UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS FOR POSITIVE ENGAGEMENT AND BEHAVIOURS AMONG LIS PROFESSIONALS: A CONCEPTUAL GUIDE

Abstract

Organizational politics is a common phenomenon that has attracted the concerns of many scholars. It is often seen from the negative perspective but some researchers have faulted the ideology maintaining that there are positive aspects of organizational politics. Against this background, this paper seeks to provide a thematic review of the understanding and managing of organizational politics for positive engagement and behaviours among LIS professionals. Specifically, this paper presents a literary discourse on organizational politics and the perspectives of organizational politics. The paper also identifies the predominant organizational politics in tertiary institutions as well as possible factors influencing them. The strategies for managing the political behaviour within the context of the library were also revealed. In conclusion, the paper established that organizational politics is a necessary evil that cannot be totally eradicated from organizations including tertiary institutions. It is also ascertained that having a proper understanding and adopting appropriate management strategies could go a long way to minimize the negative effects of organizational politics thus creating a friendly work environment for positive engagement and behaviours within tertiary institutions and libraries. It is recommended among others that the management team of tertiary institutions and library management should constantly observe the work environment for possible factors that could fuel upheavals within the system, employ the right persons for the right positions, and maintain an open and transparent communication system. The paper suggests an empirical analysis to establish the extent to which the organizational politics identified in this paper could affect the work commitment of LIS professionals in university libraries.