Political Frame and Organizations - Essay Sample

Introduction

Framing refers to how an entity is run and how leaders in a particular frame view and manage resources at their disposal. According to Bolman and Deal (2013) Organizations are divided into four critical frames commonly known as the four frame model. The four frame model constitutes; structural, human resource, political and symbolic frameworks. It is crucial to note that each frame is responsible for playing different roles and achieving goals. This paper will be looking into political framing in an organization and all it entails.

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Political framing is vital in any form of organization because it ensures ease of management and policy formulation, planning and enforcement. In the political frame of an organization power and conflict are the fueling components of politics (De, Cremer, van Dick, Murnighan, 2011). Power is a crucial component in politics because it is the ability one has to bring about impact; the more active an individual has the more potential and support they have. If an individual cannot impact others, then it is difficult for such a person to wield any meaningful changes. It is important to recognize that influential players in an organization are always included in the decision-making process.

The conflict element of politics comes from the drive to maintain power and control by the existing power players. Power players in an organization never lose focus on the goal to be achieved which is to preserve their ability and get even more. While power moves are being made conflicts are bound to arise. Organizations are viewed as areas in which individuals compete to achieve their interests from different standpoints and obtain power at the current resources (Bolman and Deal, 2013). The political frame views firms as influence driven and base the conceptualization of competition to influence as a factor within and outside the company.

Political managers understand the role of politics in the firm and how to maximize on issues and optimize assets. Political managers are keen to influence, and they do so in the most subtle of ways, such as building relationships. Influence is only achievable through building relationships. These relationships range from senior employees and subordinates alike. Knowing people is an essential feature for growing influence and maintaining it. However, the relationships built are only beneficial to political managers that are respectful. This is because different individuals work in various capacities and having contact with different individuals in the workplace makes one privy to information.

Politically motivated managers use the relationships that they have created to influence strategy. In my organization, I have realized that my supervisor uses this frame model for overseeing and taking instruction. The supervisor has built a secure network that is a relationship based on our organization. He has a person looking out for his interests in every department of the organization. This has mostly been fostered by the understanding that change is only as good as how you pitch it and to whom you pitch it to. Through the network-based relations he has, he is aware of information before even his colleagues at supervisory level are. This influence he has in the organization has been put to good use through integration of services and policies that have favored his subordinates by easing service delivery.

Another essential concept under the political frame model is that of leverage and its application. Leverage is a skill that facilitates influence. To be able to influence is necessary but it is more impactful to know when and how to apply political strategies for beneficial purpose in the long term. If political motivations are not accompanied by policy, they can do more harm than good. Politically motivated managers in an organization appreciate that information is beneficial, but it is not enough without a good plan to execute it to its maximum potential.

In the decision-making process a lot of factors play a role, and power players have a niche to decide. Owing to the influence acquired an influencer is included in the decision-making process of the organization because the individual is viewed as a representative for the people majorly because his opinion is regarded highly by most employees (Bolman and Deal, 2013). Because of this approval by other members of the organization, it passes off as a representation for the employees in absentia. For example, in my organization, my supervisor acts as the representative of our department in the case of grievances and bridges the needs of the department as essential to the daily running of the organization.

Politics also plays the role of ensuring the organization does not misuse its workers unfairly. Politics ideology is based on mobilization and sharing of ideas to foster recognition of individuals within an entity. It does this by reminding the people that they matter too in all aspects of the organization. Through influence, advocacy is encouraged at the Institutional level (Butcher, 2014). Workers use the most influential colleagues to help raise their issues in the office and assist in managing expectations. Political influencers mostly negotiate for the employees to the overall boss within the company. This is mainly because such individuals understand things from the perspective of their employees but also understand that negotiations are a give and take kind of situation and will negotiate deals that amount to maximizing satisfaction on both sides for cohesion within an organization.

The biggest challenge of organizational politics is that it is misused by influencers to push agendas that are beneficial to their interests. In most cases, the negativity behind politics comes from the need for recognition and unnecessary fights. Due to the availability of leverage especially in the form of information and relationships, it is easy for political managers to manipulate and use people to their advantage sometimes (Bolman and Deal, 2013). This, however, is a drawback that will lead to the breaking of some relationships because most workers will be afraid of suffering the same fate and this will reduce the scope of influence. A reduction in the extent of political authority changes all the rules and leaves one open to loss of power and control.

Another challenge of political frameworks within an organization is that of lack of collaboration in most cases. This is because political managers think with the rationale of benefitting themselves first before that of the people that they represent. This need to self-fulfill arises due to the nature of human beings of being rational in choice before undertaking a decision (De, Cremer, van Dick, Murnighan, 2011). Rationality states that people have a cost-benefit analysis of issues before making choices, and they usually choose what will benefit them the most. With rationality in play, collaboration might not be fully applied because an influencer will only negotiate what best helps them.

Individuals that apply the political view also apply and enforce strategies that are not competent based. In politics, competition is essential in ensuring the proper procedure is used. Politically motivated individuals more than often are in the process of eliminating competition or minimizing the scope of influence of competing opponents. It takes courage to lead and be on the frontline in politics especially in an organization.

References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2013). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership. Hoboken: Wiley.

Butcher, D. (2014). Smart management: Using politics in organizations. United Kingdom, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

De, Cremer. D., van Dick, R. ., & Murnighan, J. K. (2011). Social psychology and organizations. New York, NY: Routledge.