Unit 3 Organisation and Behaviour Sample Assignment

Introduction

An organization is a social entity where the group of people are linked to a common goal and works in a coordinated and in a well-organized manner towards profitable business objective. Positive behaviour of an employee enhances his performance and that of the organization as well. Dealing with the behaviour of the employees and the study of the impact of the employee behaviour to an organization is defined as organization behaviour (Hersey, 1993). Organization behaviour guides the organization and provides the option on how to efficiently run a business. Scholars have proposed various theories to describe the employee behaviour in an organization. It determines the various procedures to work in coordination.
This report is the case study of the structure and culture of two major organizations, ASDA and British Airways. The paper intends to compares the organizational structure and culture of the two organizations and will focus on how leadership drives the organization to its ultimate goal. There are various motivational theories that aim to improve the performance through financial and non-financial process which is highlighted in this report. The report ends with advocating the influence of teamwork on the nature of various groups and on staff’s behaviour within an organization as it is one of the performance determining factors. Finally the paper will advocate the impact of technology on teamwork and the way it function.

Task 1

P 1.1 Compare and contrast the organization structure and culture of ASDA PLC to that of British Airlines

Organization structure defines the hierarchical of the roles, responsibility and position of an employee in an organization. It determines the process by which authorities can run the business to achieve the overall objective within the targeted timeframe. It explains the network of employee relations within an organization and control the information flow in an effective manner (Child, 1973).

Organizational culture is defined as the values, philosophy and expectations within an organization which maintains the stability in the ongoing working process an organization and helps to sustain a stable psychological environment in the organization. These are the set of unwritten rules that explains the way to treat an employee, take care of the expectations and need of the employee and conduct the business in an efficient way (Schein, 1992).

Organizational structure that exists in ASDA is hierarchical structure. Hierarchical structure comprises employees at a top level management i.e. higher in hierarchy, who is responsible to employee management and decision making. The flow of information that exists in ASDA is a bottom to top flow where the information flows through every level of hierarchy before reaching to the top level management. A defined process of information flow exists in hierarchy model of organization behaviour and all the communication between managers and the employees at lower level follows the established process.
In ASDA each level of hierarchy has an authorized personal that is responsible to manage all the business at that level. This results in centralization of power and authority. In ASDA functional division is carried out which means that the distribution of authority is based on the duties performed. Employee performing marketing activities is summoned in accounts group and likewise such as accounting, etc.

On the other hand, flat organizational structure is practiced in British Airways. The level of hierarchy is comparatively less in British Airways which enable the employees to contribute in decision making process. The employee can voice for a change. Information flow and communication between different hierarchies is fast and easy in flat organizational structure. British Airlines has divisional organization structure, which is a process of division of group is based on the product creation. Employees who are concerned with a particular type of product development are placed in a group. Decision making is quick in this model of organization structure and hence results in the effective and efficient managerial supervision.

ASDA believes in serving their client to the best of their ability. Practice of giving respect to every individual is followed in ASDA, in the belief that this strives for excellence and promotes integrity in work. ASDA follows communal culture which encourages fairness at work and opportunities. This indicates social work culture in ASDA. Communal culture in ASDA is both friendly and interdependent. In ASDA, communal culture focuses on high sociability and high solidarity. On the other hand, British Airlines believes in delivering greater satisfaction to its customer. British Airways follows mercenary culture which focuses on getting the job done. However over the years a drastic change is witnessed in the structure of British Airways that which has led to the rise of clan oriented culture. This nurturing culture is an interdependent organizational culture which focuses on mentoring.

P1.2- Explain how the relationship between ASDA’s structure and culture impacts on its performance

An organizational structure and culture are the two important pillars of an organization which functions to make working process and business management to operate smoothly. The organizational structure and culture are dependent on each other and are inseparable part in the management systems. Framing the personality and transforming the behaviour of an employee is dependent on an organized structure and culture. Rules, regulation, work culture and working environment determine the behaviour of an employee (Hanges, 2004).Positive and friendly behaviour directly impacts the performance of an employee working for the organization which is further directly linked with overall performance of the organization. Thus organization structure and culture are the most important aspect of an organization that has direct influence on the performance and efficiency of an organization.
The organization culture practiced in ASDA is communal and clan oriented culture and the organization structure seems to be hierarchical and functional type. The organizational structure process that is followed in ASDA forms a separate group of employees. This work structure results in the lack of communication and information flow between groups. Employees who are lower in hierarchy are not a part of decision making process which leads to dissatisfaction. The communal organizational culture in ASDA has worked to bridge all the gaps in the work structure a considered the needs of an employee.
The organizational culture in ASDA has resulted in better and positive working environment for the employees where the employee can work to enhance the performance. Employees at ASDA show an exceptional level of commitment in their work. The organizational structure and culture has established various rules, policies and principles (Chatman, 1994). Employees at ASDA are expected to adhere to these work policies. These rules and policies have been successful in framing a common vision and common goal for ASDA so that every employee is clear about his role in the journey to success.

P1.3- Discuss the factors which influence the behaviour of ASDA’s employees at work giving relevant examples

In context with the organization there are few factors that determine the organization behaviour of an employee at work. These are relationship with colleagues and manager, working environment, leadership and culture, effective communication. In order to influence the behaviour ASDA has been focusing a lot in improving communication at all levels. The management has taken various crucial steps to effectively channel the communication flow. In ASDA top level of hierarchy focuses on their policies, values and culture and believes that these factors can make the development curve of employee behaviour steeper.
A factor that directly influences the behaviour of an employee is the relation with his leader. An effective leader is one who can connect with his team on both personal and professional level. It makes it easier for the leader to analyse the expectation of each his team member and help them in solving their issues problems to bring out the best performance from each of his team member (Hanges, 2004). An audit was conducted in ASDA, which reported that the employees in ASDA agree to the fact that they are treated equally by their managers. ASDA understand the importance of behaviour of an employee at work.
In ASDA the culture is clan or communal type which provides solidarity and sociability that contributes to a larger extent in improving employees’ behaviour at work. In order to assess the behaviour of the employees ASDA conducted a survey in all its store named as “Your Voice” Under this survey ASDA aims to collect all the useful information on how customer and an employee feels about the activities in ASDA and what are their expectation from the organization. The initiative like these have developed an understanding in ASDA management that how important is the effective communication in influencing the behaviour of the employees.
In ASDA effective leadership and communal culture encouraged the organization to provide equal opportunities to the employees which has in turn developed a sense of respect for each other. ASDA has adopted various process and policies to influence the behaviour of its employee in order to improve the overall performance of an employee. This process includes providing better environment, opening the channel for effective communication for all its employees. The result of these approaches is increased interest towards work and improved efficiency in work which ultimately leads to success in business.

For complete copy of this solution, order now from Assignment Help