People and organisations - Essay Example

? Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Organisations differ in the way they are operated and how peopleexperience their work. Traditional organisations were based on complex division of labour and specialisation as it was believed to result to high efficiency and productivity. They were based on Taylor’s scientific management processes which emphasised close supervision. However, more advanced studies such as the Hawthorne studies found out that specialisation created boredom, low productivity and high turnover. Furthermore, modern organisations operate in a global competitive climate which requires them to be flexible enough to adapt quickly to changes. As such, modern organisations now rely on contingency factors to structure organisations and teamwork to motivate workers. The organisation culture also plays an important role in defining how employees experience their work and how organisations are operated. The paper will discuss how two organisations differ in the way they are operated and how people experience work. This will be achieved by looking at their approaches to teamwork and teamworking, approaches to organisation structure and design, and the organisation cultures. Biogenia plc is a world-leading business dealing with crop-protection products (herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides) with 15000 employees in over 80 countries and has manufacturing facilities in 10 countries. Its activities are grouped into four functional areas but employees also work in cross-functional teams. The company is driven by innovation and employs highly qualified employees from diverse backgrounds. It also offers room for development through training courses and sponsoring education. It is also engaged in community activities by offering sponsorship. Sleepeasy Hotels on the other hand, is a mid-market hotel chain offering services to traveller and city-break tourists. Each hotel is headed by a manager who is responsible to the head office and manages day-to-day activities of the hotel. All the hotels perform similar functions such as reception, bar tending, room-cleaning, and cooking according to standard procedures and routines. Each manager recruits employees with assistance of central Human Resource function; some room-cleaners are permanent while others work part-time. The chain has a culture of performance management and review and disciplinary procedures. Approaches to Teamwork and Teamworking According to Forsyth (2009 p. 351), “teams are groups but not all groups are teams.” Some organisations work as a group to accomplish organisational goals while others form teams for specific purposes which are aimed at accomplishing the organisational goals. He points out the difference between groups and teams in that, teams require more collaboration and coordination in addition to having multiple members, interdependence and sharing of collective goals (p. 352). Each member is also assumed to possess unique knowledge, skills and abilities that he/she contributes to the effectiveness of the team. Classical organisations stressed individual work hence complex division of labour and specialisation but contemporary organisations have realised the need to utilize teamwork to achieve goals as well as transmission of skills and knowledge between individuals’ hence organisational learning and increased motivation. Sleepeasy is an example of a classical organisation as each employee is responsible for his/her work which is monitored closely by a supervisor. The room-cleaning employees are supposed to attend 4 rooms in an hour failure to which disciplinary action is taken. For Biogenia, even though workers belong to a functional area they also belong to a cross-functional team. As observed by Forsyth (2009) teams come in different forms and perform different functions depending on organisational needs. Cross-functional or project teams comprise of members from different functional areas or departments, have different backgrounds and areas of expertise. These teams may be permanent or temporary and small or large depending on the task to be accomplished. For example, at Biogenia the cross-functional teams are either temporary or permanent. The team selected to develop a new herbicide in South Africa comprised of experts from various functional areas and different expertise so as to be effective. Jacqueline from marketing team had a degree in biology and an MBA and was based in Cambridge; Jonathan was from manufacturing team with PhD in chemistry from USA and was based in Italy; two people were from research and development team based in S. Africa while the leader came from the support function as an IT specialist and had a PhD in molecular biology and was based in Australia. These individuals had a great diversity in terms of education, experience, sex, skills, and abilities, and therefore were well prepared to tackle the task ahead. At Sleepeasy, individual work is preferred to teamwork. Studies (Schein, 2010) reveal that the success of teams depends on composition. Team formation is therefore very crucial if the task assigned has to be accomplished within the given time and up to standard. The management should analyse tasks to group them and to determine the skills needed to accomplish them. This helps in choosing the right combination of individuals that can accomplish the task effectively. Individuals have different personalities, attitudes and perceptions and this can impact on the success of the team hence the management should also consider personality in choosing team members (Mullins, 2010). According to the big five model, some individuals such as the extraverts are good in teamworking while others like introverts are good at individual work. Diversity in terms of skills, ethnicity, sex, culture, and personality is therefore crucial. It is the manager’s responsibility to recruit and retain talented employees to enable formation of effective teams. Biogenia recruits highly qualified individuals from diverse backgrounds and this enhances creativity and learning in the workplace. In its Research and Development hub it had people from 20 nationalities and also invests on development of its workers hence creating room for innovation. It also enhances motivation since workers can learn from each other on how to perform variety of tasks and also by high standards set by other team members. Sleepeasy recruits members from same ethnic groups with little or no skills to handle cleaning and this may hinder creativity. Besides, it follows standard procedures and routines thus hindering creativity which is attained through teamwork. Organisation Structure and Design Different organisations have different structures depending on size, environment, and technology among others. The organisation structure is a framework that reflects the relationship between roles and tasks and the lines of authority. It shows the degree to which an organisation uses rules and procedures, the concentration of decision making authority, and the degree of differentiation. Organisation design is the development of an organisation structure in order to be able to adapt to changes (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2010). The organisation structure can either be mechanistic or organic whereby the mechanic structure has high degree of complexity, formalisation and centralisation whereas an organic structure has a low degree of complexity, formalisation and centralisation. Sleepeasy represents a classical bureaucratic structure with standard operating procedures across all hotel chains, routinized tasks and no teamwork. Biogenia has an organic structure with four functional areas, use of teamwork, and no strict rules and procedures that hinder innovation. Daft (2009) observes that the functional structure is the foundation for all types of organisation structures. Tasks are grouped together into functions and then the horizontal dimension added. The vertical dimension of the organisation is reflected in the unity of command, authority and responsibility and span of control (Daft, 2009). In classical view, unity of command is strictly adhered to hence employees report to one boss. Like in Sleepeasy, the regional manager is responsible for all the subordinates and if workers are allowed to direct their work, the supervisor closely monitors the work. At Biogenia, the team leaders guide the work of groups hence unity of command is broken. Workers report to a functional manager as well as project manager. The organisation also has a wide span of control to minimise hierarchies and allow communication while Sleepeasy has a small span; work is monitored closely by supervisors and disciplinary action taken in case of failure. The horizontal dimension is reflected by division of labour and departmentalisation (Daft, 2009). At Sleepeasy, workers specialize in one task which is routinized resulting in boredom, stress, low productivity, low quality service, and high turnover. At Biogenia, employees have a variety of skills to perform different functions hence are not restricted to their functional areas but are also project team members. Both organisations have a functional departmentalisation: Biogenia has four functional areas which include research and development, sales and marketing, manufacturing, and support. Sleepeasy is divided into reception, bar tending, room-cleaning, and cooking. However, Sleepeasy has a geographical design in that each hotel has its functions and is headed by a manager who is answerable to the head office. This design is effective in serving local needs of customers, is adaptable to local conditions while still being true to its core business and local managers understand the local business environment and legal climate. For example, wages are based on labour regulations of countries it operates in. Biogenia has a matrix design; each employee belongs to a functional area and a cross-functional team. This enables the organisation to adapt easily, facilitation of communication and coordination, opportunity for functional and product skill development and sharing of resources. However, reporting to two bosses may result in conflict. Organisation Culture The organisation culture represents the dominant way of doing things in an organisation. It represents the shared values, norms, and beliefs by members and which are unique to an organisation. Daft (2009 p. 381) argues that culture should reinforce the strategy and structural design needed by organisation to be effective within its environment. Each company is different in the way it handles recruitment and selection, diversity, corporate social responsibility, performance management, learning, and teamwork. Culture is important as it enables the stakeholders to know what the company values and what it stand for. A company with a strong culture is able to attract and retain the best talent, increase productivity, and performance. Culture is represented by language and symbols. For example, the Sleepeasy staffs wear uniforms and have a strict dress code. This may be used to represent the corporate image and enable individuals to identify with the company. Biogenia has a culture of recruiting highly qualified, motivated, and diverse workforce. It also has a high performance culture that encourages learning and development, creativity and innovation, and rewarding employees for exemplary performance. Members are given sabbaticals, and subsidized gym membership. However, according to theories of motivation, employees have different needs and therefore a wide variety of rewards should be made available to satisfy the needs of each worker hence motivation and commitment (Schein, 2010). A company should also be socially responsible to the surrounding communities and stakeholders for it to be effective. Biogenia thus engages itself in sponsoring various school science projects, exhibition and museums and also allows its staff to contribute to community work. The organisation culture of Sleepeasy involves use of standardized procedures and routines and housekeepers have a demanding work schedule. This may hinder creativity and discourage new employees from applying for job. The company does not value diversity as it employs members of a particular ethnic group through family members. It also employs housekeepers with little or no qualifications and some on part-time basis and does not offer training or opportunity for development. Little training is done in ‘Sleepeasy way’ by supervisors. Its performance management involves conducting periodical performance monitoring and review using customer satisfaction survey and no rewards are given for high performance. Instead, those who perform poorly are punished using a very clear disciplinary procedure. The company also has a high turnover culture especially for housekeepers due to lack of motivation and a high performance culture. Conclusion Different organisations are managed and operated differently hence workers have different experiences at work. Classical organizations like Sleepeasy Hotels emphasize on use of routines to carry out tasks and bureaucratic procedures hindering creativity and innovation. The company does not encourage team work and has not taken advantage of workplace learning to improve on its staff and attain high performance. The company is also not socially responsible as it offers minimum wages to workers and does not engage in community work. Though performance management is evident, there are no rewards for good performance. Biogenia on the other hand, has a high performance culture which encourages innovation, diversity, learning, teamwork, corporate social responsibility, rewarding performance and motivating workers. It also has a matrix design able to adapt easily to changes in environment Working at the company is fun compared to Sleepeasy where work is routinized. References Buchanan, D. and Huczynski, A., 2010. Organizational behaviour. 7th ed. England: Pearson Education Daft, R.L., 2009. Organization theory and design. 10th ed. Mason, OH: Cengage Forsyth, D. R., 2009. Group dynamics. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage. Mullins, L.J., 2010. Management and organizational behaviour. 9th ed. Harlow: Pearson/FT Prentice Hall. Schein, E. H., 2010. Organizational culture and leadership. 4th ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Read More