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Introduction - Unit 12 Organisational Behaviour
Organizational behavior is defined as the study of how members of a group behave. It also provides information about the behavior of workers in a specific company and the group dynamics that contribute to corporate efficiency (Labrague, 2020). As a result, “Marks & Spencer” is taken into account in this study. It is among the most prominent British international stores based in London, England, United Kingdom. and concentrates in the sale of clothing, household goods, and food. In this report, the role of “Organisational culture, politics, and power on the team’s behavior and performance” is examined in depth. It would also be explained how employees might be motivated to achieve big profits by using different motivational philosophies. In conjunction to this, the “path goal theory” and the distinction between an “effective and an ineffective team” are examined further in this paper.
LO1
P1. “Analysing the organisation culture, politics and power influence individual team and behaviour and performance”
If indeed the “culture, politics, and power” of the organisation are positive, they may influence the team’s performance and behaviour; if they are negative, they can demotivate the group (Siawsh et al., 2021). As a result, internal aspects are detailed below:
Culture in the workplace: An organization’s culture is defined as the shared belief standards and processes of its employees. Another factor that affects team effectiveness and productivity is indeed the organization’s four distinct organisational cultures (Odor, 2018).
Power Culture: The “M&S’s power culture” relates to the fact that just a few individuals have the authority to make decisions. These persons are thus responsible for any choices made by those who are allowed to do so. These folks have a specific place and status in the mentioned organisation. Furthermore, they delegate the duty to their subordinates, who are responsible for doing it to the best of their abilities (Zaman et al., 2018). Subordinates have no choice but to do the assigned tasks. For this, subordinates have no right or freedom to communicate and discuss their thoughts with their superiors in the specified company. As a result, the personnel of the above-mentioned company may be demotivated since their ideas, feelings, and presence are not important to the company.
Task culture: Specifically, task culture at the M&S focuses on the growth of the team in order to achieve the common goal of the business. The team of four to five employees from the aforementioned organization is established in order to achieve the company’s short- and long-term objectives in a task-oriented environment. Furthermore, in this sort of culture, the team members come together with a diverse variety of qualities and capabilities in order to do the assigned task efficiently and effectively. In turn, their morale and productivity will improve as a consequence of the company’s culture, as has been described above.
Person culture: Person culture is comprised of the culture in which M&S workers feel that they are more important than the company. Such an organization’s culture may demotivate its personnel because they are just there for the money and therefore are not emotionally invested in the company. As a result of this culture, workers would never make a decision in favour of the company as a whole (Khan, Khan, and Gul, 2019). As a result, in such an environment, workers are less likely to lend a hand to one another, which lowers morale and, ultimately, lowers productivity.
Role Culture: Employees are assigned jobs based on their interests, skills and talents as part of the role culture of an organization. Doing so requires a significant amount of work on their part. Thus, only those employees who have been given the task are responsible and accountable for its successful completion. Consequently (Zaman et al., 2018). Responsibility comes with power, and personnel assigned to the task are more likely to do it on time because of this. In other words, the way the team performs will be influenced by the culture of the company they work for.
Politics:
The M&S employees' self-serving mindset is an example of organizational politics. As a result, employees take use of the productivity-boosting potential of social media to achieve their goals. Non-partiality and positivity are thus motivating for both individuals and groups. Employees who are motivated by a sense of ownership in the organization are more productive (Ferris et al., 2018). On the other side, negative or partial politics undermines the morale of employees and the organization as a whole. As a consequence, it's reasonable to assume that productivity and performance will suffer.
Power:
Power has a massive effect on both individual and team behaviour in the workplace. Individuals and teams’ personalities are shaped more by their degree of enjoyment than by their power. It also makes it much more likely that everything will go as planned. Having a high motivation is also necessary. Power has the ability to change the opinions of others, even if it doesn’t benefit the holder. Unexpected disagreements between various persons and groups may result in a decline in profitability or quality as a result of power imbalances. The effects on the company’s internal workforce of having much too much authority may be catastrophic (Minkov and Kaasa, 2020). A workplace that is too lopsided in favour of the employees might result in a loss of production, even if workers are urged to acquire authority in order to improve efficiency and output.
(Source: Brissett, Sher and Smith, 2019)
With its emphasis on eliminating uncertainty, the paradigm has the potential to negatively affect other aspects of managerial behaviour (Brissett, Sher and Smith, 2019). When it comes to working, the worker likes to operate in specified scenarios rather than in an undefined environment. Some individuals like to work in a group while others prefer to work on their own accord. Individual and team patterns of behaviour and efficiency are influenced by politics and power. According to Marks & Spencer, increasing the number of employees will result in more originality, efficiency, and quality, as well as greater discretion.
When it comes to teamwork and the allocation of fare power, Marks & Spencer has faith in its staff’s cooperation and willingness to help. The decision-making process of an employee is seen as being very significant to the business (Brissett, Sher and Smith, 2019). This means that all aspects of company are looked at for the greatest possible answer.
As a result of the company’s belief in a concept of collaboration and a policy of fare power sharing, employees are rewarded for their cooperation and their willingness to help. An employee’s input into decision-making at the corporate level is highly prized. As a result, the company’s top executives are always on the prowl for the most effective solutions.
LO2
P2. “Evaluating content and process theories of motivation and motivational techniques”.
Motivation:
Motivation was shown to be both a direct and an indirect factor in inspiring a worker’s commitment and passion. A beneficial outcome for the firm may be achieved via the use of motivations (Russ, 2013). To motivate workers, one must provide them with an environment where they can see themselves as part of a larger picture.
Motivational theories are based on a variety of factors:
Motivation is a multifaceted term that varies from person to person and from group to group. Generally speaking, there have been two sorts of motivation that have been based on ideas.
The term "content theories of motivation" refers to a collection of beliefs that assist an organisation in determining the variables that inspire its personnel (Hattie, Hodis, and Kang, 2020). Motivation theory is divided into two categories: content and process-based.
Content theories:
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: “Abraham Maslow created Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in 1963”, and the idea has been widely used since that time. Maslow created this hypothesis based on his own personal experiences. The cited organisation has to meet the following five employee demands in order to motivate its workers: Thus, Maslow ranked these five employee requirements in order of importance. A person’s psychological and physical requirements (“such as access to water, food, shelter, and sleep”), and also their sense of belonging and self-worth, are all important (Badubi, 2017). “Employees would be driven to work hard in order to satisfy such unmet needs”. It is possible to apply this notion to encourage personnel of the stated business.
Alderfer- Erg theory: Clayton Alderfer developed the Erg theory. His thesis was also in line with Maslow’s, “which states that people are driven to work hard if they can meet their fundamental requirements”. “In addition, he categorised those demands into three groups, based on their specific needs”. As he saw it, employees who are not able to meet the requirements of high-level requirements are more likely than others to strive to meet the demands of lower-level requirements twice as hard (Sisodia and Agarwal, 2020). Therefore, the specified company must define and evaluate such demands and organise them into three categories in order to encourage its people to meet them.
McClelland theory: As “David McClelland wrote his book”, “The Achieving Society,” he established “McClelland theory”. “The theory states that regardless of gender or age, an employee possesses three primary motivators that drive him to work hard”. Accomplishment, affinity, and power are all examples of these three motivators. A company like this has to know what motivates its workers, what they want to be associated with, as well as how much authority each of them wants to wield in order to succeed. Thus, recognising these motivators will aid the specified business in motivating its workers.
Herzberg theory: Workers may be satisfied or unhappy by two variables in an organisation, according to the notion. Hygiene and motivation are two of the most important variables. A clean work environment might therefore be used as a motivating factor for M&S’s workers. As a result, the more sanitary the workplace, the much more motivated workers will be and the more they will like their jobs (Sisodia and Agarwal, 2020). As a result, the referenced organization’s workers need a clean working environment in order to be more motivated and to achieve higher levels of performance and production.
Process theories
Skinner’s reinforcement theory: "Skinner’s theory of reinforcement" is founded on the notion that workers’ behaviour is influenced by their environment. People will be more motivated to work hard and productively in the future if their employer values and rewards their efforts, according to the hypothesis (Acquah et al., 2021). Demotivated individuals will not even bother to put in any productive effort for their company if they believe that their hard work is not being taken into account or neglected by the specified organisation. Thus, in order to inspire their staff, M&S must take into account the amount of effort put in and decide on a corresponding reward.
Vroom’s expectancy theory: According to “Vroom’s expectation theory,” the goal of some employees is to maximise profits while reducing discomfort. Some workers desire to boost profits while decreasing the amount of effort they have to put in. “As a result, the stated company may employ this idea to inspire its workers by instilling the notion that handwork has a favourable relationship to performance”. The company’s workers will also feel that if they put in the effort, they would indeed be rewarded accordingly.
Adam’s equity theory: “Adam’s equity theory” is predicated on the theory that workers’ hard work, skill, and skills should be rewarded equally with their production, such as a raise or promotion. As an end, the workers will be demotivated if they believe that their contributions to the listed company outweigh the output they get. A balance must be struck between employee production and input in order to keep personnel motivated (Sisodia and Agarwal, 2020). Also based on the premise that workers are driven by facing consequences for their actions, is Locke’s goal setting theory. When a company wants to keep its workers engaged and motivated, they need to provide its workers freedom of expression, as well as a safe environment in which to do so. Providing such rights motivates workers to put in extra effort, and the organisation stated above risks losing its most capable and talented people if it fails to do so.
LO3
P3. “Effective team as opposed to an ineffective team”.
When it comes to the success of a company, the fundamentals of an effective team are essential. They also lead to the improvement of Marks & Spencer’s product and service quality. To put it another way, an unproductive team is one that is riven with conflict, lacks concentration, and is plagued by bad competition. The high turnover and absenteeism that result from these conditions may also contribute to poor communications and dissatisfaction among the employees of the organisation (Qu et al., 2019). According to Tuckman, phases of group development may be used to explain the necessity and significance of a good team and its evolution.
Elements that make up a successful team:
An effective team arrangement is affected by a combination of different elements. This is the power, the communication, the cohesion, the conscience, the technology, the proportions, the oneness, etc. As a result, the team seems to be unable to represent itself effectively without a believable leader. The performance of the team depends on its manager, who also serves as the project manager. The team’s communication is also critical (Bang and Midelfart, 2017). It offers the chance to work together, for example. If mutual communication is not guaranteed, the collective cannot be effectively constituted.
Additionally, a cohesive and inclusive team is needed. Team members’ incapacity to contribute creates a weak team even when the team is huge. However, if technology is misused, the team’s development might be slowed or even halted (Bang and Midelfart, 2017). The larger the community, the less likely it is to expand because of a lack of involvement and cohesiveness, and the team will not be able to reach its full potential.
Forming- This stage includes an orientation phase as well as the process of becoming acquainted. There is a significant amount of uncertainty at this stage as well, so people and individuals engaged are searching for authority and leadership. Each person of the Marks and Spencer team should be introduced at this point, and their skills and histories should be made clear (Qu et al., 2019). In addition, “team members are given the ability to organise themselves in accord with their own responsibilities and changes”.
Storming- “The storming stage is by far the most crucial and toughest for workers to get through since it is distinguished by the conflict and competitiveness of each person available there. The team members are also permitted to express their unique thoughts and opinions at this point”. As a result, the team’s leaders aid the group by devising a strategy that makes it simpler for the members to communicate with each other.
Norming- Teams have worked out how to work together effectively and efficiently at this level. In this stage, there is no longer any rivalry among the people, and the objectives that they must achieve collectively are also being established. Because the members have learnt how to share their ideas and accept criticism in order to cooperate toward a shared objective, they begin to work more efficiently.
Performing- At this point, the team’s members have developed a sense of trust for one another, and they work together to accomplish shared objectives (Bang and Midelfart, 2017). Some of the team and employees are taught so effectively that they can come up with a plan and attempt to solve difficulties without damaging the relationship between their coworkers, as well as the progress, and achieve great success.
Adjourning- “This is the last stage of team development, during which the team is transferred to a new project or job as the current one is finished”. The participants of the project are taking a look at what they can do better in the future at this point in the process.
Thus, it is concluded that if the “M&S team is to be successful, they must be able to contribute collectively to the task’s results and accomplish the necessary objectives in a sufficient and efficient way”.
LO4
P4. “Concepts of philosophies of organisational behaviour”.
Organizational behaviour coordinates several human components including such observation, mental frameworks, culture, and other behaviours, as well as demonstrates numerous facts. A variety of theories, hypotheses, and frame-of-minds go into this assumption. The notion of democracy, autocracy, and systemic support are at the heart of this proposal (Goller and Harteis, 2017). Organizational behaviour is also handled by the hard and soft theories. Individual, collective, and structural factors all have an effect on an organization’s behaviour, as well as the study of organisational behaviour focuses on these effects. The organization’s efficacy is greatly enhanced as a result of this effect. To put it another way, the philosophy of organisational behaviour relates to how an organisation does business and how it organises itself in order to efficiently achieve the objectives set for it. As a result, the path goal theory is being used to explain how a leader may better light the way to the goal and make a trip more fruitful by using various leadership styles in different contexts. The following context serves to better explain the point:
“Directive leadership”- It is possible for M&S leaders to let its employees know exactly what is expected of them when they use the directive leadership style in their management style (Maheshwari et al., 2017). It is for this purpose that they provide advice and direction to their employees while also leading by example by setting work schedules that are in line with the expectations of their staff, all of which serves to motivate them and assist M&S succeed.
“Supportive leadership”- “A supportive leader is someone who has a distinct and affable personality and treats all employees equally. In other words, this kind of leadership focuses on the wants and needs of its employees and assigns them tasks in accordance with those demands (Dhir and Shukla, 2018)”. This would aid them in the sustained success of Marks & Spencer and build the basis of employee loyalty.
“Theory of Fielder”: This theory is a sort of contingency theory which is mostly linked with modifications and does not affect the true impact on a company (Brissett, Sher and Smith, 2019). Changes in the working environment and the behaviour of employees may be made possible through a broad variety of alternatives, strategies. collaborations. and programmes based on changing situations. The company’s situation must always be taken into account while deciding on a leadership style. A group of marketing executives and other team members will meet at Marks & Spencer to review the current state of marketing initiatives. As a result, quality and value must be achieved by the leader in light of the current scenario.
“Social Theory”: Marks and Spencer must focus on culture and social interaction and give benefits to sociable individuals and members. People and groups like culture are also important to Marks and Spencer (Goller and Harteis, 2017). Marks & Spencer Ltd. is a strong believer in corporate social responsibility (CSR). A fundamental shift in societal perception has been integrated by Marks & Spencer’s managers.
“Participative leadership”- This style of leadership is characterised by leaders that want to engage their employees in all aspects of their job and are always seeking to consult with them. If they have any issues, they prefer to consult with those who can come up with newer, original answers. “Leaders of this personality type are also better at inspiring their employees”, who appreciate how important they are to the company and are more likely to put up the effort necessary to do their jobs well and contribute to its success.
“Achievement Oriented Leadership”- “This is a leadership style in which objectives are stated and high-performance expectations are placed on subordinates”. Additionally, they want to motivate the employees and give them faith in their own abilities, which will be vital if they are to perform at the level expected of them by Marks & Spencer. Goal-setting theory is the same as this one.
It has therefore been concluded that leadership styles are not exclusive, and leaders have the ability to adapt their style to the changing circumstances in the workplace. It has often been shown that some techniques may be very successful in some situations, and might not be as effective as others.
Conclusion
According to the above report, it is concluded that organisational behaviour serves an incredibly important part in reaching high levels of success by sustaining the team’s performance and behaviour in an efficient way. Marks & Spencer’s culture and politics have also been examined, and this has been recommended that the firm’s culture should be positive so that workers are inspired and encouraged to work hard. It is now being considered that the business should implement motivation theories so that they may drive their employees in such a manner that it would lead them to great achievement and the company would thus attain the boost. Path goal theory, on the other hand, may be used to evaluate how well the leadership styles mentioned by the quoted business can assist people identify their abilities and capabilities and work appropriately.
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