Ask any IT professional what phrases spring to mind when you mention "organizational politics," and nine times out of 10 you will get responses such as:  
- Doing deals
 - Scoring points
 - Personal agendas
 - Getting one over on one's colleagues
 - Secrecy and subterfuge
 - Mafia tactics
 - Win-lose
 
Organizational politics are, however, a fact of corporate life. Organizations, being made up of people, are essentially political institutions.

