The Place of Organizational Politics in Strategic change Dianne Lewis

1. The Place of Organizational Politics in Strategic changeDianne Lewis Navid Ghaffarzadegan Sharif University of Technology School of Management

2. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • An Overview of the paper • Change • Strategic Change • Organizational Politics • Political Model of Change This paper discusses the part that political model of change can play in conjunction with traditional strategic change model. Sharif University of Technology

3. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • Change • Where are we? • Where should we be? • How should we go? Now Goal Change So, What is the problem?? Sharif University of Technology

4. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • Change • Organizations are social systems • Change is not a rational process • Emotions come into play as well • … People have no problem with change but with being changed! Sharif University of Technology

5. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • Change • Sustainable Change • How to change knowledge? Culture? • Role of leadership • … Sharif University of Technology

6. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • Change • Leading the change is the key point… Importance of Leadership Sharif University of Technology

7. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • List • Change • Strategic Change • Organizational Politics • Political Model of Change what is the relation between our approach to strategy and managing change? Sharif University of Technology

8. Organizational Politics in Strategic change Strategic Change • Strategy • Planning School …Formal method, external environment • Design School … informal, SWOT • Mintzberg’s idea • Chaos Theory All approaches could be useful but don’t forget Organizations are not structures or strategies, organizations are people! Sharif University of Technology

9. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • List • Change • Strategic Change • Organizational Politics • Political Model of Change Organizational Behavior and Politics-Power… Sharif University of Technology

10. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • Organizational Politics • Power • Politics • Power is not a thing or an act, but rather a resource, a capacity, a potential (pfeffer 1981) • Power is the capability of one social actor to overcome resistance in achieving a desired objective or result (pfeffer 1981) • If power is the resource, Politics is the act used to develop the resource Sharif University of Technology

11. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • Organizational Politics • Power • Politics • Managers have many tools; that is, skills, options, strategies and models; that they can use… Politics can be seen as just another tool. Sharif University of Technology

12. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • Organizational Politics • Power • Politics • Unitarists Vs Pluralists • Morgan (1997) extrapolates on the idea of pluralism and argues that organizations can be seen as political systems in which all people pursue their own interest. • The Unsettling notion of power and politics …Variation on cultures: people accepted and preferred large or small power differences between superiors and subordinates? (What about UK, Canada, USA, Australia) • Power implies dependence and politics implies manipulation. Sharif University of Technology

13. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • Organizational Politics • Basic assumptions • Pluralism and existence of multiple goals. • Resources are scarce…members will never be fully satisfied.. • Impractically of the rational model of decision making • People will form coalitions and interest groups in order to control outcomes. Sharif University of Technology

14. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • List • Change • Strategic Change • Organizational Politics • Political Model of Change We have to extend traditional notions of strategic change to include politics. Sharif University of Technology

15. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • Political model of change • Brislin (1991) provides a useful framework that classifies political strategies and tactics in terms of their end objectives • Strategies for gaining support • Strategies for dealing with opponents • Relation with change Management Sharif University of Technology

16. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • Using Politics In strategic Change • In change we need a collection of individuals who have very widely differing interests. • There are many well established power bases that need to be jolted out of their inertia • Immediate changes • To make confliction • …. Sharif University of Technology

17. Organizational Politics in Strategic change • Conclusion • People have no problem with change but with being changed! ..The Importance of OB in Change. • Making Change Sustainable. • Changing Attitudes. • The Importance of Politics in the modern world. • Using Politics in strategic change. For gaining support and dealing with opponents Sharif University of Technology

18. The Only Constant is Change … Question? References: • Dianne Lewis, The Place of Organizational Politics in Strategic Change. 2002 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. • Peter M. Senge, Art Kleiner (Editor), Charlotte Roberts, George Roth, Rick Ross, The Dance of Change, 1999, Doubleday • Bernard Burnes, Managing Change, third edition, 2000, Prentice Hall Sharif University of Technology