Perceptions of Organizational Politics Scale – POPS
Assesses employee perceptions of the extent to which their work environment is political in nature.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Perceptions of Organizational Politics Scale – POPS was developed by K. Michele Kacmar, Gerald R. Ferris (1991). It is designed to measure Perceptions of Organizational Politics. The scale is intended for use with Working adults / employees.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 12 items organized into 3 factors/subscales: General political behavior, Go ahead, Pay and promotion policies.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| General political behavior | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | 6 |
| Go ahead | 7,8,9,10 | 4 |
| Pay and promotion policies | 11,12 | 2 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree).
The scale includes 6 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 12 to 60. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low perception of organizational politics: 12 – 27
- Moderate perception of organizational politics: 28 – 44
- High perception of organizational politics: 45 – 60
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.87 – 0.91.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.