I moved to a town with a paper mill once," says Hanover's Bill
O'Brien, "and when we drove into town we almost drove right out
again. Two weeks later, we had all gotten used to the smell and
didn't notice it. Organizational politics is such a perversion of truth and
honesty that most organizations reek with its odor. Yet, most of us so
take it for granted that we don't even notice it."
A "political environment" is one in which "who" is more important
than "what." ' If the boss proposes an idea, the idea gets taken
seriously. If someone else proposes a new idea, it is ignored. There are
always "winners" and "losers," people who are building their power
and people who are losing power. Power is concentrated and it is
wielded arbitrarily. One person can determine another's fate,