Motivational Theories in Organisation and Behaviour Assignment

Motivational Theories in Organisation and Behaviour Assignment

Introduction

Motivational Theories in Organisation and Behaviour Assignment is aimed at performing an analysis of different aspects related to organisational behaviour in the context of two major organisations in UK such as ASDA Plc and British Airlines. The important areas that will be covered in the entire discussion includes the existence of relationship between organisational structure and culture across both these organisations, different approaches to management and leadership as applicable, application of motivational theories in the context of practices that are carried out across both these organisations, and finally, there will be an evaluation of various important mechanisms that are utilised for developing effective teamwork across both these organisations. The analysis of all these areas in the context of two selected organisations is performed as follows under separate headings:

Understanding the Relationship between Organisational Structure and Culture

Structure and Culture of ASDA and British Airways:

Organizational structure and organizational culture are dependent on each other. Within the trade world, management structure establishes the performances, mind-set, temperaments and principles that make the job culture. In case a business's organizational structure is severely hierarchical, with decision-making authority integrated at the top, the business's culture will possibly reveal a need of self-determination and independence at the junior levels. In case a firm's management structure is distributed, with mutual authority and influence at each and every level, the culture is expected to be further independent, custom-made and answerable.

The manner a business assigns control and power decides how workers perform. These preferences marked in a business's organizational structure and managerial culture. Organizational structure is the technique a corporation coordinates its managing and power-line. It decides tasks, responsibilities and the stream of information inside the business. Work culture consequences as of those pronouncements.

 There are different businesses with different organizational cultures and structure. The basic difference in the structure of business is its layout. BA is a service provider and ASDA PLC is an MNC. BA is the second largest airlines in UK, with ASDA serving as a major retailer in UK. In case of departments’ formation there is a structural uniformity among them. However the powers decentralization and centralization varies.

Therefore a number of similar and exceptional structure and culture are observed among ASDA PLC and British Airways. These 2 firms are public Limited Corporation. As per the reports in print by those firms it is observed that there is a little standardization in pecking order level, capital structure etc. Conversely, there are a few dissimilarities are observed in both businesses in case of information accountability of every worker. British Airways has its powerful chain of command. In British Airways career and task of every worker is exceptionally detailed however in ASDA PLC there is a set-up that occasionally an individual can carry out the work allocated to other. British Airways can also be referred as a Cosmo polis group since it possesses an elevated structure. Conversely ASDA PLC can also be referred as a Clan group since it possesse little structure and elevated culture.

An analysis of the organisational structure and culture of ASDA Plc and British Airlines indicate that there exists significant level of differences in respect to both the operations of both these organisations. As for instance, the organisational structure of ASDA Plc indicates that the organisation has flexible structure in operation. During 1990s, it was Archie Norman that has installed the ASDA’s way of working. The framework for a new organisational structure is provided and it is based on promoting colleague involvement. Thus, a higher level of flexibility is involved within the organisational structure at ASDA and this allows for efficient performance of employees within organisation. Contrary to this, in respect to British Airways, an analysis of the organisational structure as prevalent across the organisation implies that it has worldwide functional structure whereby each functional department is responsible for its activities around the world. British Airways is known for a single firm and it has companywide functional operations dedicated to marketing and operations, corporate finance, engineering, and R&D. Each functional area is the responsibility of a specific functional manager. Thus, the organisational structure in respect to ASDA is hierarchical type which support involvement and reporting to managers through various channels, whereas in respect to British Airline, it is functional (Aswathappa, 2010).

Apart from the organisational structure, an analysis of the organisation culture of both these organisation also indicates significant level of difference in the ways in which they operates. As for instance, in respect to ASDA Plc, its analysis of organisational culture implies that ASDA shares a common culture as that of its parent company Walmart that puts value for money at the heart of its operations. The beliefs and values of ASDA are communicated to all its colleagues and they are reflected in all the major activities that are carried out by the organisation. A culture of friendliness and participation is carried out at ASDA whereby employees work in accordance to higher level of cooperation within themselves so as to satisfy their customers to the maximum extent possible. The beliefs as held by ASDA employees towards their customers include providing high quality services to them, respect to individual and strive for achieving excellence. Thus, all the efforts of employees are driven by these organisational values and beliefs and they contribute towards higher operational success (ASDA Case Study, 2014).

Apart from ASDA’s culture, the organisational culture as followed at British Airways indicates that it is aimed at building a workplace that is high performing whereby talented people are given opportunities to contribute their best in meeting out the requirements and expectations of customers in a highly efficient manner. This indicates that people oriented culture is prevalent across the organisation whereby management puts stronger believe and confidence over its employees in ensuring the positive accomplishment of organisational goals. The culture of the organisation supports bringing people together and making investment in employees so that they can lead the organisation to higher level of success. The culture is therefore highly oriented towards utilising its employees to the maximum possible extent so that their contribution ensures the successful attainment of organisational goals. Thus, the comparison of organisational culture at ASDA and British Airways indicates that ASDA has a culture of friendliness and involvement is prevalent within its operations, whereas in respect to British Airways, it is primarily driven towards investment in people to make them responsible in leading organisation to success i.e. people driven.

Relationship between ASDA’s Structure and Culture Impact on Performance:

The success of a firm is dependent on the culture and structure.  These impacts are:

a) Individuals’ conduct is highly reliant on the business structure:

In case the CEO of ASDA isn’t contented with the employees’ performance, he has to refer to the structure of the firm. Generally, people behave as per the environment inside the department they are working in.

b) Empowerment of workers and performances of the business (ASDA)

The success of the firm is also dependent on the workers’ empowerment. In ASDA, the business heads get engaged in empowering the junior managers so as to enhance the level of performance and level of client contentment.

c) The impact of structure on performance of the business

ASDA aims to give the superior customer service to its clientele. So as to accomplish this aim, the business has formed a base so as to guarantee fast response to clients for any kind of issues. ASDA has a friendly structure for better communication as well as better ways to solve the client issues. The culture of ASDA has a high impact on its performance. This is reflected by way of service level culture followed by ASDA so as to meet the challenges faced due to high competition. The cultural analysis indicates that the organisation promotes a culture of value for money whereby efforts are undertaken to create values for customers. A culture of employee involvement ensures a sense of feeling among the employees that they are highly valued and this positively affects the attitude towards accomplishing organisational goals in a positive manner (ASDA Case Study, 2014). The cultures which possess the features of proactive attitude, risk taking, co-operation at work, and trust within the business environment would lead to better performance and high efficiency in ASDA. Since ASDA is an MNC and has to operate in diverse nations, the cultural diversity and adaptability to changing environment is necessary for the growth of business.

Factors Influencing the Behaviour of ASDA’s Employees: There are various such factors that have a direct level of impact over the behaviour of ASDA’s employees at work. As for instance, the analysis of ASDA’s operations indicate that the organisation have stronger values and beliefs towards different important areas, and these are communicated to all the employees within organisation so as to achieve their positive support in performing them. These values and beliefs directly impact the behaviour of employees. As for example, ASDA is highly attributed towards the community in which it operates and it is highly aspired towards achieving higher corporate social responsibility. As a result, the employees are required to adapt behaviour that contributes towards this social responsibility dimension and at the same time, they ensure the positive accomplishment of higher organisational performance. This implies that employees are required to undertake initiatives which results into positive overall contribution towards the community (ASDA Case Study, 2014).

Another important factor is ASDA’s organisational culture that impacts the behaviour of its employees directly. As for example, the cultural values of the organisation indicates that ASDA is aimed at providing excellent quality of services to its customers, show respect to individual, acting with integrity and achieving higher level of excellence. This indicates that the entire responsibility to support the organisational culture rests with the employees of the organisation, and thus, their actions are therefore affected by these organisational goals which require them to act with integrity, honesty and with maximum level of efforts. Apart from this, the values and beliefs of ASDA indicate that the company has stronger values of supporting individuals, and this also impacts the behaviour of its employees to a greater extent. As for instance, a recent case of ASDA indicates that one of the employee of ASDA i.e. Adnan Malik has been sacked only because Adnan has harassed and bullied a colleague in front of customers (ASDA worker Adnan Malik sacked for behaviour not stutter, 2012). This example implies that the employees of ASDA are required to work with higher level of integrity and respect.

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Different Approach to Management and Leadership

Leadership Styles as Utilised by Leaders at ASDA and British Airways:

Leaders play a vital branch in the task of knowledge management in the entire altitudes within a corporation. The essential expertise of every leader ought to build him/her capable to resolve troubles, to build choices, to arrange, to administer meetings, to pass on, to commune plus to self administration, however it in addition necessitates human persona for these days first-class leaders are those who are proficient of considerate and reacting to the people’s wants and to the steady tests and stipulates of contemporary days, with no negotiation on the objectives of the group. as a substitute in the customary model the leader would be at the peak of the chain of command like a head power.
Leadership style can be defined as a style utilized for making the dreams of the business into actuality. It is a way by which a person might lead the juniors. As per the analysis, BA has a supportive leadership style. For a long time, BA had been applying administrative style of leadership. However, later this style had been changed to the supportive style by the CEO- K. Williams. Earlier BA employees had low performance, lesser reactions, and casualness on part of staff. But the supportive style has led to better performances, mutual trust, participation mentoring as well as harmony among the employees. The work culture has improved drastically within the business environment. BA has been able to demonstrate to its employees, how valuable they have been for the business and the employees can now take healthy and important decisions on their own, making the business perform better than ever.

ASDA has been following the participative style of leadership. The leaders at ASDA are very much dedicated on the way to attain higher intensity of accomplishment on the way to organisation by counting plenty of issues. Andy Clarke, the CEO since 2010, had started with participative style of leadership. This kind of leadership is useful for the employees’ satisfaction, and open (two-way) communication (Landsberg, 2011). The leadera at ASDA are always motivational in encouraging the employees to contribute their best towards accomplishing organisational goals. This suggests that the leadership style as prevalent across ASDA has been highly effective as it allows for attaining strategic goals and also ensures the better overall management of employees (Nnaobi, 2012).

A comparative analysis of the leadership effectiveness in respect to both these organisations implies that leaders are highly efficient in leading their organisation to higher level of success. However, there are differences being noted regarding the styles as the CEO of ASDA is highly oriented towards supporting employees whereas CEO of British Airways is highly innovative in nature.

Organisational Theory Practiced at ASDA:

An analysis of the activities at ASDA indicates that the operational activities as carried out across the organisation are underpinned by certain major organisational theories. From the performance of analysis of the activities as carried out at ASDA, it has been analysed that employee involvement has been highly encouraged, and the management looks for providing higher level of flexibility to their employees. These practices as carried out within the organisation can be greatly compared to one such organisational theory that resembles them. As for instance, such theory is neoclassical theory which mainly emphasises individual or group behaviour and human relations in the process of determining productivity. This implies that productivity within organisation can be positively accomplished through the efficient management of people by directing the efforts of individuals and groups operating within it. This organisational theory has been clearly reflected in the practices that are being carried out across ASDA, as they are based on people management whereby the organisation encourages positive participation of its employees and providing flexibility to them so that their efforts positively contributes towards the accomplishment of organisational goals. The attainment of productivity at ASDA is therefore highly dependent on its people, and this is clearly resembled by the neoclassical theory which also emphasises individual or group behaviour in determining productivity (Rudani, 2013).

The above neoclassical theory in the context of ASDA Plc clearly indicates that it underpins the practice of management in a positive way. Management in an organisation is responsible for ensuring the positive contribution of efforts on the part of employees to achieve higher productivity levels and ultimately better organisational performance. This has been positively identified in respect to the case of ASDA Plc whereby the management of people is performed through involving them in all the major activities and providing them a flexible working environment to work. This allows them to undertake decisions that lead to higher organisational success in terms of improved level of productivity and performance. Productivity is therefore reflected in all the activities as undertaken by employees as there is higher sense of mutual understanding, cooperation and trust within them. This indicates that the neoclassical organisational theory clearly underpins the practice of management at ASDA Plc.

Different Approaches to Management:

In respect to approaches to management, there are different approaches that are available and they are applied in various forms by different organisations. As in respect to ASDA and British Airways, an analysis of the ways in which management of activities as carried out within both these organisations suggest that there are different approaches to management being practiced across both these organisations in managing their employees. As for instance, the case of ASDA implies that the approach to management as followed within it is mainly the classical approach to management which mainly includes scientific and administrative management. Scientific management is utilised by organisations in the 21^st century in the form of hiring best qualified employees and designing incentive systems based on the performance of employees. These practices in managing the employees at ASDA are clearly evident as the case analysis of ASDA implies that ASDA rewards its employees for their long services to organisation, and the staffs is also provided with bonus during the festive seasons. This ensures a higher overall satisfaction of employees and accounts for positive contribution of their efforts in attaining organisational goals (Crawford, 2013).

Contrary to this, the case analysis of British Airways indicates that it has separate management approach that has been followed in performing the management of its employees. The approach as followed at British Airways can be best categorised as the behavioural approach to managing employees. As per this approach, it includes important contributors such as Chester Barnard during 1930s who believes that manager’s job is to communicate and stimulate employees’ high level of efforts. This aspect to management implies that employees should be encouraged through different means, and the case of British Airways indicates that the CEO accounts for efficient management of their employees to perform their operations with higher overall effectiveness. The communication with employees regarding the strategic organisational goals including organisational policies and procedures is performed efficiently in order to make sure that the contribution from employees is positive towards attaining organisational goals (Murugan, 2007).

Thus, the comparison of management approaches in respect to both these organisations differs significantly and they account for ensuring the efficient management of their employees.

Using Motivational Theories in Organisation

Changes ASDA could have engaged in and Impact of Different Leadership Styles:

The performance of organisation is significantly affected by various such factors that necessitates it in making changes to its existing policies and procedures in a positive way. There are loopholes being identified over the management practices of all the organisations, and this necessitates them to perform the application of various changes to combat such issues in a positive manner. As for instance, the analysis of the practices as carried out at ASDA Plc indicates that there could be certain major types of changes that ASDA could have engaged in. As for instance, it is identified that the policies and strategies as followed at ASDA Plc are mostly undertaken from its parent company Walmart, and the CEO was actively involved in practising the management approaches that are carried out across Walmart. Walmart is basically US based retailer and ASDA Plc is based in UK. There are cultural differences that exist in the ways of management as performed across both these countries, but the leadership style of CEO of ASDA indicates that majority of the managerial practices at ASDA are inherited from its parent company. Employees and managers were often sent to US in order to learn Walmart skills and this leads to issues in terms of higher management turnover. Thus, the changes that Walmart could have engaged in for better management of its operations at ASDA is to follow an organisational culture that is highly compatible to its UK based organisation rather than applying its US based management skills and abilities. This change could have resulted into better organisational performance, and there might not have been the issue of higher management turnover that the organisation has to witness (Piercy, 2012).

During the period of changes in the managerial styles in terms of cultural compatibility at ASDA Plc, the motivation of the exi*sting staff is essential because there are higher chances of resistance by employees when the management decides to bring in major organisational change. As a result, there is a need for efficient leadership styles in order to ensure positive performance of change. As in respect to ASDA, the impact of different leadership styles in motivating its employees during the periods of changes would be difference. As for instance, the autocratic leadership styles may have lower impact in positively motivating its employees because this would result into managerial decisions being enforced on the employees whether they accepts it or not. However, democratic or participatory style of leadership may positively motivate the employees during the period of major changes in organisation because this would create a sense of involvement of employees and the positive input in the decision making process would make them responsible for acting positively towards the change as introduced. This style would therefore ensure their positive motivation towards organisational changes as introduced (Schein, 2010).

Application of Motivational Theories:

There are various motivational theories that can be applied in respect to the employees of ASDA Plc. The motivational theory of hierarchy of needs by Maslow indicates that employees in organisation can be motivated through satisfying their different level of needs in chronological order. This mainly includes the satisfaction of psychological need followed by safety needs, love/belonging need, self esteem and self actualisation. In respect to ASDA supermarket, the employees are required to interact directly with the customers which are highly difficult task and as such, the basic need for employees would be to get a platform whereby they can serve their customers efficiently. The security need to employees can be in the form of better working environment conditions and safety of their job, whereas belonging need can be in terms of positive assistance from colleagues within organisation. The self esteem need of the employees can be in the form of better designation within organisation whereas self actualisation is mainly the attainment of higher overall designation within organisation (Koontz, 2010).

Apart from Maslow hierarchical need theory, Vroom expectancy theory implies that individuals prefer to select certain important ways because they are motivated by it to select a specific behaviour over others. There are three important variables to this expectancy theory such as valence, expectancy and instrumentality. As per this theory, effort, performance and motivation must be linked in ensuring employee motivation, and as such, in respect to the employees at ASDA Plc, their motivation can be ensured in the form of linking their efforts and performance with their rewards whereby better employee contribution would lead to the significant attainment of higher rewards. This is another way of performing the motivation of employees at ASDA Plc whereby better customer interaction and higher number of satisfied customers could be utilised as a tool in motivating the staff of ASDA Plc (Koontz, 2010).

Finally, McGregor theory X and theory Y can also be applied in this context in motivating employees. As per theory X, it is believed that employees are lazy and they will mostly avoid work whereas theory Y suggests that employees are ambitious and self motivated. This theory can be applied in the context of ASDA in the form of applying the principles of theory X to the non performers and theory Y to performers within organisation. Those having inefficient or unsatisfactory performance will be subjected to the treatment of theory X to achieve improvement whereas better performers can be subjected to theory Y to achieve further improvement over their performance levels. Although, all these theories as identified are applicable in respect to ASDA Plc, the most significant one is the Maslow hierarchy of need theory because this theory allows  for better understanding of the needs and expectations of employees and they can therefore be satisfied as per different stages. The problems as encountered at ASDA Plc by its management and employees can be better resolved and adequate support can be provided in stages which can be possible through efficient employee motivation through Maslow hierarchy of need (Koontz, 2010).

Usefulness of Motivational Theories and Application of Hertzberg Theory to ASDA:

Motivational theories are highly useful in the sense that they allows for identifying the ways in which different types of employees in organisation can be motivated in different ways. The important needs of the employees can be identified and they can be efficiently satisfied through Maslow’s hierarchy of need whereas best performers can be further motivated through applying theory Y to achieve further effectiveness level over the organisation’s performance. This suggests that there can be different application of such motivational theories in managing the performance of different types of employees in a positive way. In respect to ASDA Plc, there can be the application of Hertzberg two factor theories that can be performed which implies two major factors such as motivational factors and hygiene factors. This theory can be useful to managers at ASDA in identifying the factors that cause satisfaction as well as dissatisfaction to employees at ASDA and by focusing on them; better overall motivation of employees can be ensured to achieve higher performance. The needs of employees can be efficiently understood through applying this theory and this in turn results into focusing on those needs for their higher satisfaction levels (Green, 2009).

Developing Effective Teamwork within Organisation

Nature of Various Groups and Their Influence on Behaviour of Staff:

The groups are there with a specific aim of existence. The members of group have one goal and all their tasks revolve around that one goal. This makes them reliant on each other. There are various groups in a firm. These groups might be formal or informal ones. As per the analysis of ASDA, the groups are:

a) Formal groups: The groups are formed by the business heads, so as to attain a given task. The particular task is sub-divided into different small tasks and then allotted to different individuals. There are fixed roles being perfomed by various members of theis formal association. There is a commanding group which is permanent and gets help of various temporary groups for the accomplishment of the tasks. This temporary group can be termed as taskforce.

b) Informal groups: these are not formed by the business but within the business, by the members themselves. These might be formed as a result of friendships, similar interests, common batch of joining, etc. These groups can highly impact the functioning of the firms. In ASDA these groups have been useful for the better structure building. The performance of the business has also improved due o the informal groups formed in the business.

The impact of groups on the behaviour of the staff has been positive because the increasing level of efforts from group members also encourages team members to put in their maximum overall contribution towards accomplishing group goals. There are on the job training and off the job training for the team members at ASDA with a view to ensure the efficient development of team members, and all these positively affect their behaviour to perform in an efficient manner. As for instance, the leadership style also positively supports the performance of groups and individual members within organisation

Factors Promoting or Inhibiting Effective Teamwork- The performance of teamwork has not been easy because groups are faced with various issues throughout the process. As a result, it is essential that there should be proper overall management of the teams to achieve higher overall performance. In respect to ASDA, an analysis of the company’s operations with respect to the teams performing within it implies that there are various factors that accounts for promoting or inhibiting effective teamwork. The major factor that promotes teamwork is the existence of large number of groups within organisation, as their existence further encourages individual employees to pay significant level of attention in performing within groups. However, apart from this factor promoting teamwork within organisation, efficient leadership by the CEO is also an encouraging factor that facilitated group work to achieve better organisational performance. Apart from having this positive factor that accounts for promoting effective teamwork, it has also been identified that there are certain factors that accounts for inhibiting efficient teamwork within organisation. The analysis leads to identification that there are few such cases whereby employees of ASDA are indulged into unethical practices such as bullying or harassment and these kinds of activities act as a major threat to the successful performance of teams within organisation.

Impactof Technology on Team with ASDA Plc: Technology is something which is current business’ necessity. ASDA has high effect of technology, since its employees are widespread. An MNC has workers operating in different parts of the globe. It is essential for ASDA to understand the diversity in workers, their cultures, their behaviours and acceptance to new technology. The different departments within ASDA have different roles and hence their technological needs also vary. The technology will help the employees of ASDA perform work in a better manner and will make the output compatible with the competitive world. The technology reduces the distance among different departments, divisions, branches and units of the business. The geographical barrier will be reduced due to technology use in ASDA.

ASDA, being a supermarket needs technological advancement, so that there is homogeneity of work, policies, culture, and way to perform. The book of accounts maintenance will also be same for the whole group, as the team members will be able to co-ordinate, communicate and co-operate in a much faster way.  ASDA PLC will have following benefits due to technological advancements:

1. Integrated planning
2. Same objectives or goals communicated to employees across the business, all over the World
3. Same policies followed for the workers all over the World
4. Similar trainings for all the employees all over the World.
5. Faster communication among employees
6. Higher level of customer satisfaction
7. Higher flexibility- In case an employee is at remote place, he can carry out his job well from any place and there are no geographical barriers.

The technological application is evident in respect to important organisational activities such as performing the management of supply chain function, maintaining books of accounts, assisting customers through PDAs and self service checkout options etc. All these have been possible for the teams to perform their responsibilities in an efficient manner within organisation.

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Conclusion

In this Motivational Theories in Organisation and Behaviour Assignment, a critical analysis of various important aspects related to the management of organisation is performed in the context of two major British organisations such as ASDA Plc and British Airways. The assessment of organisational structure including the culture as prevalent across both these organisations revealed significant findings that there exist tremendous differences between both these organisations in relation to these areas. The assessment of leadership styles also differs as there is autocratic and participatory style being identified in respect to these two organisations. The assessment of the employee motivations across both these organisation is performed through a range of motivational theories including Maslow hierarchy of need theory, Vroom expectancy theory, theory X and theory Y, and Hertzberg two factor theory. Finally, the assessment of the teamwork within ASDA plc indicated that team work has been crucial to the organisation’s success and there has been extensive level of technology being applied in the efficient performance of teams within organisations.

References

Aswathappa, (2010), ‘International Business 4E’, Tata McGraw-Hill Education.
ASDA worker Adnan Malik sacked for behaviour not stutter, (2012) [Online]. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-19592341 [Accessed: 15 March 2014].
ASDA Case Study, (2014). Meeting business needs through training and development [Online]. Available at: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/asda/meeting-business-needs-through-training-and-development/introduction.html#axzz2wIyC7I3u Accessed: 15 March 2014].

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