Reframing Organizations , 4 th ed.

1. Reframing Organizations, 4th ed.

2. Chapter 10 The Manager as a Politician

3. The Manager as a Politician • Skills of the Manager as a Politician • Ethics and politics

4. Skills of the Manager as a Politician • Agenda Setting (knowing what you want and how you’ll try to get it) • Vision or objective • Strategy for achieving the vision • Mapping the Political Terrain • Determine the channels of informal communication • Identify principal agents of political influence • Analyze possibilities for mobilizing internal and external players • Anticipate counterstrategies that others are likely to employ

5. Drawing the political map • Frame the central issue – the key choice that people disagree about • Identity the key players (those who are most likely to influence the outcome) • Where does each player fall in terms of the key issue? • How much power is each player likely to exert • Example: Belgian bureaucracy • Key issue: are automated records a good thing?

6. Figure 10-1:The Political Map as Seen by the “Techies” – Strong Support and Weak Opposition for Change High TopManagement Techies Power Middle Managers Front-line Officials Low Pro-Change Opposed to Change Interests

7. Figure 10-2:The Real Political Map: a Battle Ground With Strong Players on Both Sides High Top Management Techies Middle Managers Front-line Officials Middle Managers Power Low Pro-Change Opposed to Change Interests

8. Skills of the Manager as a Politician (II) • Networking and Building Coalitions • Identify relevant relationships • Assess who might resist • Develop relationships with potential opponents • Persuade first, use more forceful methods only if necessary

9. Skills of the Manager as a Politician (III) • Bargaining and Negotiation • Value Creating: look for joint gain, win-win solutions • Value Claiming: try to maximize your own gains

10. Value Creating: Getting to Yes (Fisher and Ury) • Separate people from problem: “ deal with people as human beings, and the problem on its merits” • Focus on interests, not positions • Invent options for mutual gain • Insist on objective criteria: standards of fairness for a good decision

11. Value Claiming: The Strategy of Conflict (Schelling) • Bargaining is a mixed-motive game (incentives to complete and collaborate)] • Process of interdependent decisions • Controlling other’s uncertainty gives power • Emphasize threats, not sanctions • Threats are only effective if credible • Calculate the optimal level of threat: too much or too little can undermine your position

12. Morality and Politics • Ethical criteria in bargaining and organizational politics • Mutuality – are all parties operating under the same understanding of the rules? • Generality – does a specific action follow a principle of moral conduct applicable to all comparable situations? • Openness – are we willing to make our decisions public? • Caring – does this action show care for the legitimate interests of others?

13. Conclusion • Politics can be sordid and destructive, but can also be the vehicle for achieving noble purposes • Managers need to develop the skills of constructive politicians: • Fashion an agenda • Map political terrain • Networking and building coalitions • Negotiating