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Enjoying Your Work Richard Brislin |
Horse-trading different
resources with care
opens doorsPEOPLE with power are able to compete for scarce resources in their workplaces, communities and political organizations.
Whenever people want scarce resources, they must enter political arenas. Such arenas are not limited to the activities of Democrats, Republicans and smaller groups that want to have an impact on legislation and public policy. When people talk about "office politics" they are talking about competition for resources. People who have the knowledge about how power works have an advantage in this competition.
There are various types of resources that people use as "currency," and they must possess one or more to be taken seriously by powerholders.
I'll use the example of people seeking political office, but applications can be made to other arenas such as a workplace where consumers find goods or services. The clearest scarce resource is money. There are only so many jobs that pay salaries of $100, 000 or more. Another resource is services. Elected politicians are expected to serve the needs of people in their districts. The relation between money and services provides a good introduction to a key aspect of the political process. People with power trade resources. Politicians ask for money for their campaigns.
People who want to enter powerful circles for the first time must think through the resources that they can offer. People who have money and show a willingness to donate to political campaigns will be invited to fundraisers and will find themselves seated among the community's movers and shakers. If they are all clever, they will participate in discussions about government land deals and various investment opportunities and will be able to increase their wealth.
People who develop an expertise in these issues, and who are able to communicate it clearly, can trade their knowledge for access to powerholders.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
The purpose of this column is to increase understanding of human behavior as it has an impact on the workplace. Given the amount of time people spend at work, job satisfaction should ideally be high and it should contribute to general life happiness. Enjoyment can increase as people learn more about workplace psychology, communication, and group influences.
Richard Brislin is a professor in the College of Business Administration, University of Hawaii. He can be reached through the College Relations Office: cro@cba.hawaii.edu
