POLITICAL INFLUENCE IN THE ORGANISATIONAL MICROCOSM: A BRIEF REFLECTION

Abstract

Politics is a process of social influence that involves attempts to manage shared resources and is fostered when power is decentralised. Influence is also often associated with the concepts of power and authority. Some researchers admit that both realities can be perceived as similar manifestations. As far as methodology is concerned, the choice was not to use traditional data collection. This is an essay which materialised both philosophical and meta-reflective excursus (at the level of Management), which discussed and digressed on the axis of formal power versus informal power from the political sphere into perspective (without any intention of carrying out a pure systematic review of the literature or relying on bibliometric data). This essay has reflected on a conceptual view and sought to contribute to the debate about political influence in a business context. Political behaviour is fundamental to negotiated strategic decision-making (formally and informally).

Keywords: influence, formal and informal power, organisational politics, informal negotiation.