Theories of Practice: The Political Frame

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Theories of PracticeThe Political Frame
MPA 8002 The Structure and Theory of Human
Organization Richard M. Jacobs, OSA, Ph.D.
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A POLITICAL SCENARIO
Managers and leaders have to recognize political
reality and know how to deal with it. Inside and
outside any organization, there are always a
variety of different interest groups, each with
its own agenda. There are not enough resources
to give everyone what he or she wants, and there
is always going to be conflict.
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MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP IN A POLITICAL SCENARIO
The job of managers and leaders is to recognize
the major constituencies, to develop ties to
their leadership, and to manage conflict as
productively as possible. Above all, they need
to build power bases and use power carefully.
They cannot give every group everything it wants,
although they can try to create arenas for
negotiating differences and coming up with
reasonable compromises. Managers and leaders also
have to work hard at articulating what everyone
in their organizations possesses in common.
Managers and leaders must tell the people that it
is a waste of time to fight each other when there
are plenty of enemies outside that they can all
fight together. Groups that fail to work well
together internally tend to get trounced by
outsiders who have their own agendas. Bolman
Deal (1991, p. 361)
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the political frame
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The snakepit of workplace politics...

• Organizations are comprised of human beings...

who come to organizations possessing diverse
beliefs, values, and interests.
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• Interdependence, power relations, and the
  scarcity of necessary resources...

impinge upon people and influence their
decision-making processes.
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For managers and leaders, the question is not
whether organizations will have politics...
...but the kind of politics they will have.
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• Not about how managers and leaders avoid
  politics...

but about how they deal with politics.
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• Not whether managers and leaders will use their
  current position as a steppingstone towards
  greener pastures

but how they will manage and lead workplace
politics towards positive and productive ends.
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Politics...

• the matters of the people (in Greek, polis)

• each of whom possesses

cultural milieu
theoretical knowledge
craft knowledge
antecedents
self knowledge
critical knowledge
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• these antecedents influence and shape each
  individuals fundamental...

...beliefs
...assumptions
...values
All of these matters are antecedent to an
individuals theories of practice.
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and in human organizations...

• many people bring...

CON F L I C T
diverse beliefs
diverse values
resulting in
diverse interests
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Managing and leading human organizations involves
dealing with conflict...

• that is

how to engage in battle...
without becoming embattled
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Requires leaders and managers who...
1. understand the nature of conflict in the
organization
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Conflict...

• permeates human organizations

vertical
types of organizational conflict
horizontal
cultural
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• since conflict is natural and inevitable in human
  organizations...

conflict is not a problem or an issue per se...
but requires managers and leaders who understand
and are capable of dealing directly and
effectively with conflict
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Understanding conflict...

• conflict challenges the status quo

• conflict can stimulate personal and social
  change, interest, creativity, and innovation

Effective managers and leaders focus not on
eliminating conflict but on strategies and
tactics that channel conflict toward positive and
productive ends.
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Requires leaders and managers who...
2. deal with conflict
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Managing and leading conflict...

• the goal is to mobilize people to achieve shared
  goals and to overcome obstacles by relating with
  allies and opponents alike...

Effective managers and leaders view adversaries
not as difficult people to deal with but as
interesting people they compete with.
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Tactics for dealing with conflict...
1) to establish boundaries in conflict situations
arenas characterized by fair competition
bounded conflicts
vs.
streetfights ending in obliteration of the
opponent
unbounded conflicts
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vs.
arenas
streetfights
conflict is an ongoing interplay of competing
interests and agendas among different individuals
and groups
people are independent agents who possess and
will use whatever tools necessary to achieve
their self-interest, irrespective of others
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vs.
arenas
streetfights
everything is defined the game, field,
rules, interests, and preferences to be pursued
nothing is defined individuals and groups
legislate their own rules and behavior ad hoc
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vs.
arenas
streetfights
multiple opportunities for formal and informal
communication, including meetings, committees,
and task forces
communication transpires somewhere beneath the
surface
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vs.
arenas
streetfights
the objective is to avoid mutually assured
destruction
the objective is to take no prisoners
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Tactics...
2) to define the agenda
purpose
strategy
vs.
self-interest
conflict
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• agenda setting requires

• interpersonal sensitivity

• discrete arm twisting

• planting seeds

• moving elephants

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Tactics...
3) to map the political terrain to identify where
the players self-interests collide and how the
players view one another (Pichault, 1993)

• determine the channels of informal communication

• identify the principal agents wielding political
  influence

• analyze the possibilities for both internal and
  external mobilization

• anticipate the strategies that other individuals
  and groups are likely to employ

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Mapping the political terrain. A
scenariobut, whos view?
high
p o w e r
top management
middle management
support staff
low
pro-change
anti-change
interests
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Whos view?
p o w e r
high
top management
middle management
support staff
low
pro-change
anti-change
interests
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Tactics...
4) to build coalitions among and network players
through influence building
a coalition is

• a group of individuals possessing diverse
  objectives and resources

• attempting to negotiate and bargain with other
  players both overtly and covertly

• to influence goals, tactics, and projects

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• the collision of self-interests (what people
  want) and the scarcity of resources (what people
  need) requires intense bargaining and
  negotiating...

thus, the critical question for managers and
leaders is
How do the groups articulate their preferences
and mobilize power to get both what they want and
need?
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...a four-step process of mapping political
influence (Kotter, 1985)

• identify relevant relationships, that is, who
  needs to be managed or led

• assess who is likely to resist, why, and how
  strongly, that is, figure out ahead of time where
  the likely challenges are

• develop, wherever possible, relationships with
  potential opponents to facilitate communication,
  education, and negotiation

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...in the event these steps fail, then carefully
select and implement more subtle or more forceful
methods...

• identify whose help you need

• develop relations with them through pre-selling
  and cheerleading

• engage in horse-trading, that is, promise
  rewards in exchange for resources and support
  which will secure the blessing of scarce resources

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Tactics...
5) to engage the players in bargaining and
negotiating
creating value
claiming value
finding better solutions (vs. the best
solution) for contending players
players endeavor to maximize their individual
gain at minimal cost
win-win
win-lose
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• Change generates conflict and creates winners and
  losers. Effective managers and leaders avoid
  smoothing over those issues which drive conflict
  underground.

• Managing and leading change effectively requires
  creating arenas where organizational problems
  issues can be bargained and negotiated.

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Requires leaders and managers who...
3. create and claim value
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• creating value...

• the conscious insertion of principles into the
  decision-making process

• the art of using bargaining and negotiating as a
  forum for building consensus about shared values

• the moral aspect of management/leadership
  (Barnard, 1938/1968)

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Tactics...
1. separate the players from the problem by
focusing on the merits of the argument
2. insist on objective criteria in substance and
procedures by avoiding anecdotal data and feelings
3. focus on interests not positions
4. invent options for mutual gain
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• claiming value...

• acting upon the pragmatic recognition that
  bargaining and negotiating is a mixed-motive
  game...

wherein both players want an agreement but have
different interests and preferences which
influence the process
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Tactics...
1. focus players on the interdependence of
decisions as well as the series of decisions to
be made
what each player does affects the other
each player wants, as much as possible, to be
able to predict what the other will do while
limiting the others ability to do likewise
the implicit goal is for player A to control
player Bs level of uncertainty so as to exercise
greater power in bargaining and negotiating
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2. use judicious threats rather than sanctions
threats are potent only to the degree that the
opponent believes the threat will be carried out
noncredible threats weaken ones position and
confuses the process
the players may then threaten to use force, go
on strike, or break off negotiations
but, in most cases, they cannot bear the costs
of carrying out the threat
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3. calculate the appropriate level of threat
underthreatening only weakens ones position
overthreatening is perceived as bluffing and
may lead another party to disbelieve, to break
off bargaining and negotiating, or to force an
escalation in threats
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• all of this claiming value increases the
  probability that managers and leaders will be
  perceived as functioning as manipulators...

who breed self-interest, mistrust, and hostility
in their followers
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• effective managers and leaders...

create value and claim value
as they engage in conditional openness
and follow the Golden Rule
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Requires leaders and managers who...
4. deal with and use power effectively
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...in Greek, ??atia, to rule
POWER
not, in and of itself, a negative concept
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• to rule...

to make a judgment
in Greek, krisis, that is, crisis
To rule means to render a judgment in a crisis,
a judgment evidencing the virtuous character (or
lack of virtue) of the individual making the
judgment.
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Examples of power...

• influencing behavior

• changing the course of events

• overcoming resistance

• getting people to do the things they would not
  otherwise do

• making ones will prevail and attaining ones goal

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• unfortunately, negative Machiavellian
  connotations distort thoughtful discourse about
  power and its exercise...

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• the difference between the positive use of power
  and the negative use of power...

is found in the person using power...
and the principles upon which that individual
justifies the use of power
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Sources of power (Frensch Raven, 1959)...
access to and control of agendas and minutes
position
information/expertise
control of meaning and symbols
control of rewards
coercive power
personal power
alliances/networks
attending to zones of indifference
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Power in the organizational system...
overbounded
underbounded
highly concentrated
diffuse throughout
tightly regulates everything
system loosely controlled
drives politics underground
lots of politics and power games
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bounded power
unbounded power
vs.
an arena
a streetfight
the lowerarchy and the hierarchy cooperate so
that there are no surprises
parochial animus endures and keeps returning
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Assumptions of the political theories of
practice...

• organizations are coalitions of individuals and
  interest groups

• there are enduring differences among coalition
  members in values beliefs, information,
  interests, and perceptions of reality

• the most important decisions involve the
  allocation of scarce resources, that is, who gets
  what

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• scarce resources and enduring differences give
  conflict a central role in organizational
  dynamics and make power the most valuable resource

• goals and decisions emerge from bargaining,
  negotiating, and jockeying for position among
  different stakeholders

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Political tasks for managers and leaders...
1. to achieve a delicate balance in allocating
scarce resources across different divisions or
functions
2. to get support from bosses
3. to get support from staff and other
constituents
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Some practical advice for managers and leaders...

• 1. steadfastly refuse to be drawn into brawls

2. avoid confrontations but do confront conflict
and do engage in arguments
3. be patient, persistent, and use conflict to
practice advancing ones agenda
4. let go of difficult adversaries
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To let go of difficult adversaries...
set the standard by upholding the
organizational purpose
a) state the organizational vision
b) state your best understanding of their position
c) identify your contribution to the problem
d) tell them what you will do without making
demands of them
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then allow the difficult adversary to make a
judgment about the next move
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• Managing and leading organizational politics,
  confronting conflict, applying ethics when
  decision making, and using power effectively are
  critical elements for thinking about management
  and leadership as a challenging, creative, and
  necessary endeavor.

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• successful managers and leaders deal with
  organizational politics, confront conflict, apply
  ethics when decision making, and use power...

they experience mental anguish
as they ask themselves How will I?
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• unsuccessful managers and leaders deal with
  organizational politics, confront conflict, apply
  ethics when decision making, and use power...

they experience personal anguish
as they ask themselves How can I?
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Using political theory...
advocates
effective managers and leaders are
savvy
coalition-building
whose primary concerns are
negotiating gray areas
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Abusing political theory...
con-artists
ineffective managers and leaders are
hustlers
fraud
whose primary concerns are
deception
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Strengths of the political theory of practice...
realistic
practical
addresses the reality of conflict and power
struggles
highlights the need for principled reflection
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Limitations of the political theory of practice...
impersonal
cynical
assumes conflict and power struggles
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Integrating reflective practice, conceptual
pluralism, and organizational analysis...
Reflecting upon organizational behavior through
four frames inculcates the conceptual pluralism
managers and leaders need to diagnose the issues
underlying the problems manifesting themselves in
human organizations.
the structural frame
the human resources frame
the symbolic frame
the political frame
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This module has focused on...
the political science theories that managers and
leaders can utilize in practice episodes...
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...as these theories of practice provide managers
a frame of reference to inform decision making...
the political frame
...offers managers and leaders guidance about the
strengths and limits of political science theory
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A POLITICAL SCENARIO
Managers and leaders have to recognize political
reality and know how to deal with it. Inside and
outside any organization, there are always a
variety of different interest groups, each with
its own agenda. There are not enough resources
to give everyone what he or she wants, and there
is always going to be conflict.
71
MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP IN A POLITICAL SCENARIO
The job of managers and leaders is to recognize
the major constituencies, to develop ties to
their leadership, and to manage conflict as
productively as possible. Above all, they need
to build power bases and use power carefully.
They cannot give every group everything it wants,
although they can try to create arenas for
negotiating differences and coming up with
reasonable compromises. Managers and leaders also
have to work hard at articulating what everyone
in their organizations possesses in common.
Managers and leaders must tell the people that it
is a waste of time to fight each other when there
are plenty of enemies outside that they can all
fight together. Groups that fail to work well
together internally tend to get trounced by
outsiders who have their own agendas. Bolman
Deal (1991, p. 361)
72
the political frame
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The next module will focus on...
the symbolic frame
...and the cultural theories that managers and
leaders can utilize in practice episodes.
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A SYMBOLIC SCENARIO
Symbolic managers and leaders are also sensitive
to an organizations history and culture. They
seek to use the best in their organizations
traditions and values as a base for building a
culture that provides cohesiveness and meaning.
They articulate a vision that communicates the
organizations unique capabilities and
mission. (Bolman Deal, 1991, p. 364)
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MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP IN A SYMBOLIC SCENARIO
Symbolic managers and leaders believe that the
most important part of their job is
inspirationgiving people something that they can
believe in. People will give their loyalty to an
organization that has a unique identity and makes
them feel that what they do is really important.
Effective symbolic managers and leaders are
passionate about making their organizations the
best of their kind and communicate that passion
to others. They use dramatic, visible symbols
that give people a sense of the organizational
mission. They are visible and energetic. They
create slogans, tell stories, hold rallies, give
awards, appear where they are least expected, and
manage by wandering around.
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the symbolic frame
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References

• Barnard, C. I. (1938/1968). The functions of
  the executive. Cambridge, MA Harvard University
  Press.
• Bolman, L. G., Deal, T. E. (1997). Reframing
  organizations Artistry, choice and leadership
  (2nd edition). San Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• Frensch, J. R. P., Raven, B. H. (1959). The
  bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.),
  Studies in social power. Ann Arbor, MI
  Institute for Social Research.
• Kotter, J. P. (1982). The general managers.
  New York Free Press.
• Kotter, J. P. (1985). Power and influence
  Beyond formal authority. New York Free Press.
• Kotter, J. P. (1988). The leadership factor.
  New York Free Press.

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• Pichault, F. (1993). Resources humaines et
  changement stratégique Vers un management
  politique (Human resources and strategic change
  Toward a political model of management).
  Brussels, Belgium, DeBoeck.
• Porter, E. (1989, December). Notes for the
  Looking at Leadership Conference. Paper
  presented at the Looking for Leadership
  Conference, Graduate School of Education, Harvard
  University.
• Sergiovanni, T. J. (1989). Informing
  professional practice in educational
  administration. Journal of Educational
  Administration, 27(2), p. 186.