Politics

POLITICS

Politics is the art of acquiring and enhancing power. Employees have a certain role to play. Therefore, their exercise of power is limited to a large extent by the role obligations. Political behavior is of two types.

Legitimate – It includes normal every day’s politics. It includes:

• Complaining to one’s superiors
• By passing the chain of command
• Forming coalitions
• Obstructing organizational policies through excessive adherence to rules
• Developing contacts outside through professional activities

Illegitimate – It includes influences that are extreme and violate the implied “rules of the game.” Such activities include

• disruption,
• Whistle blowing,
• Symbolic protest such as wearing unorthodox dress and
• Groups of employees cumulatively calling in sick.

It may be stated that the vast majority of political actions are of the legitimate variety. The reasons are pragmatic – the extreme and illegitimate forms of political behavior pose a very real risk of loss of organizational membership, or extreme sanctions against those who use them and then fall short in having enough power to insure that they work.