Politics and Politicking

8. Features of Organizational Politics

Politics is an intentional act of influencing others through the acquired power to enhance self–interest and organizational advancement in the following ways:

• Power characterizes political action.
• Political action takes place when an actor recognizes that achievement of his goals is influenced by the behavior of others.
• Politicking involves the elimination of adversaries by the influential maneuvers of members of the organization.
• Politics involves the management of influence to obtain ends not sanctioned by the formal organization.
• Any behavior by organizational member that is self–serving may be termed political
• Organizational politics exists wherever people work together.
• behavior referred to as politics takes place in varying degrees in all organizations.
• Not all behaviors are categorized as being 'political'. Asking for an annual increase or salary review is not political but coming together under an umbrella of trade union is a political act.