What causes people to exercise an extreme degree of power over others within organizations - Essay Example

Organisational culture or organisational behaviour is also a crucial factor that determines the degree of politics or power within an organisation. It is proved that external politics has a direct role in determining the power of public organisations.Power and politics are two interrelated aspects among which power is reflected as the characteristic feature of politics. Volumes have been written on power and politics with regard to the vital role they play in organisations’ internal as well as external environments.

Politics in organizational environment is very similar to politics in government settings. The strategic planning and operations are greatly influenced by the elements of power and politic; therefore, every organisation gives great emphasis on the control of extreme play of politics in the firm. Effectiveness of power and politics strategy planning determines the sustainability of an organisation. In addition to political elements, there are large numbers of factors that assist people to get power over others.

This paper will explore the various factors that cause people to exercise an extreme degree of power over others within organisations. By the emergence of globalisation, world is facilitated with effective circulation of ideas, languages and cultural ideologies. In the words of Bozyk (2006, pp.3-4), globalization has considerably increased the volume of trade transaction since the international trade barriers were removed by the introduction of this concept. As the complexity of business operations increased, human resource management became a troublesome task for organizations.

An organization contains large number of employees from different cultures and with different interests. Goffman (as cited in Mali, 2008) points that the total institution is a concept that indicates a place for work where numbers of individual live together for an extended period of time with a similar status. Therefore, it is not practical to frame various organizational laws that would satisfy the interests of all employees. This situation would adversely affect the bureaucracy in organizations.

In order to eliminate such difficulties associated with bureaucratic operations and thereby to promote obedience and discipline, organizations employ the tool of power. Power is the conventional tool used by organizations in order to enforce their basic byelaws. According to Foucault’s notion of the panopticon (as cited in Mason, 2011), knowledge always constitutes a form of power that has the ability to shape one’s behavior. Hence, the term power not only indicates the application of force but it also stands for any component that can influence an individual’s behavior.

However, thoughtless and excessive application of power may cause some adverse effects. For instance, ineffective application of power may cause employee resistance. Therefore, it is recommendable for the business houses to plan power authorization strategies. In short, the need for effective coordination of business operations is a major factor that persuades management to exercise power over employees. Likewise, organizational politics is also a traditional concept that very much affects “relationships, norms, processes, performances and outcomes” (Leadership and organizational politics).

Politics simply refers to mobilization of power and it is same with the case of organizational politics also. In the view of Aronow (2004), organizational politics can be described as the selfish behavior of individuals or groups to promote their own interests at the expense of organizational goals. Obviously organizational politics assists individuals to exercise power over others. Although, sometimes organizational politics causes negative impacts, it is a better strategy to improve organizational efficiency.

Power is the central element that plays a vital role in modeling organization’s decision making strategy. Globalization and thereby increased business