Political practitioners’ perspectives on political management: the importance of people and power
International Journal of Public Leadership
ISSN: 2056-4929
Article publication date: 3 March 2022
Issue publication date: 26 September 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Political management is about getting things done in campaigns, parties and government. Political organizations can use management concepts such as strategic planning, human resources and organizational design to help them achieve their goals. Research into specifically how management is used by political practitioners – political staffers and politicians – in government is limited. This study aims to fill that gap.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors review the limited literature on political management, outline interview methodology, results and conclude with overall lessons drawn out using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo.
Findings
This study identifies the aspects of political management that political practitioners saw as the most important, the difference between managing in business and politics, and why.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides suggestions for what future empirical research should focus on, noting a focus on informal behavior that relate to people and power that are not seen from outside the organization.
Originality/value
The perspectives of high-level practitioners help give a view to what political management really is.
Keywords
Citation
Lees-Marshment, J. and Bendle, N.T. (2022), "Political practitioners’ perspectives on political management: the importance of people and power", International Journal of Public Leadership, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp. 305-318. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPL-12-2021-0062
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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