Analyze the organization’s political landscape. Examine formal and informal power structures at play and how they affect organizational culture, policies, and communications at all levels.
Lessons learned from your analysis of the organization’s political landscape will provide useful insight into important contextual factors for consideration as you work through Assessments 2, 3, and 4.
Note: Remember that you can submit all or a portion of your draft analysis to Smarthinking for feedback, before you submit the final version for this assessment. If you plan on using this free service, be mindful of the turnaround time of 24–48 hours for receiving feedback.
Analysis Format and Length
Format your document using APA style.
Use the APA Style Paper Template [DOCX]. An APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] is also provided to help you in writing and formatting your analysis. Be sure to include:
A title page and references page. An abstract is not required.
A running head on all pages.
Use the following section headings to ensure thorough content coverage and flow.
Formal and Informal Lines of Power.
Organizational Power Influences on Executive-Level Decision-Making.
The Impact of Power on Organizational Policy.
Sources of Power.
Provide a short conclusion to your analysis in the form of a summary or editorial.
Your analysis should be 3–4 pages in length, excluding the title and references pages.
Evaluation
The following tasks correspond to the grading criteria in the assessment scoring guide, so be sure to address each point. Read the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.
Analyze the formal and informal lines of power within the organization.
What source of power is being used by the different stakeholders? For example: authority, rewards, coercion, expertise, reputation, personal power.
Describe the effects of power structures on organizational culture, policies, and communications at all levels.
Incorporate organizational power dynamics as a factor in executive-level decision making.
Based on your analysis of internal power structures and your perspective as CNO, what would be the best way to respond to the concerns of the Decision-Making in this scenario, and why?
What support for your response can be found in the evidence-based literature?
What underlying assumptions might influence your decision making?
Assess the potential impact or influence of power on organizational policy.
What is the basis for your conclusions?
Identify the appropriate source of power for achieving a primary strategic objective.
For example: authority, rewards, coercion, expertise, reputation, personal power.
What evidence do you have to support your conclusion?
Articulate meaning relevant to the main topic, scope, and purpose of the prompt.
Write with a specific purpose and audience in mind.
Adhere to scholarly and disciplinary writing standards.
Proofread your writing to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on the substance of your analysis.
Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references.
