Dynamics of the Organization Citroen Motor Company - Case Study Example

Dynamics of the Organization Introduction In any organization the world over, there are many methods ofemployee motivation. These methods aim at ensuring that the employees remain interested in their work. This is a means of ensuring that the company remains productive. Citroen Motor Company was founded in 1919 by industrialist Andre-Gustav Citroen as an armament factory. It served to make armaments for France during the First World War at the end of the war; the company had nothing to do thus it converted into an automobile manufacturing company. It ranks as having been the largest mass produced automobile manufacturing company outside the United States of America (Bobbitt 2005). Maslow’s Theory of Motivation Abraham Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory is a popular theory among scholars (Fiore 2004). Maslow points to a number of human need groups which he places in five categories. According to Maslow, the needs range in a hierarchy one on top of the other (Fiore 2004). This means that one can only progress to the next group after they have satisfied their needs in the current stage. Maslow posits that the human needs will progress in this manner until the final goal known as self actualisation (Fiore 2004). These needs range from the most basic moving up towards the ultimate goal of self actualisation. The needs can be organised in a pyramid which has at its base the most basic needs. At the tip at the very top will go the most central and ultimate goal. The basic needs at the bottom are the psychological needs. In this group, Maslow has placed the most basic needs of food, shelter and clothing (Fiore 2004). The amounts of money that Citroen invests on the wages given to its employees ensure that these people can be able to eat, dress and live decent lives. The United Nations and the Economic Commission for Europe (2004) point to the rise of skilled labour within the automobile industry. Though still low in many Eastern European countries, it has none-the-less been on a steady growth in the recent times. This means that companies like Citroen which have branched out in the recent past into Eastern Europe, have been positively impacting lives there. The second goal according to Maslow is that of safety needs (Fiore 2004). This group of needs points to the preparedness of the organisation or company to protect its workers. It is an important group of needs as well as rights in the company. If the company cannot be able to provide a safe working environment, it risks a high level of work related injuries. This means that the morale to work will be low since the workers are constantly afraid. The fear is one of being a casualty of the many risky equipment used in factories. The introduction of electricity on the factories led to the need to reduce the workforce since the machinery could do the work of the employee. This action though negative has ensured the remaining workforce will work under much safer conditions (Tuppen 1988). However, the number of workers laid off means that the company has to resume back to the basic needs group. This is because it has denied a number of employees the opportunity to attain these needs. The next stage or group of need is the social needs group (Fiore 2004). Here, Maslow has included the need for companionship, love, affection as well as a sense of belonging. All these elements mentioned above point to the fact that man is a social person who needs the company of fellow men to survive. The inability to socialise will mean that the workers will become dull and unmotivated. The advantages that Citroen offers include the fact that the employees work side by side in the assembly lines as well as do other activities like eating in a group. Looking at the state of things in Europe at the moment, there is a high tendency to embrace corporate social responsibility (Blowfield and Murray 2008). Citroen being a company with exceedingly strong roots within Europe will take up this popular culture with time. This implies that the company has an avenue where it encourages its staff to interact. The mixing up of the different cadres of management allows for an understanding of one another’s plight. This gives the top management a window into the life of the employees. On the side of the employees, it allows them to feel as an important part of the organisation thus they remain productive. Upon satisfaction of the social needs, the next stage is the stage of esteem needs. Maslow has placed these needs next to the top as they closely relate to those at the apex of the pyramid. These needs include the need for self respect as well as expressions of the same from others (Fiore 2004). No worker will remain optimally productive when they do not feel respected. As any normal individual will react, a worker in the plant will appreciate it when his/her supervisor complements them on a job well done. When the manager or supervisor has a habit of complementing the employees, they work with motivation. Within the Citroen Company, the management offers complements to the employees. This show of respect has seen the company produced some of the products of high quality, which then find a ready market when they move out of the assembly line. The fifth and final group of need is the self actualisation needs. To attain these needs, one must be able to tap into his/her inner self in order to realise their full potential (Fiore 2004). Fiore (2004) indicates as has Maslow that self actualisation means different things to different people. To some, the attainment of a high level of education is self actualisation while to others it is in their athletic prowess. There is no single set standard that determines this need. There are studies to indicate that the attainment of all the groups of needs is a rare event (Fiore 2004). Since the attainment of all these groups of needs is not a common occurrence, there are points for trying. Citroen has attempted to fulfil these needs though it has not fully achieved the. It has enabled the employees to meet their basic needs by giving them allowances for the work they do. It has allowed employees to interact amongst each other allowing employees to cultivate healthy relationships. In the same breadth, the enhancing of the safety of the employees is yet another attainment of the group of needs. Existence, Relatedness and Growth (ERG) Theory Another theory of motivation is the Existence, Relatedness and Growth (ERG) Theory (Fiore 2004). This theory has three aspects within it as the name has suggested. These elements are existence, relatedness and growth. When looking at the first element of existence, it has to move hand in hand with a number of aspects. These include things like remuneration as well as job security. If the employee has no hope of either payment or the knowledge and trust that their position will be secure tomorrow, he/she cannot be productive. They will in most instances work just for the sake of it. Within Citroen, there has been a number of lay offs in the past and present. These have sparked an outrage from the employees (Fiore 2004). These same employees have gone on to picket as a show of their dissatisfaction with the behaviour of the company. While this is an unfortunate trait, it non-the-less has its positive side. It means that the company will retain its most productive labour which will make it efficient. As a result, the company will be able to complement the workforce with machinery. With the availability of this machinery, the company is in an important position to ensure the jobs of the remaining employees. This allows the company to be productive since the employees have the feeling that their positions are secure. The second element of this theory is relatedness. Alderfer, the father of this theory defines relatedness as the total of all inter-personal relationships Fiore 2004). Within the organisation, there are different forms of interactions that take place between the different levels of employees. Any organisation worth its salt will ensure that it has managed these inter-personal relationships well. It goes without saying that poor handling of these relationships will leave a sour taste in people. When the top management is too harsh to employees on the ground, there will be dissent. This will mean that the lower cadres of workers will not be working to their full capacity. This will eventually lead to a decline on the output of the company. Bearing this in mind, one has to look at the manner that organizations handle this element. Citroen for one has had management that resonates well with the lower cadres of employees. This means that there is a healthy relationship in the organisation between different employees. The third and final element in this theory is that of growth. An individual is more comfortable within an organisation that allows him/her to attain their full potential as a human being. This is an element that means that the organisation must not stifle the person. Citroen must make sure that the individual has enough space to be innovative. The management and designers can consult the workers on the ground that assembles these vehicles to see to it that their input on problem spots goes into account. This will allow employees to be more creative and even more productive in their work. One matter that comes out after looking at both theories is their proximity to one another. The ERG is a mirror image of Maslow’s needs theory. This indicates that there are a given strategies that can be applied to motivate the employees within an organisation. It will include the fact that they ought to be offered a say in crucial matters and not feel disregarded. The employee is the one who comes up with the final product. Poor treatment will yield poor results such as sabotage within the factory as was the case during the German occupation of France and by extension the Citroen Company. In this manner, the Citroen Company appears to have made moves both in attempts to motivate the employees and at the same time it has gone the other way to make them demoralised. The company has not been functioning in an isolated situation. It exists within partnerships. Some of the partnerships include BMW to produce light transportation vehicles and vans. It also involves Ford to produce diesel engines among other partnerships (Weth 2006). These partnerships have a number of advantages. They allow the employees within Citroen to have a feel of working with another company. The company has attempted to lean its employees (Locke et al 1995). This means that the company has engaged itself in attempts to reduce the size of its work force. In its Spanish subsidiary, this has been particularly evident (Locke et al 1995). This action can be looked at from a positive as well as a negative perspective. On the positive side, this means that the welfare of the remaining employees is better. This is because with a lean employee base the company can manage to keep its obligations to the employees. On the negative side, a high level of unemployment will ensue causing an outcry over the negative turn of events. The company has a particularly strict relationship with its employees. The terms of employment are usually severe. It has insisted on hiring the youthful labour force on a semi-permanent basis (Jenkins 2002). This atmosphere that exists in the work place means there is a high level of demoralisation. The employees do not feel as though their need for existence as per the ERG theory. This affects the morale of the employees who feel as though they are there for a short while after which they go home. Oliver (2001) has indicated that an organisation has a particularly prominent brand that it must exploit fully. This brand is its employees. The employees are extremely vital to an organisation since they can make or break the organisation. In many organisations, the employees are also part of the consumer base. Citroen can also use its employees to market itself. It has to ensure that the employees attain self actualisation. This is a difficult issue to attain in an economy that is not particularly favourable. The treatment that the company has accorded to its employees may turn out to be a public relations scandal especially when the employees go on strike. This is a reason for the company to consider applying the theories of Maslow and ERG. This will enable the company motivate employees to the point of having them become highly productive. Conclusion Citroen as a company has an exceptionally chequered history in France. This goes all the way from the world records that the company has set in marketing itself. It also includes the role that the company played in undermining the Nazi regime that had occupied France. The company has gone on to produce some truly impressive automobiles that have continued to be relevant in the automobile industry. Going forward, as matters stand, the company has also a number of pertinent concerns that must be addressed. One of these issues is the treatment of its employees. Though the state of affairs in the economy is that the company has to restructure to remain afloat, it must strive to protect the employees that it lays off. Bibliography: Blowfield, M. And Murray, A., 2008. Corporate Responsibility: A Critical Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bobbitt, M., 2005. Citroen DS Design Icon. Dorchester: Veloce Publishing Limited. Fiore, D. J., 2004. Introduction to Educational Administration: Standards Theories and Practice. New York: Eye on Education, Inc. Jenkins, A., 2002. Employment Relations in France: Evolution and Innovation. New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Locke, R. M. et al., 1995. Employment Relations in a Changing World Economy. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press. Oliver, S., 2001. Public Relations Strategy. London: Kogan Page Limited Tuppen, J., 1988. France Under Recession: 1981-1986. New York: State University of New York Press. United Nations and Economic Commission for Europe, 2004. Economic Survey of Europe: 2004 No. 1. Geneva: United Nations Publications. Weth, A., 2006. Benchmarking Supply Strategies in the Automotive and the Power Tool Industry. Norderstedt: Grin Verlag Read More