Office politics are an inevitable part of every organization and are often acknowledged by employees when it is seen in action, yet many find it difficult to define. It is critical to not only recognize office politics, but to know when it will be beneficial to participate. Often, office politics are seen as something negative. However, this may not necessarily be the case. By using a few unwritten rules, one can win at office politics and hopefully advance in their career objectives. This paper will discuss the unwritten rules of office politics and how I respond to them in my work environment. Rule number one in office politics is to never do anything that will permanently anger or demean anyone that will help you in the advancement of …show more content…
This ensures that she is not standing in front of any senior personnel explaining why she did not follow through with a direct order. Rule number two is to “open your eyes and ears but keep your mouth shut”. Office politics take place at all levels of an organization and therefore does not eliminate the high end employees of an organization. I often see a certain supervisor that leaves early, comes in late every day, takes extended lunches, and does not document his timesheet accordingly. Yet, he will conduct a written counseling on any of his employees on their first occurrence. Most people assume that because they are supervisors that they come to work on time and take their lunches according to their lunch schedules. This is not always the case. I could play the office politics game and start broadcasting this certain supervisor’s behavior to other employees. Instead, I choose to observe and not contribute to his unethical behavior. This leads me to rule three of office politics, “even if a person chooses not to actively participate in office politics, that person's behavior and workplace behaviors are shaped by existing office politics”. A better example of this would be if a coworker was having an affair with someone in another department and everyone in the office knew about it. The unwritten rule of office politics would probably dictate that this is not my concern as long as it does not affect the person’s workplace performance. Although
Politicking represents conscious self serving behaviours that are inconsistent with the goals of the organisation.
in politics, and even individuals in administration, are destined to get “dirty hands.” The concept implicates that individuals who interact in either of these realms cannot help but engage in conduct that is either unethical or, at the very least, less than desirable. Although, many researchers acknowledge that there does exist separate meaning between the roles of political constituents and administrative staff, many believe there are also plenty of similarities. In examining the political/administrative dichotomy, researchers have found extreme overlap in some instances, which emphasizes the probability that administrative staff can also find themselves with dirty hands. Many argue that it is absolutely necessary, in some instances, for individuals to act deceptively with a lack of transparency in order to reach ultimate goals with desirable ends. These ends might include advancing the bigger goals of the organization or preventing the fall of the organization as a whole. However, the
and treat it as a disciplinary matter. Not all situations in which private matters are overheard will
I believe that we should treat others as we would like to be treated (Matt. 7:12) and this should be the common denominator in all that we do. Respect and fair treatment should be consistent throughout the company, no matter the employee status or rank. I would encourage employees to report unethical behavior by providing several methods of reporting such as a confidential web portal, hotline, or even a compliant
In the first situation (Tennan,75/76), the member of the board of trustees Mr. Smith lets the president of the University know that she had spoken inappropriately to her secretary. Mr. Smith claims that since she is the president, so she should have been more direct with her secretary. What he probably saw in her is lack of confidence and power. In this case I agree with the member of the board of trustees Mr. Smith. I strongly disapprove her indirect style of communication towards her secretary by telling her “Do you think you could…” and “…would you please do me the favor…” (Tannen, 75). Instead, she should have said in a direct style something like “I just finish drafting the letter, now type right away and hold all calls while
* Would it be legal for the company to terminate an employee because the employee campaigned for a politician who was writing legislation that would harm the interests of the company?
Every work environment requires from us to follow basic rules of behavior and good business etiquette. As easy as it may seems, the most insignificant act can transmit the wrong message about ourselves and it could end up creating uncomfortable situations for us and for our team. The following link is a video that shows how the inappropriate behavior of “Mindy” affects her development at work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiLWEvyysfk
addition, as a leader, when a whistleblower reports activity to you, first gather all of the
Old Navy is a corporation that exhibits all of the characteristics of a business in an industry where good tactical management is the key to long-term success and survival. There can be little doubt that the backbone of every successful business or company is its staff of employees. Employees are the vital parts of the business machine that can aid in its success or contribute to its failure. It is, for this reason that it is imperative to possess the ability to acquire and maintain effective employees. The chief method by which a business or company can accomplish this task is through employee-centered motivational programs. While being an assistant manager at Old Navy I was able to look into how the business motivated its employees,
Conflict between team members will happen in the workplace because the fact that there will have an environment where decisions are made and personality clashes will occur. This doesn’t mean you have an unproductive workforce, it means you will have to be able to catch the problem early and know what to do with each individual case. People are going to disagree because they have different view points, different backgrounds and a different thought process, maybe even a different agenda for that project. People disagree for a number of reasons (De Bono, 1985). College graduates will be put into positions of uncertainty due to the lack of work history. This will in turn cause conflict, not knowing
I have experienced this in the workplace and define this to be an ethical dilemma and will evaluate such situation by applying the Potter Box and Rest Four Components Model to analyze this case and contextualize how to navigate the problem if I were to re-encounter this situation again in the future.
This paper will discuss how to diagnose a conflict using various conflict models using a case study that involves a workplace conflict between two individuals. Included will be detailed characteristics and attributes of the parties involved and how they may affect the conflict. Confidentiality is important in the workplace and will be discussed in regards to the case study. Resolution solutions that a practitioner may use will be suggested to assist in resolving the conflict. Conflict resolution can be a difficult task but if a practitioner implements tools like conflict models than conflict can be undoubtedly resolved.
Though the issue looked like personal conflicts on the face, it actually stems from the friction between two departments fundamentally different in their working methods and thought processes. The fact that the two managers, Ellen and Ronnie, with different working styles leading these two departments has only compounded the problem. Ellen’s complaint was that Ronnie’s team is not sending their timesheets in time, which is leading to late payments from the insurer and shortage in cash flow. Even Ronnie acknowledges this but the solution appears to be different in each other’s minds. Ronnie is adamant that they just need more time, while Ellen is saying that genuine effort is required, not just time extensions. As much as
The growing issues with Internet usage in the workplace has become a major concern for employers. Employers are discovering that employees are spending hours of wasted time surfing the Internet and sending inappropriate emails. Employers classify this type of behavior as, “Internet abuse,” and breaking company’s policies. While employees see this type of behavior harmless, employers see this as potential risks to their organization. Previous researched study show employees spend hours surfing the Internet and sending non-work related emails to co-workers, family, and friends. With millions of employees having access to their employer’s Internet, companies are seeing an increase in Internet usage causing potential legal