Organisations and Behaviour - Assignment Example

Organisations and Behaviour Task 1 Organizational culture has been defined as ‘the norms of behavior and shared values of concern within an organization’ (Loughran 2007, p.8). Handy (1985) has supported that there are four types of culture: ‘power, role, task and person’ (Grint 2005, p.127). These types could be described as follows: a) Power: the term denotes the existence of a central source of power within each organization; individuals in the upper levels of the organizational hierarchy use this source of power for controlling people across the workplace (Grint 2005). In an organization where such culture exists emphasis is given on trust rather than orders (Grint 2005). This type of organizational culture has the following advantage: it can help to keep communication and cooperation with organization at high levels. Still, there is always the chance that certain employees take advantage of this culture for ignoring their obligations, according to their position; b) Role: the specific type of culture is based on bureaucracy; emphasis is given on rules and orders of superiors while hierarchy is highly respected. In organizations with such type of culture it is quite difficult for severe failures to exist at the level that employees’ activities are fully aligned with the rules set by the top management team (Grint 2005). On the other hand, this type of culture can harm team-work and communication within the organization at the level that employees would not feel as members of a team but as followers who have not the right to state their view in daily business operations; they have just the obligation to follow the orders given to them. In such environment employee performance cannot be easily kept at high levels; c) Task; it is the organizational culture that promotes the use of project-type tasks within each organization (Grint 2005); this type of culture promotes decentralization, leaving room for employee initiatives, a practice that can significantly enhance employee performance; however, this type of culture can set the integration of a business in risk if roles are highly decentralized; and d) Person: it is an organizational culture that highlights the value of person, as member of an organization (Grint 2005); such culture is applicable in family-owned firms or small firms but it cannot be used in large businesses (Grint 2005). 1.2 In the context of a business, the term structure is used in order to show ‘the form of an organization meaning especially the hierarchy of positions and relationships’ (Knights and Willmott 2007, p.197). Organizational structure, as described above, can be divided into three categories: a) Tall structure; it is met in organizations where the levels of hierarchy are many (Christensen et al. 2007); such structure can be useful for ensuring the control by the top management team of all business activities but it can threaten trust and communication; b) Flat structure; it refers to organizations with just one or two levels of hierarchy (Christensen et al. 2007); such structure enhances communication and team-work but it is difficult to be applied in large organizations; c) Matrix; the term denotes the dependency of each employee by many superiors, simultaneously; such structure is more appropriate for organizations in the public sector while in the private sector it could not be applied at the level that in the private sector independent departments usually exist for covering business needs (Christensen et al. 2007). On the other hand, in small businesses such structure could be possibly applied. 1.3 The ‘chain of command’ principle is based on the idea that within organizations the full independency of individuals is not acceptable, meaning that ‘each employee should necessary have a superior to whom he had to report’ (O’Fallon and Rutherford 2010, p.76). This principle is applicable in organizations since it does not set as a prerequisite the excessive power of the superior over the employee but just the like the dependency of the employee from the superior, a fact that it is normally expected to apply in all organizations (O’Fallon and Rutherford 2010). 1.4 In each organization there are individuals who hold the responsibility for the development of certain tasks; reference is made to people at higher level of the organizational environment. These people need necessarily to assign these tasks to people at lower levels and check the performance of subordinates in regard to the tasks assigned to them (Dam and Marcus 2012). By assigning tasks and monitoring their progress these people are able to control many subordinates, i.e. the subordinates that were delegated the tasks. This potential of control over many people simultaneously has been described using the term ‘span of control’ (Dam and Marcus 2012, p.387). 1.5 In City College all business operations are developed by people in three departments: a) Teaching staff, b) Human Resources and c) Administration. Thus City College has a flat organizational hierarchy aiming to focus on team work and communication. On the other hand, Enterprise is an organization expanded globally; a tall organizational structure has been unavoidable. Indeed, in Enterprise at least 5 levels of organizational hierarchy can be identified: the top management team, general managers in the head office, local managers in each branch, trainee managers and employees at lower level of the organizational hierarchy. It should be noted that tall structure had necessarily to be used in the case of Enterprise; however, communication and cooperation should be adequately supported, so that organizational performance is kept at high levels. 1.6 In City College a task culture seems to exist; the work has been organized into projects in which employees are asked to participate; this type of culture has been probably chosen in order to ensure that employee performance is kept at high levels; in a highly decentralized organizational environment employees feel free to take initiatives that will increase business performance. On the other hand, in Enterprise a power culture has been rather preferred. Indeed, managers in local branches are given the power by the top management team of the organization to set their own rules in regard to the operations of their branch. In Enterprise where trust and communication are of key value the choice of this culture can be characterized as expected. Task 2 2.1 As noted above, the City college has a Flat structure and Task culture. The organization is benefited from its structure and culture in the following ways: a) the flat structure allows the rapid development of decisions avoiding delays in critical business issues; b) in addition, the flat structure allows the development of cooperation and team-work that are quite difficult to be successfully promoted in tall hierarchies. As for the Task culture this is quite important for the organization as it promotes competition, a fact that can keep employee performance at high levels. Moreover, task culture promotes communication and trust, since a project assigned to many employees cannot be completed if communication between employees is problematic. Task 3 3.1 In regard to the organizational environment, behaviour is a term used for showing the interaction of each individual with others, including the responses of the individual to the daily tasks assigned to him (Hiriyappa 2009). Within each organization there are several factors that can affect the behaviour of individuals: a) the internal environment, i.e. other employees at various levels of the organizational hierarchy, b) the external environment, meaning especially customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. In any case, the behaviour of individuals in organizations is depended on the psychological characteristics of these individuals and their experiences especially in regard to their professional life. 3.2 City College wants to gain the respect of people; this aim is reflected to the organization’s mission statement according to which City College should come first in people’s mind if they think to enter the higher education field. The power of behaviour on the organization’s strategies is also made clear through the organizational objectives; these emphasize on reliability and the understanding of customer needs. Moreover, City College has expanded its activities so that it is able to respond to the educational needs of people in local community; the communication with the local community is a factor that highly influences the organization’s operations: training of employees focuses, necessarily, on the quality of communication with local community so that the organization’s image to be kept at quite high levels. Task 4 4.1 Leadership can be described as ‘the performance by the leader of those acts which are required by the group’ (Rost 1993, p.56). In practice, several leadership styles have been developed for showing the ways in which each leader responds to the challenges of his role. Autocratic leadership is a well known leadership style and it is used to refer to a leader who tends to keep the control of all business activities, supporting centralization, even at quite high levels (Daft 2008).The autocratic leadership is quite effective in securing business integration and in ensuring that tasks are completed on time according to the guidelines; still, autocratic leadership can result to the excessive use of power over employees, as can be reflected, for example, in the strict punishment for violating the schedule of work. Democratic leadership style is opposed to autocratic leadership; in this context, a democratic leader offers to employees the chance to participate in the decision-making process and to take initiatives (Daft 2008). Also, a democratic leader encourages employees to take initiatives (Daft 2008). This leadership style is ideal for keeping employee performance at high levels, since employee feels as highly valued. On the other hand, there is the chance for certain employees not to respect the trust that the leader shows to them and to use the power given to them for harming their organization. Particular reference should be made to laissez-faire leadership style which denotes the following practice of the leader: the leader leaves certain of his powers to employees preferring not to be involved, at least not directly, to the control of the organization’s operations (Van Wart 2012). This leadership style can be used for short periods of time when the leader is engaged to quite critical business projects and cannot control the operations of the business in other sectors. In other words, the laissez faire style gives to leader the freedom to focus on the successful establishment of important business plans. However, if used for a long period of time this leadership style could threaten the power of the leader to keep his position in the future. 4.2 According to the information provided through the case study, City College seems to be based on an autocratic leadership style; there is no reference to groups of employees who share responsibility in regard to specific organizational plans. Instead, it seems that orders are given by the organization’s top management and are followed by individuals at lower levels without given the option to act differently. In opposition, in Enterprise reference is made to two leadership styles: the manager of each of the firm’s branches can choose between a democratic and an autocratic leadership style, allowing to employees more or less powers in regard to the tasks assigned to them. Such practice can be considered as justified if taking into consideration the expansion of the Enterprise globally; in each country a different leadership style in regard to the firm’s branches is more appropriate depending on local culture and ethics. Task 5 5.1 Organization theories Frederick Taylor – Scientific Management theory Taylor’s Scientific Management theory is based on the view that employees’ rights are not adequately protected and that standards should be introduced in the workplace for ensuring that employees are compensated fairly (Loughran 2007). The theory incorporates four principles: a) existing job analysis techniques should be improved, b) specific scientific criteria would be used in the selection and hiring process, c) emphasis should be given on the cooperation between managers and employees and d) tasks should be designed by the management team and clear instructions should be given to employees in regard to the successful completion of these tasks (Kirst-Ashman and Hull 2010). Elton Mayo – Human Relations theory In regard to various HR problems Elton Mayo emphasized on the need for the identification of solutions that are based on the needs of employees (Sahni and Vayunandan 2009). In other words, the Human Relations theory promotes the idea that the well-being of employees should be set as a priority by the management team in regard to each organization’s strategic plans (Loughran 2007). Max Weber – Bureaucracy theory The bureaucracy theory of Max Weber is based on the idea that a clear distinction should exist between the powers given to people at different levels of the organizational hierarchy; in addition, the theory promotes the view that in each organization need to be clearly defined and that rules should be applied; particular value is also given to the potentials of employees to improve their position in their organization but only according to their skills (Farazmand 2002). Henry Fayol’s 14 principles theory For Henry Fayol, management decisions would become more effective if they were based on a series of rules (Mullins 2007). These rules, 14 in total, are suggested by Fayol and refer to issues such as the division of roles, the respect to the orders and guidelines of superiors, the provision of different powers to employees according to their position in the organization, the promotion of fairness and equality across the organization, the promotion of order in regard to all business operations and so on (Jayaram and Kotwani 2012). McGregor – Theory X and Y McGregor’s X and Y theory is based on two different views: X Theory promotes the idea that ‘people tend to dislike work and prefer to be led’ (Schermerhorn 2010, p.38). In opposition, Theory Y is based on the idea that people like work and can perform high if they are given appropriate incentives (Schermerhorn 2010). In addition, according to the Y theory, people can be ‘highly creative and self-control and do not prefer to be led’ (Schermerhorn 2010, p.38). 5.2 City College seems to apply Human Relations theory. The needs of staff, in all organizational department are used as the basis for addressing various HR problems. As for Enterprise, this seems to use Max Weber’s theory on bureaucracy; tasks are clearly defined and hierarchy, as developed at many levels, is respected. 5.3 Apple is an example of an organization based on the Scientific Management theory. Emphasis is given to the standardization of work, so that fairness in regard to employees’ compensation is secured. In addition, standards are applied in hiring and selection so that only appropriately skilled employees are asked to join the organization. In Kraft Foods, the CEO has used the Y theory of McGregor for developing a leadership style that supports ‘creativity, enthusiasm and team-work’ across the organization (Schermerhorn 2010, p.38). In Toyota the application of Fayol’s 14 principles theory is clear; indeed, in the specific organization emphasis is given to the distinction of roles and the promotion of ideas such as fairness and equality. Also, employees’ skills are of critical importance for their promotion. References Brooks, I., 2009. Organisational Behaviour: Individuals, Groups and Organisation. Essex: Pearson Education Christensen, T., Laegreid, P., Roness, P. and Rovik, K., 2007. Organization Theory and the Public Sector: Instrument, Culture and Myth. London: Routledge Daft, R., 2008. The Leadership Experience. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Dam, N. and Marcus, I., 2012. Organization and Management: An International Approach. London: Routledge Farazmand, A., 2002. Modern Organizations: Theory and Practice. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group Grint, K., 2005. The Sociology of Work: Introduction. London: Polity. Hiriyappa, B. 2009. Organizational Behavior. New Delhi: New Age International. Jayaram, R. and Kotwani, N., 2012. INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS AND TELECOMMUNICATION REGULATIONS. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Kirst-Ashman, K. and Hull, G., 2010. Brooks/Cole Empowerment Series: Generalist Practice with Organizations and Communities. Belmont: Cengage Learning Knights, D. and Willmott, H., 2007. Introducing Organizational Behaviour and Management. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Loughran, J., 2007. The Relationship Between Organization Culture Type and Quality Service in the Retail Store: A Tale of Two Surveys. London: ProQuest. Mullins, L., 2007. Management and Organisational Behaviour. Essex: Pearson Education. O’Fallon, M. and Rutherford, D., 2010. Hotel Management and Operations. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Rost, J., 1993. Leadership for the Twenty-first Century. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. Sahni, P. and Vayunandan, E., 2009. ADMINISTRATIVE THEORY. New Delhi: PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Schermerhorn, J., 2010. Management. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Van Wart, M., 2012. Leadership in Public Organizations: An Introduction. New York: M.E. Sharpe Read More