and there is no recourse to that determination. The wielding of arbitrary
power over others is the essence of authoritarianism—so, in
this sense, a political environment is an authoritarian environment,
even if those possessing the power are not in the official positions of
authority.
For most people in most organizations, this isn't even worth dwelling
on because there's absolutely nothing that can be done about it. "So
long as there are organizations there will be politics." Yet, very few
people truly want to live in organizations corrupted by internal politics
and game playing. This is why internal politics is the first of many
organizational "givens" challenged by prototype learning organizations.
Challenging the grip of internal politics and game playing starts with
building shared vision. Without a genuine sense of common vision
and values there is nothing to motivate people beyond self-interest. But
we can start building an organizational climate dominated by "merit"
rather than politics—where doing what is right predominates over who
wants what done. But a nonpolitical climate also demands "openness"—
both the norm of speaking openly and honestly about important issues
and the capacity continually to challenge one's own thinking. The first
might be called participative openness, the second reflective openness.
Without openness it is generally impossible to break down the game
playing that is deeply embedded in most organizations. Together
vision and openness are the antidotes to internal politics and game
playing.