It is rare to find the words “power” and “politics” listed on the index pages of mainstream management books. One might reasonably assume, therefore, that these have little or no part to play in the dynamics of organization and management. In contrast to this, I argued in Informal Coalitions that acting politically is a central aspect of real-world management practice. That is to say,
“… organizations that succeed do so not only in spite of political behaviour but also because of it.”
Ongoing process
Organization is an ongoing, political process. It is continuously (re-)enacted through the everyday, power-related interactions of people. People, that is, who have different – and potentially conflicting – intentions, interests, ideologies and identities. People who perceive, interpret, and value things differently. People who are, nevertheless, inter-dependent - enabling and constraining each other, as they seek to find their way through the individual and collective challenges they face.
What people come to see as ‘the established order’, ‘disorder’, and ‘new order’ emerge from these ongoing, conversational interactions. Some of these exchanges occur in line with the formally acknowledged, ‘legitimate’ themes and practices. Others reflect the hidden, messy, and informal, ‘shadow’ themes and ways of being that are characteristic of everyday human relations. Nothing happens, then, except through the political actions of real people.
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