Power & Micropolitics
Niveau
Master
Learning outcomes of the courses/module
The participants:
• know key concepts and theories of power and micropolitics in organizations.
• understand formal and informal power structures and their interactions.
• analyze micropolitical processes, interests, and power constellations.
• critically evaluate organizational practices in terms of power, control, and legitimacy.
• reflect on their own roles and scope of action in micropolitical contexts.
• develop strategies for constructively dealing with power, conflicts, and influence processes.
• know key concepts and theories of power and micropolitics in organizations.
• understand formal and informal power structures and their interactions.
• analyze micropolitical processes, interests, and power constellations.
• critically evaluate organizational practices in terms of power, control, and legitimacy.
• reflect on their own roles and scope of action in micropolitical contexts.
• develop strategies for constructively dealing with power, conflicts, and influence processes.
Prerequisites for the course
None
Course content
• Introduction & Foundations (power, control, and influence in organizations; micropolitics as everyday practice; formal vs. informal structures)
• Theories & Perspectives (micro-, meso-, and macro-political approaches; resource dependence; neo-institutionalism; systemic and cultural perspectives)
• Sources of Power & Strategies (authority; resources; networks; information control; coalitions; Machiavellianism)
• Micropolitical Action (pursuit of interests; exchange relationships; strategic interaction; symbolic and informal practices)
• Organizational Structures & Ambiguity (ambiguity as a resource; formal rules vs. lived practice; bureaucracy and informal order)
• Control, Trust & Governance (control mechanisms; mistrust; self-organization; tension between autonomy and control)
• Career, Advancement & Inequality (promotion processes; networks; micropolitical dynamics; diversity and power)
• Conflict, Cooperation & Negotiation (types of conflict; negotiation processes; power in interactions)
• Culture, Norms & Social Order (organizational culture; norm conflicts; functional and dysfunctional effects of order/disorder)
• Change & Context (power in change processes; digitalization; globalization; new organizational forms)
• Theories & Perspectives (micro-, meso-, and macro-political approaches; resource dependence; neo-institutionalism; systemic and cultural perspectives)
• Sources of Power & Strategies (authority; resources; networks; information control; coalitions; Machiavellianism)
• Micropolitical Action (pursuit of interests; exchange relationships; strategic interaction; symbolic and informal practices)
• Organizational Structures & Ambiguity (ambiguity as a resource; formal rules vs. lived practice; bureaucracy and informal order)
• Control, Trust & Governance (control mechanisms; mistrust; self-organization; tension between autonomy and control)
• Career, Advancement & Inequality (promotion processes; networks; micropolitical dynamics; diversity and power)
• Conflict, Cooperation & Negotiation (types of conflict; negotiation processes; power in interactions)
• Culture, Norms & Social Order (organizational culture; norm conflicts; functional and dysfunctional effects of order/disorder)
• Change & Context (power in change processes; digitalization; globalization; new organizational forms)
Recommended specialist literature
• Bosetzky, H. (2019). Mikropolitik: Netzwerke und Karrieren. Wiesbaden: Springer.
• Gilliam, C. (2017). Immancence and micropolitics: Sartre, Merleu-Ponty, Foucault and Deleuze. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter.
• Matys, T. (2025). Macht, Kontrolle und Entscheidungen in Organisationen: Eine Einführung in organisationale Mikro-, Meso- und Makropolitik. Wiesbaden: Springer.
• Rastetter, D., & Jüngling, C. (2018). Frauen, Männer, Mikropolitik: Geschlecht und Macht in Organisationen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
• Schermuly, C. C. (2025). Die Psychologie der Macht: Wie sie uns und das Zusammenleben prägt. Freiburg: Haufe Lexware.
• Gilliam, C. (2017). Immancence and micropolitics: Sartre, Merleu-Ponty, Foucault and Deleuze. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter.
• Matys, T. (2025). Macht, Kontrolle und Entscheidungen in Organisationen: Eine Einführung in organisationale Mikro-, Meso- und Makropolitik. Wiesbaden: Springer.
• Rastetter, D., & Jüngling, C. (2018). Frauen, Männer, Mikropolitik: Geschlecht und Macht in Organisationen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
• Schermuly, C. C. (2025). Die Psychologie der Macht: Wie sie uns und das Zusammenleben prägt. Freiburg: Haufe Lexware.
Assessment methods and criteria
Exam
Seminar paper
Seminar paper
Language
German
Number of ECTS credits awarded
3
Semester hours per week
Planned teaching and learning method
The course is based on an e-learning concept that incorporates a didactically aligned combination of online and in-person phases. During the online phases, an inductive learning approach is applied, fostering the independent acquisition of knowledge and the completion of tasks. The in-person phases follow a deductive approach, in which learning processes are guided and deepened, and content is systematically delivered through lectures as well as practical examples.
Semester/trimester in which the course/module is offered
2