Power, Politics and Conflict (990 words)

The historic Enron Scandal of 2002 highlights the devastating effects of power, politics and conflict, as well as how quickly a successful organisation can fall. Therefore, your scenario organisation asks you to examine the influence of internal power and politics within the organisation in order to prevent a similar conflict. The organisation is concerned that with the upcoming transition there may be employee dissatisfaction due to perceptions of unfair treatment and inequality of benefits for current employees. The complex relationship of power and politics includes legal, economical, social and psychological dimensions. As a consultant, you know that an organisation’s actions, whether intentional or merely perceived, can create dissatisfaction among employees (Wilton, 2011). Sometimes there is a fine line between misperception and deception. Therefore, consider the role that power and politics plays within your scenario organisation and specifically focus on the human resource processes, such as recruitment and promotion. For example, consider the role politics might play in deciding to recruit external versus internal candidates and the effect that can have on existing employees. Consider an employee that believes a co-worker was unfairly promoted and the effect that might have on existing relationships. In this Individual Assignment, you will analyse the impact of power and politics and recommend human resource processes to minimise conflict.

References
Wilton, N., (2011) An Introduction to Human Resource Management, Los Angeles: Sage

To prepare for this Individual Assignment:
Think about the potential influences that power and politics may have on your scenario organisation. Consider all perspectives, including the organisation’s employees, managers and human resource professionals. Consider the processes you may recommend to minimise power and politics in your scenario organisation.

To complete this Individual Assignment:
Write a summary in which you critically discuss the potential influences of power and politics that can affect your scenario organisation. Explain the issues of power and politics that may arise within and across teams as a consequence of the pending changes in your scenario organisation. Include how power and politics might influence employees and managers. Explain how power and politics might influence human resource processes, such as recruitment, selection and promotion in the organisation. Explain two human resource processes you would recommend to a staff manager to minimise power and politics in the organisation. Please include a detailed description of steps you would include in your recommended processes.

Support your Individual Assignment with current academic literature beyond your Learning Resources.

The potential influences of power and politics in an organisation

The main purpose of power and politics in an organisational setting is to direct and control the behaviour of the members in order to achieve the goals of the organisation (Oh, Chung & Labianca, 2004). One of the primary outcomes of power and politics is manipulation where one party exercises influence over another to cause the latter to act in a desired way. This causes a ripple effect, and may result in various potential influences. One of these influences is negotiation and cooperation with the manipulator. Another potential influence is resistance where a group forms a coalition to resist the influence of the manipulator. Consequently, organisational members with a desire for advancement through power and politics have to learn the culture for success within their specific organisation (Spreitzer, Sutcliffe, Dutton, Sonenshein, & Grant, 2005)....

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