Politics In Business

2 Pages 571 Words

What is Power? “Power is defined simplistically as the ability to get others people to

do something that you want them to do” (Buhler, 2001). Power is control and many

people are given the power to control other in their every day task. When one person

controls the power and politics, that individual has complete domination. There are a

number of people in this position, CEO, CFO, Human resources or just your manager

has the power to change your life.

“Just a decade ago, most organization reflected the traditional pyramid with the

power concentrated at the top–most levels of the hierarchy. Today the reality is very

different in many organization. Now, power is distributed more evenly throughout most

organizations. This is a result of the empowerment of the workforce. This

empowerment, however, has resulted in a major paradigm shift. It has required that

everyone think very differently about the concept of power today” (Buhler, 2001).

Every organization has politics that dominate the everyday lives of it workforce. The

politics usually begins at the top of the pyramid. The whole political environment within a

company can determine how long your employment will be and how much you will be

paid. “Politics is one of the mechanisms that enable you to get things done through

other people. Politics even helps share the culture of your organization. Organization

politics is concerned with the use of actions to meet individual goals through means that

the organization doesn’t necessarily sanction. Political behavior is generally outside the

formal authority of the organization. You can use political behavior to achieve

organizational or individual goals. It is the misuse and abuse of power and politics that

has given both bad names. Politics is defined as the process of gaining and using

power in the organization” (Buhler, 2001). We s...