Organizational Culture and Employee Behavior at a UK Retailer Assignment Sample

This research analyzes the influence of culture, politics, and power on employee behavior at Marks & Spencer.

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Introduction of Motivation Techniques, Effective Team Development, & Applicability of Organizational Behavior Concepts

The research focuses specifically on the inspiration of power, tradition, behaviour and political control in an organisation. In the company, much focus is paid in connection with Marks and Spencer and the elements above. First of all, a concise description and eventual effort have been presented to describe theories and concepts of the behaviour of the organisation (Resvani, Barrett. and Khosravi, 2019). The global business community has experienced significant changes in recent decades and people are also more mindful of their roles and obligations. The global business community has experienced significant changes in recent decades and people are also more mindful of their roles and obligations. The research further presents the exploration of successful team developments and related theories. The study focuses specifically on what effect the interpersonal activity has on the business of Marks and Spencer.

Selected Organisation: Established in1884, M&S is a UK leading international retailer, specialising in the selling of high-quality clothing, kitchen goods and food. The corporation is listed on the London stock exchange with over 959 stores in the United Kingdom, sales exceeding 1 billion.

Location & Products and Services: M&S basically operates its business in the UK (Marks and Spencer, 2020). However, the brand has expanded its operational reach to the Asian regions with over 300 retail stores overseas. The company offers a broad range of products including home appliances, clothing products, foods and cosmetics.

TASK 1

1. Analysing the influence of culture, politics and power on the behaviour of others in an organisational context

1.1 Evaluation of the Concept of Cultural Influence

Numerous influences such as actions, environment, belief and perception are related to the activities of the organisation. In achieving its goal, organisational activity plays a significant role. It is inevitable for any administrator to understand the thinking of staff. Without committed workers, it is incredibly difficult to achieve organisational goals (Van der Hoek etal., 2018). Not just in the United Kingdom but Marks and Spencer is one of the biggest corporations recognised globally for its managerial characteristics.

Culture: Culture is the combination of thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, principles and actions of a group of individuals which establishes the foundation of a society. Organisations possess a definite culture which advocates and reflect organisational values and approaches. Corporate culture determines the success of the company and how it impacts the effectiveness of its stakeholders. The company culture is a significant factor that reflects the attitude and community trust (Jamshed and Majeed, 2019). M&S has established a great association with its community thorough its excellent cultural incorporation. Corporate culture allows the employees to perform in an integrated way and eliminate any probable conflicts.

Four Classes of Culture by Handy

Handy has elaborated culture in four distinct categories.

  1. Power: Power supports the employees to execute the objectives with accountability. Individuals get to work with their own intellectualism and effi9ciency without any interruption of others which allows them to perform well. M&S has given their staffs the resources to work productivity. The power culture adapted by M&S has supported the employees to perform brilliantly in domestic as well as in the international market. M&S has a control structure that provides the employees with accurate refights and is not decided on the basis of the performance or job activities.
  2. Task: Culture of tasks arises as teams are formed within an enterprise to solve particular challenges and projects. This role is critical so that the power in the team always varies based on the combination of members of the team and their position (Kuipers and Stoker, 2009). Team formation is necessary as the tasks are divided accordingly into cases relating to the customer support, brand management etc. M&S has an effective approach of team formation. Teams function together to obtain specific solutions. M&S consciously builds teams according to the business requirements so that challenges can be prevented and predicted on time.
  3. Role: Role Culture" produces a highly organised, balanced organisation by professional work attributes to form proper positions for employees. Role culture has allowed M&S to conveniently operate their business in competitive market space while managing the finance, human resource; marketing etc. the company has an administrative profession culture structure.
  4. Person: Person culture is used within an organisational structure to increase and strengthen the cooperative knowledge and experience among the employees according to the role requirements (Kaur, 2013). The person culture is more apt for the small and medium organisation which runs on the cooperation of a group of individual leadership. In M&S the corporate goals are accomplished by employees from different backgrounds of finance, communication, accounting who are working cooperatively.

1.2 Aspects in which politics Influences Individual and Team Behaviour and Performance

Politics also affect the success and actions of individuals. It improves the employee's ability. Cultural workers affiliated with some other political party, international corporations, etc. may also join together to have a strong foothold within the organisation. The political party boosts the morals of employees when they believe that their liberties are increasing (Alshmemri, Shahwan-Akl and Maude, 2017). Complicated political practices can be dangerous and severely disruptive for the organisation. These political aspects can create internal conflict damaging the efficiency of the employees.

1.3 Aspects in which Power influences individual and team behaviour and performance

Power plays an important role in the company in terms of personal and team behaviour. Power has a more profound impact on the character and confidence of each person and team. It also requires a high level of inspiration. power can impact the usual connection between individuals or groups which can disrupt the efficiency of the employees significantly. employees though need to exercise power in some way to enhance the efficiency of the company but still, the wrong usage of this power can lead to severe consequences for the company.

The concept gives an elevated management influence that can have an unfavorable impact on the behavioural attitude that strengthens the avoidance of indecision. Employees usually prefer to work in specific situations (Nandan, 2020). Some have a preference for working in the community while others prefer individual operational actions. Power and culture influence the attitudes of the employees and regulate the pattern of behaviour and efficacy. M&S posses the culture of collaboration and distributes power equally among the employees to assure efficiency. Employee opinions are valued and accepted. Thus the management is conscious about the solutions to make the efficiency sustainable.

2. Evaluation of Practices on how to motivate individuals and teams to achieve a goal

2.1 Types of Motivation and their application in an organisational paradigm

It is understood that motivation is direct and indirect determinant which inspire commitment and enthusiasm in a job. Motivations increase the degree of satisfaction of the employee and offer the company a set of good consequence (Tabassi etal., 2017). Motivation promotes motivation for the workforce and leads to the accomplishment of organisational vision as there are opportunities for workers. Motivation can be categorised in two different parts.

  1. Extrinsic type of Motivation: This additional motivation has financial rewards such as allowances and multiple cash advantages, such as housing, residential facilities, holiday plan promotions, overtime incentives, maternity leave with payments and so on (Kennett, 2013). When there are no motivational rewards, the worker feels discouraged. It is the responsibility of the authority to recognise the demands of the employees.
  2. Intrinsic type of Motivation: Other than financial the employees also need an environment, versatility, appreciation and proper compensation to increase job motivation and engagement (van Woerkom etal., 2020). Friendship, compassion and integrality within the organisation increase job motivation significantly.

2.2 Theories of motivation and their effectiveness in an organisational context

2.1.1 Process Theories

Process theory regulates the behaviour of people and extracts the results by the usage of intuition or motivation. This involves action and forecasting, and it can be stated that concentration falls on the mental process and how people are propelled.

2.1.2 Content Theories

It discusses the desires of people and how people usually fix their inconvenience. There are various theories that justify the concept such as the theory of Maslow, theories of Herzberg.

The Needs Hierarchy Theory of Maslow

"The hierarchy of needs" by Maslow is a motivational theory in psychology which includes a five-stage model of human needs, often defined in a pyramid as hierarchical stages. Before individuals can take care of higher needs, lower hierarchy needs must be satisfied. The needs are physiological, safety, esteem, love and belonging, and self-actualisation. the concepts advocate that people are driven by their accomplishment of different needs (Nguyen etal., 2019). Fundamentally people need to feel satisfied with the basic requirements in life and gradually moves to advanced needs. People need to feel that their desires or requirements are fulfilled to achieve professional goals. According to the concept, employees will perform their duties more efficiently if their requirements are met. Otherwise, the lack of satisfaction will hamper their concentration and efficiency.

Motivator Hygiene Theory by Herzberg: Factors of hygiene are those variables that are critical for workplace encouragement. This would not translate to long-term optimistic satisfaction. However, if these factors are absent, they contribute to discontent in the workplace. On the other hand, these hygiene considerations comfort workers and do not make them miserable (Iskhakova and Ott, 2020). Hygiene considerations are often referred to as maintenance factors and are important to deter dissatisfaction. Hygiene needs are basic psychological needs. Employees expect these factors to be fulfilled. Hygiene factor includes payment, company policies, fringe benefits, working conditions, status, interpersonal relations, job security.

Motivational factors on the other hand support the employees to enhance their performance. These enable the employees to concentrate on their responsibilities more efficiently. These factors are embedded in the work. These factors are referred to as satisfiers. These factors include Sense of achievement, Recognition, Growth and promotional opportunities, Responsibility, Meaningfulness of the work.

Expectancy Theory of Vroom: The principle of Vroom expectancy put forward that action is a product of premeditated decisions of alternatives aimed at optimising fun and minimising discomfort (Lappalainen etal., 2019). Vroom perceived that the success of a worker is dependent on attitude, abilities, intelligence, expertise and skills. He said effort, success and inspiration are connected to the motivation of an individual. In order to account for this, he used the variables expectancy Instrumentality and valence.

Theory of Goal Setting: Setting specific and measurable goals is more likely to translate into efficient outcomes. According to the theory, the goal-setting must be dependents on the five factors. These are clarity, challenge, dedication, feedback, task difficulty.

2.3 Motivation philosophy within the organisational context of Marks and Spencer

Motivation is a significant determinant of employee performance enhancement. Motivation enables the employees to perform more efficiently and assist them to achieve corporate goals more conveniently (Chow and Felts, 2008). Thus it is important for the companies to make sure that their employees are satisfied with the organisational policies and are dedicated towards their responsibilities within the organisation. M&S can also regulate the behaviour and approach of its employees through the implementation of two different ways. These are motivation content theories and motivation process theory.

  1. Process Theory: Method models, such as Goal setting theory and expectation theory from Vroom, benefit tremendously in inspiring and improving employee habits to enhance their efficiency in the contextual enterprise. Marks and Spencer employees are provided with appropriate support and resources and are qualified to acquire the required expertise for the desired result. The Marks and Spencer managers are constantly assisted and motivated to increase the efficiency of their workers (Locke and Schattke, 2019). The business provides the workers and managers with a comfortable work environment
  2. Content Theory: the content theory of motivations such as the hygiene theory of Hersberg and the Maslow's needs Hierarchy hugely affect the attitude of the employees. Marks and Spencer enhance the esteem of staff and fulfil their potential needs such as inductions, benefits and security. This affects the behaviour of the workers. Promotion of the hygiene factors increases employee satisfaction within the organisation.

TASK 2

3. Demonstrating an understanding of how to cooperate effectively with others

3.1 Aspects that make an effective team as opposed to an ineffective team

3.1.1 Definition of team

The combination of at least two people who are engaged to accomplish the job goals is called a team. Participants are included according to the job requirements gradually. Team members get involved in the process of a task objective accomplishment (van Woerkom etal., 2020). Participants form, execute, collaborate and integrate other participants to accomplish the task goals.

3.1.2 Variants of Team

Various teams work within a company to address various issues.

  1. A functional team operates to accomplish the objectives set by the organisation and integrates the skills to attain the common set of goals both inside and outside of the organisation.
  2. A problem-solving team is assigned to address the issues associated with different segments.
  • A project team is allocated with tasks and responsibilities of a project. They are concerned with specific difficulties.
  1. The group of values is accountable for keeping the state of services.
  2. A digital team is developed through the internet where individuals converse and exchange their opinions on the web to accomplish the job.

3.1.3 Formation of the team

The efficiency of the group depends on the managerial efficiency of the company. M&S can surely increase its efficiency by using the most effective theories (Marks and Spencer, 2020). The company should focus on the requirements of the company and according to that, they should adopt the theories to enhance their performance.

3.2 Analysing relevant team and group development theories for supporting the development of dynamic cooperation

3.2.1 Theory of Tuckman

The theory of Tuckman is evaluated in the context of M&S to understand how a team should be formed to perform in several stages.

  1. Formation: The employees are highly dependent on the management of M&S as they provide these employees with proper resources and support. The manager is liable to resolve any conflicts or queries put forth by the staffs regarding internal roles (Nguyen etal., 2019). The manager is accountable to answer any questions of the employees.
  2. Storming: In the storming stage, various issues will arise within M&S, such as degrading employees, disagreement within the management, the negative relation between the members etc. much organisational connection will get disrupted in this stage. Therefore having solid and standard executive teams are necessary for M&S.
  • Standardisation: Thorough the normalisation process, the employees should advocate mutually encouraging work practices by maintaining the values which they have enforced (Iskhakova and Ott, 2020). The risk is fundamentally situated in the norming stage as the group would have been complacent and lacks the technological benefits which they perfidiously achieved.
  1. Performance: During the stage of performance, the team administrators in M&S become conscious about the operational actions. The team should be able to perform individually even with constant interruption and involvement of the manager. in this stage, the employees must be encouraged to work individually and seek assistance from their manager if required.

3.2.2 Belbin's Team Role Theory

According to the theory, the responsibilities of the persons are categorised between three specific factors.

"Thought-Oriented"

"People-Oriented"

"Action-Oriented Roles"

· Plant

· Monitor Evaluator

· Expert

· Group Worker

· Resource Identifier

· Supervisor

· Designer

· Finisher

· Integrator

A significant stress for the company like M&S is to be at the top position in the market. in order to stay relevant in the market, the company has focused on the fulfillment of customer satisfaction. In order to achieve market sustainability the brand has invested heavily on IT. The Belbin theory assists M&S to eliminate any issues and to draw a conclusion on creative or innovative concepts collaboratively to overcome financial threats to attain better outcomes (Alshmemri, Shahwan-Akl and Maude, 2017). The formation of team roles leads to the action diagram that associate with the preparation and determination of future essentials. Evaluator and screening group executes, define rules and perform activities to evaluate the efficiency of individuals.

4. Application of concepts and philosophies of organisational behaviour to a given business situation

4.1 Concepts and philosophies of organisational behaviour within an organisational context

Organisational activity controls various components of human beings such as observation, community, intellect and other actions, and reveals some truths. This is focused on multiple theories, assumptions and opinions (Tabassi etal., 2017). The principle centres on various democracy, autocracy, and systematic assistance. The hard theory and soft theory also include organisational behaviour.

  1. Situation Theory: Marks and Spencer's personnel are greatly encouraged and inspired to implement the theory because it allows supervisors to choose the specific behaviour of their employees to achieve the desired operating pattern.
  2. Theory of Fielder: the theory is a kind of contingency theory that advocates for the adjustments and not the transformation of the actual effect on the business. The constantly changing business pattern has evoked the necessity for the adaptation of various new options, strategies, partnership and programs which enables the organisation to enhance its workplace ambience and change the employee behavioural attitudes (Iskhakova and Ott, 2020). This leadership approach must correlate to the company context. M&S will assure a marketing team and a team of executives analyse the situation and according to that implement any marketing strategy. Thus the leader must ensure that the quality is achieved according to the desired goals.
  • Social Theory: M&S is a globally recognised brand and thus need to incorporate efficient strategies to enhance their cultural approach. The brand must ensure that it maintains the connectivity with society and intensifies the relation between community and brand value and vision; it should enhance the social amalgamation and assist people working within the organisation to encourage them for social integration.
  1. Path and Goal Theory: The primary emphasis of this philosophy is on multiple areas of the organisation, including priorities, projects, challenges and goals. Marks and Spencer develop employers, establish a project team and position the company (Chow and Felts, 2008). M&S must upgrade the strategic initiatives while considering some of the vital factors, circumstances and strongly argumentative. In order to set clear and attainable objectives, the company must assure to follow up some definite sources of inspiration. It will assure that the company is moving towards the goals while accomplishing the right objectives. Presently M&S is concentrating on the development of their employees and providing them with utmost monitory support to initiate the sensory perceptions and to represent a clear value which is associated with the brand.

The representatives usually manage skills, professional demands, meetings, data etc. this integration of the internal members at the company will help the brand to achieve its desired growth while finding ways to improvise the positive effects significantly (Locke and Schattke, 2019). A stable authority structure will assist the company to focus on the initiatives arranged for participation and actions. An effective leadership approach within the organisation makes sure that the employees are encouraged and dedicated to the company vision without restricting through stringent values. Effective communication practices must be inducted to assure a coherent work interaction among the employees which will enable them to perform conveniently.

Thus working together in the community makes the interpersonal relations more amicable which allow them to be professionally more credible. Setting unrealistic or off-putting goals can blur the success path of M&S by weakening its strategic direction (Marks and Spencer, 2020). M&S must efficiently focus on the establishment of employee satisfaction to motivate them and to enhance their interest to perform intensively. It will avoid any unwanted conflicts within the company and amplify company sustainability.

4.2 Rationalisation of the team performance in connection with Marks and Spencer's philosophy of team development

Organisations perform much better when their workers function together as a community. Good coordination induces cohesion since the combined influence of the squad increases the number of individual efforts. A team should work together with individual experiences, expertise and skills to address difficult challenges and to create innovative strategies and concepts that go beyond the control of a single individual and reflect on the growth level of an organisation. Strong coordination also benefits the individuals, as well as improving organisations' efficiency (Marksandspencer, 2020). It offers reciprocal encouragement and learning and can create a feeling of affiliation and dedication. Teamwork is essential when several minds are working on a solution to resolve the problems. When a person works on a particular organisational challenge, he just has his own expertise and knows how to find solutions. Team members use collaboration to put together their common thoughts to create unique ideas to figure out solutions for the challenges. Being a globally operating brand M&S construct separate teams to resolve the issues relating to finance and merchandising services through the application of Tuckman theory.

Working with a team involves the inclusion of different perceptions and resources that can create probable obstacles to meet the goals within a specific time (Kennett, 2013). M&S has a definite strategy to acquire employee feedbacks to know the strength and weakness through the Belbin's team development principle to attain the target efficiently. Thus the emphasis falls heavily on the integration of to team members to assure that the employees are aware of their duties and have the efficiency to respond to those requirements of the company. It is important for the company to align the job requirements with the company aims to maximise the resource ability and utilise those resources to extract the ultimate outcomes from that.

Conclusion

Authoritarian behaviour is a fundamental analysis of the current situation. Company is expanded to incorporate various people from a different region, a different culture and a different community. Consequently, their behaviour, attitudes and goals are not identical and may create difficulty at work. This report addressed many critical concerns linked to oppressive behaviour and the challenges associated with it. Authoritarian administration requires the development and progress of all organisational goals. Authoritative behaviour enables the organisation and associated people to understand the successful ways of functioning. The value of corporate behaviour is significant in an organisation and thus it is essential for the corporations to recognise the requirements of the employees to engage them and make them more professionally dedicated towards their responsibilities by enhancing their behaviour. M&S has the ability to construct teams according to the expertise possessed by the individuals to enhance the brand value and add to the company value.

References

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