Legitimate and Illegitimate Political Behavior in Organizations

For the most part, politics come into play in the business world when someone wants something they currently do not have. This could mean a position in the company, maybe more money, that choice account or any number of things. The level of politics seems to rise as that desired object increases in scarcity. The more scarce or coveted something is, the potential for the politics to move from legitimate to illegitimate - but once again, that resides on the individuals involved and how they view what the rules of the game are.

As we can see, politics, whether legitimate or illegitimate, are not good for an organization but they are indeed present in all of them. The level and degree might change, but their presence is very real. There can be indeed legitimate politics, which fall within the guidelines of what can be or could be considered normal or acceptable in the business world, or illegitimate politics, which is when someone cannot get what they want by any other, more acceptable means. Regardless of the style of politics, they are usually open to the person's own thought process of what is right and what is wrong.

After watching this lesson, you should be able to describe the two types of political behavior in organizations and analyze their impact on a work environment.