Managing People in Organisations

This document provides an overview of managing people in organizations, focusing on topics such as organizational structure, culture, leadership, and employee motivation. It discusses the existing structure and culture of Marriott International, advantages and disadvantages of different organizational models, and recommendations for improving leadership and motivation to increase productivity. Find study material, assignments, and essays on managing people in organizations at Desklib.

Managing People in
Organisations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................3
Part 1...............................................................................................................................................3
Existing organizational structure of Marriott, its advantages and disadvantages........................3
Existing organizational culture of Marriott, its advantages and disadvantages..........................4
Models of organization structure...............................................................................................5
Merits and demerits of the various proposed models..................................................................5
Criteria in order to make arguments..........................................................................................6
Influence of organizational structure on its culture with examples.............................................7
Recommendations........................................................................................................................7
Part 2...............................................................................................................................................8
How can leadership and employee motivation be developed in order to increase the
productivity..................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
The human resources department in an organization is concerned with managing people
and focuses on various subjects like maintaining healthy relationship between employer and
employee, compensation and other benefits, training and development, recruitment and selection,
maintaining a healthy working environment etc. The chosen organization for this report is
Marriott International which is a multinational hospitality organization (Barbosa and et. al.,
2018). The company was found in the year 1927 by J.W. Marriott and Alice Marriott. Topics
covered in this report are an explanation of the existing organizational structure and culture of
Marriott, its advantages as well as disadvantages, merits and demerits of various comparative
models. The report also explains how can organizations develop motivation as well as leadership
among employees in order to increase their overall productivity.
Part 1
Existing organizational structure of Marriott, its advantages and disadvantages
Organizational structure can be defined as a system which outlines the way in which
various activities within a business are carried out in order to achieve the goals and objectives
effectively. It also determines the way in which information flows through different levels within
an organization. Marriott International is a leading hospitality brand that originally started off as
a root beer stand. The company’s existing organizational structure is a matrix structure wherein
the different vertical and horizontal levels are combined together.
A matrix organizational structure is the one in which the reporting relationships within an
organization are set up in the form of a grid or matrix rather than a traditional hierarchy (Beech
and MacIntosh, 2017). In simpler words, the employees report to two authorities instead of just
reporting to a single manager. The advantages as well as disadvantages of a matrix
organizational structure are explained below –
Advantages
 Effective change of Information – Since departments in a matrix structure work closely,
they can communicate with each other more frequently in order to resolve issues. Team
members of different departments can collaborate to formulate and implement different
strategies.

 Increases Motivation – The matrix organizational structure enables team members of a
project to share information and inputs during the decision-making process (Matrix
Organization : The Advantages And The Disadvantages, 2019). This provides them a
sense of satisfaction and therefore increases their motivation. All decisions made by the
managers are based on inputs that are shared by employees.
Disadvantages
 Complexity – Due to its complex structure and dual authority, employees within a matrix
structure can sometimes be confused about who their manager/supervisor is.
 Internal Conflict – This type of organizational structure can lead to competition among
managers when comes to making a decision for the team.
Existing organizational culture of Marriott, its advantages and disadvantages
Marriott currently has an empowered culture wherein every employee in the company is
completely engaged in their jobs and participate activity in the success of Marriott. They take
responsibility of their work as well as the output they generate. The respective organization
provides a lot of opportunities to its employees in order to empower them to put in more efforts.
The advantages and disadvantages of the same are explained below –
Advantages – This type of organizational culture helps the management of Marriott to
identify and address various issue before they go on to become a problem. Also, employees in
the company feel free to come with new ideas and share the same with their seniors (6 Types of
Corporate Culture (And Why They Work), 2019). Having such a culture is beneficial for the
workers as they are more engaged in the organization better. Therefore, they are accountable for
their respective actions and also take ownership of their inputs and ideas.
Disadvantages – This culture requires the respective company to invest a lot of amount
in training and developing employees in order to develop leadership skills (Chung and et. al.,
2017). Although, the training is beneficial for the workers, the company might have to incur a
huge amount on the same. Also, such programs do not guarantee positive results for all
employees. There may be cases where some employees become arrogant about their ideas.

Models of organization structure
The different types of organization structure models are explained below –
 The Virtual Organization – A virtual organization can be defined as a temporary
collection of individuals or employees, groups who are geographically apart and work by
computers. The employees or groups appear a single organization to others having a rea
physical location (Dahiya and Dahiya, 2018). The major goal of a virtual organization is
to provide innovative and high quality products and services in order to satisfy
customers’ demand. Each employee in a virtual organization contributes through his/her
competence like design, marketing etc. One of the major elements behind the success of
this kind of organization structure is that it has the ability to create effective learning
systems.
 Post-modern and Flexible Firm – Organizations that do not follow traditional principles
of an organization are referred to as Post-modern organizations. They follow new
practices as a result of changing conditions of the environment. On the other hand,
organizations that are flexible respond to various changes by evolving themselves. Such
organizations positively accept change and are thus able to maximize their opportunities
in the market. Managers in a flexible firm have a wide span of control over their
subordinates and communication happens frequently among employees as compared to
communication between the management and employees. The structure of a post-modern
firm is lean and flat with a collaborative style of decision making. The managers in these
firms are known as coaches and heir main goal is to sustain for a long duration of time.
Merits and demerits of the various proposed models
Virtual Organization
Merits – Virtual organizations can save costs of working spaces as well as other
expenses such as rent, water, maintenance, electricity, raw material etc. Also, there can be some
employees who find it easier to work from home rather than a corporate office as it can be
disturbing due to presence of a lot of people (French and Rees, 2016). Virtual organizations help
firms in redesigning their jobs in order to increase the productivity of employees.

Demerits – It becomes tough for a manager to measure performance of the employees as
all of them work from different geographical locations rather than in a traditional office (Post-
modern and Flexible Firm, 2020). It is difficult for employees to communicate within a virtual
organization as date and time always need to be arranged in order to have an online meeting.
Poor connectivity of the internet can also act as a barrier to communication.
Post-modern and Flexible Firm
Merits – Post-modern organizations follow new practices in order to remain in sync with
the changes occurring the market. On the other hand, flexible firm model is useful for companies
that experience change frequently and need to reorganize workers to complete the tasks every
time (Keers and vanFenema, 2018). Since employees are not restricted to a particular
department, they are ore innovative and can share their knowledge easily. Also, employees
within a flexible firm have a high sense of job satisfaction.
Demerits – There can be cases when a post-modern organization decides on following a
new practice but fails to choose the one that will suit it best. Thus, this can act as a demerit. On
the other hand, managers in a flexible organization may find it difficult to monitor the
performance of employees and manage them. Also, it can be tough for the company to retain its
workers when they have unclear roles.
Criteria in order to make arguments
Virtual Organizations are gaining more and more importance with each passing day as
different traditional organizations are integrating this concept in their systems. For example- the
decision of a small organization to hire a candidate who is at a remote location is tough.
Therefore, this is when a virtual organization structure can come into play and help the firm in
recruiting that candidate by carrying out the interview process online through various channels
like video conferencing, emails etc. Virtual organizations are considered to be one of the key
drivers of transformation within a firm (Martin and Siebert, 2016). This is because if the process
of hiring is carried out virtually, it can allow the firm to tap new markets which helps it in
increasing overall productivity and thus gaining a competitive edge against competitors in the
market.

Virtual Organizations comprise of virtual teams that help the firm in saving costs that
would have otherwise gone into paying huge amounts of rents, bills of water and electricity,
travel etc. Virtual organizations can look out for talented as well as qualified candidates from
across the world during their recruitment process. This helps in bringing together qualified and
skilled people to work on a particular project within the company. Virtual Organizations also get
an access to various new opportunities for people who can’t relocate to a new location as they
can work remotely from their homes and receive feedback from their supervisor over a phone
call or through email.
Influence of organizational structure on its culture with examples
Each organizational structure has its own culture and the structure affects the culture of
the company directly due to placement of employees within the structure. If the organizational
structure is not in line with its culture, employees will not be able to perform effectively (Mayo,
2016). In such cases, either the structure of organization should be changed or the culture in
order to ensure that goals and objectives are achieved. For example – If Marriott International
decides to change its organizational structure and the behavior of the employees is an accordance
with the same, then this new structure will impact its culture positively which will in turn
strengthen its overall values as a brand. Therefore, the employees will put in more efforts in
order to generate productive output.
Having an organizational structure helps companies to carry out their business operations
much more efficiently. Organizational structure can influence the culture of an organizational
both positively as well as negatively. If the structure is not in line with the culture, the
employees’ ways of doing tasks will be different than what they will be otherwise. It will
become a frustrating situation for the employees as well as the management of the organization.
Therefore, if an organization thinks that its current organizational structure is not good, the
management should consider changing it as it will affect the culture too.
Recommendations
After the above findings, Marriott International is recommended to maintain its matrix
organizational structure as it enables effective transfer of information among different
departments (Schulenkorf, 2017). Since, a matrix structure comprises of two authorities,
employees can reach out to any of them in case of any confusion and support. This will help the

firm in ensuring that different departments function in coordination with each. Therefore, it will
be able to achieve goals and objectives more effectively as well as gain a competitive advantage
in the market against competitors like Hilton etc. The company should also incorporate the
concept of a virtual organization which will help the management to monitor and track
performance of employees in different locations and formulate effective strategies. This can also
help in motivating and encouraging them to put in best efforts and produce desired output.
Also, in order to attract customers from across the world, it should constantly provide
training to employees in order to enhance their skills and provide customers with a lasting
experience (Siegel, 2018). Implementing the system of a virtual organization will help the
company in eliminating unnecessary costs on raw material, electricity, water etc. as the
management will be able to hold meetings online. Therefore, in order to do so the company
should carry out an analysis at its different locations which will help it in identifying the needs
and wants of customers. Lastly, having an organizational structure is important because it makes
it easier for the management to add new positions in the system.
Part 2
How can leadership and employee motivation be developed in order to increase the productivity
Leadership and motivation are among the most important components for the employees
within an organization. Managers should provide them various opportunities to develop
leadership skills that will not only help them in working effectively but will also be beneficial in
their future endeavors (Taylor and Woodhams, 2016). Motivation also, on the other hand, is also
essential as it helps the organization in achieving its goals and objectives effectively. Without
motivation within a workplace, workers will not feel like working effectively and may not work
productively. Therefore, managers should encourage employees to interact with other people in
order to grow their network. This will teach them how to build powerful networks that can help
them as an individual as well as will also be beneficial for the organization they work for to
expand its business. Team leaders should act as mentors and help employees whenever they need
support. This will inculcate a sense of belongingness within them, especially new hires and they
will be motivated to perform more efficiently. The organization can increase its overall
productivity and thus gain a competitive edge against competitors in the market.

In order to develop motivation, the management of Marriott constantly works towards
creating a friendly environment at work. Team leaders of various departments acknowledge the
inputs and ideas that are shared by their subordinates (Whelan, 2017). Also, the company
rewards its employees with many personal as well as professional benefits in order to increase
their overall level of motivation and make them perform more. Therefore, in order to increase
productivity organizations should encourage friendly competition which also helps in creating a
productive environment. The goals and objectives of the organization should be communicated
to the employees effectively so they feel motivated towards achieving them and don’t feel
confused. Creativity as well as team work should also be encouraged within the premises as they
keep employees motivated and also help in inculcating leadership skills within them efficiently
(How to Motivate your Employees in 12 Easy Steps, 2020). Although, every organization is
different but some of the ideas stated above, if implemented, can help a company in increasing
its productivity as well as also provide an opportunity to stand out in the market by gaining a
competitive edge over others. Developing leadership as well as motivation within employees can
affect the organization positively and also reward it with an increased productivity overall.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that having an effective organizational
structure is important for an organization as it helps in achieving goals and objectives effectively.
Culture also, equally pays an effective role in this and thus assists in enhancing productivity in
the market. Therefore, if the organizational structure of a firm is not in line with its culture, the
overall productivity as well as performance of the company will gradually decline. Also,
developing leadership and motivation among employees is a crucial task for an organization and
thus, its management should seek ways of inculcating these skills among them to increase its
overall productivity and to be able to satisfy the needs of the customers.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Barbosa, M. W. and et. al., 2018. Managing supply chain resources with Big Data Analytics: a
systematic review. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, 21(3),
pp.177-200.
Beech, N. and MacIntosh, R., 2017. Managing change: Enquiry and action. Cambridge
University Press.
Chung, A. Q. and et. al., 2017. Managing an organisation’s social media presence: An empirical
stages of growth model. International Journal of Information Management, 37(1),
pp.1405-1417.
Dahiya, H. and Dahiya, M., 2018. Managing Conflicts: Conflict Management in Organisations
and Projects. Public Affairs And Governance, 6(1), pp.117-133.
French, R. and Rees, G. eds., 2016. Leading, managing and developing people. Kogan Page
Publishers.
Keers, B. B. and van Fenema, P. C., 2018. Managing risks in public-private partnership
formation projects. International journal of project management, 36(6), pp.861-875.
Martin, G. and Siebert, S., 2016. Managing people and organizations in changing contexts.
Routledge.
Mayo, A., 2016. Human resources or human capital?: Managing people as assets. Routledge.
Schulenkorf, N., 2017. Managing sport-for-development: Reflections and outlook. Sport
Management Review, 20(3), pp.243-251.
Siegel, M., 2018. Building resilient organisations: Proactive risk management in organisations
and their supply chains. Journal of business continuity & emergency planning, 11(4),
pp.373-384.
Taylor, S. and Woodhams, C. eds., 2016. Human resource management: People and
organisations. Kogan Page Publishers.
Whelan, C., 2017. Managing dynamic security networks: Towards the strategic managing of
cooperation, coordination and collaboration. Security Journal, 30(1), pp.310-327.
Online
6 Types of Corporate Culture (And Why They Work). 2019. [Online]. Available through:<
https://www.eaglesflight.com/blog/6-types-of-corporate-culture >.
How to Motivate your Employees in 12 Easy Steps. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://inside.6q.io/how-to-motivate-your-employees-in-12-easy-steps/>.
Matrix Organization : The Advantages And The Disadvantages. 2019. [Online]. Available
through:< https://www.management-square.com/matrix-organization/>.
Post-modern and Flexible Firm. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://studymoose.com/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-virtual-organization-essay >.