Organisational Politics Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10750 words

Organisational Politics - Dissertation Example In the highly competitive environment, where every individual is concerned about job security, pursuance of self-interest has taken dominance. Managers engage in enhancing their abilities and capabilities to use power, and participate in political activities. In the process, they attempt to exercise coercion and control over their subordinates. This naturally gives rise to resistance which takes the shape of conflicts. However, according to Max Weber, organizations can achieve the coordination necessary for rational, logical and calculable action only through impersonal coercion and discipline of subordinates and clients (McNeill, 1978, p65). Pfeffer (1992, p10) contends that power and influence are social realities and in trying to ignore them, organizations lose a chance to understand these critical social processes and to train managers to cope with them. However, power has been associated with such a negative interpretation that people keep away from it for fear of getting a bad name. Politics in general is also related to negative outcomes; politics is considered to be inherently non-rational and subject to power interactions between diverse interests (Kinicki, 2008) but Vigoda (2000, p1) found weak negative relationship between perception of organizational politics and employees’ performance. ... Allen et al (1978, p78) emphasize that managers must know of the political processes and elaborate on the proactive and reactive behavior of the managers. Lee (1987, p316) identifies sources of power as coalition, expertise, information, rewards, emotional ties, authority and coercion while Varman and Bhatnagar add formal authority, rules and regulations, knowledge and information, counter organizations and informal organizations. However, a person’s actual power is a function of the sources, importance and scarcity of the power available to them (Lee, 1987, p317). Farrell and Peterson (1982, p403) examine individual political behavior within an organization, which they feel has been neglected. Fleming and Spicer (2008, p302) propose that power and resistance in an organization are intertwined. Bureaucratic power is used to exercise control and this gives rise to conflicts in the organization. Thompson (1960, p390) discusses the different forms and sources of organizational co nflicts while Rubenstein (1996) differentiates between conflict management, conflict resolution and conflict settlement. To resolve conflicts power and politics are the facilitators. Most of the literature reviewed here suggests that people are rational and active in pursuit of their goals. They need to influence, they need to manipulate to accomplish goals. This would imply that using tact and manipulation is acceptable as it helps further the interest of the individual as well as of the organization. However, they are seldom conscious of the repercussions of their actions. Imbalance of power can lead to several undesirable consequences such as workplace bullying, harassment and victimization. Several authors such as

Mesh Networks Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Mesh Networks - Coursework Example As organizations are relying more on high-speed wireless networks, security is a vital factor. Wireless security is a framework that emphasizes on prevention of workstations or networks from unauthorized access. An automated system known as mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) is integrated within the wireless networks to establish communication between wireless nodes or access points. However, MANET does not have centralized administration. MANET is defined as â€Å"Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) refers to a type of mobile network in which each node has the ability to act as a router, permitting adaptable multi-hop communications† [3]. The ad-hoc on demand distant vector protocol (AODV) that is operated by MANET provides loopholes for the hackers to gain access to the network or the system via a wireless network. AODV is widely used due to its significant advantages such as lower network overhead with a complex algorithm. However, AODV does not maintain the database for routing infor mation in the router. This is the area where there is a possibility of the hackers to break in the network. This paper will discuss the details associated with attacks incorporated with AODV. Moreover, other type of threats that may affect the domestic wireless network operating on an 802.11 will also be defined and discussed. 3. Introduction MANET is constructed on multiple routers knows as multi hop communication paths, these multi hop communication paths, can be dislocated any time and in any direction. The routing protocols that are associated with MANET are categorized in to hybrid, table-driven and demand-driven routing protocols [1]. Table-driven protocols attempt to synchronize routing information with the routing table for each wireless router. For example, Destination Sequenced Distance Vector (DSDV) and Wireless Routing Protocol (WRP) protocols fall under the category of table-driven protocols. Demand-driven protocols are associated with AODV and dynamic source routing pr otocol (DSR). Hybrid routing protocols interlinks with the other two protocols i.e. table driven and demand driven routing protocols. The wireless MANET network is associated with protocols that are not well designed in terms of network security, as there is no centralized administration to monitor or configure MANET. However, most of the wireless network protocols associated with MANET is designed for optimum bandwidth utilization but not for optimal security. These factors have made the wireless network vulnerable for the hackers and cyber criminals. One of the examples of mesh networks are illustrated in Fig. 1. Figure 1 Source: (Siraj and Bakar 1263-1271) One of the latest examples for mesh network is the youtube architecture, as shown Fig 1.2. Figure 2 Source: (Staehle et al. 144-148) In this competitive and evolutionary world of technological advancements, threats and vulnerabilities are a great concern. Similarly, any wireless protocol must address security issues during the design phase. The protocol must add