The Politics of Backstabbing

C
ase Study (Chapter 14)

The Politics of Backstabbing

(Case Study, Chapter 14)

Introduction
This case study shows the meaning of backstabbing as illegitimate political behavior and
shows to us how two managers used to be colleagues and work together at the same organization.
Rosen believed that he was making progress until he realized that his colleague was
backstabbing him and talking about him to boss behind the door which caused Rosen to resign
his job and his colleague was promoted.
According to Judith Briles, a management consultant, he believes that a tight job market is
often a contributing factor of backstabbing. Fred Neder another management consultant believes
that, backstabbing is the result of some kind of character disorder.
The executive at a technology company in Seattle admits that the blind ambition was the
reason for him when he used to do backstabbing in 1999. The incidents such as these may not be
uncommon at the workplace, given todays competitive work environment, the employee may be
using political games to move ahead.

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Question 1: What factors, in addition to those cited here, do you

believe lead to illegitimate political behaviors such as
backstabbing?
The factors that have been cited in the case study are tight job market, some kind of character
disorder and blind ambition. Moreover, we believe there are other reasons why the people act in
this way. Firstly, an individual who backstabs another is generally insecure in themselves. For
instance, this life full of competency and challenges and in order to be able to compete in an
efficient way with our opponents we have to be stronger or more knowledgeable than them. Thus
it shows us that when the individual use backstabbing in an organization against their opponents
it means that, in order to reach to his/her goals he/she has to eliminate his colleague or opponent
at work. The example of the executive shows us that how he used backstabbing against his
colleague to send her back to the main office as he thought that as far as she is there (clients
office) he may not reach his goals or else he is kind of afraid that she will be promoted and he
will not.
Secondly, is when an individual envious or jealous to another person who is more successful
than them. For example, there might be several employees at the work and most of them are hard
working and career caring. However, among them we can find employees who are jealous for
their colleagues and envy for what they are achieving. Thus, some individuals try then to
backstab others in order to see them fail and less successful than themselves. Here is an example
of assistant managers and both were colleagues but one employee A started to backstab employee
B until the boss started to hate or to think that employee B does not have sufficient work skills to
be here as assistant manager. Thus, employee B did not like how the boss treated him and
resigned and employee A was promoted.
Thirdly, greediness of an individual that he/she wants to be promoted to a particular position
in an organization, so he/she treats his/her colleague/competitor as enemy/opponent. So by the
end of the day if the greedy employee uses a backstabbing, he/she will get promoted and get high
salary as he/she wishes and thinks, but definitely it is an unethical way.

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Fourthly we believe that the main reason for backstabbing is when an individual is not a
pious or good believer, as we know both three religions Islam, Christianity and the Judaism are
from God (Allah) and some of them were corrupted. However, all this three religions prohibit of
backstabbing. For example in Islam backstabbing which is mainly identified as (Blame, Envies
and disrespectfulness) and all of these are prohibited.
Fifthly, pressure from other parties is a factor leads to backstabbing behavior in an
organization. In this issue there are three people involved (boss, executive and victim). Usually it
happens in organization when the boss feels his position will threatened from someone in his
organization. So he will ask the executive to defamation the victim in order to kick him out
(victim) from the organization and by that way he will able to safe his position from the danger.
Sixthly, different opinion is another factor that may lead to backstabbing, that happens when
we have two persons work in same organization. The first person has plan A and the second
person has plan B for their organization. But only one plan will be taken by the organization.
Because of different opinion it will create the backstabbing between them. Each person will try
to convince and persuade other people that his plan is brilliant; even he will do the dirty things
like defamation his opponent in order to prove that his plan is better for the organization.

Question 2: Imagine that a colleague is engaging in illegitimate

political behavior toward you. What steps might you take to
reduce or eliminate this behavior?
In an organization, if a colleague is engaging in illegitimate political behavior, such as
backstabbing toward you, there are certain steps you should take to reduce or eliminate this
behavior:
1. Keeping a written record in each time that behavior happen. Recording the date and
the place that the behavior took place in plus the names of the people involved in it. It is
considered as strong evidence to support your claim. Keeping a written record has
become a very important issue that helps in solve many cases of home abuse by recording
each time the victim has a prose.

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2. Avoid any kind of verbal disagreement. Verbal disagreements can lead one of the
parties to lose control over his anger which may lead to unprofessional behavior such as
cursing, fighting and damaging organizational property. This kind of action increases the
level of tension in the organization which will force the top managers to take a strong
action against it, such as firing the people who are engaged in this action.
3. Reporting to people in higher position. The top managers are the decision makers so it
is better to inform them when a colleague is engaging in illegitimate behavior such
backstabbing and as long as you provide them with good evidence with your complaint,
you will be in the safe side from the negative consequences that the backstabbing can
bring to you.
4. Using your expert power. Backstabbing always grows in intensive work place where
there are a few places for top managers so a few people will be promoted from time to
time so each employee will do his best to ensure that the promotion will be for him.
Under this pressure some of the employees will not be confidant of wining the position
because there are others may be better than him, so it's better for him to eliminate the
compotation by trying to backstabbing others. So the best way to react toward this kind of
behavior is to be more professional and improve the level of your outcomes in the
organization. Therefore, with increasing your knowledge and skills you make yourself
immune against backstabbing.
5. Using your reverent power. Revrent power is the trait and characteristics that a person
has that he makes people think of him as a good or a bad person, a role model or not and
to admire him or to minimize their interaction with him. A person with high reverent
power will be protected from backstabbing because people respect him and if the heard
any rumors related to him to tend to ignore it because they believe in him more than the
person who is spreading the rumors about him. While a person with a low reverent power
is more likely to be affected with backstabbing because people dont know a lot about the
person and generally people believe the rumors about the person that they dont know a
lot about him. So increasing the reverent power is very important in organization and it
can be done by taking simple actions such as visiting your co-workers when they are sick,
helped them when they in need, always smiling in their faces, treat them with respect and
many other ways.
From Islamic perspective : Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
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"O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, in deeds some suspicions are sins. And spy not
neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You
would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allah, verily, Allah is The One Who accepts
repentance, Most Merciful.

(Qur'an 49: 12).

Question 4:
In addition to the obvious negative effects of
illegitimate political behavior on victims, such as those described
in this case, what might be some negative effects on the
perpetrators? On the organization as a whole?
The negative effects on the perpetrators are, firstly, it negatively affects the productivity of
the perpetrators; this implies that the perpetrators of backstabbing would pay less attention to
his or her primary duty in the organization which is to engage in meaningful activity that will
lead to the development of the organization. But due to the unnecessary engagement in acts that
will bring down his or her colleagues at the work place, his productive capacity is affected and
which less attention is paid to.
Secondly, character destruction; all tactics involved in the process of backstabbing in an
organization are against the development of good character. They include blackmailing,
slandering, defamation and even violent attack which destroy the character of the person
involved in the act.
Thirdly, possibility of losing the job; perpetrators of backstabbing operate on a high risk of
losing his/her job when caught to in the act. As a result of the fact that the activity is an
illegitimate one and which also has the potential of affecting negatively the productivity of the
organization, any individual caught in the process of backstabbing his/her colleague in a normal
organizational situation will either be suspended or totally dismissed in the office.
Fourthly, distraction; Backstabbing involves a process of trying to ensure the fall of a
particular person or others in the organization through different unethical strategies. Getting
involved in the activity is a distraction to the perpetrator as he/she hardly sees the need to

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personally monitor his own activity and lifestyle. He gets distracted and hardly engages in any
meaningful things.
Fifthly, retaliation; there is every possibility that the person backstabbed in the organization
will try to also use same tactic to get back at the perpetrator. This means that there is the
possibility of the perpetrator of backstabbing to also fall victim of such untoward act in the
nearest future in the organization.
On the other hand, there are certain negative effects of illegitimate political behavior on the
organization as a whole; the productivity of the organization is negatively affected with the
act of backstabbing and other illegitimate behaviors. If large numbers of the organization adopts
the measure to influence organizational activities, the organization suffers in productivity as
there will be unnecessary and mutual suspicion amongst in the firm that reduces generally the
production level of the organization involved. It might also lead to unethical and dangerous
conflicts among members within the organization, which might assume violent dimension in
some instances. It also has the potentiality of affecting the trust of customers on the
organization. Customers will definitely lose their trust in the organization upon discovery or
observing tendencies of the act of blackmailing or illegitimate political behaviors in the
organization.

Conclusion
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It may be concluded that the backstabbing is an improper ethical way of behavior in an

organization and even based on Islamic prospective backstabbing is prohibited. The Prophet of
Allah (s.a.w.) says that, You are not a believer unless you do wish to your brother whatever you
wish to yourself.
In order to guard against backstabbing, Bob McDonalds, a management consultant,
recommended to supervisors and other key personals that the backstabbers are not friends. He
stated that backstabbers pretend to be friends to their victims and they are hesitant about share
negative information with others because of this professed friendship. Furthermore, the
employees in any events should be aware of illegitimate political behavior and companies may
need to adopt formal policies to safeguard employees against such behavior.
All in all, the employees and the managers both should try to verify information to avoid the
negative repercussions that can come from backstabbing and other illegitimate political
behaviors.
Allah (s.w.t.) says : O ye who believe! If a wicked person comes to you with any news,
ascertain the truth, lest ye harm people unwittingly and afterwards become full of
repentance for what ye have done. (Qur'an 49: 6).

References
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Robben & Judge, 13th Edition, Organizational Behavior.

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