Politics and Politicking

5. Ethical Political Strategies and Tactics

The following are the classification of ethical political strategies and tactics;

5.1 Strategies and Tactics Aimed Directly at Gaining Power

All political power and tactics are aimed at acquiring and maintaining power and some of the related tactics include:

1. Power Contacts and Relationship: When powerful people have been identified, alliances are established; cultivating friendly cooperative relationships with powerful organizational members and outsiders can make the leader's course much easier to advance. These contacts can benefit a person by supporting his / her ideas in meetings and other public fora.
2. Early Showing: A display of timely results could help a staff gain acceptance for his/her efforts. Once the positive impression has been created with the ability to solve an important problem, the staff can look forward to working on problems that will bring greater power.
3. Keep Informed: It is politically essential to keep informed and successful organizational managers develop a network to help them keep abreast of developments both within and outside their organization.
4. Control Vital Information: Power accrues to people who have control of vital information. The vital information they control is knowledge of whom to contact to shorten some of the complex and complicated procedures in getting governmental and corporate contracts approved.
5. Control Lines of Communication: these borders mainly on access to key people. Administrative and staff assistants frequently control an executive calendar. Both insiders and outsiders must carry favor with the conduit in order to see an important executive.

5.2 Strategies and Tactics Aimed at Building Relationships

This involves building positive relationships with network members such as superiors / super ordinates, subordinates, other lower – ranking people, coworkers, external customers and supervisors who can be of help now or later. Relationship strategies and tactics can take any of the following forms.

1. Provide Favor and Develop Ingratiation: An intelligent and skillful organizational leader has a positive balance of favors given and could draw on that balance when something is needed in return.
2. Display Loyalty: A loyal worker is valued because an organization prospers more with loyal than disloyal staff. Blind loyalty (organization cannot make mistakes) is not needed, for most rational organizations are not all imperious to criticisms instead welcome constructive criticisms.
3. Develop Reputation as a Subject Matter Expert: Expert is one of the major sources of power. Others come to and ask for help from an expert who is an authority over an issue.
4. Rational Persecution: This form of influence helps to create an impression that one is reasonable and fair and it avoids creating resentment that can result from heavy handed influence tactics.
5. Manage Impression of You: Management of impression includes behavior directed at enhancing one's image by drawing positive attention to one's self via clothing, grooming, speaking well and presenting one's ideas coherently.
6. Bring in Outside Experts for Support – Executives will often hire a consultant or a resource person to conduct a study or cost an opinion through regular seminars. This tactic would be considered unethical if the executive is intentionally seeking a non – objective opinion through seminars / resource person.
7. Consult with and Ask Advice of Others: Seeking for advice even when not needed helps to support a decision. Consultation on work – related topics builds good relationships with other staffs and it will be perceived as a compliment.
   
8. Ask Satisfied Customer to Contact your Boss – Favorable comments from customers receive considerable weight because customers' satisfaction is a top priority of any organization. Good comments from customers' satisfaction will carry more weight than one from a coworker or subordinate.
9. Be Courteous, Pleasant, Positive and Friendly: It is a common belief that courteous, pleasant, positive and friendly people with other important qualifications are the first to be hired and the last to be fired.
10. Send Thank – You Notes to Large Numbers of People: Sending thank – you note profusely, is an application of sound human relation. It is an excellent political tactic in an organization. 'Thank you' 'Sorry' and 'Please should' not be too difficult for an organizational leader and should be appropriately used. Successful people send notes to employees and customers on their birthdays and popular festivals to create a bond with those people.
11. Flatter others sensibly and reasonably: Sincere flattery through specific praise could be an effective relationship builder. Also by being generous on feedback and comments, relationships with workers could be built and make them more receptive to the organizational policies.
12. Develop Coalitions: Whether formal or informal, confined to the organization or extended to include key interest or stakeholders outsides, coalitions and interest groups often provide important means of securing desired ends. Coalition could be initiated by less powerful who seek the support of others. Coalition could as well be developed by the powerful to consolidate their power.