WHY DO MANAGERS NEED TO BE FAMILIAR WITH POLITICS



Going by the views and perceptions of organizational politics by the available literatures, Organizational Politics can be frustrating and demoralizing when it is not accepted as part of the organization. The need for managers to be familiar with organizational politics is as stated by Christine et al (2004).


To exert influences: if you as a manager wants  to be considered for a company promotion, if you want to get the line terms on your departmental budget  approved, one of the ways to influence  decision-makers is to get involved in campaign with the right people to get the result you are looking for.

It helps you to stay informed. Individual decision-makers involved in company politics often gather and create committees to conduct research before taking important decisions. As a manager, you need to be tuned into the politics of the company to stay up to date on any committees being formed. The company may be considering making cuts in your department or eliminating you department. Getting involved in company politics can get you access to membership in committees that could help you to save your job and the jobs of each employee in your department.

To Gain Approval: To get your ideas implemented, you need to be part of the political process. This can mean getting approval for new staff members to your department or getting your department approved for increased in responsibility.

To avoid problem:  Managers need to understand and learn to manipulate the company political system to get things their department need. But sometime, in politics, part of knowing the system means knowing when to stay out of something. If important change is coming up you will know whether to get involved or not sometimes it pays to stay out of some issues in the company.

Ezeigbo (2006), in his contribution, attributed scarcity as the reason why unit managers should be familiar with organizational politics. Here, when resources are scarce for example if there is a slash in budgets, managers will rely on political tactics to safeguard their resources and maintain the status quo.

Scholars, in organizational behaviour identified changes as one of the reasons why managers must be familiar with Organizational Politics. Change of any nature within an organization introduces ambiguity, changes bring forth apprehension, and the more the change and apprehension, the more political people become. Andrews (2001) affirmed that uncertainty is largely responsible for political push in organization and as you must be conversant with the political train in organization to cope with the changes.
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