Unit 3 Organisations and Behaviour Assignment CAPCO and Albridge

Introduction:

In this fast-paced world, it is essential for every organisation to maintain an organisational structure to provide a healthy working culture within the organisation. There are various organisational structures and working cultures that the business organisations used for identifying the organisational needs. It also provides guidance to maintain the success of the organisations. The study is based on the Organisational structure and culture of CAPCO and Albridge Solutions. They have applied different types of leadership and management theories,  motivational theories  as well as teamwork theory as per their situational needs as well as that of CAPCO. They have used different approaches to bring out the best from their employees.

CAPCO and Albridge Solutions both are consultancy firms, here the researcher focuses on the leadership style of CAPCO and Albridge Solutions and analyse the organisational structure. The learner also evaluates the applied motivational theories and group behaviour of CAPCO and Albridge Solutions, a comparative study between both the organisations has been done.

Task 1: LO1 Organisational Culture and Structure:

1.1 Comparing and contrasting the organisational structure and culture of CAPCO and Albridge Solutions:

Capital Markets Company (CAPCO) is a global technology and business consultancy of Belgium. It provides financial services at global level. Albridge Solutions is also a leading service provider of New Jersey and it provides enterprise level solutions.

• The Organisational structure and culture of CAPCO: CAPCO has a team-driven, flat, non-hierarchical organisational structure. In accordance to Wilton (2016, p.29), few layers are present in this type of structure and it is consist of one layer of organisational management. Sometimes CAPCO needed variety of skills for some specific project works so; they have chosen this flat structure. Sometimes they used matrix structure also, this type of structure focuses on innovation and it helps to create an empowered and highly motivated workforce. CAPCO has some values of their own and they follow some policies and guidelines that can help in differentiate them from other organisation, there are several models, CAPCO follows Charles Handy’s model of organisational culture (Refer to Appendix 1). It defines task culture, person culture, power culture and role culture that can explain the work culture well. Capco follows the model of role culture to support the organisational structure of their firm because this type of culture brings openness; integrity, individuality, innovation and entrepreneurial culture in the working environment. As Capco is using this type of working culture so, long hierarchical structure is not suitable for it.
• Organisational Structure and Culture of Albridge Solutions: Albridge solutions follow the traditional bureaucratic hierarchical structure and innovative culture. They follow the task culture model for their organisation. As it is a consultancy firm, this type of culture offers single view and accurate analysis of the assets of the clients. They form their team with those staffs, who have same specializations and same interest and they all provide equal contribution to achieve the organisational goals. Both the organisations follow flexibility and creativity for taking the risk in their workplace and encourage their employees for better performance. However, there is a difference in their organisational structure. Albridge solutions follow a blend of tall hierarchical structure, in contrast with that CAPCO follows flat, team-driven, innovative structure.

1.2 Explaining the influence of CAPCO’s culture and structure on performance:

CAPCO provides a healthy working environment to their employees to feel them that it is their own firm. They treat their staffs with respect and care and they support and encourage an entrepreneurial outlook for their organisation for gaining better outcomes. CAPCO also value the thinking, which is independent because it helps to determine the organisation’s future activity. The working culture of CAPCO consists of few key factors. Here, all the individuals have the freedom to realise their aspiration. The employees of CAPCO get the opportunity of learning and experiencing for their personal growth. They also provide the reward to their staffs based on their performance; these are few things, which help them to develop a healthy working culture within the company.

There are many employees in CAPCO, who are working together in a particular workplace or department and they all are not from the same background. They belong to various religions with different cultures, different values and principles. CAPCO utilised this values and culture in a great way, by using these, they build a strong cultural relationship among the employees. According to Cummings and Worley (2014, p.98), it helps an organisation to gain their goals that can drive the success of the organisation. CAPCO portrays an empowered workforce that is highly motivational. Every employee of this organisation can avail the opportunity to access the training sessions. CAPCO follows innovative as well as entrepreneurial organisational structure for their organisation and this innovative work culture develops the leadership approach favouring the bottom-up structure. In their leadership approach, a little bureaucracy has been followed by the organisation.

CAPCO respects the ability to take risk and the creativity in the workplace. The open work culture has been reflected in the performance of the individuals as well as in team performance. Here, teams are formed in view of long-term vision, which affects the performance of an employee. The employees of CAPCO have been provided equal opportunities by the organisation and it is helpful for their personal growth. They provide rewards based on employee performance to motivate them for giving their best in the workplace. The company provide them with the scopes of gathering experiences, which help them in creating a challenging portfolio. The CAPCO people can easily handle the changing and challenging demands of the financial market with this.

1.3 Discussing the factors that affect individual behaviour in CAPCO:

Wright et al. (2012, p.598) stated that there are many factors that affect the organisational behaviour of a company. To understand different human behaviour they have to manage some variables (e.g. groups, culture, and structure) of an organisation and after this, they have to apply each of the variables in a specific and effective way. It ensures the best interest of the particular organisation. Entrepreneurial culture helps CAPCO to provide 100% opportunity for the growth of the individuals. The presence of environmental factors and instinctive factors affect the organisational behaviour. It has a great impact on the behaviour of a person, who is related to the organisation.

As they believe in teamwork so, CAPCO followed the entrepreneurial culture, for giving equal opportunity for individual growth of their employees. The organisation provides full support to the employees who are able to of taking the risk and who are innovative enough to provide new ideas and strategies, which can be effective for the organisation. The presence of integrity, openness and individuality in work culture make them enjoy the environment. 

In this present globalised business environment, the presence of intense competition made it essential to provide an appropriate assumption and accurate management team to maintain the organisational behaviour. As stated by Goffee and Scase (2015, p.693), it is also crucial for managing the workforce of the organisation. CAPCO has an effective management team that deals with effective management styles. It is helpful for motivating the employees and it can provide a support to build an effective and efficient work culture. Racial background of a person can also influence the behaviour of an organisation. The reason is, it can control their thinking and it has a powerful role to play in determining their values.   

Task 2: LO2 various approaches of leadership and management:

2.1 Comparing the effectiveness of various leadership approaches of CAPCO and Albridge Solutions:

Organisational leadership management is a working ethic; with the help of this, one can affect the capacity for empowering the role of an individual. It is a management system, whichplays a vital role in finding the best for the employees as well as best for the team. Different types of leadership styles are there that can influence the leadership process. Democratic style of leadership management is one of the best management style, in which the leader has the power to take the decision but other team member's opinion has been taken for granted. CAPCO follows this type of leadership style. Biggs et al. (2016, p.10) stated that it is the most effective leadership style because it believes in consultation as well as it is innovative also. This kind of leadership style is the most flexible style that helps in achieving the objectives and goals of an organisation. In this leadership style, the leaders respect the opinion of the team members while taking the final decision, the team members also show loyalty towards their leaders.

 On the other, Albridge Solutions follow the laissez-faire theory of leadership. Here the leader tries to influence their team member. They have also used Authoritarian style, here the leader only has the  decision making  power and all the team members have to follow their instruction. However, both the styles are ineffective for any organisation like Aldridge solutions and it failed to meet situational demands. As per their requirement, the leadership style of this organisation has been modified. Nowadays Albridge solutions follow Psychologist Robert House’s Path-Goal Theory because they find it effective for their organisation.

CAPCO and Albridge solutions both the organisation have followed the leadership approaches for encouraging their employees to perform better. The organisations also support the personal growth as well as motivate personnel with inspirational emotions. They both teach their employees how to make things possible from impossible. On the contrary, CAPCO provides greater flexibility to employees but Aldridge believes in such leadership, which is based on charismatic qualities. The ability to take risk is lower in Path-Goal model than Democratic leadership theory.

2.2 Explaining the impact of different organisational theories on management practice: scientific management and human relation theory:

As per the scientific management theory, the job will be distributed among the workers based on their capability and knowledge. Tabassi et al.(2012, p.224) stated that it is important to make the employees feel encouraged to undertake training in order to work with maximum efficiency. Therefore, the employees of Capco always distribute responsibilities among the workers based on their working experience. As highly experienced workers have good skills and knowledge, so if they are employed by the organisation then ultimately the organisation must be benefited through achieving their business goal by providing superior quality services. In the case of Albridge, the workers are provided high-quality training session that helps them to enhance their performance.

Apart from that, Iriana et al.(2013, p.490) stated that as per the scientific management theory, the workers must be provided instruction from their supervisors and the supervisors must focus upon monitoring the working performance of the employees. This particular theory also shows that the work must be allocated between the workers and the managers and then the managers would be able to engage with the same work. The managers of Capco try to be engaged with the same work with the employees and focus on providing training and time planning to the employees to ensure the completion of the work in time with efficiency. In the case of Albridge the managers help the workers while performing their responsibilities to complete their jobs.

As commented by Brown(2014, p.190), the human relation theory shows that the workers must have the rights to make their own decisions. The managers of Capco provide liberty and independence to the workers to make their own decisions but Albridge encourages the employees to share their view and opinion with the management before making any decisions. Capco provides rewards and incentive to their workers based on their performance. On the other hand, Albridge believes that only promotion can motivate the employees so they provide training to the employees to make them efficient   to their job.   

2.3 Evaluating different types of management approaches of CAPCO and Albridge Solutions:

According to Hurtley(2013, p.1012), there are different management approaches like micromanaging, scheduling and enabling that have been used in all the organisations. In the case of micromanaging, it is important to monitor the performance and progress of individuals to remove the workload whiles the workers working together. Management of Capco always monitors the performance of the individuals and observes errors that are made by the employees. On the other hand, managers of Albridge cannot focus on individual’s progress, as there are insufficient numbers of managers, who manage the whole team member’s performance.

Capco always focuses on managing high-quality services but Albridge always focuses on attaining their financial goal. As per the enabling managing approach, the workers must not be stressed. Otherwise, they would not be able to give their best effort to their work. In the case of Capco, the employees are enough confident about their job so they have a large contribution to the increasing productivity. On the other hand, management of Albridge focuses on giving support to the employees to make them feel stress free.  Rutherford et al.(2012, p.25) stated that it is important to set goals and make a proper schedule before completing a task. Management of Capco always set their business goal and make their further planning achieve the particular goal. Apart from that, an authority of Albridge makes a routine and employees follow that particular routine before attempting their work.    

LO3: Understanding the ways of using motivational theories in various organisations:

3.1 Discussing the impact of leadership styles on motivation in Albridge:

There are various kinds of leadership styles like autocratic, democratic, transactional and democratic leadership within organisations. Blascovich(2013, p.441) stated that autocratic leaders try to include their employees in the decision-making process. Therefore, it is very effective leadership style and it enables employees to make a quick decision. When employees work under an autocratic leader then they can easily make proper decisions quickly in doing their daily work. This leadership style also makes the employees feel motivated and the employees feel happy when they participate in the decision-making process. An autocratic leader tries to obtain the feedback and opinion from the employees so the working environment automatically becomes comfortable for all the employees.

Autocratic leaders in Albridge Solution always try to motivate the employees by building their self-confidence so the employees feel confident and put their best effort to their work. Here, the employees can feel comfortable with the manager’s ability and knowledge. In such condition, the employees can focus on achieving the organisational goal. On the other hand, a democratic leader tries to make an emotional attachment with the employees and try to make them involved in the decision-making process. Cerasoli et al. (2014, p.990) commented that quiet leaders get their employees back on the track by providing them various information. When employees are provided information then they can utilise that information while performing their responsibilities.

As stated by Bush (2014, p.442), transactional leaders always think about the organisation’s success for future and they make a comprehensive plan. Therefore, employees, who work under a transactional leader, focus on improving their performance to attain the future success of the organisation. In the context of Albridge, the staffs work under autocratic leaders and they discuss all the matters with others before making a complex decision. In such way, a good bonding builds among the workers. As Albridge solution is about business consulting services so this organisation has the real need for autocratic leaders to make a quick decision in any complex situation.

                                    Figure 3: (Leadership styles on motivation)

3.2 Comparing the application of different motivational theories within the workplace:

As per Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, all the employees need to be satisfied mentally while working in a workplace. The employees need to be respected to all and they need to have financial security, personal security and good health. All these things can make the people satisfied so when people are working at their workplace all the needs must be fulfilled. In the context of Albridge Solution, it has been found that the management of the organisation always tries to provide respect to each employee (Refer to Appendix 2).

As stated by Fugate(2012, p.205), the managers must call the employees with their names so the employees feel good. The working environment is good in Albridge Solution as there are a number of autocratic leaders, who guide the employees and allow them to get involved in the decision-making process. The  marketing management  of Albridge Solution always tries to make them feel safe in the workplace by providing them comfortable chairs, air conditioned room, fire alarm, fire extinguishers, promotions and incentives. Here the workers have an emotional attachment with the organisation so they always try to improve their working performance and try to provide their best effort to their work. Management of Albridge Solutions always tries to obtain feedback from the employees to resolve those problems that are faced by the employees while working together.

As per the Herzberg theory, the employee feels motivated when they show their ability against several challenges. According to Finkelman(2015, p.125), the employees must have opportunities for advancements and they must be provided promotion based on their performance. The management must distribute responsibilities among the workers on the basis of educational qualification, working experience, physical ability. Otherwise, the jobs cannot be completed with perfection. In the context of Albridge Solution, the management encourages the employees to achieve the target that is set by the company. The employees always try to attain those targets to get promotion as quick as possible. Albridge provides training to the employees to make them able to complete their job in time without any flaw. So the employees can get ready for taking any challenges that come from other competitors (Refer to Appendix 3). 

3.3 Explaining the effectiveness of a motivational theory for managers:

According to Goetsch and Davis (2014, p.400), all employees want to feel respected while working in an organisation. In the case of Albridge it can be said that the managers must provide respect and values to the employees to make them feel motivated. The managers must encourage the employees to enhance their skills and work performance and threw managers must not entertain any kind of discrimination within the workplace. Apart from that, the managers of Albridge must focus on maintaining a good relationship with the employees. In such way, the employees can express their needs and requirements to the managers. The managers must try to listen to the employees and they must take the initiative to resolve various problems that are being faced by the employees. Edwards and Bowen (2013, p.200) stated that all the employees prefer to work in a safe environment. So the managers of Albridge must try to provide a safe working environment to the employees and must try to prevent several cases of abuse within the organisation. As per the Maslow’s theory, people try to feel loved and they seek for good relationships.

Therefore, the managers must try to maintain a strong bonding with the employees to make them feel motivated. As per the Herzberg’s theory, all the employees must be provided promotion or incentives in order to motivate them. Therefore, the managers of Albridge must focus upon improving the working performance of the employees and they would help the employees to achieve the set target to get quick promotion and huge incentive.

LO4: Effectiveness of mechanism to develop effective teamwork within an organisation:

4.1 Explaining the nature of groups and group behaviour within organisation:

There is a huge contribution of organisational culture in the growth of CAPCO,which upholds the significance of teamwork. Four key factors that support the organisational culture of CAPCO are developed within the environment of formal and informal groups. The factors offer opportunities for personal development; motivation through rewards based on performance and offering opportunities for learning through delegation of challenging works. These factors function within the structure of formal and informal groups.

Usually during the process of completing a huge project, a participation of employees from different departments is necessary. In CAPCO, such jobs are delegated to formal groups led by multiple project heads. Some of the common features of formal groups are the generation of shared ideas and commitments to shared objectives for achieving the targets (Ikeda et al. 2016, p.10). Beginning stages of team building start with the clear understanding of the project and separating the tasks with respect to various team members. For facilitating the integration of various roles, the system of internal and external communication is of the highest quality.

Communication system among the employees should be of excellent quality otherwise, confusions may lead towards the breakdown of the entire project (Lei et al. 2012, p.100). For that, CAPCO implements an advanced system of communication. Based on Belbin’s team roles, the inter-operations of CAPCO are segregated among team members. The team of resource investigators who develop best ideas to complete a task performs preliminary works. Coordinators select team members and divide the tasks among them. Monitor evaluators make impartial judgements on performances of members and weigh up its options in a dispassionate manner. Complete finishers scrutinise the entire work before its submission. In CAPCO, the creation of informal groups is necessary to make social events a grand success. In such occasions, the internal processes of a team are conducted by voluntary participation of employees. During such tasks, the team members follow the shared objectives of groups that are a common feature between the formal and informal groups.

4.2 Discussing the factors that can promote/inhibit the development of effective teamwork within organisation:

In the way of managing a project, one may implement five strategies for promoting the growth of effective teamwork. The significance of good leadership qualities holds undeniable importance. Based on the rapidly modifying worlds of finance and technology, it could be said that implementation of transformational leadership is best in the context of CAPCO. Herein, the selection of leadership style depends on upon situational factors.

Effective teamwork is heavily depended on upon the practice of clear communication. Team leaders of CAPCO implement advanced tools to facilitate clear communication among various team members. Ambiguous information may do more harm than any good to complete a task on time.

Before beginning a task, it is necessary that the team leaders or project managers would separate the responsibilities among members. Otherwise, clashes of roles may jeopardise the objective of the task (Stephens et al. 2016, p.3). Team leaders should resolve a conflict issue with immediate effect or at least as earliest as possible. An early resolution of conflict could minimise its harmful effects.

              Figure 4: Factors Promoting Effective Teamwork

Project heads of CAPCO remain positive throughout the end of a task. Herein, they took up the role of shapes as mentioned by Belbin's team roles. During the procedures involving in task completion, they maintain cohesiveness so that team members do not lose focus.

Among the factors that may inhibit the effective teamwork, one is faulty decision-making style. One of the most significant errors made by project heads comes into focus when they resort to the autocratic way of leadership. Such a decision-making style offers minimum scope for personal development. It is seen that in this leadership style, the level of motivation remains at the bottom-edge. A disinterested team gradually turns out to be a dysfunctional team thereby inhibiting the development of effective teamwork. Poor inter-communication among team members is another major inhibiting factor in the way of effective teamwork. CAPCO avoids this damaging situation through the implementation of a robust and technically advanced communication system. Good communication system helps to clarify team objectives that are major reasons for promoting effective teamwork.          

4.3 Evaluating the impact of technology on team functioning within Capco:

The CAPCO management believes in the establishment of open and effective lines of communication. Unlike tall hierarchies, CAPCO implements wider span of control while establishing communication channels among team members. Over the years, the culture and structure of communication within CAPCO has given rise to honest channels. Current technological advancements have provided the wider base of opportunities for the organisation that it utilise during the process of disseminating the information related with respective fields. Open and honest means of communication is the major reason that CAPCO holds an 85% success rate to hold happy teams of employees.

Video-conferencing is an effective means of propagating information especially to the employees working at overseas offices. CAPCO uses Skype to pass on relevant information. Another effective means is the establishment of CapInTouch that is an internal site for social networking. This system has helped to establish a connection with remotely based consultants. Usually, these groups of consultants cannot participate in day-to-day functions of the teams. This gap is filled up through CapInTouch. CapInTouch has offered a personalised community-based tool to all employees working with CAPCO. This has revolutionised the ways in which people communicate throughout the expanse of an organisation (Ancillotti et al. 2013, p.1670). 

                    Figure 5: Technologically Advanced Means of Communication

Local and regional offices of CAPCO organise forums in regular intervals. Such forums help to provide extended information related to particular subjects. Along with this, such forums are means of socialising among team members. CAPCO has been utilising social media channels like LinkedIn for attracting new talents. This medium is used for imparting information related with Associate Talent Programme. Newly recruited talents undertake these training sessions that offer intensive training related to working conditions inside a simulated environment (Wei et al. 2014, p.95). The syllabus includes the introduction to global financial landscape and basic guidelines in relation to consulting and project delivery. Present risks and regulations are also mentioned in here.

Conclusion: 

Organisational structure and its work culture are significant reasons behind its success. The study has focused on different aspects of the organisational behaviour of globally renowned financial consultancy CAPCO with a comparative evaluation with its business competitor the Albridge Solutions. In the way of completing the study, it has focused on different aspects of leadership management in an analytical manner. A comparative study has been conducted with Albridge Solutions. The study has also highlighted upon various motivational theories adopted by heads of organisations for improving its teamwork. Efficacy of teamwork has been evaluated at the end of the study with a focus on the adoption of latest technologies for improving the communication channels.  

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