[mercer]

It's quite likely that some kind of hidden structure emerged.

However, could you explain what you mean with 'political' in this context? Because 'political connections', in my mind, also includes reputation and knowledge of competence. And that doesn't seem like a bad thing.

[DerpDerpDerp]

Things that would normally qualify as "soft power", eg, being friends with the right people, trading favors, reputation management, etc.

Even the example you give requires reputation management, as opposed to merely raising a good technical argument at the time (as a new person on the staff).

[rhizome]

Sure, but you're leaving "competence" unspecified. Political connections are based upon competence at what? Therein lies the rub.