Free Custom «Power Play» Essay Paper

In any given organization, there are different department with separate objectives that they target to succeed in, decisions in this department are made by department heads according to the information they have and the set objectives they plan on perusing. To succeed according to the case study of powerful people like Laura, the managers have to develop the ability to build and wield power. The reason for studying power is to give students an insight and the proper tools that will enable them to bring about change. This is achieved through the study of powerful people, understanding human behavior and practices. Some of the important principals are discussed in this paper.

Making peace with power is one of principals in which politics according to behavior experts J. Silvester is taken as a negative trait in the work place and researchers have concluded that it may cause a dissent and reduced performance and it it's not only stressful but also inherently divisive. A perception that politics predominates in the work place tends to reduce job satisfaction, commitment and morale. With regards to this, research has shown clearly that being political savvy and seeking power pays off. This research shows a correlation between manager's primary motivation and their success. Some were motivated by affiliation, the desire to be liked. Some by their achievements, the goals that they had attained gaining then personal recognition while the last group was simply interested in power, this being the ability to influence others. This last group was the most effective.

 

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Learning to wield power starts with understanding the resources one controls, like a valuable network and access to information can be utilized to gain leverage. Using power to move through obstacles is advisable and not wasting political capital on issues not helpful to the organization , an encounter with such power plays and the politics behind them can be unsavory, to get over ones worries, fears or short coming is key for someone willing to bring meaningful change. Effective use of power is becoming more and more important because getting goals accomplished in a less-hierarchical system actually requires more influence and thus strategies become more complicated, effective execution becomes more complicated. Power skills are important but unfortunately not many people get to develop them.

Understanding power is the first step to overcome any reluctance towards power, to know that anything is attainable with the correct use of power goes a long way in reinforcing confidence. Power can be defined as the ability to have thing done in a way one dictates when others best efforts are required. When one has discretionary control of others, he will be able to get power to get control over others helping those that he wants. This concept is rarely followed to the latter but it evokes reciprocation of the same where the other party feels indebted to return the favor. This ability to garner such support will come in handy at a later date. Money can also be viewed as power but the access to information is more valuable.

There three barrier to power, believing that the world is just a place hence perceiving it to be predictable and comprehensible and therefore potentially controllable. This believes that if they do a good job and behave appropriately things will care for themselves. Learning from the experiences of others is not keenly done and this people may be successful in the short run and will later on fail. Believing is a just word and makes people less successful, this kind of people are weak because they limit themselves from learning from other people mainly those that they dislike or disrespect and it shields them from the need to build a proactive power base. Such people fail to see the challenges lying ahead that life carries. The second barrier is the use of leadership literature; people should refrain from such books because they create a stereo type of how leaders should behave. This is contrary and more of wishful thinking of how people should behave not how they behave. The last barrier is one's own self esteem, people are set to self destruct due to past experiences of failure which tend to dent their self esteem, this tends to make them find excuses to avoid some achievements which makes them forget that failing to attempt and failure have the same end result.

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Behavior shaping through reward and punishment is normally used by those in power to influence those around them and they will offer rewards to ensure that they get what they want. To advance on multiple fronts is also advisable where this refers to the approach of a problem from many different directions such that the closer of one of them. This is comparable to having a backup plan. An interesting fact about power is that it can increase the mortality rate; this is thanks to the works of Michael Marmot who conducted research on civil servants and their ranks and in his radical conclusion found that it was good for your health to be highly ranking. Making the first move is also helpful in power acquisition; this involves catching the opponent of guard such that victory is secured before the he can recover. Assimilation of other power holders is another way to increase once power.

This can be accomplished by offering stakes in the organization to redirect their energy. Strategic outplacement is another way of getting power, its where by the rivals are removed from business strategically. Always avoid starting unnecessary fires, making sure the victory is worthwhile and the oversights of the priorities are not lost during the conflict. Use of a personal touch through interacting with all levels of staff and being persistent are also a key in power acquisition. Persistent wares the opposition down and allows one to stay in business waiting for a possible change. Making a compelling vision is a tool that can be useful in swaying the opposition to managers. Finally to get power one should only focus on important relationships that may be useful in the future.