Political Decision-Making Climates: Theoretical Processes and Multi-Level Antecedents

Abstract

This study addressed some of the research gaps in the area of organizational politics by examining politics as a group-level construct, directly testing for the cross-level effects of various predictors, and providing insight into the nature of conflict processes involved in the development of politics. Data from 69 academic departments in six prominent Canadian universities provided support for the precursory role of conflict processes. Both intradepartmental task and relationship conflict were associated with political climate perceptions. Using the climate etiology literature, several multi-level antecedents (individual, departmental, disciplinary) of department-level politics were examined, but only individual-level role conflict emerged as a predictor. The non-significant effects of macro-level paradigm development and department rank heterogeneity are discussed in light of substantive and methodological factors.

Team Conflict Mediates the Effects of Organizational Politics on Employee Performance: A Cross-Level Analysis in China

“…OP has typically been studied at the individual-level, and previous research has focused on identifying the antecedents and consequences of individual perceptions of OP as well as on whether it was a negative or a positive phenomenon (e.g., Ferris et al 1989;Mintzberg 1985). It has been recognized that OP can be both an individual-level perception and a team-level reality (Darr and Johns 2004;Dipboye and Foster 2002;Treadway et al 2005). Teams are groups of individuals working interdependently to achieve a common goal (Ilgen et al 1993), but when OP exists as a shared perception of the team members, the shared understanding of working toward a common team goal can be lost and team processes can suffer as a result.…”

“…Teams are groups of individuals working interdependently to achieve a common goal (Ilgen et al 1993), but when OP exists as a shared perception of the team members, the shared understanding of working toward a common team goal can be lost and team processes can suffer as a result. To date, however, the vast majority of OP research has ignored the multilevel nature and effects of OP in organizational settings (Dipboye and Foster 2002;Ferris et al 1989;; see Darr andJohns 2004 andTreadway et al 2005 for the rare exceptions). One possible reason for this oversight is the lack of an established mechanism mediating the relationship between team-level OP and individual-level employee outcomes.…”

“…Conflict is not only an important element of an employee's perception of politics, but also as a pivotal team process to understand how members will interact with each other in a high political climate and the impact on employee performance as a consequence (Darr and Johns 2004;Drory and Romm 1988;Jehn et al 1999). Although it has been taken for granted that the conflict process will take place with the development of workplace politics (Welsh and Slusher 1986), conflict and politics have traditionally been treated as two separate literatures, and the link to connect both is understudied (Darr and Johns 2004).…”

“…Although it has been taken for granted that the conflict process will take place with the development of workplace politics (Welsh and Slusher 1986), conflict and politics have traditionally been treated as two separate literatures, and the link to connect both is understudied (Darr and Johns 2004).…”

Ethical Considerations in Organizational Politics: Expanding the Perspective

“…The exercise of tactical influence incorporates activities not required as integral part of formal roles, often inconsistent with, even inimical to acceptable norms (Valle and Witt, 2001). This is explained on the basis of the assumption that such unsanctioned actions and intra-organizational influence tactics mostly pertain to those who attempt to deviate from formal rules and rational procedures (Darr and Johns, 2004). In short, despite the lack of a comprehensive and wellelaborated theoretical structure, organizational politics embodies three constitutive elements: influencing behaviors through intentional acts, use of power tactics and strategies, and non-sanctioned, informal activities, sometimes implying potential intra-organizational conflict.…”