The blending of civil servants and political appointees in the New York consulates of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago: An exploratory investigation of employee perceptions of organizational politics

There is a growing academic and nontheoretical interest in the study of organizational politics, particularly its impact on workplace behavior. Employees are members of different groups and cultures that may influence their behavior in the workplace. Hence, blending employees of different professional and cultural stripes could have implications on organizational growth and development. This research study examined Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago New York Consulate employees' perceptions of organizational politics and evaluated their assertions of blending civil servants, political appointees, and locally recruited staff employees in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago New York Consulates. The goal of the study was to shed some light on the internal organizational working structure of these Consulate General organizations. The findings of this study provide government decision makers with some reinforcement of viable options for public sector and Foreign Service reform that can better position developing countries such as Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago to take advantage of the opportunities in areas of trade, foreign direct investment, research and development, and technology transfer. Improved understanding of workplace politics can serve as a guide for organizational reform that can advance and protect the interest of the organization and all employees. Knowledge creation in workplace politics has become more essential because perceptions of organizational politics are associated with employees' actions that are generally perceived to be self-promoting and harmful to the organization.