You should find a lot of stuff in this article which relates to your own work situation. Instead of blaming the organization, it is necessary to take action to build these influencing relationships. It is also important that we give appropriate power to others, and help our peers and subordinates develop effective and efficient power relationships. I have frequently talked about culture as an issue, both national culture and organizational culture. Ed Schein does a good job of describing the initial attempts to use the tools of anthropology and sociology to look at similar dynamics in organizations.
Culture is what sets the work rules for the organization.
Most of leadership is about influencing the culture so that people act in accord with a new set of values and beliefs. The most effective organizations simultaneously have strong stable cultures like described by Jaques, Weber, and Fayol, while having a culture for development efforts more like Nonaka, Peters, and Senge. This article helps you better perceive and analyze the cultures you live in. And different departments in a company can be as different as going to church and going to a hockey game, definitely different cultures of the same people. And the artifacts and actions carry the culture.