Office Politics the Situation Occurred

Office Politics

The situation occurred within Lafleur is simple: the U.S. president of operations has resigned and numerous individuals compete to get the open job. One of these competitors is Michael Feldstein, which is extremely well qualified and, along the years, has registered extremely positive results. He has a rather good opinion about himself and the quality of his work and prefers not to get involved in political issues, as he thinks his actions speak for themselves. However, his competitors do engage in office politics and as such decrease his chances of getting the desired position. In making a decision as how to approach the matter, Michael has to consider various dependencies, such as his relationship to the CEO, which is generally good, but the CEO has made another job offer, that basically lets him know the position of U.S. president of operations would not be granted to him. Then, he should also consider his relationships to the co-workers; Michael has failed to socialize and ally with new staff members, which have now become 'enemies'. Finally, a third dependency is given by Michael's home situation. He has two small children (9 and 11 respectively) and a wife, which has made major professional sacrifices in order to support her husband's career and their family's well-being.

Michael's standpoint is highly influenced by his perception of office politics, namely his refusal to get involved in such actions. His colleagues however see politics as a means of 'playing their cards right', and their perception is generally good in a dynamic environment, that places emphasis on the end results, but also on the employee's capability to stand up for himself and achieve his objectives.

Michael's response in regard to the job offering in the company's China offices is quite clear: he should take it. A primary argument in this sense is given by the proposition itself - it wouldn't have been made if Michael was being considered for the U.S. position. Then, it is quite obvious that his misunderstanding of corporate politics represented a setback relative to other talented competitors which did a better job with creating intra-corporate relations. In terms of his personal life, Michael should consider that his wife has indeed sacrificed a lot so far, but he could make sure that the move to China does not represent a professional step back for her career as he could negotiate a position for Karen within Lafleur China. The experience would be professionally beneficial for both of them and would offer excellent resume additions. In regard to the children, they are young and will quickly adapt to the new environment, which will also be beneficial as it will open new cultural doors. In order to make sure that they do not lose contact with the business in the United States, Michael should make regular visits to the U.S. And France headquarters. Also, several conditions, such as duration of contract and success criteria should also be clearly established. All these measures would ensure that Michael is still a vital part of the organization and he is continuously being considered for new job openings within the United States (Widmann and Kopelan, quoted by Ellen Peebles).