Power and politics in organizations: implications for OD professional practice

Abstract

Power and politics are major factors that cannot be ignored by anyone interested in understanding how organizations work. Despite this recognition, the field of OD has been very slow in addressing these issues. Due to an increasing role for power and politics in organizations today, there is a need to assess and determine the implications of power and politics for OD professional practice. This paper provides a review of literature of power and politics in organizations, its sources and how it is managed. Considering the literature review, a discussion of the implications for OD professional practice is provided.