1. Reframing Organizations, 5th ed.

2. Organizations as Political Arenas and Political Agents
Chapter 11
Organizations as Political Arenas and Political Agents

3. Organizations as Political Arenas and Political Agents
Organizations as Arenas
Wal-Mart as agent and arena
Ross Johnson Barbarians at the Gate
Organizations as Political Agents
Ecosystems I
Ecosystems II
Pfeffer and Salancik The External Control of Organizations

4. Organizations as Arenas
Arenas shape:
Rules of the game
Players
Stakes
Bottom-up Political Action
Labor unions and civil rights movements
Political Barriers to Control from the Top
U.S. Department of Education scenario: initiatives often lost to political opposition despite new resources and top-down support

5. Organizations as Political Agents
Organizations exist in ecosystems
Organizations depend on environment for resources support
Organizations needs the skills of a politician: develop agenda, map environment, manage relationships with allies and competitors, negotiate
Ecosystem
“Organizational field” in which competitors and allies co-evolve

6. Ecosystems Business Ecosystems Public Policy Ecosystems
Apple  IBM  “Wintel”
General Motors and General Electric
Public Policy Ecosystems
Federal Aviation Administration
Schools
Business-government ecosystems
Pharmaceutical companies, physicians and government
Fedex lobbying clout

7. Ecosystems II Society as Ecosystem Business, public and government
What is and should be the power relationship between organizations and society?
Are organizations “instruments of market tyranny” or largely shaped by larger social and economic forces?
Jihad vs. McWorld

8. Pfeffer and Salancik, The External Control of Organizations
Organizations are controlled more than they control their external environment
Organizations are “other-directed”
Struggle for autonomy and discretion in the face of constraint and external control
Confront conflicting demands from multiple constituents
Organizations’ understanding of environment is often distorted, imperfect
Dilemma: alliances essential to gain influence, but reduce autonomy by increasing dependency and obligations

9. Conclusion
Organizations are both arenas for internal politics and political agents with their own agendas, resources, and strategies
Arenas house contests, shape ongoing interplay of interests and agendas
Agents exist, compete and co-evolve in larger ecosystems (“organizational fields”)