Politics

How often and in what ways might internal politics factor into project success?
Politics is a major component in the work environment. The political dynamics of the business culture can either positively or negatively affect the success of a project since internal politics is about power. In many cases, the development of projects redefines a person's responsibilities and redistributes their power by changing the flow of information.

For example, even if the development of an ERP system would help the business to effectively analyze data, political problems will arise because those who were at the top of the informational hierarchy would lose their status. For a person whose identity is closely related to their job, this would be a huge threat and they could respond by sabotaging the project, consciously or subconsciously.      

But whatever the project may be, political factors need to be addressed. Politics are seen at every level of an organization because they result from people's interactions and their positions in the hierarchy.