Educational Institutions: Politics and Power Games Types, Educational Change, and Enhancing Organizational Culture

1. Introduction

Educational leaders are very important as they act as co-ordinators, provide guidelines in times of change, and are responsible for the effectiveness of organizations (Hoy & Miskel, 2013). Leaders exercise authority and influence on other members of the organization, using political and political tactics to structure the activities of a group and direct them towards their own ends (French & Raven, 1968). Change and success depend on both the leader, the information, the culture of the organization and the different cocktail mix leadership styles adopted by the educational leaders (Pashiardis, 2012).

The present paper aims to present both the various political games, as mentioned mainly by Mintzberg (1983) and the types of power in the typology of French and Raven (1968) existing in educational institutions as well as the concept of educational change and the conditions for its success. Also, reference is made to organizational culture and its reinforcement through the holistic model of leadership of Pashiardis and Brauckmann (2008). The importance of the work lies in the fact that the subjects mentioned above are relevant to the educational organizations and need attention from both the leader - manager and the teachers of the respective school unit.

Each chapter of the work has been divided into a theoretical and practical part. Initially, the concept of political games and types of power is “decoded”. Then reference is made to educational change as a necessary condition for an educational organization, the reasons for its success and the reasons for its failure. The next chapter is devoted to the holistic Pashiardis and Brauckmann Leadership Model, which presents the concept of “cocktail mix” of leadership styles, and that they reinforce the organizational culture on occasion. Finally, the main conclusions are presented.