!""#$% The essay is the major assignment for this subject. It is worth (up to) 35% of your total marks for the unit. The essay is a 2500 word assignment. References are included in the word count. The essays are based on lectured material, and the quotes setting out the context of the questions are drawn from recommended readings. The references listed are from the references recommended for this course of study (see the library intranet site). You do not necessarily need to use all the listed references, nor do you need to be restricted to that list of references. The question is set out in 3 parts, but the essay will be marked ‘overall’. The &’()*’+ due date for submission of the essay is !"#$%&. Submission time will be set to 11:59 pm. Your essay will be submitted on time if it is date stamped “26 May”. Good luck! Phil. ,- ./0’&%12+%3/4)5)6*%)2%/&712)*15)/2* Political behaviour in organisations has been a longstanding controversial topic in organisational studies. At one side, ‘corporate politics’ are widely regarded as pejorative: Calhoun (1969) describes political tactics as ‘unsavoury’. Keen (1981) observes that politics is equated with ‘evil, corruption and blasphemy’. Ferris and King (1991) described politicized decision-making as ‘a walk on the dark side’’, echoed in Egan’s (1994) ‘shadow side’ of management. Chanlat describes politics as a ‘social disease’. It is hardly surprising that Jackall (1988) criticizes the ‘emotional aridity’ of managers who compromise a caring ethic by playing political games. (Buchanan 2008, p. 50). Yet it is argued by some positivists that politics are, indeed, meaningful for organisations Mangham (1979, p. 16) observes that reasonable people often disagree, with regard to both means and ends, and can thus be expected ‘to fight for what they are convinced is right, and, perhaps more significantly, against that which they think is wrong.’ Butcher and Clarke (1999) view politics as ‘battles over just causes’, in which debate sharpens the quality of decisions. ….. McClelland and Burnham (1995) distinguish between institutional (socialized) and personal uses of power, the latter for personal gain, the former in the interests of group and corporate goals, potentially involving self-sacrifice. For Keen (1981) and Hardy (1996), organizational power and politics provide the dynamic for implementation of strategic change. The history of conflicting interests, alignments and negotiations, argue Bacharach and Lawler (1998), is the history of change. (Buchanan 2008, p. 51) What is corporate politics? Why is it that corporate politics is so controversial? Does corporate politics contribute to or hinder the achievement of corporate goals? 8’9’&’26’*% Buchanan, D. 2008, ‘You Stab My Back, I’ll Stab Yours: Management Experience and Perceptions of Organization Political Behaviour’, British Journal of Management, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 49-64. Buchanan, D and Badham, R. 1999, Politics and Organizational Change: The Lived Experience, Human Relations, Vol 52, No. 5, pp 609-629. Butcher, D. 2003, Redefining managerial work: Smart Politics, Management Decision, 41, 5/6, ProQuest, pp 477-487. Butcher, D. and Clarke, M. 2002, Organizational Politics: the cornerstone of Organizational Democracy, Organizational Dynamics, Vol 31, Iss. 1, pp 35-46. Lewis, D. 2002, The place of organizational politics in organizational change, Strat. Change, 11: 25-34. Mintzberg, H 1983, Reconciling the Systems of Influence in the Internal Coalition in Power, in Power in and around organizations, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs NJ, Ch. 14, pp 218-242. Mintzberg, H. 1985, Organization as a political arena, Journal of Management Studies, 22(2), pp 133-154. Pfeffer, J. 1981, Understanding the Role of Power in Decision Making, in Power in Organizations, Pitman Pub, Marshfield Mass, Ch. 1, pp 1-33.