Organisational Dynamics - Essay Example

Organizational Dynamics xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Institution xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lecturer Organizational culture is the basically the values, norms and assumptions which are shared by people or groups within an organization. These values and norms control or determine the way in which these people interact among themselves and between them and the stakeholders outside the particular organization; in other words they dictate their behaviors or actions (Khan 2005). The organizational values mentioned include ideas and beliefs concerning the kind of goals members of the organization should have and the right kind of behavior standards the members should use to pursue and achieve these set goals. Organizational culture is widely accepted as a way of understanding the human systems within any organization for instance Sainsbury. In addition, it is termed as a very influential factor to the success or failure of any efforts to bring change within this organization. Being an influential part, it has its importance like focusing attention on the human systems within this organization, clarifying how important it is to create proper systems within Sainsbury which help the members to work together in order to achieve their goals, making a significant contribution to the brand image of this particular organization and also creates momentum and energy within the organization which drives it towards its success (Devis 2010). There are four main culture dimensions and they include: 1) Values-which are mainly beliefs as explained earlier on. 2) Heroes- who are mainly the people who introduce these values 3) Rituals and rites-which are the interaction routines that carry qualities that are very strong and symbolic. 4) Culture network-this is made up mainly the hidden power hierarchy or informal communication systems within an organization like Sainsbury. In this organization, culture has some characteristics which include the fact that it is symbolic, it is unifying and it is holistic. Culture symbolizes the past experiences that exist in the members’ minds. It also binds the members of Sainsbury together; meaning it is built on consensus or agreement and not conflicts. Its holistic traits are seen in its essence or the reality within the organization. This involves how the members handle each other plus the expected behavior. In summary, organization culture controls the behavior Normally, there is no organization that can survive or even develop without undergoing change which is normally continuous (McNamara 2010). This is because the environment around the organization keeps changing and the organization has to change in order to keep up with this change around and to meet the needs of both its members and the community around. This is even emphasized more by the increase in competition which makes change within any organization inevitable in order to remain ahead of competitors and achieve the set goals. Change within an organization takes place when, for instance, it changes its overall success strategy, removes or adds any key section or evolves through various natural life cycles. For any change to occur effectively within any organization, broad and clear understanding of the basic structures and systems in an organization is necessary. It is also important to know that this change can either be planned or unplanned (Hunsaker 2005). It can also be gradual or radical and knowing the type assists in ensuring all the participants retain the scope and perspective during the whole period which is characterized by many complexities and fluctuations (McNamara 2010). This therefore means that change needs to be managed and monitored lest it affects the established goals negatively; makes them unachievable. If any real change is to occur in an organization, then it has to start at the culture level. The kind of leadership within an organization plays a key role in the kind of culture that exists within an organization. The organization leaders construct the social realities within an organization and shapes values and vision of the particular organization. This means that there exists a very close relationship or link between any changes taking place within an organization and the kind of culture that exists within the organization in question. The existing culture can facilitate or inhibit change within an organization. Communication is an essential part of every day life. In an organization, it involves the all means of passing information, formal and informal. This information is passed on down from the seniors to the subordinate and across the managers and other employees networks in an organization. As a process, it first begins with thought which exists in the sender’s mind. The sender encodes it and sends it to the receiver who decodes the message accordingly. This is the kind of process that takes place in Sainsbury whereby there is communication within the organization i.e. up and down the hierarchy and across; among the employees themselves Lack of proper and clear communication does cause many problems within any organization and Sainsbury is no exception. In fact, it is the cause of most problems. For any communication to be termed as effective, the receiver must understand the sent message and respond accordingly. There are important noted barriers to communication within Sainsbury. These barriers are not unique to this organization but are shared by many other organizations. They include culture, noise, perception and stress among others. The past experiences inhibit effective reception of any message. In addition, presence of loud noise does interfere with communication. If there is some noise, it becomes very hard for the customers and the sellers within these stores to communicate. In addition, if a customer had a negative perception of the seller and vice versa, it becomes very hard to communicate properly. Customer may think that the attendant at Sainsbury talks too much thus stop paying attention to what the attendant is saying. On the other hand, the attendant or the customer may be stressed thus not be able to communicate effectively. In order to overcome these barriers, it is important that the attendants within this particular supermarket or any other organization train themselves or be trained by the management to listen actively and be patient with customers. In addition, the presence of a well established way of receiving feed back from the customers is very important since it provides a way of identifying areas with weakness and rectifying them. It is also important for the attendants to pay keen attention to the non verbal communication from customers so as to respond appropriately. These non verbal communication include eye contact, facial expression, gestures and body posture. Group dynamics is basically interactions between group members. It involves group formation, function and dissolution. A group on the other hand can be said to be a number of people who have come together with an established goal. That being the case, they are able to share their experiences, provide feedback, pool ideas, generate insights and work together in experience analysis. All workers in Sainsbury form a group which has come together with the common goal as established by the supermarket management. The interpersonal interaction within this particular group determines its level of success in serving its customers. Participation of all the members is a very fundamental process. This is because many processes are dependent on the participation of the members. Generally in a group, there are normally those members who are active and those who are passive. It is important that all members participate by making direct or indirect contribution and showing concern and getting involved in the task. If any member of Sainsbury does not show any concern for their work, the sales and the image of this supermarket are bound to be affected. Their goal of providing quality services and goods to their customers is not achieved. In order to ensure that all members within Sainsbury participate, it is important to ensure that the physical atmosphere is conducive for them to be comfortable both psychologically and socially. It is also important to ensure that there is effective communication; information should be provided to everyone and it should be at the level of everyone’s understanding. The members should also be familiar with each other. That is why there are some exercises which assist in developing cohesiveness and skills for solving problems within the group while at the same time encouraging creativity and collaboration. Organizing such exercises for workers within Sainsbury is very important. Not only does it help in encouraging collaboration and bringing familiarity within the group, it also helps in enhancing communication and shaping the culture among the workers within this supermarket. As discussed earlier, organizational culture is very important and unique to the organization. It plays a key role in shaping the organization’s image, acts as a key determinant in inhibiting or supporting any change within the organization and charging the workers towards the goal. Proper problem solving skills are important. This is especially so in Sainsbury where the workers interact with customers who are of different characteristics and where conflict and misunderstandings are bound to happen. This is even more important since they cannot afford to lose a customer, so they must treat them with respect. Motivation can be defined as the drive that leads one to their goals. It can be from an external or internal source although this keeps changing with age and maturity. To be motivated is an inherent constant need in every individual. Motivation is very essential as it drives individuals in achieving personal and professional goals. Some of the external motivators include rewards, achievements, praises and incentives (Buchen 2004). However, self motivation or rather the intrinsic is more powerful than any other source of motivation. There are various theories developed by psychologists in regards to motivation. Employee motivation is very critical especially in this era of persistent pressure for product increment due to the stiff competition. Sainsbury management staff should motivate the employees to increase their productivity. There are various ways of motivating employees that can be applied by Sainsbury. It is important to understand that the need for job security, raises, promotion, and approval by leaders influences an employee’s motivation. Therefore employees at Sainsbury can be motivated by allowing their needs to coincide with the needs of Sainsbury. Another way of motivating employees is by rewarding them. Sainsbury can motivate its employees by rewarding those with exemplary performance with a certificate, a letter or even a thank you as a way of appreciating their efforts. The managers at Sainsbury should set a good example to their employees as a way of motivating them. A work place should not be a place where people want to run away from; instead it should be a place where people enjoy spending part of their lives (Seidman 2007). This should be the case when it comes to Sainsbury as this automatically motivates the employees. Sainsbury should involve its employees in the planning and problem solving process. This will create an open trusting communication bond and make the employees feel part of Sainsbury. Concern for the employee’s personal affairs is another way of motivating them. Sainsbury should have a good channel of communication to allow the employees work more efficiently. In conclusion an employee’s performance is influenced greatly by the work environment, ability and motivation. Therefore Sainsbury should motivate their staff in all aspects to increase on their performance. Leadership is concerned with getting results for the followers. It is not the same thing as being in authority. It is a process by which a person influences the attitudes, behaviors and thoughts of others. Without leadership there is a likelihood of arguments and conflict as people have different perspective of things. Leaders set direction for others and helps to visualize what might be achieved. It energizes people towards a goal. A leader must have a vision, commitment to the people led and to the mission, responsible, assume risk of failure and loss and must accept recognition for success (Speizer 2004). In relation to Sainsbury leaders should understand and interpret the environment in terms of the business prospectus. They should also develop winning strategies by creating value for customers. Strategies should provide a viable reason for action. Again the leaders after strategizing should go ahead and implement them brilliantly so that they can yield the expected results. In addition they should be able to measure the impact of the implemented strategies. Finally the leaders should develop departmental, organizational, personal and team capabilities. Good leadership is evidently paramount in the success of any business including Sainsbury. Sainsbury, a chain supermarket which opened its first store in 1869, just celebrated its 140th birthday. It has grown to more than 800 shops presently. With its long history, the chain of stores has grown tremendously and contributed to massive changes like employing women as colleagues in the early years of 1914 when this was not popular to selling its own brand products and contributing to environment pollution reduction through use of carrier bags manufactured with recycled materials. In addition, it has a well established and structured management. It also provides quality services to its customers including home deliveries and providing a website that is packed with relevant and east to understand information. However, there are some areas that can be improved to make it even better. The organization needs to give some information on how it encourages its workers to interact with the customers not just at the store level or context but also reaching out to the people. In addition, there is need to include the pictures of some of the workers instead of just fruits pictures. This adds warmth to the site and is more interactive. The third recommendation is to include some activities, for instance sports, which will bring together the workers and the communities around. This will enhance and strengthen their relationship; organization and community around. Bibliography Buchen, I, July 2004, Upgrading Performance and Targeting Learning, Chief Learning Officer, New York: McGraw-Hill Seidman, D, 2007, How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything in Business (and in Life), Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Speizer, I, 2004, Recruiting and Staffing, Workforce Magazine, New York: John Wiley and Sons Hunsaker, P, 2005, Management: A Skills Approach, 2/e, Prentice Hall Khan, A, 2005, Matching People with Organizational Culture Business Management Group, Inc. Devis, L, 2010, Organizational Culture and its Importance http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Devis McNamara, C, 2010, Organizational Change and Development Free Managers Library Read More