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Discuss power and politics in organizations. How can mangers minimize the negative impact of power and politics?

To better understand the process one would have to have an understanding of 3 concepts: Power- the ability to influence someone else, which is an ability. Influence- the process of affecting the thoughts, behavior, and feelings of another person. Authority- is the right to influence another person. Most employees accept that the manager has the authority to make requests and complies with the requests. Political behavior refers to actions not officially sanctioned by an organization that are taken to influence others in order to meet one's personal goals. The phrase "pulling strings" comes to mind here and I'm not above it. Sometimes the more political employees feel their work involves, the more job satisfaction they receive. Regardless political behavior in the workplace usually involves someone trying to better they own situation or standing within the organization.

Power and politics are key in an organization's health and structure. Power ultimately forms the grounds of the political behavior. Organizations are areas where many people have competing interests. Organizational politics creates a political behavior that could influence positive or negative consequences. The effects could be negative if the behavior is made to maximize self-interest. On the other hand, constructive political behavior is selfless rather than selfish. The organization seeks gain as a whole. Managers that can minimize the negative ways of power and political behavior can find a more established organization. Managers that use positive power build a sense of responsibility while creating relationships with the political behavior.

When mangers in an organization share the same personal goals as team goals it can minimize the negative impact of power and politics. If Mangers and other individuals share the same personal goals, then they will most likely be supportive of each others interest, which will benefit the organization overall.

Not all political behavior in an organization is negative. Constructive political behavior is selfless, rather than selfish. It is similiar to the concept of social power. Constructive organizational politicans see the difference between ethical and unethical behavior. They also understand that relationships drive the political process, and use the power with a sense of responsibility.