Principles and Practices of Management and Business Communication - Assignment Example

Business Organisations and Behaviour assignment Contents Task 3 Task 2 5 Task 3 6 Task 4 9 Reference List 12 Task 1 An organisational hierarchy can be described as a type of an organisational structure in which every entity, apart from the head or top controller, is subordinate to another entity. This kind of hierarchical structure generally follows a top down approach for normal functioning and can be seen in most of the corporate organisations, government bodies and organised religions. This type of organisational structure consists of many levels of management and power of authorities. Communication generally occurs at the immediate level. A traditional hierarchical structure is more favourable for smaller organisations. The organisations having less number of employees can be controlled and proper flow of communication can be maintained with a top down organisation approach. This is helpful in enforcing power and command over the organisation. However, with the rise in globalisation and technological advancements, organisations began to downsize and started to use technology instead. In the present business environment, a strict top down approach of hierarchal organisational structure is tough to follow. Since every department is branching out into many sub divisions and vertical as well as horizontal branches, cross communication has seen an enormous rise. Thus looking at the present scenario, a hierarchal organisational structure will lead to a lack in communication and the resultant organisational will be more bureaucratic in nature. Apart from this, another major disadvantage of this structure is that it does not encourage employees to collaborate, share ideas and information. Sometimes employees develop clichés and it may also result in fierce competition for power within departments. This decreases the motivation level of employees. Hawk Company was following taylorist methods of production. A taylorist method can be characterized as a production process in which every action or task is broken down into smaller segments with the objective of monitoring and correcting any action. This can be regarded as a rigorous method of production where each and every action is flowed by strict monitoring. A taylorist approach can be accompanied by many methods of organisational structure. These can be bureaucratic, hierarchal or specialised structure. In the bureaucratic, structure, strict rules and regulations are followed and procedures are delegated in order to achieve compliance and control of subordinated from those who give orders. The second one is hierarchical in which decision makers are separated from employees who implement. Traditional methods of taylorism are highly dysfunctional and lead decrease in motivation of employees and workers. From the above two theories, it is very evident that the arising issues and complications from the traditional methods of organisational structure and production process lead to the subsequent changes, which were implemented in the organisation. It is evident from the case that the work process in the manufacturing unit was boring and repetitive and workers were losing interest in the process. The organisational structure was hierarchal as well as bureaucratic because of which, the workers had a very little say in the decision making process. The technology used in the manufacturing unit was mostly basic and traditional because of which workers are highly dissatisfied. This had also resulted in high amount of absenteeism and difficulty in recruitment. Looking at the problems and issues, the management decided to consult with the workers and staff. With the help of workers and employee feedback, many changes were made. The first change was made on the workshop and the factory. Old and traditional machinery were replaced by new and more advanced equipments. Special training was also provided to the workers for making them acquainted with the latest machinery. The assembly lines of workers were changed from single task workers to teams, where a team will be handling specific task at a time, rather than working haphazardly and simultaneously at different places. The workers were also invited to take part in management decisions and this helped in increasing their motivation to a great extent. Thus, by removing bureaucratic structure form their organisational portfolio, the manufacturing company was able to increase motivation and commitment level from their employees. With the implementation of teams in the factory, the traditional hierarchal structure also became dysfunctional, and the workers as well as the employees were able to communicate as well as contribute in various decision making process. In terms of career development, the workers in the factory were given opportunities for promotions. This further increased the motivation among workers and helped in the reduction of absenteeism and high attrition rate. Apart from this, there was a great improvement in the environmental conditions in the manufacturing unit. Each work team were provided facilities such as individual team entrance to the work shop, separate changing room for each team as well as personal sauna facilities. Other facilities were also included such as lengthy paternity and maternity leave; leave for completion of higher education’s and better wages. All these facilities helped in overall growth and development of the human resource of the organisation, which in turned increased the overall efficiency and growth of the company. Task 2 Douglas McGregor introduced the two factor theory that was based on two specific views or assumptions namely X theory and Y theory. The X theory was traditional, while the Y theory was modern in nature (Sapru, 2006). However, both these theories have been explained in details below: X Theory In this case the employees do not like to work. They always prefer that they are guided by their superiors. In such situations, the employees need to be controlled and directed, so that the objectives of the company can be achieved skillfully. Y Theory In this situation, the employees consider work as their natural task. They are self-directed and motivated, so they are capable enough to achieve the objectives on their own. The employees are responsible and efficient. The managers in the top level are expected to assess and criticize the employees verbally, but should not always state that in writing. This will create a positive image of the manager among the employees and also motivate them to rectify their mistakes. The different policies of motivation are applicable for different employees, so it is the duty of the management to incorporate diverse motivational schemes in the organization. According to Kalat (2010) an individual is motivated by hunger then he tries to search for food. Employee motivation includes a set of internal and external forces that motivates an individual to behave in a certain way. Incentive is the stimuli that drive us towards certain activity. Analysing the work potential of employees and setting activities for motivation and incentives are few of the human resource strategies which can bring out overall growth and development in the organisation (Lauby, 2005). Aquinas (2009) has suggested that there are three aspects in employee motivation, such as behavioural direction, behavioural persistence arousal of the behavior. Arousal of the behavior signifies the activities that ignite certain behavior in an employee. Behavioural direction refers to the behavior that drives the individual towards certain behavior. Behavioural persistence is concerned about how the particular behavior can be sustained. Motivating employee is necessary for organizational success. According to Karmakar and Datta (2012), both positive as well as negative aspects can be associated with motivation. Managers in organizations utilize different motivation techniques for increasing the productivity and assisting employees in promotion (Robbins 2012). The management style followed by the manufacturing company was basically authoritarian management style or the X theory. The organisational structure was hierarchal as well as bureaucratic because of which, the workers had a very little say in the decision making process. The technology used in the manufacturing unit was mostly basic and traditional because of which workers are highly dissatisfied. This had also resulted in high amount of absenteeism and difficulty in recruitment. Looking at the arising issues in the factory, the company decided to change into organisational structure into participative management style or the Y theory. According to Berns (2010) Socialization is considered as an effective source of motivation by many employees. This is applicable in the instances such as peer pressure. There are employees who can go to any length to be at par with their peers. The concept of being accepted in teams or groups can be a great source of motivation. Employees try every possible way to maintain good relationship within their groups, so that they get accepted by their co-workers. The company encouraged greater socialisation and team building among the workers which helped in increasing motivation and commitment level among the employees. With the help of participative management style, the organisation successfully implemented team building among the employees and workers. There was a subsequent reduction in absentees, internal competition and internal quarrel among employees. The company also saw a decrease in attrition are and increase in new recruitment. Task 3 Motivational theories can be divided into two categories that are process theories and content theories. Both theories have helped researchers as well as employers to understand the psychology and perception of employees and accordingly make changes. Hawk Car company followed many modern theories of motivation while attempting to implement certain changes in the manufacturing organisation. Maslow’s theory Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, motivation in an employee is driven by basic needs, psychological needs and self fulfillment needs. Employees are driven by their needs to perform (Sarkodie-Mensah, 2003). Physiological Needs: - When an employee can satisfy his basic needs of food, clothes and shelter then his/her psychological needs are satisfied. Safety Needs: - When an employee can satisfy his security and safety needs, then his safety needs are satisfied. Belongingness: - When an employee gets a sense that he belongs to this place then his belongingness needs are satisfied. This can be done through sufficient amount of interaction with the employees. Esteem Needs: - When an employee gets a feeling of accomplishment over the tasks done by him then esteem needs are fulfilled. He gains fame and prestige on the task completed by him. Self Actualization Needs: - When an employee achieves one’s full potential then his self actualization needs are fulfilled (Kalat, 2010). Herzbergs Dual-Factor Theory of motivation The theory states that there are some factors in the workplace which helps to create job satisfaction and there are also some set of factors that causes dissatisfaction. Herzberg stated that job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are different entities and work as an independent variable. In other words there are some motivating factors as well as some de motivating factors which are individual entities. Motivators are only focused with the actual job. For example, motivating factors can be about the rewards of the project, responsibility related to it and even how interesting the project is and how much opening does it offers. Herzberg also believed that a venture should motivate its employees by implementing the democratic approach and also by improving the content of actual job. Therefore some methods that can be used by the companies to achieve it:- Job enlargement – If workers are given a larger variety of jobs to perform that will make their task more interesting. This will motivate the employees to work better. Job enrichment – It engages workers by giving a wider range of jobs which are interesting as well as challenging. A complex task also allows better outcomes. This will also allow an employee to get motivated and perform the task more efficiently. Job Empowerment – Job empowerment is about allotting additional power to the employees in order to make their own decision in the context of their working life. Elton Mayo’s Theory of motivation Elton Mayo was an Australian sociologist and also an organizational theorist. One of his most important works was his theory of motivation. According to him employees are not only concerned about the money but gets highly motivated if their social needs are fulfilled by the company while they are at work. He also stressed on the fact that if managers treat the employees well if they the workers opinion, employees automatically feel motivated. He also stated that employees work better while interacting together. Mayo then conducted an experiment which will reveal the actual factors by which employees get motivated (Kandula, 2006). After conducting his experiment on western electric company, finally concluded better communication, Greater involvement and team work between the managers and the employees’ leads to a better working condition and thus motivates the employees. The above motivational theories can be related with the changes made in the company. With the help of workers and employee feedback, many changes were made. The first change was made on the workshop and the factory. Old and traditional machinery were replaced by new and more advanced equipments. Training facilities were introduced to increase the capabilities and efficiency of workers. There was an upgradation in the assembly lines, where a team will be handling specific task at a time, rather than working haphazardly and simultaneously at different places. The workers were also invited to take part in management decisions and this helped in increasing their motivation to a great extent. In terms of career development, the workers in the factory were given opportunities for promotions. This further increased the motivation among workers and helped in the reduction of absenteeism and high attrition rate. Apart from this, there was a great improvement in the environmental conditions in the manufacturing unit. Each work team were provided facilities such as individual team entrance to the work shop, separate changing room for each team as well as personal sauna facilities. Thus various content and motivation theories helped the management to understand the perception of workers and make necessary changes for a better organization. Task 4 Employee performance depends on various factors like employee motivation, performance appraisals, employee satisfaction, training and development as well as compensation. Team work is one of the effective employee behaviors. Organizational behavior aims to be positive in accomplishing the results of the organization. It helps to accelerate the development of an organizational. It is basically net satisfaction of various constituents in the process of transforming and gathering inputs. Team work is can be helpful though which an organization can fulfill its objectives without depleting its own resources, without placing any undue strain on the members. Some other aspects of organizational behavior which help in building motivation among employees are: Providing meaningful and challenging work: - When people feel that they are doing a meaningful work, they get internally motivated to do the work with precision. The work should be challenging and should bring the inner hidden talents of the individual. The success of the team depends on the motivating skills of the leader. Providing a challenging work also helps in intrinsically motivating people. The potential of an individual needs to be challenged in order to bring out their true potential. When the team leader provides an employee with the proper environment to excel only then an employee can be effectively motivated (Babbie, 2012; Bruce, 2006). Set clear targets and expectations and then measure the performance: - Clear targets must be set by the leader so that the employees have no confusion about what work they are supposed to do. The targets must be properly communicated to the team members so that they exactly know what they are supposed to do (Chadha, 2007). Regular and supportive feedback: - Feedback is a vital part of motivation. The employees should be properly. Feedback can be positive or negative in nature. Feedback helps in motivating and inspiring people. Feedback should be constructive and provide information to the employees about how to perform well. If the employee is making any error in performing the task then the team leader needs to pin point his/her drawbacks. Feedback must be timely and specific. The errors must be properly explained to the employees so that they are not disheartened (Brooks, 2006). Design the role of the employees: - An employee must be placed on a particular job according to his strength. The team leader must assign them those tasks where they can play according to their strengths. This is one of the best employee motivation techniques. It has been found that people are more likely to perform well if they are given work according to their strength. The employees become internally motivated and upbeat when they get an opportunity to focus on their strengths. The major disadvantage which can arise from team building is personal conflict and conflict of personal goals and motives. Another issue which is common in teams is disagreement with the team leader. Sometimes, team member’s opinions are not in agreement with the team leader and these results in group conflict. These issues can be overcome with proper leadership and delegation of powers. Thus, it can be concluded that with the help of motivation and organizational behavior theories, the organization was able to resolve conflicts and issues which occurred in the organization. Reference List Aquinas, P. G., 2009. Organisation behaviour. New Delhi: Excel Books India. Babbie, E. R., 2012. The practice of social research. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Berns, R. M., 2012. Child, family, school, community: socialization and support. 9th ed. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Brooks, I., 2006. Organisational behaviour. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Bruce, A., 2006. How to motivate every employee: 24 proven tactics to spark productivity in the workplace. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Chadha, N. K., 2007. Organizational behavior. New Delhi: Galgotia Publications. Kalat, J. W., 2010. Introduction to psychology. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Kandula, S. R., 2006. Performance management. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Karmakar, A., and Datta, B., 2012. Principles and practices of management and business communication. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Lauby, S. J., 2005. Motivating employees. Virginia: American Society for Training and Development. Robbins, G., 2012. Praise, motivation, and the child. London: Routledge. Sapru, R. K., 2006. Administrative theories and management thought. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Sarkodie-Mensah, K., 2003. Managing the 21st century reference department: challenges and prospects. London: Routledge. Read More