Organizational Design as a Context for Political Activity

The authors wish to thank Stephen Green, Ralph Katerberg, Thomas Keon, George Graen, and the anonymous ASQ reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. To assess the effect of political activity in decision making, the selection of a new dean was studied in 40 professionally oriented colleges at large state universities. Interdependence was found to affect political activity directly, while other aspects of organizational design number of faculty specialists, heterogeneity in faculty training, and the extent of centralization affected political activity indirectly through the development of consensus. Consensus among faculty regarding the attributes to be desired in a new dean had contrary effects on political activity depending on whether interdependence was high or low. When interdependent faculty members were in agreement, less political activity was observed. Agreeing faculty who were not interdependent exhibited more political activity. This interaction suggests that political activity may have two different purposes: to assist existing coalitions to gain advantage or to facilitate the formation of new coalitions. The study extends previous research by measuring political activity and clarifying the process by which it occurs.