by analysing the concept of power as used in contemporary literature. They classified power in organizations in terms of individual property, relational property, and an embedment in organisational structures and procedures (Buchannan & Badham 2008). The theme of power is also important in understanding how individuals use their power to influence others in the organisations. From this perspective, power and influence can be understood in terms of an individual’s physical power, resource power, expert power, position power, negative, and personal power. As such, the main methods through which one can influence events in an organization though their power is by force, ecology, magnetism, rules and procedures, exchange and persuasion (Farrell & Petersen, 1982). Another important element related to the theme of power and politics is the sources of power in organizations. This enables one to comprehend the origins of different types of power and whether they are legitimate. The common sources of power are formal authority, ability to deal with uncertainty, control of boundaries; use of organizational structure, control of decision making processes, and knowledge and information that one has in a specific area or discipline that is relevant to an organization (Buono & Subbiah, 2014). The seminar activities that we engaged in during this course were aimed at facilitating an understanding of the course module through presentations on different aspects of organizations and change. As such, I found it quite intriguing to be engaged in most of the seminar activities because they opened up my mind to more new ideas. As such, I found the seminar activities in sync with the contents of the module in a manner that enhanced my overall understanding of the different concepts related to change in organizations (Anderson, & Ackerman-Anderson, 2010). For instance, the seminar activities about organizations and politics involved in the change processes coincided well with the topic of implementing change in the course module. Therefore, the seminar activities provided a great opportunity for one to understand the content in the module through detailed discussions and appropriate examples. Change and Organizational Culture The theme of change and organizational culture analyzes the concept of organizational change from the perspective of an organization’s culture. Different organizations have different cultures that influence organizations processes, including change (Fairholm, 2009). There are also different levels of culture, which also affect organizational processes in different ways. Essentially, culture can be defined as ‘a set of shared values, beliefs & assumptions held by individuals in an organisation, most of which are often taken for granted’. Nevertheless, they play a very crucial role in influencing organizational processes. Culture can be analysed in terms of subjective and objective contexts. Objective culture encompasses factors such as ecology, language, symbols, and climatic conditions that are shared among members of an organization (Henderson et al., 2010). Subjective culture, on the other hand, entails one group’s particular way of perceiving their social environment. According to Schein (, 1985, 2004) culture must contain the following elements; As such, culture affects different issues in an organization such as social interactions, individual behavior, and the way individuals perceive their workplace environment. Understanding the theme of culture in organizations is very essential in understanding how members of an organization can react to change, as well as determining whether they are suited for dealing with impending change. The knowledge we shared during the course was also consistent with my own personal beliefs about business management, working with people, and engagement of businesses with other factors in their environment. For instance, I personally believed that ethics should be at the forefront of any engagements between the society and organizations. The interaction between the society and business organizations should not only be aimed at helping companies make more profits, but create more of win-win situation where both the society and the businesses benefit from the engagement (Hornstein, 2015). Merging People with Groups The third theme that I found very compelling from the course content as well as from the seminar activities is that of merging people with groups. Mergers and acquisitions involve a major aspect of organizational change, where two or more organizations come together to form a single organization (Bluedorn, 1993). In acquisition, one bigger organization takes up another relatively smaller organization, which becomes part of it. In mergers, two organizations, mostly of similar stature in term s of size, come together to form a union that will result in creating a strong organization that will command a significant market share (Tuan Mat & Smith, 2014). Therefore, since mergers and acquisitions result in a significant change in an organization’s composition, it follows, of necessity that proper organizational management strategies have to be implemented in bringing together different groups and individuals. The content of the course and the seminar activities covered under this theme in the module is very important for me because it has enabled me understand different aspects of organizations. I am able to relate ethical values to different issues in an organization’s environment such as the people, and business processes. Furthermore, the content of the course is also important because it helps one to understand key issues affecting contemporary businesses. Issues such as globalization and sustainable business processes that can facilitate efficient management of change processes are well covered in the course. In the same regard, I intend to use the knowledge gained from the course in improving my professional practice. For instance, I will use the knowledge gained from class to improve my management and leadership skills. I will use the knowledge to engage in strategic planning and ethical operations to ensure sustainable success for the organization I will be working with. Therefore, in relating my background knowledge to the content of the course, I was able to gain useful insights that can enhance my professional practice in the future. The things that standout the most for me include understanding the nature of organizations and change, the different perspectives of organizational change, and working with different people and groups in an organization. Going through the course was a wonderful experience for me as I was able to relate with most of the issues we discussed in class. Furthermore, most of the examples of the various companies are things I can relate with in my day to day life. The most fascinating thing about the course, however, is the fact that it provided an opportunity for me to build on my previous knowledge. I found a very strong connection between the content of the course and other course and experiences that I had gone through previously. For instance, the course built on my previous knowledge in organizational issues such as organizational change, organizational behavior, and corporate governance (Hanson, 2013). With such a background, I found it easier to comprehend issues discussed in class during the course and developed an interest in the course in order to learn more fresh ideas. Common Themes from the Seminar Activities Nevertheless, from a general point of view, several key themes seemed to recur in the seminar activities throughout the weeks. For instance, issues of efficient management, attention to detail, and teamwork seemed to play a crucial role in managing change (Kuipers et al., 2014). For example, efficient management entails the process of acquiring the necessary resources and using the effectively in managing change (Battilana & Casciaro, 2012). As such, efficient management is the key to all change management processes, as it relates to how the organization is able to optimize the resources available, including human resources, in remaining efficient and focused on delivering its mission amidst changes in the organization’s environment (Maclachlan, 2014). Organizational managers need to be aware of the various factors that contribute to change within their environment, thereby engaging in strategic planning processes aimed at acquiring necessary resources and optimizing their utility for the benefit of the firm (Cummings & Worley, 2009). Therefore, the concept of efficient management is very critical in the success of an organization with regard to change management (Samson & Bevington, 2012). This was emphasized in the seminar activities by laying greater emphasis on the role of organizational leaders in the process of implementing change through processes such as mergers and acquisitions, learning, and working with people. Similarly, the concept of attention to detail was also very prominent in the seminar activities. An organization’s change management strategies are aimed at giving the organization a stronger competitive advantage in a global environment. As such, the process of managing change in an organization should be given the importance and significance it deserves since it helps to shape the destiny of the organization in terms of achieving the organization’s vision. One aspect of managing change efficiently is attention to detail (Kanter & Seggerman, 1986). This ensures that the change management processes addresses all the important factors related to the organization. For instance, is attention to detail is overlooked in processes such as mergers and acquisitions, there are bound to be problems and huddles that will prevent a seamless transition in the organization’s activities, thereby making it difficult to run the organization efficiently. I found this particularly interesting given that most organizations grow and expand through change processes such as mergers and acquisitions. However, most organizations experience difficulties after mergers and acquisitions and most of them end up failing or exiting the market. Therefore, after going through the course and the seminar activities, I can relate such failures to inattention to detail when handling the process of merging two organizations or acquiring another organization. Consequently issues such integrating the two workforces and bringing together the resources for the two organizations become very challenging. Also, I noted that the issue of teamwork also seemed to be prevalent in managing change. This was particularly evident under the concept of working with people. Organizations are made up of different individuals with different capabilities. Organizational change requires that all the people in an organization get involved in the process of managing change within the firm. Failure to include certain sections of the population in managing change can result in resistance to change; which will slow down the process of implementing organizational change. Conclusion In conclusion, I have gained massively from this course. I was able to build on my previous knowledge and experiences in learning new concepts that have changed my perspective on organizational processes. Organizational change is a very important aspect of managing organizations in the contemporary environment. Modern organizations operate in a highly volatile environment that is characterized by constant change. As such, the better an organization is at managing change in its internal and external environment, the better it will be suited to thriving into the uncertain future (Campbell, 2015). The course module focused on addressing several issues related to organizations and change in a manner that enriched our understanding of dealing with change. The module together with the seminar activities have been great sources of information and knowledge in terms of steering organizations towards success. 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