Organization Politics or
workplace politics are terms often used to refer to the behavior used by people
to purse their own, or their group, interest as opposed to the organisation's
interests and goals.
It involves informal
attempt to promote their ideas, exert influence or achieve their own
ojectives, some time, although not always, for personal gain.
This process can either
very unhelpful, or else extremly beneficial to the organisation, depending on
who is trying to exert influence over what and why. And of course, your own
stanby.
Dictionary
definitions of politics include;
·
The activities
associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate
between parties having power.
·
Activities aimed at
improving someone’s status or increasing power within an organization
So, politics will always be with us where there is authority,
power and decision making involved.
Organizational Politics can be destructive, or it can help the
company meet its goals. There are numerous examples in business of groups
trying to exert influence over the executive strategy because they believe they
have a better proposal than the management. And often enough, they did, and
they managed to influence strategy for the good.
Often the reasoning behind such a movement will be related to
issues such as shortage of resources, time pressure, fairness, equality, as
well as personal gain. It is important to try to understand the drivers rather
than just judge the behaviour.
Your question is- how to deal with it? That really depends on
what “politicking “is going on, and your position relative to it.
You can ignore it, steer clear of any involvement, or you may
prefer to align yourself with one of the groups. Or you could try to exert
influence yourself, so becoming a player, or politician. Without knowing more
about the situation, I can’t really advise any more.
