Office Politics by

Noman Khan

BME-1004

Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in other group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions.

What is Politics?

Office politics is the use of one's individual or assigned power within an employing organization for the purpose of obtaining advantages beyond one's legitimate authority. Those advantages may include access to tangible assets, or intangible benefits such as status or pseudo-authority that influences the behavior of others. Both individuals and groups may engage in Office Politics.

What is office Politics?

Politics are Real and Unavoidable

• Not all politics are bad• Realize that this is reality• Expect politics in all situations• Politics are part of human interaction

• Gain power or leverage over others

• Get promotion that you do not quite deserve

• Gain competitive edge over your coworkers

• Avail other unethical benefits such as gifts, bonuses, and reducing workload by dumping it on others

Reasons behind office politics

While there is no specific reason why people engage in nasty office politics, the basic motivation is the advantages that most people get to reap by playing well at office politics. These motives are to:

What Creates Office Politics?

• Scarcity of resources• A too competitive work environment• Subjective performance• standards• Unclear job definitions• Emotional insecurity

How To Deal With Office

Politics?

How To Deal With Office

Politics?

Surviving office politics•It is almost impossible to avoid office politics

•Most of the time people get involved without ever knowing what they are getting into.

•Since getting involved is not a viable option, you have to learn a few tricks so that you can survive office politics without getting too involved.

•Here are some fool proof tricks that can not only help you in surviving office politics, but also be effective in advancing your career the right way.

Strategies which will help to get out of office politics

• Do your work with dedicated interest and loyalty. Be punctual at work and try your best to observe the rules and regulations of the company.

• Never join other voices to persecute the establishment.

• Improve your knowledge and professionalism on the job .

• Be the best at what you do, no matter how small or big the job.

• Do not brag about your achievement. Let your work speak for itself or let somebody else do the bragging.

• If you have done a good work, it will be noticed and appreciated by people who appreciate good work.

• Learn to get along with people who appear not to like you or whom you may not like.

• Learn to know a co-worker individually and to not base a relationship on what was said by another person.

• Never hold grudges or be vindictive -- these types of behaviors are always counter-productive.

Strategies which will help to get out of office politics

• Learn to have shorter periods of anger anger toward a co-worker tends to adversely affect your work.

• Accept your imperfections. When you make error, admit it. The cardinal sin on the job is to blame somebody else for your errors.

• Use your errors as learning tools for education, and job improvement. This is how you turn your weaknesses to strategies for success.

• Those who persecute others are mostly the ones who do the least on the job. This is their political strategy due to their inadequacies.

• Be a negotiator between feuding workers, a fire extinguisher when problems are brewing on the job.

Strategies which will help to get out of office politics

• Learn to identify and deal with thrill seekers of crisis. Once a problem is solved, they will create another.

• Never destroy co-workers' work or denigrate them to elevate your status.

• Do not bring personal problems to work

• Find a neutral ground to negotiate issues with the boss or co-workers.

• Learn to respond without stress to stressful situations.

Strategies which will help to get out of office politics.

• Improve your work ethics and spend the major part of the job time producing.

• Never take a problem to the manager without having two or three solutions for the problem.

• Be the first to try new procedures.

• Know your limitations, know the limitations of your boss, do your best on the job and know when to stop pursuing an issue.

• Your greatest asset on the job is your motivation to achieve and produce. No matter what your job is, always let your work leave a mark of excellence.

Strategies which will help to get out of office politics.

Key to Success at Work

How to be a winner at Work..?

Stay positive

Build relationships

Avoid gossip

Work hard

Communicate well

Remain neutral

Give credit

Speak wisely

Keep your eyes and ears open

Stay in your boss’s good books

Key to Success at Work

Questions if any ?