Following from the above model, we can identify at least five conditions conducive to political behavior in organizations. Along with possible resulting behaviors. The conditions include the following:
Because most organizations today have scarce resources, ambiguous goals, complex technologies, and sophisticated and unstable external environments, it seems reasonable to conclude that a large proportion of contemporary organizations are highly political in nature. As a result, contemporary managers must be sensitive to political processes as they relate to the acquisition and maintenance of power in organizations. This brings up the question of why we have policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs) in organizations. Actually, such policies are frequently aimed at reducing the extent to which politics influence a particular decision. This effort to encourage more "rational" decisions in organizations was a primary reason behind Max Weber's development of the bureaucratic model. That is, increases in the specification of policy statements often are inversely related to political efforts. This is true primarily because such actions reduce the uncertainties surrounding a decision and hence the opportunity for political efforts.
Conditions Conducive to Political Behavior
| Prevailing Conditions | Resulting Political Behaviors |
|---|---|
| Ambiguous goals | Attempts to define goals to one's advantage |
| Limited resources | Fight to maximize one's share of resources |
| Dynamic technology and environment | Attempts to exploit uncertainty for personal gain |
| Nonprogrammed decisions | Attempts to make suboptimal decisions that favor personal ends |
| Organizational change | Attempts to use reorganization as a chance to pursue own interests and goals |
Exhibit 13.7 Open Office Corner Office Corner offices are considered desirable because they have windows on two exterior walls, as opposed to a typical office with only one window or none at all. They are usually assigned to the head of the organization or division. The open office concept has been around for some time and has evolved as technology has reduced the need to have access to stored paper records of a fixed phone or office computer. Having no walls, no doors, and shared workspaces is designed to achieve increased communication and flow of ideas amongst employees, but there is concern that an open concept decreases employees' job satisfaction and decreases privacy, which also affects productivity.
Developing a strategy for a performance appraisal is an important step for any company, and keeping out political bias is a main concern as well. Unfortunately, many times there
is no way around bringing some bias into a performance appraisal situation. Managers often think of the impact that their review will have on the employee, how it will affect their relationship, and what it means for their career in the future. There
are a lot of games played in the rating process and whether managers admit it or not, they may be guilty of playing them. Many companies, such as Adobe, are looking at ways that they can revamp the process to eliminate potential biases and make evaluations
fairer.
In 2012, Adobe transformed its business, changing its product cycle; while undergoing process changes, Adobe understood that there needed to be a cultural shift as well. It announced the "Check-in" review process to allow for faster feedback,
as well as an end to their outdated annual review process. With the faster-paced reality of their product cycles and subscription-based model in technology, this made complete sense.
This process established a new way of thinking, allowing
for two-way communication to become the norm between managers and employees. They were able to have frequent candid conversations, approaching the tough subjects in order to make improvements rather than waiting until an annual review and letting bad
performance go unchecked or good performance go unnoticed. Eliminating a once-a-year cycle of review also eliminates the issue of politics creeping into the process. Managers are able to think critically about the performance, working alongside their
employees to better the outcome rather than worrying about having a tough conversation and the bad result that may follow - and having to live with the fallout. Employees also are given chances to provide feedback and their own personal evaluation,
which then is discussed with the manager. They review the items together, and what is formally submitted is agreed upon, rather than set in stone. The addition of the employee feedback is another great way to reduce the insertion of politics or bias
in the review.
As a result of this change, Adobe's employees showed higher engagement and satisfaction with their work, consistently improving. They no longer had negative surprises in their annual review and were able to adjust priorities and
behaviors to become more effective workers.