The traditional view sees organizations as created and controlled by legitimate authorities who set goals, design structure, hire and manage employees, and ensure pursuit of the right objectives. The political view frames a different world: Organizations are coalitions composed of individuals and groups with enduring differences who live in a world of scarce resources. That puts power and conflict at the center of organizational decision making.

Authorities have position power, but they must vie with many other contenders for other forms of leverage. Contenders bring their own beliefs, values, and interests. They seek access to various forms of power and compete for their share of scarce resources in a finite organizational pie. From a political perspective, goals, structure, and policies emerge from an ongoing process of bargaining and negotiation among major interest groups. Sometimes legitimate authorities are the dominant members of the coalition, as is often true in small, owner-managed organizations. But large corporations are often controlled by senior management rather than by stockholders or the board of the directorsGovernment agencies may be controlled more by the permanent civil servants than by the political leaders at the top. The dominant group in a school district may be the teachers’ union instead of the school board or the superintendent. In such cases, rationalists see the wrong people setting the agenda. But the political view suggests that exercising power is a natural part of ongoing contests. Those who get and use power to their advantage will be winners. There is no guarantee that those who gain power will use it wisely or justly. But power and politics are not inevitably demeaning and destructive. Constructive politics is a possibility—indeed, a necessary option if we are to create institutions ans societies that are both just and efficient.