Political Diagnostic Analysis

Resources in organizations are also limited, which often turns potential conflict into real conflict. If resources were abundant, all the various internal constituencies within the organization could satisfy their goals. However, because they’re limited, not everyone’s interests can be provided for. Furthermore, whether true or not, gains by one individual or group are often perceived as being at the expense of others within the organization. These forces create competition among members for the organization’s limited resources. Maybe the most important factor leading to politics within organizations is the realization that most of the “facts” that are used to allocate the limited resources are open to interpretation. What, for instance, is a good performance? What is a good job? What is an adequate improvement? The manager of any major league baseball team knows a .400 hitter is a high performer and a .125 hitter is a poor performer. You don’t need to be a baseball genius to know you should play your .400 hitter and send the .125 hitter back to the minors. But what if you have to choose between players who hit .280 and .290? Then other factors—less objective ones—come into play: fielding, attitude, potential, ability to perform in the clutch, and so on. Most managerial decisions in organizations more closely resemble choosing between a .280 and a .290 hitter than deciding between a .125 hitter and a .400 hitter. It is in this large and ambiguous middle ground of organizational life—where the facts don’t speak for themselves—that politics takes place. Finally, because most decisions have to be made in a climate of ambiguity—where facts are rarely fully objective and thus are open to interpretation—people within the organization will use whatever influence they can to taint the facts to support their goals and interests. That creates the activities we call politicking.

Political Diagnostic Analysis

Before you consider your political options in any situation, you need to evaluate that situation. Political diagnostic analysis is a three-step process designed to make you a better evaluator. 1. Assess your organization’s culture. The place to begin is with an assessment of your organization’s culture to ascertain which behaviors are desirable and which aren’t. Every organization has a system of shared meaning called its culture. 7 This culture is a set of unwritten norms that members of the organization accept and understand and that guide their actions. For example, some organizations’ cultures encourage risk taking, accept conflicts and disagreements, allow employees a great deal of autonomy, and reward members according to performance criteria. Other cultures differ by 180 degrees: They punish risk taking; seek harmony and cooperation at any price; minimize opportunities for employees to show initiative; and allocate rewards to people according to such criteria as seniority, effort, or loyalty. The point is that every organization’s culture is somewhat different, and if a political strategy is to succeed, it must be compatible with the culture. One of the fastest and most effective means for tapping an organization’s culture is to learn as much as you can about the organization’s performance-appraisal system and the criteria used for determining salary increases, promotions, and other rewards. Take a look at the organization’s performance-appraisal form. What does it look like? What does it evaluate: traits, behaviors, goal accomplishments? How much emphasis is placed on factors such as getting along with others, teamwork, and loyalty to the organization? Does style count as much as substance? Are people rated against absolute standards or against each other? How are people ranked? How often are appraisals required? How does top management view performance appraisal: to identify deficiencies, as a basis for reward allocations, or to facilitate employee growth and development? Then turn your attention to the reward system.

Who gets the raises and promotions? Maybe more important, who doesn’t? These rewardallocation decisions should tell you what behaviors pay off in your organization. 2. Assess the power of others. At first glance, it seems that either people are powerful or they’re not. However, power is differential. On some issues, a person might be very powerful, yet that same person might be relatively powerless on other issues. Therefore, you need to determine which individuals or groups will be powerful in a given situation. Some people have influence as a result of their formal position in the organization. Therefore, that is probably the best place to begin your power assessment. What decision or issue do you want to influence? Who has formal authority to affect that issue? These questions are, however, only the beginning. After that, you need to consider others—individuals, coalitions, formal departments—that might have a vested interest in the decision’s outcome. Who might gain or lose as a result of one choice being selected over another? This helps you identify the power players—those motivated to engage in politicking. It also pinpoints your likely adversaries. Now you need to assess the power of each player or group of players specifically. In addition to each one’s formal authority, you should evaluate the resources each controls8 and the person’s centrality in the organization.9 Research confirms that the control of scarce and important resources is a source of power in organizations. Control and access to key information or expert knowledge and possession of special skills are examples of resources that might be scarce and important to the organization—and hence potential means of influencing organizational decisions. It also has been found that centrality, meaning being in the right place in the organization, can be a source of power. People or groups with network centrality gain power because their position allows them to integrate other functions or to reduce organization dependence. This explains, for instance, the frequent power of secretaries or the influence of the accounting department when a firm is experiencing a major financial crisis. On a more micro level, you should not overlook assessing your boss’s influence in any power analysis. What is your boss’s position on the issue at hand—for, against, or neutral? If his or her position is for or against, how intense is your boss’s stand? What is your boss’s power status in the organization? Is it strong or weak? Answers to these questions can help you assess whether the support or opposition of your boss will be relevant. The support of a powerful boss can be a plus. On the other hand, the support of a weak boss is likely to mean little and can even be harmful to your cause. If your boss is an up-andcomer with an expanding power base, you’ll want to tread carefully. As an adversary, such a person can be a major hindrance to your future in the organization. However, as an ally, such a boss can open doors previously closed to you and possibly provide the vehicle to accelerate your rise in the organization. If your power assessment uncovers that your boss is widely perceived throughout the organization as dead wood, your political strategy might need to include distancing yourself to avoid guilt by association. 3. Assess your power. After looking at others’ power, you need to assess your own power base. What’s your personal power level? What power, if any, does your position in the organization provide? Where do you stand relative to others who hold power? Figure 12.1 summarizes peoples’ main sources of power in organizations. Some people project a personal charisma or magnetic personality that draws others to them. They have those hard-to-define leadership qualities and often are perceived as socially adept, popular, outgoing, self-confident, aggressive, and intelligent.10 If you happen to be seen in your organization as a charismatic leader, you’ll find that others will want to know your position

Power originates from an individual’s personal characteristicsand positionin an organization. Additional power can be acquired by creating dependency, impression management, and politicking. Each of these sources is summarized here.

POSITION POWER BASES

• Authority. The right to give orders because of one’s position in the organization. • Reward. The ability to give people things they value. • Coercive. Based on the ability to punish people by taking away or withholding things they value.

PERSONAL POWER BASES

• Expertise. Possession of special skills others depend on to achieve goals. • Information. Possession of information others depend on to achieve goals. • Charisma. Charisma exists when others identify with and are attracted to someone they look up to.

If others like, admire, and want to be accepted by you, you have what is known as referentpower. • Association. Close associations with people who have position and/or personal power. “It’s not whatyou know, but whoyou know.” • Dependency. The control of a resource that others need to meet their needs. • Favorable Impression. Shaping the image you project to favorably influence how others perceive you. • Politicking Skills. The use of influencing strategies to gain power and influence decision outcomes in your favor.

FIGURE 12.1 Power Bases. Source: Based on French, J.R.P. Jr. and B. Raven, “The Bases of Social Power,” in D. Cartwright, ed., Studies in Social Power (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, 1959), pp. 150–67; Littlepage, G. E., J. L. Van Hein, K. M. Cohen, and L. L. Janiec, “Evaluation and Comparison of Three Instruments Designed to Measure Organizational Power and Influence Tactics,” Journal of Applied Social Psychology (January 16–31,1993), pp. 107–125; Drory, A. and T. Romm, “The Definition of Organizational Politics: A Review,” Human Relations (November 1990), pp. 1133–1154.

on issues, that your arguments often will be perceived as persuasive, and that your position is likely to carry considerable weight in others’ decisions. Few of us are charismatic leaders. We’re more likely to develop a personal power base through our expertise. By controlling specialized information that others need, we increase others’ dependence on us. If lots of people in the organization can do what you can do, or if your talent could be replaced easily by hiring an outsider, your expert power is low. If you have neither charismatic nor expert power, possibly your position in the organization can be a source of power. If you’re a manager, you’ll have some reward and coercive powers derived solely from the authority of your position. For instance, you might be able to reassign people, approve time off, hand out salary increases, initiate suspensions, or even fire employees. In addition to formal authority, your position also might provide centrality, high visibility, access to important or guarded information, and the like. Depending on the issue, your position might prove to be an asset. Finally, don’t ignore the dynamics inherent in the relationships between you and other power holders.11 Determine the degree to which players support or oppose you. Assess their power to influence the ultimate outcome and then determine the priority they assign to your objective. In this way, you can identify who your allies are; who your opponents are likely to be; the intensity of