The written and oral messages that employees send internally serve two functions,
(a) they convey information or attempt to persuade the receiver to a point of view,
and (b) they establish the reputation of the sender. This article focuses on how
message senders can achieve a positive reputation and why they should do so. It
argues that cultivating a favorable impression of oneself with others, developing a
base of support, aligning oneself with more powerful others, and controlling others'
access to information are strategies of office politics that a message sender can use
ethically.
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