ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE(A CASE STUDY OF RIVERS STATE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, PORT HARCOURT)

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the Organizational Politics and employee performance. The study sought to find out how politics motivate employees in their performance. In attempts to carry out the study effectively, one of the Institutions in Rivers State was selected. The simple random sampling technique and the chi- square statistical tool were used  for the study. The study reveals amongst others that the Institution considers the application of politics as very important to achieve greater parts of their Organizational objectives. It recommends amongst others that the organization should motivate the human resources to work efficiently for attaining the higher the satisfaction and also the management of the Institution should channel their human resource towards ensuring that politics in their Institution do not become destructive.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Organization polities is an inescapable and reality. It is so intricately woven with management system that relationships, norms, processes, performance and outcomes are hugely influence and affected by it. Organizational polities can be described as self serving and manipulating behavior of individuals and groups to promote their self-interest at the expense of others, and sometimes even organizational goals as well. Organizational politics in a company manifest itself through struggle for resources, personal conflicts, completion for power and leadership, tactical influence individuals and groups to attain power, building personal stature, controlling access to information, not revealing real intents, building coalitions etc.

Employee performance is an analysis of an employee’s work habits undertaken at a fixed point in time to determine the degree to which stated objectives and expectations have reached. It involves all aspects which directly or indirectly affect and relate to the work of the employees. Also job satisfaction is how content or satisfied employees towards their job. Hence, to make employees of an organization to work effectively, especially in the institution, it requires that they will be motivated and guided. Level of satisfaction that employees attain is base on different roles they played in their work. Employee’s perception is on how well the organization provide those things that are important to them like benefits, promotional opportunities, supervision, working condition and the work itself.

Organizational polities is described as an activity that permits people in an organization to accomplished goals without going through proper channels. Whether political activities will assist or harm the organization depends on whether the goals of the individual are consistence with the goals of the organization. There has been no doubt that political beliefs are on ordinary observable facts in every organization. Organizational politics represent devious behavior of employees towards their work environment only for their self interests. These self interests may be at cost of other employees or may be organizational goals as well.

Politics in organization is consider as an official advancement for attaining power. Similarly, it cloud be explained by achieving power through various ways except by merit or fortune. It could be described that politics are mainly to achieved power either by hook or crook. All these are done for personal interest and benefits. Example, in Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt for getting promotion, obtaining huge funds or other resources and hankering of projects, there is a concept of sensitivity of Institutional politicking.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Most organizations lack the ingredients of an effective organizational politics. Hence, they are ignorant of how and when organizational politics area necessary and how to apply them to produce positive results. This has caused a lot of problems in institutions today. Organization politics have influence employee performance negatively through creation of bad image, poor quality services, internal management crises, total negligence of work, posing and collecting of unnecessary money from people before any job or services will be rendered, hide and loss of peoples files that are due for promotion for the sake of their personal interest.

Managers in their capacity lack political skills, necessary orientations and strategies for an effective leadership to promote employee performance. Also, the quality of leadership styles of management is usually a barrier to an effective administration of the organization. Therefore, this research needs to be carried out to identify the effect of organizational politics in employee performances.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

In the course of this study, the following form the specific objectives:

1. To examine how the institution’s politics is structured.
2. To examine the concept of organizational politics as regards to employee performance.

iii. To examine the level of effectiveness and efficiency of leadership on organizational politics in improving employees performance.

1. To give appropriate recommendations that could help in solving managerial problems on organizational politics.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The needs to examine organizational politics and employee performance cannot be overstressed. This study will go a long way in assisting the Institution in making its management to be more effective and efficient in organizational politics that will improve employee performance.

Secondly, this study will enlighten employees in the Institution in the area of using organization politics in approaching management problems.

Thirdly, this study will be of great importance to subsequent researchers researching on this area of study.

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

For the purpose of this study, the following questions will be asked:

1. Which organizational politics is obtainable in the institution?
2. Is there any correction ship between organizational politics and employee performance?

iii. Does organizational politics have any positive effect on the employee performance?

1. Is there any significant relationship between political behaviour and management decision making?

1.6  RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

The analytical procedures of this study follow up with the analysis of the following hypotheses:

Ho:  There is no significance relationship between       organizational politics and employee performance.

H1:  There is significance relationship between political     behavior and management decision making.

1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The study covers all aspect of organizational politics as an instrument for achieving organizational objectives as a whole. The population for this study is all institution in the state. However, due to time and financial constraints, a survey of selected Institution in Rivers State will be conducted. Therefore, the study has been narrowed to an Institution in Rivers State which the researcher believes is representative of the entire population. The following have been identified as limitation to the study:

1) Data Collection: This has acted as a major constraint to this work. Generally, it was very difficult to obtain all the information necessary for this research due to data collection problem.

2) Time: Apart from the researcher having his own scare time between competing activities, the time limit on the research itself was a constraint.

3) Finance: Availability of funds was another problem encountered in the course of this study. Though the study covered only Port Harcourt, the requirements were quite high. Expenses such as running photocopies, collection of data and providing the report involved a lot of money which is not readily available, this had negative impacts on the research work.

4) Nonchalant Attitude: This is frustrating attitude discovered by the researcher. Some of the respondents were given questionnaire but put no effort to complete them.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

For the purpose of clarity, the following terms which shall appear regularly in course of the study are defined hereunder:

Organization:It can be defined as an entity, an institution or an association that has a collective goal and is linked to an external environment.

Politics:It can be defined as a person who is hired to provide services to a company or organization on a regular basis in exchange for compensation and who does not provide these services as part of an independent.

Performance: It can be defined as an accomplishment of a given task measured against preset known standard of accuracy, completeness, cost and speed.