Presentation

Power, Politics, and Culture Tiasia Davis

Strayer University

BUS 520: Leadership and Organizational Behavior

Dr. Tonja Gardner

08/22/2019

Power and politics are inevitable when carrying out the activities of an organization. The primary resources in organizations are human and material. Human resources entail the labor rendered by employees and can change the material resources into final products. However, the change process requires the organization to make choices on the right mechanisms to use in bringing the transformations. The options comprise some politics and the individuals tasked with decision making employs certain levels of power to make sure that other stakeholders accept the choices.

Power-play and politics facilitate the survival of most organizations as they govern the interactions that take place in the firms. The onset of politics in an organization takes place when individuals start working on their interests without care of the impact it would have on others in the organization. Mainly, organizational politics arise out of disagreements and fights for power (Goddard & Nexon, 2015). Thus, if an individual can make choices in the company, they may opt for options that are in their favor. However, such happenings would influence the way things are done in the organization by remodeling or transforming the traditions and norms.

Influence of Politics and Power

Authority in an organization correlates with the power bestowed upon a person. It can either be unidirectional when it flows from the top management to the employees or multidirectional when it flows from an employee to another employee or the leaders. Organizational politics relate to the several tasks undertaken to enhance the interests of the company or an individual. Politics and power play have both positive and negative impact on the productivity of an organization, and thus, may determine its success or failure. The manifestation of organizational politics takes place through the cooperation of departments, promotions, or transfers, and assigning of authority.

For instance, promoting a person based on nepotism rather than competence is beneficial to the individual but detrimental to the performance of an organization. Besides, for a manager to make the promotion, they must have the power such that no one will question their choices (Omisore & Nweke, 2014). Also, the techniques of remunerating employees, mechanisms adopted by an organization to solve problems and the sociotechnical systems are political structures.

Sources of Power

There are four primary sources of power within an organization which include personal characteristics, office or structural position, opportunity, and expertise (Omisore & Nweke, 2014). Charisma is the primary attribute that acts as the origin of power. Charismatic leaders possess the power by unique and transcendental leadership capability. Also, there are other individual attributes, such as verbal competence of an individual in that they express their opinions with confidence and finality. Physical characteristics act as a source of power too. For instance, in war, victory has a link to the physical built-up of an individual. Besides, an individual who can make sound and practical arguments for positions have high levels of power.

The structural position or the office held by an individual serve as an avenue to the sources of power. Certain job positions give a person the resources required to exert coercive influence while others may provide an individual with the potential to direct their commitments to specific traditions. Opportunity is a source of power that is incorporated in the informal system of a company. It implies that the standard features of a position that are not officially defined form a significant source of power (Omisore & Nweke, 2014). Besides, expertise is the competence and skills that people bring to the company as their specialization. Someone with specific information about a particular sector will exercise control over it hence forming their power source.

Leadership Behavior and Culture

Organizational culture results from the interactions between people within a company where they adopt a particular way to live or learned behavior. Leadership entails influencing others and directing them into achieving the set goals of an organization. Thus, it means that leaders aid in designing the organizational culture through their leadership conduct. Also, the leadership style employed by an organization has the capability of creating the culture, remodeling or adopting a new one. Thus, the executives have the leadership responsibility in an organization which implies that their behaviors shape the culture of an organization. They must engage actively in the activities aimed at defining this culture because the employees will follow their actions.

Leaders act as role models in an organization, and the impact of their influence happens when they participate in bringing the desired changes. The managers should demonstrate the values and behaviors of the organizational culture with consistency.  Besides, the learning is reinforced when the leader cooperates with employees in undertaking the tasks assigned via the provision of feedback. It is essential in making sure that employees stick to the outlined strategic measures aimed at meeting the set organizational objectives (Whitehurst, 2016). Besides, having healthy relationships with employees increases their trust and confidence, which is crucial in enhancing corporate culture. Also, it motivates them to perform their roles effectively and attain the set values, attitudes, and norms of the company.

Leadership Influence

Leaders are essential in creating influence within an organization. Managers have the responsibility of resolving conflicts, regulating schedules, and keeping records within their departments. As leaders, they motivate employees to undertake their activities effectively to achieve high productivity. Leadership influence in an organization takes place through the vision, training and knowledge development of employees, teamwork, and reaction to emergencies (Ali, 2012). Through the image of the company, a leader boosts the drive of employees to perform their duties effectively to achieve the desired goals. Thus, the leader must highlight the merits and difficulties of fulfilling the set objectives.

Empowering workers through skill and knowledge development is crucial in enhancing their performance by refining their ability to make operational decisions. The leader assigns tasks and stresses on effective communication, where the new functions challenge the worker to develop new techniques, and discussion facilitates their access to resources. Teamwork is crucial in boosting the performance and motivation of employees as they work in cooperation to achieve the set goals. According to Whitehurst (2016), an effective leader should promote teamwork within the organization. Besides, the influence exerted by a leader in responding to an urgent situation within the company or changes in the industry has its basis on their ability to assess the occurrence. It implies that they should make a plan of action depending on the resources, which is crucial in increasing the confidence of workers in their leader.

Politics and power are inevitable in the operations of an organization. They may promote or inhibit their performance, depending on how the leaders use them. Also, the two aspects are crucial in shaping the culture of an organization, and the leader should exercise its influence to ensure that the organization meets the set goals. Also, the conduct of a leader is vital in determining the culture of the organization because the employees follow what their head of department does. Both power and politics work together to influence the productivity of a company. Besides, there are four primary sources of energy that include personal characteristics, opportunity, expertise, and structural and office position.

References

Ali, A. (2012). Leadership and its Influence in Organizations – A Review of Intellections. International Journal Of Learning And Development, 2(6). doi: 10.5296/ijld.v2i6.2690

Goddard, S. E., & Nexon, D. H. (2015). The dynamics of global power politics: A framework for analysis. Journal of Global Security Studies, 1(1), 4-18.

Omisore, B., & Nweke, A. (2014). The Influence of Power and Politics in Organizations (Part 1). International Journal Of Academic Research In Business And Social Sciences, 4(7). doi: 10.6007/ijarbss/v4-i7/997

Whitehurst, J. (2016). Leaders Can Shape Company Culture Through Their Behaviors. Retrieved 21 August 2019, from https://hbr.org/2016/10/leaders-can-shape-company-culture-through-their-behaviors