Power and politics are an inevitable part of organizational life. Power arises from an actor's ability to realize their will even when facing resistance from others. Sources of power include legitimacy, uncertainty, and control over critical resources. Politics emerge from structural divisions, complexity, issue salience, and past history. Organizations are political arenas where resistance to change is normal. Both direct domination and softer techniques like empowerment and surveillance are used to exert influence. Decision-making is boundedly rational and influenced by biases, interests, and fluid participation. Positive uses of power involve ethical goals, understanding stakeholder views, developing influence bases, and appropriate strategies.