Organisation And Behaviour Report Management Essay

This report will discuss the impact that different leadership styles may have on motivation in organisations in periods of change, it compare the application of different motivation a theories within the workplace and the usefulness of a motivation theory for managers. However, this report also explains the nature of groups and group behaviour within organisations; the factors that may promote or inhibit the development of effective teamwork in organisations and evaluate the impact of technology on team functioning within an organisation. The organisations that this report will focus are Tesco and Asda.

Discuss the impact that different leadership styles may have on motivation in organisations in periods of change

Leadership is an association through which one person influences the behaviours of other persons in an organisation. “Motivation is the process by which the behaviour of an individual is influenced by others, through their power to offer or withhold satisfaction of the individual’s needs and goals”. (BPP Learning Media, 2010)

Leadership styles and their impacts on motivation:

Leadership is about influencing, motivating and inspiring people. The essential job of management is the well-organised and effective use of human resources for the attainment of organisational targets. Effective using of human resource cannot be achievable without motivate the employees of the organisation. Therefore, to motivate the employees, leadership styles play a significant role because they make the company culture that influences the organisation and its performance. There are different types of leadership styles and each type has its own impact on motivation in work organisations and those are autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire leadership.

Autocratic leadership:

The autocratic leadership style is one which leaders have absolute power over their workers or team. They tell people what to do instead of asking for employee’s opinions or suggestions. For example, Tesco use autocratic leadership because the company needs too or the tasks won not be approved out inside the business. Tesco’s autocratic leaders give employees their role and responsibilities. This can give their business clear route but it may also guide managers to overlook input from their teams. It is important when Tesco’s business faces a critical situation or when an immediate problem occurs that requires an urgent reaction. Autocratic leadership style allows Tesco’s managers to make most functioning decisions. For example, if an accident happens in the store, manager might take control to ensure a quick and co-ordinated reply, and they have the right to make the last decision. However, Tesco’s managers are attempting to convince their teams to accept their opinion. Also their managers get the opinions of the lower staff before taking a decision. So if they did not use autocratic then Tesco’s wouldn’t be run sufficiently.

Democratic leadership:

Although democratic leaders make the last decisions, they call other members of the team to add to the decision-making process. For example, Tesco accepts democratic leadership to boost job contentment by involving team members, and helps to develop people’s skills. Under this leadership style, Tesco’s staffs feel esteemed, that is why staffs are encouraged to work hard by more than a monetary remuneration. Tesco chooses leadership roles to staffs in the organisation so that everyone is clear about their responsibilities, to implement the strategic decisions through efficient communication and doing a follow up on the employees to ensure that they providing quality services. This increases team motivation and encourages creativity.

Laissez-faire leadership:

“Is a style where the manager observes that members of the group are working well on their own” (Mullins, 2005). Tesco’s managers adopted laissez-faire leadership, where they give all authority and power to the employees and they must determine goals, make decisions, and resolve problems on their own. Working under laissez-faire leadership style, employees can improve their communication skills, teamwork skills as well as enhance loyalty and responsibility.

See Tesco’s all leadership styles in (Appendix 1)

Compare the application of different motivational theories within the workplace

Motivation theories can be classified extensively into two different viewpoints. See content and process theories of motivation in (Appendix 2). Content theories emphasis on what motivates individual and process theories emphasis on the real process of motivation. Motivation is complex. It’s influenced by withdrawals and reinforced by multiple factors. According to classic motivational theorists such as Maslow and Herzberg, human beings have a set of needs or desired outcomes and will act in such a way to fulfil them while other motivational theorists such as Victor and Locke argued that the informed expectations and particular targets will become motivator factors that lead humans to act and work in order to reach desirable goals.

“Maslow puts forward a theory that there are five levels of human needs which employees need to have fulfilled at work”, see (Appendix 3). There are two things to remember about Maslow’s model. First, employee must satisfy lower level needs before they seek to satisfy higher level needs. Second, once they have satisfied a need, it no longer motivates them; the next higher need takes its place.

In other hand, Herzberg theory suggests that there are two basic needs of individuals such as hygiene factors (environmental factors) and motivation factors, see (Appendix 4). Herzberg outlines the main issues concerning motivation: those factor that motivation employee in the workplace (motivation factors) and those factors that prevented job dissatisfaction (hygiene factors). Herzberg encouraged leaders to study the job itself rather than conditions of work.

Porter and Lawler argues that human act according to their conscious expectations that a particular behavior will lead to specific desirable goals, see (Appendix 5). Three component of expectancy t theory are:

“E – P (Expectancy): The employee believes that his/her efforts will result in acceptable performance.

P – R (Instrumentality): the employee believes that acceptable performance will lead to the desired outcome or reward.

R (Valence): the employee values the reward”. P 494

Comparing to other theories, Locke theory suggests that motivation and performance will be high if individuals are put specific objectives which are difficult, but accepted and where comment is given on performance. See (Appendix 6). Practical implication for the manager of goal theory include: the need for systematic identification of specific performance goals. The need for goals to be challenging but realistic; the importance of complete and accurate feedback on results and the need for goals to be determined either by a superior or by the individuals themselves.

However, according to McGregor theory, manager of organisation posses two different assumptions about the human nature and s/he explained these two assumptions in two different theories: Theory X and Theory Y. According to theory X, the human being has always being inherited for the disliking of the work. They always try to avoid the work either they can do or not. According to him, managers always think that their employees are lazy. Manager has to forced, direct and controlled his people to do work.

For example: Tesco use two motivation hierarchies (Maslow and Herzberg), see both hierarch in (Appendix 7 and 8). Tesco use Maslow theory because it suggested them if they achieve one level then it motivates them to achieve the next. Also Tesco aims to motivate its staffs both by paying interest to hygiene factors and by enabling satisfiers. For example, it motivates and empowers its staffs by suitable and opportune communication, by giving responsibility and involving employees in decision making. They forums this in which staff can be part of the discussions on pay rises. This shows credit of the work that staffs do and rewards them. Tesco staff can even control what food goes onto its restaurant menus. Employees consequently become motivated to make choices that will increase their use of the restaurants.

In other hand ASDA believe in McGregor theory ‘y’. They completely have a positive approach towards their employee handling. They create awareness between their employees to gather information about different fields. The employees working as ASDA either individually or working as a team learn to face challenges. The different method adopted by ASDA is that they make different teams and make them competitor between themselves by providing the same task and hence see their performance by the results gained for the improvement of the company. Theory X does also apply to ASDA, especially where staffs are concerned. The emphasis is on the use of money and control to encourage employees to perform in the correct manner. In addition to this, ASDA give time and a half pay to employees on Sunday as a motivation.

Evaluate the usefulness of a motivation theory for managers.

Motivation is to encourage people to work, independently or in teams in the ways such as to create best results. It is the desire to apply high levels of attempted towards organisational aims, conditioned by the attempts and capability to satisfy some individual need. Motivation is apply to the whole class of drives, desires, needs and wishes. Managers motivate their subordinates is to say that they do those things which they hope will satisfy these desires and compel the subordinates to perform in a desired method. The most important task of management is to motivate others. It comprises the abilities to communicate, to set an example, to challenge, encourage, getting feedback, to develop and train, to inform and to provide a just reward. See motivation process on (Appendix 9).

Employees have to be treated with diligence. The manager has to stay friendly as well as maintain a level of distance with his/her staff. It is a tricky ground to tread. The staffs look up on the manager as their leader. They expect maturity, rationality and understanding from their superiors. Simple things like calling people by their first name, chatting or even a general inquiry about their well-being, brings in a feeling of belongingness. All the employees in the organisation vibrate to a different place. A treatment that motivates one may not motivate the other. Understanding the difference in character and temperament in between the individuals is important. Managers set reasonable goals. Planning too high task creates a feeling of non-achievement, right from the beginning itself. The goals set should be such which looks feasible to the staffs to be achieved. A slightly higher target than expected provides a challenge.

Explain the nature of groups and group behavior within organisations

“The term group can be defined as two or more persons interacting and working together for a common purpose”. When people work in groups rather than as individuals, the goals of the organisation can be easily achieved. However, working in a group is a complex task. Group dynamics refers to the interactions among the members of a group. A work group of an organisation is the most important base for the social identity of employees in that organisation. Therefore, performance at work and relationships outside the organisation are influenced by the nature of groups in the organisation.

Nature of Groups:

Different kinds of groups are created to get specific results in organisations. The members accept a common task, become mutually dependent in their performance, and interact with each other to promote its achievement. There are three views on the nature of interaction between members of a group. The first view is the normative view, which describes how to carry out activities and manage a group. According to the second view, group dynamics includes of a set of techniques which include, role play, team building, sensitivity training and self-managed teams. The third view explains group dynamics from the point of view of the internal nature of the groups. The structure of groups and performance are discussed in this view along with the effect of groups on individuals, other groups, and the complete organisation.

Dynamics of Group Formation:

Organisations form groups for a variety of reasons. Different classical theories of groups attempt to explain why managers form groups. The theory of proximity suggests employee’s closeness as the reason because individuals who working at places located close to one another tend to form groups. According to balance theory, group formation results from the resemblance of attitudes and values between members. Individuals with common interests sustain their relationship by an equal balance between their attitudes and common interests. Another theory of group formation is the exchange theory. It suggests ‘reward-cost’ outcomes of interaction as the reason. By becoming members of a group, individuals complete their need for association.

Formal Groups:

A group formed by the organisation “to achieve a specific task is termed as a formal group”. The organisation structure a formal group and gives tasks and responsibilities to different members with the intent of reaching organisational aims. Command groups and task groups are examples of formal groups. “A command group is relatively permanent in nature and finds representation in the organisation chart. Task groups, on the other hand, are formed for a specific task and are temporary in nature”.

Informal Groups:

“Informal groups are formed by the staffs themselves”. The reasons for the formation of informal groups can be the need for closeness, ordinary interests, growth or support. There are two types of informal groups: friendship groups and interest groups. Members of friendship groups have a friendly relationship with each other, common interests and are similar in age and view, but interest groups are formed to manage an activity and are temporary.

The Five-Stage Model:

According to the five-stage model of group development, all groups pass through the forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning stages.

Forming: This is the first stage of group formation where members aim to identify acceptable behaviour in a group. The members try to format their behaviour so as be a part of the group.

Storming: In this stage, disagreements about leadership between members might give leads to other involvements. By the end of this stage, a comparatively clear structure of positions in the group emerges.

Norming: This stage of group increases a sense of comradeship in members through the development of close relationships.

Performing: In this stage, members of the group show committed performance to achieve aims defined in the norming stage.

Adjourning: This is the last stage for provisional groups such as task groups or committees formed to do some tasks. After this stage, the groups stop to exist. While some of the members may feel happy about the achievements, others may be unhappy that they will lose friends after the group disperses. The effectiveness of groups is supposed to increase through the stages.

Discuss factors that may promote or inhibit the development of effective teamwork in organisations

“An effective team is one that achieves high level of task performance, member satisfaction, and team viability”. There are a number of factors that are required to develop effective teamwork, and those factors are: good leadership, effective communication, diversity and plan for disagreement resolution. Leadership is one of the most important parts of teamwork. This means that the team leader have the ability to create and sustain a working culture that is positive, which in turn will help to motivate.

For example, Tesco have good leadership and this helps them to motivate and even inspire the team members to get involved in creating a positive working environment, along with high levels of obligation. Tesco’s team leader not only focuses on their own aim and direction of the team, but also makes sure that the other members of the team share this focus. Also they are capable to promote a high level of morale between the team members so that they feel supported and valued. Tesco train their employees to have good and effective communication because communication is a very important factor of interpersonal interaction.

Therefore, one of the key facets of teamwork is open communication, wherein it enables members of the team to expressive their feelings, plans and shares their ideas, and understands each other’s viewpoints. Also in case of poor communication observed Tesco’s leaders work around the aspect and make way for effective communication between the team members. Diversity also promotes creativity, innovation, and raises Tesco’s awareness and respect for differences, which will support effective teamwork.

However, team members have a way of saying their opinions without fear of causing offense to anyone. In fact, it is recommendable for the team leader to actually sit with the parties in disagreement and work out the differences between them. However, teamwork can only come about when the team leader sets a task, which can be following by the team members.

Evaluate the impact of technology on team functioning within a given organisation

New technology has been introduced into the workplaces. Many organisations see new technology as the means to increase profit and to stay competitive in a marketplace. For example, at Tesco, IT is at the heart of everything they do to make shopping better for customers. New technologies can free up Tesco’s staff capacity, increase job satisfaction through better communication and improve role responsibilities, by giving different grades of staff an opportunity to take part in new tasks. On the positive side, new technologies have an impact on how staff can be trained and updated. Examples include simulation technology, accessing information via handheld devices, interactive DVD’s and online training. Tesco use online technologies because it is easier for staff to access information, share good practice and keep up to date with new research.

The use of new technologies can improve and in some cases hinder team functioning. As technology changes teams must update and maintain their knowledge in order to function effectively. E-mail, Mobile phones, groupware and computers are technologies which have improved team functions within an organisation. Tesco use these technologies to improve team functions. Email allows staffs to communication with each other from different place which means that Tesco team members do not need to be in the same place at the same time in order to communicate effectively. They use mobile phones because it allow teams to communicate even when team members are out of the office or otherwise unavailable.

However, Tesco use personal computers because it allows their team members to carry out different tasks and communicate more effectively. IT systems play a key role in helping Tesco’s deliver strong profits and they improved scanners, better self service tills, and checkout cameras were helping it reduce queues. Self-service checkouts now account for a fifth of all of Tesco transactions.

Recommendation:

This recommendation allowing British Airways and Coca Cola

Conclusion:

After studying and a analysing the results of this report show that there are