Influence of Culture, Politics and Power on Organizational Behaviour

ORGANISATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
LO1..................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Analyse how an organization’s culture, politics and power can influence individual and
team behaviour and performance.................................................................................................3
M1 Critical evaluation.................................................................................................................6
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................7
P 2 Motivation and Motivational theories in Organizational Context.........................................7
M 2 Critically evaluation............................................................................................................9
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................9
P3 Teams in an organization-effective v/s ineffective and Tuckman theory for formation of
effective team...............................................................................................................................9
M3 Analysis of alternate team development theories................................................................13
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................13
P4 Philosophies and models of organisational-behaviour in a given business situation...........13
M4 Justification and evaluation.................................................................................................15
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................17

INTRODUCTION
Organizational Behaviour mainly emphasize on the behaviour of individuals in the
organization. It mainly affects the performance of the employee working there which results in
the overall progress of the company (Chumg and et.al., 2016). The company Waitrose is a well-
known brand selling groceries. Across UK, It has 338 shops making it 8th largest retailer of
groceries. The report will mainly focus on the influence of culture, politics and power on
employee's performance individually and in a team followed by the role of motivational theories
to motivate the employees. The report will also evaluate the comparison of effective and
ineffective team formation and finally it will describe the influence of philosophies and concepts
of organizational behaviour.
MAIN BODY
LO1
P1 Analyse how an organization’s culture, politics and power can influence individual and team
behaviour and performance.
Waitrose needs to follow certain values, policies and guidelines which distinguishes it
from others. It will help the company to establish a unique work culture based on principles and
beliefs of the organization. This organizational culture determines the way its employees interact
and behave amongst themselves as well as external parties. (Elsmore, 2017) The culture, power
and politics influence organization in different ways:
Culture: All types of cultures have a direct impact on employee motivation and performance. It
also determines their behaviour in the organization and impacts on regularity, timely delivery of
outcomes, coordination among teams, attrition rate. A more flexible environment tends to be
more motivating for certain employees while top-down model is preferred by some for clarity of
performance and proper guidance. The Charles Handy Model presents culture as four major
types namely: power culture, role culture, task culture and the support or person culture
explained via two dimensions (high and low) ideal for both bottom-up or top-down approach.
 Power culture: There are some organizations mainly entrepreneurial and start-ups where
power is in the hands of a few people who are authorized to take decisions like founders
and bosses who delegate responsibilities and do the decision-making. There is heavy
reliance on individuals rather than teams and performance is judged on results. Mutual

collaboration is important but the leader may decide who in the team is being delegated
certain tasks. There is competitive atmosphere and heavy pressure on individuals so,
turnover rates can be high. But if the leader is good, it can result in a committed and goal
driven workforce. Therefore, lower the power distribution, higher the cooperation levels.
 Person culture: A person culture is usually practised in professional organizations where
employees have independence, are highly educated and able to work with their own
expertise. It is completely people oriented. The number of employees in such
organizations is generally less and is majorly individual centric. There is high flexibility
and independence but lack of authorization. In case of teams; employees, departments
and services jointly use and depend on organizational services. Their shared interests are
a binding element. But there is often ambiguity regarding who has the final responsibility
and occasional coordination problems. Therefore, higher the power distribution, lower
the cooperation levels and it is a very rare and short-lived cultural typology.
 Role culture: This type of culture is primarily Job-oriented and are usually seen in
bureaucratic organizations. Over here lower power distribution will result in low degree
of cooperation. In a role culture, employees want higher security and stability. This
culture is known for its strict structure containing various rules, agreements, obligations
and procedures. There is a distinct hierarchy system and the status becomes more
important than performance because of which the flexibility level is very low in the role
culture. Management and other operations are conducted by clear guidelines and job
descriptions. The individuals tend to be more compliant and there is no ambiguity of
instructions but tend to have reservations in communication to leaders and colleagues due
to the top-down level of organization. The team coordination doesn't have enough
flexibility in working but there are fewer problems in coordination. This culture is safe,
stable, conservative and predictable.
 Task culture: A lot of project or matrix organizations have a task culture which is
primarily result-oriented. The employees of such organizations are experienced
professionals who are problem-solving oriented. They want to complete their tasks and
projects with accuracy and on time. Such employees rely on their own expertise as well