values that provides the foundation for many of our activities and efforts. If you grew up in the OD field, as I did, & quot; manipulation & quot; is a dirty word. Most of us are more comfortable with the term & quot; influence.& quot; All in all, I believe our value set sometimes keeps us from seeing things as they really are. Secondly, we lack the concepts and tools required to develop a political perspective in our field. The conceptual frameworks, the models we use to help us manage human resources in organizations, do not explicitly include power and politics as integral elements in the process. And finally, I believe that many of us lack political will and skill. We are either unwilling or unable to play politics, even though it is the name of the game in many of our organizations. So instead of denying that politics exist, I propose three objectives: First, 1 would like to present a conceptual model that puts the spotlight on the political aspects of an organization and integrates them with its technology, its management systems, its people, and its culture. Hopefully, this will provide us with some & quot; fresh eyes,& quot; or a way of POWER, POLITICS, AND THE HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONAL 2 0 1 looking at organizations which incorporates a political perspective. Second, I would like to further develop the concept of power and politics in organizations in the hope that we will add to our knowledge and theory base. And third, I would like to provide a partial list of quidelines and suggestions to get you thinking about the implications of some of these ideas for you and for your organizations.