Position Paper – Power, Politics, and Culture

Position Paper: Power, Politics, and Culture

Assignment 3

BUS 520: Leadership and Organizational Behavior

Introduction

Power and politics are always influencing an organization’s culture. That culture can make or break a business by directly affecting productivity. This paper will analyze the ways power and politics influenced organizational culture. The CEO has requested my task force investigate the influence of power and politics on our corporate culture. In response, this position, the paper will present and support my recommendations to improve the culture.

This paper will detail and propose a new incentive program, based the influence of power and politics on our corporate culture, and how it will foster teamwork, strengthen interpersonal relationships, enhance communication, and affect overall performance.

This paper will address how politics and power-play may have influenced the organization’s culture. This paper will explore the sources of power and describe how management could use this influence to benefit our department and improve organizational performance. This paper will make recommendations that support how the study of power and politics could influence leadership behavior and improve the organization’s culture. This paper will discuss the importance and complexity of leadership behavior and explain what effect it has on influencing organizational structure and performance? This paper will also include an executive summary that presents recommendations for ways in which our organization could build a stronger culture.

Influence of Power and Politics Understanding and being able to recognize both the power and politics of an organization is one of the most critical and misunderstood parts of organizational behavior. “Power is the ability of a person or group to influence or control some aspect of another person or group.” (Uhl-Bien, 1) Organizations usually associate power to control resources others need, like position, money, information, decisions, and others.

Politics exist in Both formal and informal systems in organizations. Formal systems will govern how things are done and how work processes are coordinated and structured. Informal systems are the various patterns of activity and relationships that people as individuals and groups work to get things done. “Organizational politics involve efforts by organizational members to seek resources and achieve desired goals through informal systems and structures. Politics represent how people get ahead, how they gain and use power, and how they get things done (for good and bad) in organizations.” (Uhl-Bien, 2)

Politics in power-play have influence Tesla’s organizational culture in many ways. These influences are both internal and external to tesla’s organization. One of the key factors and Tesla being affected by politics and power would be the very fact that they’re in an all-electric vehicle and they compete with the leading gas vehicles of the world. “The political dynamics of the Tesla wars make for strange bedfellows. The car dealers lean overwhelmingly Republican, which may help to explain their considerable leverage in Republican-dominated state legislatures. On

principle, however, dealer protectionism sits uneasily in the Republican stable. The Tesla wars have seen Republican Governors like Chris Christie, Rick Perry, and Rick Snyder chided for anti-free-market policies by news sources such as the National Review and the Wall Street Journal. (Crane, 3) Tesla being an all-battery “Green” organization doesn’t fit so well in the long-standing political power of the “Big Three” American gas-operated car corporations. As this one example shows, politics and power-play influence Tesla’s organizational culture in the market. Internally as an organization Tesla strives to meet the highest demands of quality and longevity and not only their batteries but in their vehicles as well. The Tesla Corporation is driven from the Top-down to make the best all-electric and performance vehicles in the market. The speaks to the internal politics of Tesla. They must have the highest sense of quality at the lowest levels to be able to provide vehicles that compete against the gas vehicles up today. Tesla does a great job of just that. This speaks to the organizational culture, power, and politics.

Completely explains how politics and power-play may have influenced the organization’s culture. Accurately identifies the core issues and strongly connects them to the impact on culture. The explanation is well-supported by research.

Sources of Power

Tesla, as compared to other automotive manufacturers is relatively young. In the short time that tesla’s been on the market they have grown exponentially. This growth is allowed for grates impact in the market, a growth of jobs in the manufacturing areas, and growth of support all over the world. This growth and the profit margin gained allowed Tesla to have the resources to assist their employees and job security, growth, and the future that looks bright. This is one of the main sources of power that management could use to influence and benefit employees of Tesla. This also opens a pool of finance to allow for future expansion, training, rewards for excellent employees, and continued growth. Management will use this influence to benefit all departments and improve organizational performance.

The strategies I would incorporate power and politics to motivate our employees and influence behavior are in the concept of the Employee Value Proposition (EVP). EVP is “an exchange of value, what the organization offers the employee in return for his or her work contributions.” (Fox, 4) The employee would give work-effort, loyalty, commitment, knowledge, skills, and abilities. Our organization would offer pay, benefits, meaningful work, flexible schedules, personal development, bonuses, promotions, alternate work schedules, paid parking, in-house childcare, and promotions.

Leadership Behavior and Culture

The study of power and politics will influence leadership behavior and improve the organization’s culture. Leaders are the very individuals who train and develop subordinates. Those leaders will affect the entire organization either positively or negatively. To enhance the leadership and all it has to offer, training, and retraining along with assessment will aid in leadership development to drive and affect behavior and culture in our organization.

By utilizing employee value proposition, emotional intelligence, and open transparency, our leadership will set the tide for growth in the future. The study, understanding, and application of the power in politics control the tide that Tesla desires in our corporate culture.

Leadership Influence

The importance and complexity of leadership behavior Can be driven by so many factors. Each employee is an individual human being with different thoughts, feelings, emotions, and personal perspective. Being a great leader is the ability to influence others to accomplish the work by providing purpose, direction, and motivation. Leaders must first understand their people to understand how to lead them. Poor leaders will affect the business poorly, and great leaders will equally have a great effect on the organization. This has a direct reflection on the influence of organizational structure in performance.

Organizational Behavior (OB) is at the center of a leader’s critical thinking process. “Organizational Behavior is the study of human behavior in organizations. It is an academic discipline devoted to understanding individuals, teams, interpersonal processes, and organizational dynamics. Learning about OB can help you build solid job skills and expand your potential for career success in the dynamic, shifting, and complex workplaces of today … and tomorrow.” (Uhl-Bien, 5) Organizational behavior will enhance productivity, requiring management to resolve issues related to our corporate culture, managing diversity, leading teamwork, and developing motivational strategies.

Executive Summary

Power and politics are always influencing an organization’s culture. That culture can make or break a business by directly affecting productivity. This paper will analyze the ways power and politics influenced organizational culture. The CEO has requested my task force to investigate the influence of power and politics on our corporate culture. In response, this position the paper will present and support my recommendations to improve the culture.

Understanding and being able to recognize both the power and politics of an organization is one of the most critical and misunderstood parts of organizational behavior. Politics exist in Both formal and informal systems in organizations. Politics in power-play have influence Tesla’s organizational culture in many ways. These influences are both internal and external to tesla’s organization.

Tesla’s sources of power open a pool of finance to allow for future expansion, training, rewards for excellent employees, and continued growth. Management will use this influence to benefit all departments and improve organizational performance. To enhance the leadership behavior and culture and all it has to offer, training, and retraining along with assessment will aid in leadership development to drive and affect behavior and culture in our organization.

Being a great leader is the ability to influence others to accomplish the work by providing purpose, direction, and motivation. Leaders must first understand their people to understand how to lead them. Poor leaders will affect the business poorly, and great leaders will equally have a great effect on the organization. To improve Tesla must learn and apply the influence of power and politics on our corporate culture, and how it will foster teamwork, strengthen interpersonal relationships, enhance communication, and affect overall performance.

Conclusion

This paper detailed and proposed a new incentive program, based the influence of power and politics on our corporate culture, and how it will foster teamwork, strengthen interpersonal relationships, enhance communication, and affect overall performance. This paper addressed how politics and power-play may have influenced the organization’s culture. This paper explored the sources of power and described how management could use this influence to benefit our department and improve organizational performance. This paper made recommendations that support how the study of power and politics could influence leadership behavior and improve the organization’s culture. This paper discussed the importance and complexity of leadership behavior and explained what effect it had on influencing organizational structure and performance. This paper also included an executive summary that presented recommendations for ways in which our organization could build a stronger culture.

Power and politics influence an organization’s culture. That culture can make or break a business by directly affecting productivity. This paper analyzed the ways power and politics influenced organizational culture. Because the CEO has requested my task force investigate the influence of power and politics on our corporate culture, I responded with this position paper to present and support my recommendations to improve the culture of our organization and assist in the future.

References

Uhl-Bien, M., Schermerhorn, J. R., Osborn, R. N. Organizational Behavior. [Strayer University Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://strayer.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781119033110/https://strayer.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781119033110/

Uhl-Bien, M., Schermerhorn, J. R., Osborn, R. N. Organizational Behavior. [Strayer University Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://strayer.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781119033110/https://strayer.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781119033110/

Crane, D. A. (2016). Tesla, Dealer Franchise Laws, and the Politics of Crony Capitalism. Iowa Law Review, 101(2), 573–607. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=112017045&site=eds-live&scope=site

Adrienne Fox, “Make a ‘Deal,” HR Magazine (January 2012), pp. 37–42.

Uhl-Bien, M., Schermerhorn, J. R., Osborn, R. N. Organizational Behavior. [Strayer University Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://strayer.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781119033110/