OFFICE politics and good communication in a company are like                                                                                          
fire and water.                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
The two exist separately: where you find one, you don't find                                                                                          
the other. In a company with politicking activities you will                                                                                          
not find open and frank communication.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Instead, you will encounter interpersonal enmities and hatred,                                                                                        
unhealthy collusions and interdepartmental conflicts. How can                                                                                         
anyone speak out openly and frankly in such a situation?                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Consider the case of Bakar Abdullah. As a fresh university                                                                                            
graduate, he joined a large local bank.  Six months later he                                                                                          
tendered his resignation.                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Basically, Bakar's complaint was that as a management trainee,                                                                                        
he felt frustrated that the very thought of going to work                                                                                             
every morning either caused a headache or stomach ache. There                                                                                         
was no friendly work environment and no cooperation among the                                                                                         
staff.                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Whenever he approached colleagues for help, he got remarks                                                                                            
like, "You are a graduate and more senior than us we can't                                                                                       
teach you anything."                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
When Bakar approached the assistant manager, he found him so                                                                                          
stressed up with his own workload that he told Bakar to find                                                                                          
his own solutions. As for the manager, he was always in his                                                                                           
room and left the staff to themselves.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Left to their own devices the staff grouped themselves into                                                                                           
three major factions, each running down the other and bullying                                                                                        
the new recruits by loading all the dirty and menial tasks on                                                                                         
them.                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Bakar was not spared the bullying. He was even labelled a                                                                                             
"playboy" for refusing to join any of the three factions.  He                                                                               
also found that the manager had three "favourites", one of                                                                                  
whom was a senior female accounts clerk related to him.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Bakar decided to throw in the towel because he made up his                                                                                            
mind that he should not rot there. He decided it was better to                                                                                        
get out before he got used to the unhealthy work culture.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
`Truth the heart of good managent'                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
HAROLD Geneen, the former CEO of ITT, wrote in his book                                                                                               
Managing (1984) that "in order to safeguard the policy of open                                                                                   
and honest communications, it seemed to me that office                                                                                                
politicking could not be tolerated in any shape or form.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
"I announced this in unmistakable terms. If anyone tried to                                                                                      
line up other managers to back his pet project in return for                                                                                          
his later vote, or it anyone tried to force a man junior to                                                                                           
him to give anything other than his honest opinion, he did so                                                                                         
in peril of losing his job. it was dishonest.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
"Trust went to the very heart of good management.  Decisions                                                                                     
had to be based upon an honest examinationef the facts and                                                                                            
...."                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
To be sure, whether an organisation or department is rife with                                                                                        
politics or not, depends entirely on the CEO, general manager                                                                                         
or departmental head. Harold Geneen's simple rule was a stern                                                                                         
warning against office politics.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Unless employees get a very clean signal that politicking in                                                                                          
any shape or form will not be tolerated, many will try their                                                                                          
luck to use tactics such as: (i) doing favours; (ii) forming                                                                                          
alliances or collusions; and, (iii) withholding information or                                                                                        
skills to make themselves indispensable and so on.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
It would be rather naive on the part of CEOs, general managers                                                                                        
or departmental heads to remark that they can't rid their                                                                                             
firms or department of the destructive forces of trading                                                                                              
favours, collision or factionalism and the distortion of                                                                                              
information and so on.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Rule No. 2 in discouraging office politicking is the practice                                                                                         
of meritocracy. If bosess or departmental heads show no                                                                                               
favoritism, but reward or give recognition to their staff                                                                                             
based on their Performance and contributions toward achieving                                                                                         
department objectives or corporate goals, the energies and                                                                                            
brain powers of the employees will be diverted from                                                                                                   
unproductive politicking activities, and automatically                                                                                                
chanelled to more productive ones.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
But in reality it would be surprising to find organisations or                                                                                        
departments where the above two rules are practised.  It is                                                                                           
much more common to find organisations where the following                                                                                            
politicking manoeuvres are used by individuals seeking power,                                                                                         
protection, favours and the like.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
They will use one or all by the following tactics to achieve                                                                                          
their personal motives:                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
1. Doing Favours: When a subordinate provides services for his                                                                                        
superior, it is a case of currying favour. When a superior                                                                                            
does it, it is simply doing a favour.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
But in both cases, the "doer" expects something in return.                                                                                  
There is an unspoken indebtedness or obligation to return the                                                                                         
favour.                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
But we must be careful not to assume that all "favours" are                                                                                 
bad. There is a general rule that can easily ascertain whether                                                                                        
the favours performed are conducive or destructive to an                                                                                              
organisation.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
For instance, favours are sometimes performed to improve                                                                                              
rapport in interdepartmental relationships.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Because they improve cooperation between individuals and                                                                                              
departments, these activities are conducive.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
They are destructive when favours are exchanged to satisfy                                                                                            
personal goals at the expense of corporate goals.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
2. Alliances or Collusions: An insecure individual may seek                                                                                           
alliances with as many superiors as possible for                                                                                                      
self-preservation.                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
In other situations, a departmental manager many collude with                                                                                         
others to discredit a rival and force him out of the company.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Generally speaking, alliances or collusions, in the context of                                                                                        
office politics, consumes energies that could better be used                                                                                          
to achieve a competitive edge over rival companies.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Because alliances or collusions mean taking sides with one                                                                                            
faction and antagonising other camps, it is suprising that                                                                                            
many managers condone such situations knowing fully well the                                                                                          
destructive effects they have on the company.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
3. Making Oneself Indispensable: This is a common tactic used                                                                                         
to hold onto one's position.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
If the individual is a manager he will surround himself with                                                                                          
"yes men" loyal to him. Or he will handle information in such                                                                               
a manner that confusion or doubt is created and he has to be                                                                                          
consulted or his services required to put things right.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
In reality, no one is indispensable in an organisation. It is                                                                                         
short-sightedness on the part of individuals to think that                                                                                            
making oneself indispensable is a good strategy.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
This fallacy should be even more obvious when technologies and                                                                                        
the way business are run today are changing so rapidly.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
But where organisations are concerned, it must be recognised                                                                                          
that "man is a political animal" as observed by Aristotle more                                                                              
than 2,000 years ago, and that, organisational politic can at                                                                                         
best be kept to a minimal depending on the skill of the CEO,                                                                                          
general managers or departmental heads.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Effective managers and management trainees such as Bakar                                                                                              
Abdullah must strike a balance between rational management                                                                                            
techniques and people management skills.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
In the final analysis, people-skills, namely interpersonal and                                                                                        
politicking skills are just as important as conceptual and                                                                                            
technical skills.