Organizational democracy, ethics and leadership: The mediating role of organizational politics

There has been a growing concern amongst commentators about the disconnection between the apparent pluralisation of society and the relatively limited adoption of democratic practices in the corporate workplace. This paper examines the experience of employees in an international broking company in order to explore the extent to which a political leadership perspective can provide insight into furthering organizational democratisation. Attention is given to the integral relationship between democracy, ethics and a political mindset, and the influence this has upon others. In the account reported here, the ethical and developmental agenda of one influential senior manager is central to both the enactment of politics and the form of democratisation which it enables.

Political Leadership, Bureaucracies and Business Schools: A Comfortable Union?

One of the central issues in reconciling pluralistic and bureaucratic forms of organizing lies in the absence of a coherent model of leadership. The intention here is to stimulate debate about the notion of political leadership as a contribution to this analysis. This approach to political leadership prioritizes the explicit acknowledgement of power relations as being central to the reconciliation of diverse interests, and to the building of moral communities in organizational settings. In developing this idea we explore the organizational context for the emergence of political leadership and consider its distinguishing features with reference to both theory and practice. Consideration is given to its utility in building moral organizational communities and how this approach to conceptualizing leadership might be furthered through business school education.