Table 12.3 G.C.I. Is a Company with a Highly Political Environment. to Environment

question 28

Multiple Choice

Table 12.3
G.C.I. is a company with a highly political environment. To survive, managers must be adept at organizational politics. The company has clear lines of authority, operating procedures, and company policies. But the CEO confers favors based on whom he likes at the moment. Performance goals are not clear, career paths are confusing, and what constitutes success for the company is never clarified; profit, market share, quality, customer satisfaction, or what. The new marketing director sees that production and finance have a great deal of power. So he approaches the production director and offers to work closely with him to avoid creating demand he can't meet. When the marketing director has an open personnel position and knows that the production director desperately needs an assistant, the marketing director surrenders his position to the production director. Seeing this relationship develop, the finance director begins to give marketing only direct, selected information. He avoids meeting the marketing director except in group meetings where there is no opportunity to talk one-on-one. The marketing director immediately understands what is happening. He decides to enlist the production director, the sales manager, and the human resource director in a plan to reduce the finance director's power or even get him fired.
-Refer to Table 12.3. The marketing director's response to the finance director's actions is an example of:

• A) blaming and attacking others.
• B) associating with powerful others.
• C) playing political games.
• D) developing a base of support.

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Definitions:

Political Skills

The ability to understand and influence others in a political context, navigating complex social situations and organizational dynamics effectively.

Political Conflict

Disputes or confrontations that arise within or between political entities, often involving differences in opinions, policies, or governance.

Polarization

refers to the process or state in which opinions, beliefs, or interests within a society become divided into two significantly opposing groups.

Policy Initiators

Entities or individuals who introduce or begin the process of developing new policies or legislative measures.