Thinking Politically in the Corporate Environment

 
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Thinking Politically in the Corporate Environment
Abid Mustafa, Director, United Kingdom, Member
In companies that are besotted by (Ed: ~ full of) politics and intrigue, problem solvers rarely fix issues and are more likely to spawn new problems that weigh heavily on the organization’s ability to serve customers and respond to market trends. This is because most problem solvers in such organizations eschew thinking about the political dimension of problems. For them problem solving is apolitical and necessitates issues to be understood and analyzed, root causes identified and validated, and initiatives developed and implemented that eventually result in workable solutions. The solutions— by and large—are delivered in the form of processes and governance models, roles and responsibilities, training, automation etc. Problem solving in this manner always conforms to the politics of the company or what I like to call the “corporate order”.

Corporate politics...Sign up 		 

 
Thinking Politically in Organizations
Quarterman Lee, Consultant, United States, Member
Excellent summary. The real problem is top leadership. Unfortunately, the corporate order rarely changes until the pain is to great to ignore. ...Sign up
  

 
Thinking Politically and Forming Alliances
Mike Foy, United Kingdom, Member
I couldn't agree more. I think though that it's also worth bearing in mind that the prevailing corporate order can be to some degree determined by ...Sign up
  

 
Fighting Political Warfare
Nancy Roggen, OD and Professional Development , United States, Member
Building on what Lee Quarterman said, strong focused leadership can limit the damage of political warfare.
Unfortunately, all too often t...Sign up
  

 
Politics in Corporate Environment are Most Damaging for Middle and Lower Management
William Stadler, Manager, United States, Member
This type of thinking can be most damaging to the middle or lower management level of folk within a companies' structure - the ones who accomplish the...Sign up
  

 
The Courage to Fight Politics in the Corporate Environment
Amit Dasgupta, Director, United States, Member
A very well articulated observation! The analysis is very pragmatic and if one wants to employ this technique should have high confidence in his/her c...Sign up
  

 
Leadership Selection Problem as a Root Cause
Tarcisio Bastos, Manager, Canada, Member
Should the selection process of leadership be considered as one of the premises for success rather than simply a demonstration of power by those who s...Sign up
  

 
Frustrated Change Agent
Kathleen Turner, United States, Member
@William Stadler: As a past strategist for Walmart, could not agree more! And would love to hear the group's best ...Sign up
  

 
Politics is the Art of Compromise to Get Concensus on How to Move Forward?
John Nobel, Management Consultant, Australia, Member
Nice write up. To me it depends on what success looks like: is it about people, customers, shareholders, environment, values and culture?
People ...Sign up
  

 
Ego Management Critical to Minimizing Negative Political Environment
KATHRYN STEINER, MBA, Entrepreneur, United States, Member
@Nancy Roggen: there are still companies that allow the egos to dominate, whether this is negatively affecting...Sign up
  

 
Thinking Politically in a Government Agency
T Lee, Analyst, Australia, Member
Great post. I think there are a whole new set of issues though for middle managers in the government sector, which is inherently political. Sign up
  

 
Not a Game for Beginners
MICHAEL PETIT, PHD, Director, Australia, Member
An organisation is just like any other social system. Underpinning every social system is a power structure. Invariably the power structure det...Sign up
  

 
Organization Politics can be both Helpful and Desctructive
Dr. Alan Williams, Professor, Thailand, Member
Organization politics is here to stay. It can be helpful to gain buy-in, get resources, etc, and of course it can be destructive.
A clever CEO kn...Sign up
  

 
How Corporate Order Politics are Affecting Solutions
RVRao, Management Consultant, India, Member
Mr Mustaffa''s detailed writing on this issue is not common in the corporate sector which is professionally managed by corporate leaders striving to a...Sign up
  

 
Leadership and Politics
Amyas Mvunelo, Director, South Africa, Member
Leadership by its very nature and inevitably political across all sectors.
All leaders must have a degree of political intelligenceSign up
  

 
Thinking Politically in the Corporate Environment
Yahong. Liu, Manager, Member
I think an eligible manager should solve problems and provide appropriate solutions to the senior management for final decision.
A team should h...Sign up
  

 
Universality of Human Disorders in Organization
VAN THIENEN, Teacher, France, Member
@Quarterman Lee: Very nice analysis. Unfortunately, problem solvers are very isolated and feel alone. Maybe, they are...Sign up
  

 
How to Solve Problems in Politically Charged Companies
Tezera woldemedhin, Turnaround Manager, Ethiopia, Member
I really appreciated the comment given by Abid Musteffa. It is a critical problem in most of the African nations. Political interference is here very ...Sign up
  

 
Good Synthesis of a Real Problem
Dario Gragnani, Manager, Italy, Member
The sad thing is that the problem solver must be something like a (super)hero.
We should also reflect on how to design companies in such a way...Sign up
  

 
Accept Custodians of the Corporate Order as a Universal Reality
Dominic Kingaby, United Kingdom, Member
I think this is a superb explanation of the corporate reality but rather than think of 'custodians of the corporate order' as an issue or problem, the...Sign up
  

 
Politically Charged Organisation are Hard for Change Agents
Augustine Manyau, Student (MBA), Zimbabwe, Member
I think this is the most difficult task for all change agents who want to solve problems in an environment where the organisations are mainly quasi go...Sign up
  

 
Non-competitive Environments Will Develop a Political Pyramid
Peter Condon, Coach, United Kingdom, Member
Abid Mustafa, excellent article thank you and good additional insight by @William Stadler. Have witnessed exactly thi...Sign up
  

 
Having the Courage to Challenge the (existing) Corporate Order
Marijan Vandekolk, Management Consultant, Member
Excellent observation of behaviour. I agree with you it´s common, all around and most destructive, and as a consultant I absolutely agree you have to ...Sign up
  

 
Environmental Impacts on Political Thinking
Qusai Mahgoub, Strategy Consultant, Sudan, Member
The environment (external) affects the decisions in the organization directly. I mean by the environment the economic system, regulations and policies...Sign up
  

 
People, Managers and Organizations Have Different Drivers and Values, Causing Different (Use of) Politics
Jaap de Jonge, CEO, Netherlands, Editor
When we're talking about politics in business organizations, it's useful to consider that employees, managers, leaders, departments, business units an...Sign up
  

 
Selfishness Sometimes Outweighs Any Other Consideration
JOSEPH SOLA ONIFADE, Manager, Nigeria, Member
The problems have been clearly enunciated. It is not that those who occupy leadership positions in organisations do not KNOW what to do to move their ...Sign up
  

 
Who Answers to the Corporate Political Thinking!
Ndlovu, Manager, United Kingdom, Member
These are wise observations and thoughts. My feeling is that senior management are the ones that will always think politically and answer to all polit...Sign up
  

 
Thinking Politically is Like Surfing
Robert Sowell, Consultant, United States, Member
For sociologists, politics is the expression and application of power. It's in all relationships and social structures.
Thinking of polit...Sign up
  

 
Thinking Politically in a Corporate Environment
ALBAN ONWULIRI, Student (University), Nigeria, Member
In the corporate organization, the management team is established to think for the organization. The organizational thinkers who are also decision mak...Sign up
  

 
The Problem Solver May Be Wiped to Fall in Line
Yekini Iskilu, Accountant, Nigeria, Member
The issue is that serious, that the custodian of office order usually denies the problem solver what is due to him, in order to force him to abandon h...Sign up
  

 
Who Seeks Power and Why
Jim Carlin, United States, Member
Power corrupts - absolute power corrupts absolutely.
It attracts those who do not examine their life - or anybody else....Sign up
  

 
Examine the Value System that Governs
Osama Kamal, Management Consultant, Egypt, Member
I appreciate how Abid explained and gave a clear picture of the struggle that happens in many systems.
But I think that if you work in an organi...Sign up
  

 
Live and Let Die: the Irony of Reality
Yemi Smith, Management Consultant, Nigeria, Member
Lovely piece. When personal interests supersede corporate interest, corporate order is what you get. It's a game of survival at all cost. Like Quarter...Sign up
  

 
Closely Linked with the Problem of Organisational Corruption
Chenemi, Student (University), South Africa, Member
@JOSEPH SOLA ONIFADE: I do strongly believe that the problem of selfishness is the one of the causes of organ...Sign up
  

 
The High Risk of Politics in Organisations Need Mitigation
Rantshoke David Makhema, Manager, South Africa, Member
I agree with the author. Such organisations governed by politics eventually die and are open to high level of corruption and affecting the economy. Se...Sign up
  

 
Politics and Problem Solving
Andrew Blaine, Business Consultant, South Africa, Member
Politics is concerned with the management and accumulation of power.
Sign up
  

 
Making Progress through Corporate Politics
Sriraman Nellissery Ananthanarayanan, Manager, Saudi Arabia, Member
Looks like we are taking into one aspect of management. We all work in comfort level and corporate politics is to work within allowed comfort level in...Sign up
  

 
Thinking Politically in the Corporate Environment
Salhat Abbasova, Manager, Azerbaijan, Member
A leader must choose the best strategy in order to ensure the further progress of the company.
Both intellectual and creative approaches and pol...Sign up
  

 
Thinking Politically in the Corporate Environment Grows with Experience
Namrata Ramchandra Shelar, India, Member
Thinking politically and not intellectually becomes an art through experience. I believe once we become an old player in this corporate order and star...Sign up
  

 
Politics May Radically Change the Management Structure
Adonis, Business Consultant, France, Member
Any company has to face new sociopolitical challenges and contexts. In a perspective to manage by culture & politics, internal & external collaboratio...Sign up
  

 
Conditions for Engaging in Corporate Politics
leonard haggai oduori, Project Manager, Kenya, Member
The strategies for creating successful interventions in an organization are very much a product of the uniqueness of an individual.
If you are v...Sign up
  

 
This Problem Can Only Be Changed from the Top Down
Roel van Tiel, Analyst, Netherlands, Member
Imho, in these types of companies, the only way to really change this is from the top. i.e. a strong Sign up
  

 
Thinking Politically in the Auto Industry
Jose Luis Gallardo R, Manager, Mexico, Member
Unfortunately the evolution in this segment is slow, because not to many top managers want to change their style or leadership. However, the evolution...Sign up
  

 
Political Thinking May Promote Agility
Dilip Khanal, CEO, Nepal, Member
Many organizations are normally slow in identifying the clients' requirements. A politician can identify and respond to customer requirements in a ...Sign up
  

 
Politically 'lost in Translations'
Marijan Vandekolk, Management Consultant, Member
@Dilip Khanal: I think we are getting "lost in translations" as we talk about 2 different kind of "political thinkin...Sign up
  

 
Every Individual is a Political Being
WINIFRED AMUGI, Student (MBA), Ghana, Member
Every individual is generally a political being and thus organisational politics cannot be ignored. The team leader should provide leadership in solvi...Sign up
  

 
Thinking Politically in Business is a Factor
Robert Sowell, Consultant, United States, Member
@Winifred Amugi : you are "spot on" with the observation that every "individual is...a political being and thus orga...Sign up
  

 
Political Behavior is Evolutionary Heritage and Dependent on Cultural Context
Inken Lasar, Germany, Member
Excellent article – I agree that politics plays an important role in companies as well as everywhere else in life – in the end, following political mo...Sign up
  

 
Politic and Problem Solving - Leadership is a Must
Sylvie Girard, Director, Canada, Member
Solving problems in a political environment is impossible without the power to influence the decision makers. This can only be achieved by finding, in...Sign up
  

 
Corporate Politcs and Organizational Thinking
edward sevume, Sweden, Member
I just finished reading a biography about Steve Jobs and one of the things that I realized was how good he was at politics at Apple. It dawned on me t...Sign up
  

 
Corporates and Politics
Ochora Onek, Student (MBA), Uganda, Member
Good article by Mustaffa. Corporate politics belie the desire for self actualization by the different players near the apex of the organization. This ...Sign up
  

 
A Solution for the Problem Solver in a Political Environment...
Amit Deorukhkar, Project Manager, India, Member
The Problem Solver here will be at great risk and danger from Corporate Giants who play politically to safe guard their own gold in corporate world.Sign up
  

 
Master it Before Challenging It
Max Xiao, Manager, China, Member
@Namrata Ramchandra Shelar: The best way to change a thing is to master it at first....Sign up
  

   

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