Organizational politics are the informal methods used to acquire power by using other tactics that are not merit or luck (Dubrin, 2001). Employee performance or what is commonly referred to as job performance is the result of individual effort. The question we then seek to answer is does organizational politics encourage or inhibit performance? Organizational politics encourages performance due to a variety of reasons that are important to consider.
A small new department is formed in Company A. The department’s major role is to ensure that a project is implemented and at the end of this project’s duration the team will be disbanded and the members fired. As a team member that is seeking a more permanent position at Company A you are not pleased with this. You therefore, seek out to find a way to secure a permanent position. You work hard and achieve the targets set for you, every month, but so do your other team mates. You then realize that you need to be more likeable because people often choose likability over competence. You are friendly with people and work towards forming positive ties with them. Ultimately, people will always choose a likeable and competent workmate as these qualities instill trust, dependency and affect (Ferris & Treadway, 2012). Consequently, you narrow your strategy to two important things; being likeable and competent thus continuing your great performance.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Using the same scenario, a few months into the project’s duration you notice that your departmental colleagues have formed a close knit group due to their shared predicament of contracted working. This group of people trusts one another but with no outsider’s information shared among them is largely the same. Drawing on the strength of others is important and the group members possess a similar level of power. Nonetheless, without external ties there is little to no information that comes in. You see the value in the close relationship within your network but you seek out external ties that will serve as your link to the other clusters of people. It has been proven that indirect ties are most beneficial in the search for new opportunities (Chang et al., 2009). This play on organizational politics puts you in a position to take advantage of your closed network while still branching out to look for more information. Your performance must be at its peak for you to have good relationships within the closed network as no one wants to work with a lazy colleague.
The final indicator in our scenario comes a month to the closing of the project you were hired for. You are both desperate and anxious to ensure that you get to continue working. In your arsenal you have one final card up your sleeve. The Head of the Operations Department is a key figure in Company A. Having worked with her on several parts of the project she knows your ability. You decide to speak to her to request her to put in a good word for you with the Human Resources Department Head. Time passes by and she seems to have forgotten but at the closing ceremony she thanks you by name for your valuable contribution. This elevates everyone’s perception of you and you receive a call a few days later for an interview for the permanent position you desired. If your performance was not better than average, she would not have acknowledged you nor thanked you for your efforts (Ferris & Treadway, 2012).
Organizational politics encourage performance because ultimately whether you are likeable, keep your ear to the ground or have a powerful person backing you, performance is the only thing that can still stop you from getting what you want. Therefore, high performance is always prioritized.
References
Chang, C. H., Rosen, C. C., & Levy, P. E. (2009). The relationship between perceptions of organizational politics and employee attitudes, strain, and behavior: A meta-analytic examination. Academy of Management Journal , 52 (4), 779-801.
Dubrin, Andrew J. (2001). Leadership. (3 rd ed) New York: Houghton Mifflin
Ferris, G. & Treadway, D. (2012). Politics in organizations: Theory and Research Considerations. New York, NY: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. Ch 1, 2, 6
