1. Week 8 (Tutorial 7)
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students are able to:
 Define the difference between power and leadership.
 Identify the causes and consequences of political power.
Case Study
Dato Haji Taib is the owner of Bersih Padu Sdn. Bhd., a well-known housing developer in Kedah.
Dato Haji Taib recently bought a plot of land and he intends to build a residential area which
features gated-and-guarded residences. Therefore, he intends to recruit a new marketing manager
to lead the new project.
While sharing the news on leading the project, two of his employees believe that they are the one
whom Dato Haji Taib should trust to lead the project.
One is Amran who is an energetic young executive with a clear vision of what he wants for his
career. He also hold a Bachelor in Marketing. He has been with the organization for three years
and he is well-versed with the procedures and processes needed to help sell the properties. His
networking is wide and he is ever willing to go to extra mile to learn.
Another employee who believes that she should be the one is Siti. Siti is a rank-and-file employee
who has been with the organization for the last 10 years. She started her career as a marketing
assistant and always had the opportunity to be part of big events for the organization.
By looking at the background and the personality of each candidate, both meets the criteria needed
to be a manager. However, Dato Haji chose Amran over Siti. Siti is curious about this choice and
she believes that Amran had played organizational politics to get the position.
Question:
1. What organization politics do you think Amran had done to win the position?
2. What do you think that Siti should have done to get Dato Haji Taib to change his mind?
3. Since Siti has been with the organization for 10 years, what do you feel Siti should have
done to increase the dependency level of the organization towards her?