Introduction to Organisations and Management - Essay Example

? Introduction to Organisations and Management Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Organisation/structure 3 Team and Team Working 5 Leadership 6 Management 8 Motivation 9 Culture 10 Conclusion 11 References 12 Introduction The paper on Organizations and Management intends to present a case study based on two companies Watsons Engine and H&M which differ greatly both in their organisational framework and human resource management styles. Watsons Engine is characterized as a small ownership company focusing mainly on the production of automobile parts. The company based in England operates on a total strength of around 200 employees. Furthermore, Watsons Engine operates in a very conservative manner depending on a system of organizational hierarchies consisting of managerial, operational and other administrative departments. The concern also recognizes the presence of a union body which cares for both the administrative and operation staff. (Anglia Ruskin University, 2011).On the contrary H&M is a consultancy operating on a global framework with a huge presence in over 120 nations. The concern unlike Watsons Engine also operates based on a huge staff base of around 13,000 people. This global consulting company earns the pride of employing people reflecting specialised skills in different sectors pertaining to different infrastructural categories. H&M operating in an international scale has a large number of customers both belonging to the private and public sector. The company has a very strong and motivated organisational work culture which helps in catering to the changing needs of a diversified customer base. (Anglia Ruskin University, 2011). Organisation/structure The entire organisation is divided along separate tiers in which the total organisational task is properly divided or allocated. These organisational layers are rendered access to the existing level of organisational resources and different levels of responsibilities are duly entrusted to fulfil the allocated tasks based on the given resources. Structural levels within the organisation are represented in the form of pyramids to reflect the flow of authority and responsibility among the stated quarters. Depending on the needs of the organization the organizational structures are uniquely fashioned like simple, functional, divisional and matrix. Organisation functioning on direct owner-employee relationship with less people is based on the simpler structure. Functional and Divisional structure focuses on creation of departments based on work specialisation. Matrix structure enhances the work specialisation concept by delegating the specialisation units under separate business heads. (Strategic Management, 2009; Murphy & Willmott, 2010, p.94). In regards to the above discussion the organisational structure of Watsons Engine is found to be more inclined to a more conservative sphere with less focus on innovation. Organisational structures practiced at Watsons Engine being highly dependent on hierarchical system reflect less amount of flexibility to the changes in the external environment. Furthermore the increased dependence on hierarchical system has also reduced the level of transparency in the organisation. This reduction in transparency in turn has contributed to the reduction of the productivity parameter of the employees. Flow of organisational communication in Watsons Engine generally flow from higher to lower levels of organisational hierarchy and hence also affects the motivation of the employees. Watsons Engine’s enhanced dependence on obsolete hierarchical systems only contributed in obstructing the productivity growth of the employees. On the other hand, H&M functions depending on the matrix organisation. The organisation functioning depending on the matrix organisational framework helps in performing complex sets of functions in an integrated and highly specialise environment. Working in an integrated framework helps the organisation to make optimum utilisation of technological and human resources. Further the organisation working based on the matrix model also succeeds in rendering innovation to the organizational functions and also in generating flexibility focusing on external needs. Again enhancing on the flexibility parameter also helps in rendering motivation to the employees for performing in a group fashion. Matrix organisation specially suits the needs of organizations like H&M for it structured to meet the needs of increasing complexity and enhanced flexibility in an organisation. Thus organizations working on complex projects are divided along separate functional units which are grouped in separate matrix grids to form the Matrix Organisation structures. (Murugan, 2007, p.171; Edwards & Bowen, 2005, p.69). Team and Team Working The main concept adhered to the successful functioning of team is ‘team role’. The concept of ‘team role’ focuses on the works of an individual team member in enhancing one’s relationship with other members of the team and in contributing to better performance of the group as a whole. To this end, Belbin a social scientist came with nine main roles which a team should reflect to be termed as successful. According to Belbin the entire organisational team must be divided along separate roles like ‘Chairman’, ‘Shaper’, ‘Plant’, ‘Resource Investigator’, ‘Monitor Evaluator’, ‘Team Worker, ‘Completer Finisher’ and ‘Specialist’. The above team roles highlighted by Belbin can be further grouped along different parameters like action, socialisation and thinking functions. (Gunduz, 2008, p.462; Utley, 2010, p.284). In regards to the above theory on ‘team role’ as delivered by Belbin the organisational functioning of Watsons Engine and H&M can be analyzed. The organisational functioning of Watsons Engine reflects a system of tremendous inflexibility where the employees of the concern are not encouraged to share their views with the people belonging to the upper management. Thus the organization to function in an effective manner must realign its organisational structures to encourage the increased cooperation of the team members and also in rendering flexibility to the concern’s operation to match the changes occurring in the external environment. In light of Watsons Engine Belbin’s ‘Role Theory’ can be further studied where it is needed to study the effects of the changes in the external business environment on the performances of the organisational groups. However, H&M operating on a global scale successfully fulfils the parameter of flexibility. The employees of the concern working in a multinational environment gain the advantage of performing in an integrated sphere and also in a collaborative fashion. Moreover the ‘team role’ of the members is further enhanced through the creation of specialized departments linked with the information technology domain. Resources of the organization are consumed by the different organisational groups in an effective manner through generation of team work where employees reflected lesser dependence on organisational hierarchies. Moreover the performances of the employees are closely evaluated and monitored to enhance the performance levels. This helps the organisation to fulfil the changing needs of the customers by rendering effective services of better quality. Thus H&M by fully satisfying the parameters of Belbin’s ‘Role Theory’ creates the ground to better sustain in the competitive global environment. Leadership An organization to effectively perform in a competitive business environment must satisfy the realm of organisational leadership. To this extent, the leadership theories rendered by Bennis can be well analysed who emphasizes on the point that organisational people gradually develop their skills and traits to turn into leaders of the future. In this respect, Bennis highlighted some significant features which should be possessed by people to be possessed by people to be referred to as leaders. Bennis stated that a person other than possessing an enduring passion and vision must also be accountable to the external environment. The person must also reflect the courage and desire to venture into uncharted territories and must also work to enhanced on the parameter of trustworthiness. (Huber, 2006, p.10; Hoy & Miskel, 2005, p.54). Watsons Engines working on the parameter of inflexibility both in regards to the external and internal environment restricts the growth of the organisation. The employees of the concern being largely deprived of gaining access to a collaborative environment fail to earn maturity in taking decisions pertaining to the organisational development. To this end, it can be observed that the managing director of the concern, Gordon Watson failed to deliver a visionary approach to enhance the organizational environment. Again, the owner of Watsons Engine failed to enhance the environment of trustworthiness by depriving the employees of potential organizational information. Thus due to the function of inept management the passion and intellectual drives of the people failed to gain a better stand in the organisation. On the other hand the management body of H&M through their effective roles of enhanced leadership helps in creating a better work atmosphere in the organisation. The services rendered by the organization performing in different corners of the globe not only help in the development of the skills of the internal people but also progresses to render services to communities in newer territories. Further the management team of the organisation also stresses on the paradigm of ethics to enhance the parameters of transparency and increased accountability towards the people of the concern. Thus the management team of H&M largely satisfies the leadership theory referred by Bennis in enhancing the passion of the employees within the organisation to work together in a team in developing the quality of services rendered by the concern. Employees of the concern spread along different areas by working in a collaborative sphere also become able to develop their internal potential as envisioned in the missionary guidelines of the company. Management The management of the two organisations can also be analyzed based on the management theories as rendered by McGregor. McGregor’s Theory of Management focuses on categorisation of organisational managers based on two sets X and Y. The first set of managers referred to as X is viewed to suffer from myopic problems in which they regard their employees as a stagnant workforce. These managers regard their employees as lacking flexibility and as people who would fear to shoulder enhanced responsibility. On the other hand the group of mangers categorized as Y are those people who have increased trust on their people in regards to delivering better performance. These managers believe that the employees share a greater interest in working in an innovated sphere to enhance the parameters focusing on personal creativity. (Schemerhorn, 2010, p.38; Robbins, n.d., p.346). With regards to the above management theory the managers of Watsons Engine shows that the managers of the organisation behave in accordance to the Theory X. It is because the managers of Watsons Engine feel that their employees would not be able to perform in a technologically modified and flexible environment and thus do not encourage change. Moreover the managers feel that their employees would not be interested in shouldering increased responsibilities, hence they do not invite their employees to share their managerial and business views with them. On the contrary the management team of H&M organization like the Y category managers are inclined to develop the potential traits of the employees to work in a flexible and modified work environment. These managers render increased trust on the credibility of the existing organisational staff and thereby encourage them to share their views with them. Moreover the employees are also encouraged by the managers to render performance in a collaborative fashion which reflects their level of trust. This increased dependence of the managers on the employees also happens to augment the accountability of the internal people in delivering better services to the customers. Motivation With regard to the theories of motivation the work rendered by Frederick Herzberg known popularly as Herzberg’s Theory of Motivation can be effectively given. Herzberg’s Theory of Motivation operates on a set of dual factors which are referred to as ‘hygiene’ and ‘motivators’. The ‘hygiene’ factors refer to the basic needs of the people pertaining to financial, psychological and physiological sectors. Financial needs refer to the salary of the employees while cooperative organisational policies and working environments help meeting the psychological needs. Improved conditions of the work sphere focus on the physiological aspect. However the employees need other factors like work recognition and a steady growth situation to help in bolstering their performances to work in a better manner. (Hodgetts, 2005, p.375; Sapru, n.d., pp.222-223). Analysis of the organizations done in respect of the above theory show that the management team of Watsons Engine only helped the employees in meeting their basic needs pertaining to rendering salary and a safer work environment. These employees’ basic needs being met were expected to be loyal to the organisation. However the second factor which augments the motivation factor of the employees like recognition of the work and cultivating an environment for growth are found absent in the concern. Thus the employees failed to gain motivation while working in the said organisation due to which there is a huge increase in absenteeism in the recent days. Employees lacked interest in work for lack of close coordination with the superiors. On the other hand reflecting on the case of the second organization H&M it is found management body of H&M encourages people from several Diasporas to work in an integrated manner through team work. This helps the employees to gain a lot of learning while operating to fulfil the organisational objectives. Further the employees being encouraged to share their views with the governing body motivates them further to shoulder additional responsibilities in order to scale up the organisational ladder. Managers tending to render best quality projects to the customers render flexibility in changing the project teams while initiating newer projects. However large amount of flexible practices rendered by H&M in delivering best quality services to the customers regarding environmental projects often disturbs the motivation of the employees. Culture The modern organisations are considered an integral part of the total society and thus stand part from the mechanical concept of business organisations as observed through the scientific management concepts. The concept of organisational culture renders emphasis in designing organisational values and polices which would help in the development of both the internal and external people. (Scott, 2003, p.5; Pfister, 2009,pp.2-3). One theory of organizational culture renders stress on mainly four aspects concerning the values of the concern, the people who strictly act by such values, the organizational process of implementing such points and the communication network between the upper and lower levels to help in achieving success. Depending on the above points the organizational culture can be either process centric or can be highly flexible to outside changes. (Dainton & Zelley, 2010, pp.101-102). The organizational culture of Watsons Engine reflected stringent dependence on organisational hierarchies for which the amount of flexibility in the concern was too low. The management felt less need to adapt to external changes and there was a large communication gap between the management body and the staff. Thus the staff did not feel inclined to perform organisational duties effectively and took resort to frequent absenteeism. On the contrary, H&M organisation reflected an ambience of tremendous flexibility in which the people were encouraged to share their views with the upper management. Moreover the concern focused greatly on environmental issues for which they took over consulting works in major environmental and natural projects. However the organisational managers for the different projects resorted to taking newer teams by parting with the prior ones. This fact helps in creating employee motivation through reduction of redundancy adhered to such. Moreover the concern renders huge focus on innovation which helps the employees to enhance their skill levels while working in the projects. Conclusion The focus of the paper rendered on organizational behaviour and culture is studied based on two organizations Watsons Engine and H&M. The study reflects some major differences between the two organizations. Firstly Watsons Engine operates based on stringent hierarchies with lack of proper communication while H&M functions based on a flexible environment with less focus on organizational hierarchies. Secondly the organizational culture of Watsons Engine does not encourage teamwork among the individuals while H&M endeavours to encourage its people to jointly work in teams. The second concern operating on a global scale encourages the people to closely work in teams to fulfil organisational objectives. Thirdly, the managerial body of Watsons Engine fails to deliver proper leadership roles while planning to fulfil organisational objectives through the existing work force. These mangers only tend to reflect autocracy and thus do not empathize with the general people. However in H&M the managers constantly endeavour to encourage the team to share their views about managerial decisions and other new processes and innovations. Thus the managers of the second concern prove to be better leaders in achieving organisational goals. Further in the fourth case the managerial actions of the managers of Watsons Engine do not help the employees in gaining a sustained environment of growth. Thus the employees’ motivation gets reduced triggering them to quit the concern. On the contrary the management body of H&M strongly focuses on letting the employees grow with the concern by helping them to work in an innovated environment. In terms of organisational culture Watsons Engine reflects a highly stereotype organisational practice with increased dependence on hierarchical systems. However on the contrary, H&M reflects a highly flexible organisation which focuses less on organisational hierarchy and more on motivation through innovation. References Anglia Ruskin University. (2011). Introduction to Organizations and Management. Dainton, M. & E. Zelley. (2010). Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life: A Practical Introduction. SAGE. Edwards, P. & P. Bowen. (2005). Risk Management In Project Organisations. UNSW Press. Gunduz, H. (2008). An Evaluation on Belbin’s Team Roles Theory. World Applied Sciences Journal. Volume 4, issue 3. pp.460-469. [Pdf]. Available At: http://www.idosi.org/wasj/wasj4%283%29/20.pdf. [Accessed on April 22,2011]. Hodgetts. (2005). International Management: Culture. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Hoy, W. & C. Miskel. (2005). Educational leadership and reform. IAP. Huber, D. (2006). Leadership and nursing care management. Elsevier Health Sciences. Murugan, S. (2007). Management Principles And Practices. New Age International. Murphy, D. & H. Willmott. (2010). Organization theory and design. Cengage Learning EMEA. Pfister, J. (2009). Managing Organizational Culture for Effective Internal Control: From Practice to Theory. Springer. Robbins. (No date). Management, 10 /e (New Edition). Pearson Education India. Sapru. (No date). Administrative Theories And Management Thought 2Nd Ed. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Schemerhorn, J. (2010). Management. John Wiley and Sons. Scott, T. (2003). Healthcare performance and organisational culture. Radcliffe Publishing. Strategic Management. (2009). Organizational Structure. [PPT]. Available At: http://www.cob.sjsu.edu/gilliss_d/winter2010/ppt/Chap011.ppt. [Accessed on April 22, 2011]. Utley, R. (2010). Theory and research for academic nurse educators: application to practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning. Read More