Political Behavior in Organizations - Essay Example

Response
1. When you think of “political behavior” in organizations, what comes to mind? List three or four words that you would use to characterize “political behavior” in organizations.
Niche, influence, rewards, and career.

2. Describe one or two personal experiences you have had in organizations that are “political” in nature.
As a deputy manager in marketing, I headed a team that marketed products from a large MNC. Since 100% advance had to be paid for the purchase of goods from the MNC, to reduce capital outlay in this business activity 100% advance was collected from customers. To speed up delivery and installation at customer sites, I had insisted that a service engineer be attached to this team, which was sanctioned by the Executive Director. Our internal quality process required that the externally sourced goods be verified and checked before installation at customer sites. This activity was controlled by the service manager. He would deliberately delay the process, as he was upset that I had transgressed into his sphere of power. Entertainment expenses as part of marketing activities were only permitted for managers. Since I had the additional responsibility of liaison with the public sector and government agencies, I was given a special concession for entertainment bills, with the requirement that the bill is countersigned by the Executive Director before reimbursement. Scrutiny of bills before passing it on to accounts for reimbursement was the responsibility of the HRM deputy manager. She would call me for verifications each time a bill was presented, perked at a benefit that she did not enjoy, though we were in the same grade.

3. How does Bolman & Deal’s conceptualization of “political behavior” relate to their earlier article, Reframing Leadership (# 4 in course text), and to Gallos’ article, Making Sense of Organizations (# 13 in course text)?

Bolman and Deal conceptualize political behavior as the behavior of individuals in an organization with the intent of carving out a niche for themselves that increases their influence and power in an organization to help them gain higher rewards and careers. (1). In their earlier article Reframing Leadership Bolman and Deal conceptualize political behavior as the result of parochial interests that cause competition for power and resources in an organization. As a consequence conflict is enhanced, because of the differences in the perspectives of the individuals towards pulled towards their different goals. From the perspective of Gallo's political behavior results from the power game, as each individual tries to acquire the power required for their interests.

4. Bossidy, Charan, and Burck talk about “execution” as being the critical factor in organizational success. What do they mean? Doesn’t effective execution equate with micro-managing, thereby reducing leadership effectiveness? Why or why not?

In the opinion of Bossidy, Charan, and Burck, execution as far as a leader is concerned involves three important processes, which are choosing the other, fixing the strategic direction, and overseeing the operations. Leaders need to undertake these actions with deep involvement without any delegation. Deep personal involvement in the substance and details of execution is essential. This may suggest micro-management and its accompanying disempowerment, but that is not the case. It is not about micromanaging or disempowering, rather it is about deep involvement through the leader doing what ought to be done by a leader, in creating a culture with processes within the organization that is built on the legs of promoting individuals who get things done faster and providing them with higher rewards. (2).