Organizational Politics Reflection

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My definition of organizational politics is the pursuit of one’s self-interest within an organization without regard to an organization’s goals. I believe all levels within an organization participate in organizational politics and that not all organizational politicking contradicts an organization’s goals. An example when I was hurt by organizational politics occurred in the summer of 2015. I was in charge of an Industrial Engineering Intern and one of the projects I had scheduled for us was to complete a one week 5S workshop* on the paint line the last full work week of June. The completion of a 5S workshop in all production cells was a part of my performance review and the paint line was the last area left. It was also known as the messiest. I felt it would be a very good experience for the intern to learn how to apply the 5S methodology in a manufacturing environment. On our third day into the project the intern was pulled from the workshop and told by the Plant Manager that she would help the Quality department complete their yearly Gage R&R (repeatability and reproducibility) effective immediately. That same day the intern was …show more content…

The book (12th edition) defines organizational politics as the use of power to affect decision making in an organization, or on self-serving and organizationally unsanctioned behaviors. We are humans and can interpret facts differently from the person sitting next to us. Therefore, we will use politics to influence the decision to support our interpretation and interests. I also do not believe that an organization will have enough resources to satisfy the goals of all groups within an organization. Therefore, managers will always have to use politics to obtain the resources necessary to achieve their goals. There will always be a need for some level of persuasion through the use power bases and power tactics within any organization now or in the near

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