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8. Causes and sequences of political behaviors

8.1 Factor contributing to political behavior

Recent research and observation have identified a number of factors that appear to encourage

political behavior. Some are individual characteristics, derived from the unique qualities of thepeople to the organization employs; others are a result of the organizations culture or internal

environment.

Factors that influence political behavior

Individual factors Organizational Factors

-High self-monitors

-Internal locus of control-High Mach personality

-Organizational investment

-Expectations of success

-Reallocation of sources

-Promotion opportunities-Low trust

-Role ambiguity

-Unclear performance evaluation system-Zero-sum reward practices-Democratic decision making

-High performance pressures-Self-serving senior managers

8.2 How do people respond to organizational politics?

y Decreased job satisfactiony Increased anxiety and stressy Increased turnovery Reduced performance

Defensive behaviors:

o Avoiding action:- Over conforming: Strictly interpreting your responsibility.- Buck passing: Transferring responsibility to someone else.- Playing dumb: Showing ignorance or inability.- S

tretching:

Prolonging a task so that one person appears to be occupied.- Stalling: Appearing to be more or less supportive publicly while doing little or

nothing privately.

o Avoiding change:- Prevention: Trying to prevent a threatening change from occurring.- Self-protection: Acting in ways to protect ones self-interest during change by

guarding information or other resources.

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8.3 Impression management

Impression management (IM): The process by which individuals attempt to control the

impression others form of them.

Impression management techniques:

y Conformity: Agreeing with someone elses opinion in order to gain his or herapproval.

y Excuses: Explanations of a predicament-creating event aimed at minimizing theapparent severity of the predicament

y Apologies: Admitting responsibility for an undesirable event and simultaneousseeking to get a pardon for the action.

y Self-promotion: Highlighting ones best qualities, downplaying ones deficits, andcalling attention to ones achievements.

y Flattery: Complimenting others about their virtues in an effort to make one appearperceptive and likeable.

y Flavors: Doing something nice for someone to gain that persons approval.y Association: Enhancing or protecting ones image by managing information about

people and things with which one is associated.

Most of the studies undertaken to test the effectiveness of IM techniques have related it to two

criteria: Interview success and performance evaluations.