March 1996 € Volume 6 € No. 3
Consultant's Forum
The Politics of Change
By Judith A. Stimson, CIRM, CPIM, C.P.M., CMC
Having recently completed Chimpanzee Politics by Frans de Waal, I
continue to be fascinated by what we can learn from "beasts."
Decades of research showed that apes are adept at subtle political maneuvers.
Their social life is full of takeovers, dominance networks, power struggles,
alliances, divide-and-rule strategies, coalitions, arbitration, collective
leadership, privileges and bargaining. This book brought new perspective
to the political side of the rational, emotional and political aspects of
change management. The roots of politics really are older than humanity.
Decide for yourself if the following themes from the apes' colony apply
to humans in your organization.
Formalization. Ranks are formalized. When they become unclear, a
dominance struggle ensues, after which the winner refuses reconciliation
as long as his new status is not formally recognized.
Influence. An individual's influence on group processes does not
always correspond to his rank position. It also depends on personality,
age, experience and connections.
Coalitions. Interventions in conflicts serve either to help friends
and relatives or to build up powerful positions. The second, opportunistic
type of intervention is seen specifically in the coalition formation of
adult males and goes hand in hand with isolation tactics.
Balance. In spite of their rivalry, males form strong social bonds
amongst themselves. They tend to develop a balanced power system based on
their coalitions, individual fighting abilities and support from females.
Stability. Relationships among females are less hierarchically organized
and much more stable than among males. A need for stability is also reflected
in the females' attitude towards male status competition. They even mediate
between males.
Exchanges. Apes exchange social favors and their support flows to
a centralized individual who uses the prestige derived from it to provide
social security. This is his responsibility in the sense that he may undermine
his own position if he fails to redistribute the support received.
Manipulation. Chimpanzees are intelligent manipulators. Their ability
is demonstrated in their use of tools, but it is even more pronounced in
their use of others as social instruments.
Rational strategies. There is evidence that suggests chimpanzees
plan their dominance strategies beforehand.
Privileges. As a rule, high-ranking members have more social privileges.
In summary, the clear-cut rank-order layer of dominant individuals explains
some of the social processes and resulting politics. However, a second layer
which is a network of positions of influence also exists and results in
a lot of "string-pulling" politics. Neither can be ignored when
managing change. Aristotle referred to humans as "political animals";
he seems to have been right on the mark when we define politics as social
manipulation to secure and maintain influential positions.
Judith A. Stimson, CIRM, CPIM, C.P.M., CMC, is a management consultant
with over 16 years of industry, teaching and consulting experience. She
specializes in change and was a speaker at the 1994 APICS International
Conference and 1995 Integrated Resource Management World Symposium.
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