دانلود رایگان مقاله استفاده از مهارت سیاسی برای تشخیص و سرمایه گذاری در زندگی سازمانی

Abstract

Politics in organizations are a fact of life, and have been regarded as such for decades by organizational scientists and practitioners alike. Unfortunately, far less is known about the skills or competencies needed in order to be successful–—and even survive–—in such political environments. Although many believe performance, effectiveness, and career success are determined mostly by intelligence and hard work, political perspectives on organizations contend that other factors such as positioning, social astuteness, and interpersonal savvy also play important roles; that is, individuals need to possess political skill. In this article, we describe the underlying features and operation of political skill in organizations, and argue that it allows people to be effective at work by giving them the capacity to more accurately recognize opportunities in the work environment and effectively capitalize on those opportunities. Using the game of chess as a metaphor, we describe how politically skilled individuals strategically employ their competencies in ways that ensure goal attainment. Further, we provide some practical guidance for employees about how to play the organizational politics ‘game’ to facilitate success.

7. Conclusion

In this article, we described how the underlying dimensions of political skill enable employees to achieve goals and objectives. We used the game of chess as a metaphor to illustrate how political skill drives the opportunity recognition and capitalization processes to influence outcomes in organizations the way chess grandmasters navigate the complex possibilities presented on a chess board. The politically skilled organizational grandmaster reads people and environments in ways that yield the detection of cues and thus opportunities that others simply cannot see. These masters operate on and enact with their environments in ways that create new opportunities. Finally, it is capitalization on these recognized opportunities that allows the politically skilled to achieve their objectives–—much in the same way chess grandmasters leverage their skills–—which translates into heightened job performance, enhanced reputation, and faster promotions. We hope the discussion has informed readers about the realities of playing politics in organizations, and enhances their potential to be the player who gets to exclaim: ‘‘Checkmate!’’