Impact of Politics, Culture, and Power on Team and Individual Performance

This report evaluates the influence of politics, culture, and power on team and individual performance in an organizational context. It also discusses the content and process theories of motivation and how they enable effective goal achievement.

Organisation and
Behaviour

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
P1. Critically evaluate the affect of politics, culture as well as power on team & individuals
performance. ...............................................................................................................................4
M1 Critique the impact of politics, power & culture on team ad individual performance.........8
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................9
P2 Evaluate how content and process theories of motivation and motivational techniques
enable effective achievement of goals in an organisational context. .........................................9
M2: Critically evaluate how to influence the behaviour of others through the effective
application of behavioural motivational theories,concepts and models: .................................10
D1. Critically evaluate interrelation among power, culture and politics towards organisational
success.......................................................................................................................................11
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................11
P3: Explain what makes an effective team as opposed to an ineffective team. .......................11
M3: Analyse relevant team and group development theories to support the development of the
cooperative within effective teams. ..........................................................................................12
P4: Apply concepts and philosophies of organisation behaviour within an organisational context
and given business situation. .........................................................................................................13
M4: Evaluate how concepts and philosophies of OB inform and influence behavioural within
a given business situation..........................................................................................................14
D2: critically analyse and evaluate the relevance of team development theories, concepts. 14
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
The study of individuals attitude as well as performance who is working in the
organisation is termed as organisational Behaviour. In every organisation, the higher authorities
emphasises on creating healthy culture at workplace so that operations and activities of company
can be appropriately performed (Alleyne, 2016). With this, they maintain a good relations with
all the staff members so that organisational goals can be attained within standard time. In these
present report, Apple is chosen as a base company. It is a multinational association that basically
deals in designing and development of consumer electronics and computer software. The
company head office in California, United states and it is renowned as one of the biggest
technology company globally. The company was proposed in year 1976 by Steve jobs. Its
product are Mac, iPod, iPhone, smartwatch, Apple TV and so on. The services of Apple includes
Apple Music, iMessage, iCloud, Apple care, iTunes, Apple Pay and many more. The current
report describes the influence of politics, power as well as culture on teams and the individuals
performance. Moreover, process & content theories of motivation is going to discuss. It also
covers an understanding about effective & non effective teams in the organisation. Later, it
covers various philosophies as well as concepts of Organisational Behaviour which helps
company to handle complex situations.
TASK 1
P1. Critically evaluate the affect of politics, culture as well as power on team & individuals
performance.
Organisational behaviour is basically a process to understand about the attitude and the
behaviour of a particular person. This assist companies to gain knowledge about its workforce
and build strategies which motivate them to put efforts as well as contribute effectively towards
organisational goals (Appannah and Biggs, 2015). Through this, the managers raises the
productivity of an association in a define manner. There are mainly three factors that is politics,
culture & power which affect on the efficiency of groups and individuals. These three factors
impacts negatively and positively to the organisation. All these three factors is mentioned below
with relation to Apple is as follows:
Politics:

It occurs when there is interaction takes place among the people by using their power.
The politics in the companies plays essential role and impacts positively as well as negatively on
the working conditions of an organisation. It only generates at the time of communication
between the employees at the workplace. For instance, an employee working in sifts or there is
flexibility in the organisation to take leaves then it will develop dis-equality in the companies
and the staff members creates negative mindset towards other employee's (Carney, Cuddy and
Yap, 2015). On contrary if there is particular holidays set by the organisations, this will build
positive politics in the companies. In context to Apple, creation of negative politics in the
company develops negative attitude among employees and decreases their productivity level
which results into decline of profits of Apple. The creation of Positive politics boost the
performance of workforce and they put their best efforts to attain goals of the company. In
addition to this, the relation among the staff members will be strong and automatically increases
the performance of Apple. This happens because employees start trusting on each other and
easily coordinate with others to work for the organisation.
By analysing the above information about negative as well as positive politics, it has
been stated that the managers of Apple need to create positive politics in the working of the
company. This will build strong relationship between subordinates which positively affects on
their productivity level. In addition to this, this will also results in effective outcome which is
beneficial for the company as they gain high profits when employees effectively contribute
towards organisational objective (Geppert, 2017).
Culture
It basically involves values, norms, ideologies, opinions and beliefs which managers hold
for the organisation. It is essential for higher authorities or for the HR manager of companies to
develop a good culture for the subordinates so that their performance improves. This also
declines level of problems occurred within the organisation. In relation to Apple, the Human
Resource manager of the company follows Handy's Typology with an aim to gain understanding
about different cultures and uses the best culture in order to create positive culture in the
company. The various forms of Culture are as follows with relation to chosen company:
Task Culture: This culture takes place in the organisation to address particular projects
or to solve to solve specific issues. Herein, the power is shifted as it depends on the team
members and the problem which is going to solve. The mix of team members skills, leadership

quality, personalities will be productive as well as qualitative for companies. In relation to
Apple, it is a big multinational company and includes large number of projects as well as issues.
By using this culture in its working, the manager is able to develop high opportunities for
employees and for the company also (Knights,. and Willmott, 2016). In addition to this, it also
declines interpersonal issues which exist in the company. It also develops a feeling of
collaboration between subordinates that automatically aid company to achieve desired goals
within stipulated time frame.
Role Culture: Herein, the roles as well as the responsibilities are defined to all the
workforce of the company. The power is assigned as per employees position or as per the
organisation structure. With reference to Apple, if the upper level authorities acquire this type of
culture at workplace then it will lead to development of healthy and positive environment in the
organisation. With this,it will also lead to enhancement of team & individual performance which
in turn increases sales of Apple.
Power Culture: In these form of culture the power is in the hands of several people and
they only have the authority to take decision regarding company. The employees performance is
evaluated as per the their achievement not according to the task they currently act. In relation to
Apple, if Human Resource manager adopt power culture in the company then it will negatively
impacts on all the staff members. The productivity and the creativity of existing subordinates is
not appreciated and their morale as well as confidence level goes down. In addition to this, this
culture sometimes not results in positive outcome which in turn affect negatively on the long
term desire goals of the company.
Person culture: The main motive of using this culture by the companies is to raises the
confidence level or morale of an individual. Herein, the project tasks is divided among
employees as per their interest, skills as well as capabilities (Kujala, Lehtimäki, and Pučėtaitė,
2016). This culture enhance the performance of an individual particularly as they put high efforts
to raise their efficiency. Person culture mainly focuses on individuals rather than the teams
which is negative for companies. In context to Apple, acquiring person culture by management
team directly creates high opportunities for individual employee. This will also impacts attitude
of subordinates and boost their morale in a defined manner. But this culture also have negative
impact on the Working of Apple as employees give preference to their work rather than the team
work. This will automatically develops negative atmosphere in the company. In addition to this,

without the support of staff members the organisation is not able to achieve its goals within time
frame and thus losses its market reputation also.
From the above mentioned form of culture, it has been stated that the most suitable
culture which apple can acquire at workplace is Role Culture. By the assistance of this, Apple is
able to positively influence on the behaviour and the attitude of all the subordinates. This will
also raise the productivity level and performance level of the company.
Power:
It is mainly refer as the authority assign by the managers within the organisation. This
rights allows subordinates to take decision related to the company and as per their choice
(Limwichitr, Broady-Preston and Ellis, 2015). As per the point of view of French and Raven,
the power is of five types which allows organisation or the managers to handle situations
appropriately. These powers are defined below with relation to Apple is as follows:
Coercive power: It is basically the right of higher authorities to push subordinates to
perform their duties. With this, they also have the right to punish employee's if they did not work
as per their orders. This power improves the working conditions of the company but affects
negatively on the staff members. With reference to Apple, if coercive power is adopted by the
managers in the company it will affect negatively on their working process. In addition to this,
the company is also facing hurdles to complete projects within time frame as employees is not
able to use their knowledge & skills in the working of the company.
Reward power: Herein, the top management of an organisation have the right to
appreciate employees by giving them rewards or benefits. This will build confidence among the
subordinates if they get monetary as well as non monetary benefits according to their
performance. If this power is using by top management of Apple then this will definitely fosters
employees productivity and also creates positive environment in the company.
Referent Power: It is basically refer as fictitious power which is in the hands of those
people who have good interpersonal skills. This assist companies as well as employees to
enhance their performance as it force other employees to work with full zeal and turns up on the
referent leader position. In relation to Apple, if company using this power it might affect
negatively on the attitude of workforce. This will also difficult for companies to achieve goals as
all the staff members emphasise to reach on referent leader position instead of achieving
company's goal.

Legitimate power: These power is basically given to several peoples who is working in
the organisation such as CEO, managing director or the top authorities. Acquiring legitimate
power within Apple results into the development of negative attitude among employees as they
were not able to share their opinions, thoughts, ideas in the organisation. In addition to this, it
also reduces the performance level of employee's.
Expert Power: This power assist organisations to complete the tasks in effective manner
because the working is carried out as per the guidelines given by experts in that particular field.
With this, the top management assign power to those employees who is expertise in particular
work. If this power is using within Apple than it creates an unsecured feeling in the mind of
subordinates because their thoughts is not considered at workplace (Mesu, Sanders, and
Riemsdijk, 2015).
By analysing the different forms of power it has been stated that the power which
motivates employee or boost their performances is Reward Power. The workforce of Apple get
motivated if they are appreciated by monetary incentives & non- monetary incentives.
M1 Critique the impact of politics, power & culture on team ad individual performance.
This components have negative & positive affect on performance of teams as well as
individuals. It is stated that if task & role culture acquire by organisations, it will encourage
subordinates and the team members. On contrary, if person as well as power culture is adopted
by companies, it develops negativity among the employees. It has also been identified that
positive politics in organisations declines performances and efficiency of employees. With this,
negative politics develops issues within the company. Moreover, Referent, expert and reward
power contributes towards the attainment of goals on time whereas coercive & legitimate power
impacts adversely on subordinates if they have no right to express their ideas as well as opinions
in the organisation.
TASK 2
P2 Evaluate how content and process theories of motivation and motivational techniques enable
effective achievement of goals in an organisational context.
Motivation means to drive needs, wants and desires within the individuals. It is a process
of encouraging employees to accomplish the goals in the organisation. The motivation theories
fall into two categories one is content and second is process theories. With the references of

Apple company which is an multinational American technology company, HR manager uses
these two theories to motivates its employees to performance at their full abilities.
Content theory: It address what factors motivates its employees in the organisation by
identifying the needs of individual and how to prioritized such needs in the company. In the
context of Apple company, this theory is used to identify the needs of its employees and fulling
the such needs on time so that employees remain motivate throughout the period (Mitonga-
Monga and Cilliers, 2016). The company uses Alderfers ERG needs theory in its organisation to
know the needs of its employees.
ERG Theory of motivation
ERG theory was introduced by the Clayton Alderfers, he condenses Maslow's five human
needs into three needs. He alter the concept of one way progression into one regression allowed
to lower levels. With the reference of Apple company, the management uses this theory to
identify the needs of its employees and fulfil such needs on time so that employees feel motivate
in the organisation.
Existence needs: It include all necessary needs like food, water,air, clothing , affection
and physical love. In the context of Apple company, HR manager provide the basic needs of the
employees on the time in the organisation.
Relatedness needs: It refers to needs likes relationship with its co-workers,friends and
family. It also means to feel secure as a part of the group activates in the organisation.
Management team of the Apple, make its employees feels as important part of activities caring
on in the organisation.
Growth needs: It include a desire of individual to be creative and productive in the
organisation. Here employees of the company are self motivate for performing better in the given
task.
ERG theory priorities in the terms of concreteness, like existence needs are most concrete as
compared to relatedness needs and growth needs.
Process theory: Under this theory, it refers to how people are motivated in the organisation by
exploring the cause of behaviour,sustained and stopped by the motivation factors (Mojeed-Sanni,
Adetunji and Sanni, 2015). With the references of Apple company, HR team mainly focus on the
individual choices, which are based on the reward factors, preferences and sense of

accomplishment in the organisation. The company examine how the employees need will affect
his output in order to achieve a goal in the particular activities.
Adams equity theory: It is developed by the John stacey Adams in the 1963 which
shows the balance between the efforts put by employees in the work and the result they get as the
output in the particular activities. With the references of Apple company, management team
maintain the balance between the input efforts and output results to have better outcomes in the
organisation. Input includes skills, hard work and etc. whereas output refers to good salary,
responsibility and recognition. Management should provide proper balance between the input
and outputs so that employees feels motivated and satisfied in the particular fields (Moshoeu and
Geldenhuys, , 2015).
Inputs: it refers to the efforts put by its employees in the forms of skills, knowledge and
experience, social skills, loyalty in the work to achieve the predetermined goals and objective on
time. Likewise Apple company, make sure that all employees are engaged in the activities with
full abilities to achieve the target on time.
Outputs: it includes the financial rewards like salary, bonus and profit sharing in the outcomes.
With the references of Apply company , employers provide various immaterial rewards such as
recognition and responsibility in the organisation .
M2: Critically evaluate how to influence the behaviour of others through the effective
application of behavioural motivational theories,concepts and models:
Manager team of the organisation uses ERG theory and Adams equity theory of motivation
which have a positive impact on productivity and effectiveness in the overall performances. For
example ERG theory provide necessary elements which needs to be taken care in the activities
leavening unnecessary elements behind . Likewise, the management team of Apple company
have a positive impact of Adams equity and ERG theories as employees are more focused and
motivates to performance the tasks to achieves the predetermined goals and objectives of the
organisation (Profili, Sammarra, and Innocenti, 2017). This help companies to completed the
primary tasks on the priorities bases and make use of human resource in the effective ways.
Company are able to achieves the selected objective on time in the organisation, for example,
Apply Inc, provide new Apple smartwatch in the market and focuses on the selected market to
have a good number of sales.

D1. Critically evaluate interrelation among power, culture and politics towards organisational
success.
The different forms of power, culture as well as politics assist companies to enhance the
performance of subordinates in a defined manner. On contrary, it has been analysed that if
organisation uses any wrong factor at workplace then it will degrade the productivity of Apple
and also affect adversely on its performance (Tam and Gray, 2016). It is suggested that
managers should acquire positive forms of elements so that employees can be motivated and
work with their full potential. In addition to this, it will raise performance of subordinates which
leads to attainment of organisational objectives within specified time period.
TASK 3
P3: Explain what makes an effective team as opposed to an ineffective team.
Team refers to small number of people who have different skills working together to achieve
common purpose, set of goals and objective in the organisation. In the context of Apple
company, manager make different team in the organisation who have to work together for
competing the given task and to achieves required outcomes in the company. Their are two types
of team, one is effective team and second is ineffective team (Thatcher, , Vasconcelo. and Ellis,
2015). Effective team is group of people who helps to improve the quality of work and complete
the work on time which further increase the productivity and efficiency in the organisation.
Under effective team, members are able to express their feeling and different ideas about the task
which are to be performance in the organisation.
Basis Effective Team Ineffective Team
Objectives This team knows their
objectives and understand
them until they are well
formulated.
This team does not have a
common objective about the
tasks. Like team member have
their own objectives which
may be conflict with the team
objectives.
Atmosphere Effective team have tension
free atmosphere. For example
employees stay away from
Ineffective team has a
atmosphere of indifference like
lack of attention and healthy

unhealthy aggression among
the team.
conversations.
Maintenance This team try to discuss any
barriers to success and
problems openly.
They discuss the problem
outside the meeting and rarely
solve their problems in the
organisation
Discussion This team encourages a
participation in the discussion.
Like giving ideas about the
topic of the tasks in the
organisation.
This team have very
dominating views of one of the
members which reduces the
effects of another member in
the team.
With the references of the Apple company, management team tries to have effective team in its
organisation, as effective team encourages to have a open discussion about the activities to be
carried in the company by giving reasonable idea and by convincing another members though
logical argument about the activity. The company also uses situational leadership under different
situation in the organisation as various people have a different style of leadership under various
circumstances of the organisation (Turka and Sasan, 2015).
M3: Analyse relevant team and group development theories to support the development of the
cooperative within effective teams.
Tuckman's model is a elegant and helpful in explanation of effective team development and
behaviour of its members in the team. It focuses on the way the task is tackled from the initial
formation through to the completion of the projects. With the references of Apple company,
manager uses this model to achieve the objective in effective ways in the organisation by going
thought the five stages of activities. This model also explains as the team maturity, establish
relationship abilities and leadership style. Beginning with a directing the task then moving to
coaching such tasks then move to finishing the task by delegating the unwanted elements in the
activates . The process of learning to work effectively is know as a team development. Tuckman
identified a five stages process that most of the teams follow to become high performing team in
the organisation.

Forming stage: under this stage, the team is assembled in the organisation and task is
allocated to the members of the team but they have a high dependence on the leader for giving
the guidance about the task. Here roles and responsibilities of the individual are unclear to them
which lead to delay in performance. Leader is made responsible for the teams purpose and
objective.
Storming stages: under this stage, team starts to perform the suggested task according to
given guidance. Team members will build or broke the relationship among themselves. They
have a difference of opinion about the task which will lead to delay in performance.
Norming stages: under this stage ,roles and responsibilities are clearly defined to team
and big decisions are made by the team regarding the better performance in the activities. Small
teams are made to fulfil the needs of the task.
Performing stages: here team is more aware about the duties, they have clear image of
what they are supposed to do and how to completed such tasks on time. They have disagreement
about the task but they resolved within the team in positive way (Ross and Ross, 2019).
Adjourning stage: This is the break-up of the group after completion of the given task
successfully. now team member can move on to new things like taking new project of the
organisation.
P4: Apply concepts and philosophies of organisation behaviour within an organisational context
and given business situation.
Organizational behaviour is study of how employees act within the group and as a individual in
the organisation place. The study of organisation behaviour includes the improving the job
performance and increase the job satisfaction. With the references of Apple Inn, company uses
the Path -goal theories which provide behaviour of its employees in the organisation.
The path goal model is based on style of leader and employees behaviour in order to achieve a
goal and objective on time. The path-goal theory generally follows the these basic steps in the
organisation.
Determine the employee and environment characteristics : To overcomes the problem
is a special focus of path goal theory. Leader are there to solve the obstacles in the effective
ways.

Leader behaviour style: Here leader adjust their style of leadership so that employees
feels motivated in the organisation and perform for better outcomes in the company. Leader
directive, supportive, participative and achievement of the task in the organisation.
Employee characteristic: Here leader needs to understand that its employees needs are
fulfil so that they remain motivate while performing various activities in the organisation.
Employees has a good experience about the task to be performing in the activities (Zwaal, 2019).
M4: Evaluate how concepts and philosophies of OB inform and influence behavioural within a
given business situation.
Organisational behaviour has a positive and negative impact on the performance of the
employees of the organisation. Basically it is a study of how people behave within the particular
group as well as a part of the organisation. Here the behaviour of leader as well as of the
employees keep on changing according to the needs of the organisation. All the member of the
organisation has a positive impact on the probability of the organisation.
D2: critically analyse and evaluate the relevance of team development theories, concepts.
Tuckman's theories provide development of the performance of the organisation by going
thought different stages in the process. With the references of the Apple Inc, company go though
the five different stages so that a effective can be formed for the company to achieve the
predetermined goals and objectives of the organisation. The companies moves from one stages to
another stages while improving the performance of the activates in the organisation.
CONCLUSION
under this report, we have discussed various theories and concepts which provided various
impact on the performance of the organisation. We have discussed ERG theories and Adams
equity theories so that performance can be improved from time to time. Various concept is
studied so to evaluate the performance of the organisation.

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