Abstract
The purpose of the current research is to design and explain the political behavior model of managers in government organizations. The research method is applicable in terms of purpose, qualitative in terms of execution method, and inductive-deductive in terms of the logic of data collection. The statistical population includes 30 experts (professors and managers of government organizations), selected by purposeful sampling. Data collection tools include semi-structured interviews. In the data analysis, thematic analysis and the MICMAC software were used, and to prioritize the factors affecting political behavior, for the interpretative structural approach, the ism method was used. The results of the findings showed that 11 main categories were identified in 6 levels. Also, the findings showed that in the sixth level, social cultural gap and personality traits of people had the most effect compared to other factors, although cultural weakness was the most effective factor. Public belief is placed at the fifth level of the model. At the fourth level, there are political will of people and image management and organizational evaluation. At the third level, there is the individual power of people. Organizational processes and organizational elections and appointments are at the second level, and at the last level are the model of laws and regulations and the structure of government organizations.
Extended abstract
Introduction
Cognition of the political behaviors in the organization is the result of the contribution of political science to organizational behavior. In today's world, organizations cannot be studied apart from the political behavior within them. The idea that the people of the organization only take steps for the goals and purposes of the organization is very optimistic. Many confirm that organizations are inherently political arenas. Due to the existence of competing interest groups and scarce resources, using political behavior is the best way to survive and succeed in these environments. Power and politics are inevitable phenomena in organizational life; today, the existence of political behaviors in real organizations is undeniable (Nurollahi & Ghanbari, 2021). Political behavior is a rational and conscious goal-oriented strategic process to achieve individual interests or to improve the status and organizational position of employees, which includes voluntary influence actions that are carried out to support or increase the personal interests of individuals or groups (Lerman et al, 2017). Political behaviors are related to activities such as obtaining, developing, and using power and other resources to achieve their desired results in uncertain conditions of organizations (Cheong & Kim, 2018). Political behaviors have a self-interested nature; therefore, when individual interests are preferred over organizational interests in the organization, the potential power of political behavior in the organization appears in actual form (Ferris et al, 2017), and the members of the organization get involved in organizational political activities and try to maintain or develop their interests through using different political behaviors (Fani et al, 2014).
Therefore, the researcher asked this main question: what is the model of political behavior of managers in the public sector?
Theoretical Framework
Political behaviors
According to researchers, political behavior is useful for constructive teams and helps the organization grow and develop. For example, when members of the organization communicate with powerful managers, they can easily make a proposal that is very beneficial for the organization (Latif et al., 2011). Also, political behavior in terms of the organizational context may be defined as facilitating irrational influence in decision-making, and its existence as a "behind-the-scenes stage" (Esmaili Ranjbar & Selajgeh, 2019). Also, political behavior is intentional actions that include a wide set of the tactics of self-effacing influence of the management of emotions and the like (Nurollahi & Ghanbari, 2021).
Abdolali pour et al, (2023) investigated the identification of effective factors in creating political behaviors in Khorramshahr University of Marine Sciences and Technologies. The obtained results showed that organizational justice has the greatest impact on the emergence of political behaviors in the field of financial promotion. Also, among the three identified variables; the organizational culture variable has the greatest impact on job promotion. Organizational justice has the greatest impact on emerging of public political behavior. Also, among the three influential variables in terms of budgeting and goal setting; job promotion has the most impact. Using the results, the final model was obtained that shows the impact of organizational policies on the guidance of Khorramshahr Marine Science and Technology University employees in goal setting and budgeting.
Sanaie et al, (2023) investigated the political behavior of government managers and its causes in the organization. The results showed that the political behavior of managers is, respectively, receiving control of access to information at the highest level, followed by showing calmness, resistance to change, pleasing others, playing with time, forming groups, blaming and attacking others, dealing with the opposite, strengthening a favorable impact, creating a communication network, support and empathy, and presenting oneself through other powerful people in the next priorities.
Research methodology
The research method is applicable in terms of purpose, qualitative in terms of execution method, and inductive-deductive in terms of the logic of data collection. The statistical population includes 30 experts (professors and managers of government organizations), selected by purposeful sampling. Data collection tools include semi-structured interviews.
Research findings
In the data analysis, thematic analysis and the MICMAC software were used, and to prioritize the factors affecting political behavior, for the interpretative structural approach, the ism method was used. The results of the findings showed that 11 main categories were identified in 6 levels. Also, the findings showed that in the sixth level, social cultural gap and personality traits of people had the most effect compared to other factors, although cultural weakness was the most effective factor. Public belief is placed at the fifth level of the model. At the fourth level, there are political will of people and image management and organizational evaluation. At the third level, there is the individual power of people. Organizational processes and organizational elections and appointments are at the second level, and at the last level are the model of laws and regulations and the structure of government organizations.
Conclusion
The current research was conducted with the aim of designing and explaining the political behavior model of managers in government organizations. The results of this research are in agreement with the results of Abdolali pour et al, (2023), Sanaie et al, (2023), Mohammadi et al, (2022), Selajgeh & Rostakhiz (2021), Ayat et al, (2021), Vujatovic (2019), Gullu & Yildiz (2019), and Esmaili Ranjbar & Selajgeh (2019). Sanaie et al, (2023) showed that the political behavior of managers is, respectively, receiving control of access to information at the highest level, followed by showing calmness, resistance to change, pleasing others, playing with time, forming groups, blaming and attacking others, dealing with the opposite, strengthening a favorable impact, creating a communication network, support and empathy, and presenting oneself through other powerful people in the next priorities.
According to the results of this research, the following suggestions are presented:
Managers of government organizations should prevent destructive and negative political behavior by identifying the causes and techniques of political behavior.
It is suggested to prevent the occurrence of negative political behaviors by increasing the emotional attachment of managers and employees and engaging them with organizational goals.