Assignment: Political Actions and Effective Management

Politics relates to who gets what, when, and how. Politicking bridges at least three other topics in management and organizational behavior: decision making, leadership, and power. Individuals often perceive organizational political actions as primarily negative. This is unfortunate because political incompetence, political naiveté, and the inability or unwillingness to effectively perform required political tasks are all sources of management failure.

• Can you be an effective manager in a large organization and avoid politics? Explain.
• Does politicking always cause dysfunction in an organization's operations? Explain.
• Support your positions by citing scholarly references.