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Eye Openers on Influence and Organizational Politics

www.influenceatwork.com

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/archives/1998

Influence and political tactics are an inescapable part of modern organizational life, as discussed in this chapter. The purpose of this exercise is to broaden your understanding of organizational influence and politics and help you deal with them effectively.

A Free Quiz on Social Influence

Do you get the feeling advertisers, the media, politicians, salespeople, parents and teachers, and friends sometimes are trying to trick you by manipulating words and images in self serving ways? According to Professor Robert B Cialdini and his colleagues, you are right to feel a bit put upon. After all, as their research has documented, each of us is the recipient (or victim) of countless social influence attempts during every waking hour. The Internet site www.influenceatwork.com provides a brief inside look at social influence so we will not be unfairly or unwittingly manipulated. At the home page, click on the "Test Your Influence Quotient with the new 2.1 Quiz" button on right side of page. The short 10-item quiz (and answers) will get you thinking about the power and pervasiveness of social influence.

Interesting and Practical Advice on Organizational Politics

A pair of articles in the April–May 1998 issue of Fast Company magazine are must reading. Go to Fast Company's online archives at http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/archives/1998 and scroll down to March 1998. Click on "Table of contents – March 1998". Select these two articles: "The Bad Guy's (and Gal's) Guide to Office Politics" (1½ pages) and "The Good Guy's (and Gal's) Guide to Office Politics" (6 ½ pages). You may want to print copies. We recommend you read the Good Guy's article first.

1			Having taken the influence quiz, are you more aware of day-to-day influence processes and tactics? Explain.
2			Generally, do you see social influence as a constructive or sinister force in society? Explain.
3			Is it possible that employees are becoming more difficult to influence because they have become hardened or numbed as a result of excessive exposure to influence attempts?
4			How can managers use social influence ethically?
5			On balance, now that you have read the office politics articles, do you regard workplace politics positively or negatively? Explain.
6			What was the most useful advice you obtained from the politics articles?