BBC's Organizational Culture and Child Abuse Scandal

This assignment investigates the role of organizational culture in enabling child abuse within the BBC, focusing on the Jimmy Savile scandal. It explores how a 'culture of deference' contributed to this issue, along with institutional denial and failures in crisis communication. The assignment also examines how the BBC's public purposes have been affected by these revelations.

ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOR OF BRITISH BORADACASTING CORPORATION
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Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
a) Earlier organizational culture of BBC as per Smith review by usage of Handy’s cultural
typology.......................................................................................................................................1
b) Impact of culture, power and politics on the behavior within the BBC with respect to recent
past and today..............................................................................................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................2
a) Content and process theories of motivation..........................................................................2
b) Improving the effectiveness of teams within BBC through motivational theories...........3
c) Goal attainment of BBC through use of enhanced level of motivation................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
a) Different types of teams present in BBC and importance of having different types of
teams............................................................................................................................................5
b) With reference to Belbin team roles explain what makes an effective team in the BBC. 6
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................7
a) Use path-goal theory to suggest how team performance and productivity can be upgraded
within the BBC............................................................................................................................7
b) main barriers to effective performance within the BBC?.................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
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INTRODUCTION
Organizational behavior is the one that studies impact caused by persons, groups as well
structure on the overall behavior of employees who are a part of organization. It further focuses
on investigating the emotions, behavior and performance of employees and also provides an
understanding about all the factors that are needed to make an effective organization (Hopkins,
2017). The current study has made an attempt to focus on how culture, politics as well as power
relations put an impact on the behavior of staff members who are a crucial part of any
organization. The study deal with British broadcasting Company which is a UK based
broadcasting firm and is the oldest of its kid on the entire world. Their operation is based on the
mission to enrich the lives of people with programs that are there to inform, educate and
entertain the masses. The report deals with a case study named Changing Times at the BBC
which depicted the cultural issues faced by the company in recent past and links it to present
times. Hence the study has made an attempt to have an understanding about organizational
culture, politics and power and motivational factors while other section focuses on team work
within the organization.
TASK 1
a) Earlier organizational culture of BBC as per Smith review by usage of Handy’s cultural
typology
Ireland’s well known philosopher being Charles Handy has identified four different types
of organizational culture being power, task, role and person culture. BBC organization among
these lies in power culture which is clear as per Smith’s review. The management had a full
authority over its employees and the senior most staff members enjoyed special privileges at
workplace such as being able to hide their criminal activities like the ones conducted by Savile
and Hall (Shipp, 2015). There was a presence of low morale amongst the employees on account
of poor communication with the management as top officials paid least attention to complaints
made by staff members against senior managers (Kelsey, 2017). Also, there was a lack of any
investigative policy for the crimes committed by the management among others. Smith in his
report has also mentioned that BBC had a presence of deferential culture as the staff members
were afraid to complain about the presenters as they feared losing their jobs (Foster, 2016). Some
of the senior officials were untouchable stars and were far above the law. The impact of power
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was so much that the staff members feared complaining about the wrongdoing and worried about
their personal concerns rather than the safety of children who were being molested. There was
always an atmosphere of fear within the organization that aggravated the insecure hiring
practices.
b) Impact of culture, power and politics on the behavior within the BBC with respect to recent
past and today
The influence of power culture and politics during the times of Saville and Hall was so
much that some of the staff members within BBC were aware about inapproriate sexual practices
of Savile but never tried to make a complaint. The cultural factor such as no open
communication etc. was also prevalent within BBC that stopped staff reporting the concerns to
the managers. The presence of macho culture within the organisation further made things worse
as the culture militates against the complaints that were passed on to the senior officials (Lewis,
2016). However, a significant change in culture as well as power norms was observed after the
joining of Hughes-D’Aeth who joined as an HR director of BBC. She ensured that individuals
joined the broadcasting company with an aim to perform best in terms of their abilities
(Newbery, 2017). The present cultures ensure that employees felt safe if any issue regarding the
work atmosphere was faced by them. She also made the culture to be more transparent and open
which was entirely different from past times where employees feared raising complaints against
the work atmosphere.
TASK 2
a) Content and process theories of motivation
Motivation can be defined as the process of simulating individuals to actions so that they are able
to attain there work place goals. Managers are required to have a thorough understanding about
motivation so as to inspire the employees in a best possible manner and generate higher
performance from them (Cowling, 2017). This also stands true for BBC as if the management is
able to create a motivated workforce then there will increase in profitability and long term
sustainability of the company. Varied theories of motivation have been given which are divided
into process and content theories.
Content theories are the one of the latest models of motivation that is also known as need
theories as they focused on finding out what exactly motivates an individual. In other words,
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they make an attempt to identify the needs of a person and link it to motivation for fulfilling the
desires. These are further inclusive of Maslow’s need hierarchy, theory X and Y, Herzberg two
factor, McClelland’s Need for Achievement, Affiliation and Power as well as ERG theory
(Kallio, Kallio and Blomberg, 2015). These groups of theory have further aided the management
in evaluating their own perceptions about the employees. However on a negative note, as per
Demsey (2015) has criticized the theories by saying that individual needs are changing
continually and hence the thing that may motivate employee one day may not be a source a
motivation the other day. Process theories are inclusive of reinforcement, expectancy, equity and
goal setting. These are the ones that focus on how a particular behavior happens, is sustained or
even stopped by the motivational factors (Nissen, 2013). The theories imply that choices of an
employee are based on his or her preference, rewards and accomplishment level that he seeks to
attains. Hence if BBC management adheres with process theories then it should focus on its
goals which should be clear in the minds of staff members so that particular behavior from the
employees can be generated. They must also give more emphasis on equity while making the
motivational programs. Other than this, the management at BBC must also be aware about
content theories so as to motivate the employees as per their needs and desires. A mix of both the
theory types can also be followed for generating a better performance from the employees.
b) Improving the effectiveness of teams within BBC through motivational theories
Effectiveness of team within BBC can be improved by usage of motivational theories in the
following manner.
 Maslow need hierrachy theory – With this theory, the management can assess needs and
desires of employees such as salary increase, promotional opportunities among others and
steps can then be taken to fulfill them accordingly.
 2 factor theory – this theory can assist the management in eliminating the factors that led
to employee dissatisfaction such as poor company polices, intrusive supervision, and lack
of open culture among others. In the same ways conditions for job satisfaction can also be
created such as promotional opportunity for the journalist, open work culture that was
lacking in BBC since Hall times.
 Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory – this theory can aid the management of BBC to find
out ways by which goals can be achieved by inspiring the team members (Głowacki and
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Jackson, 2013). Rewards can also be linked with thee achievement of goals so as to
motivate the employees in best possible manner.
 ERG theory - The management can further make use of ERG theory to provide
challenging work opportunities to employees being journlasits and writers. The managers
are further required to recognize that the employees being journalist have a presence of
multiple needs such as job satisfaction, work life balance and creating opportunities
(Kallio, Kallio and Blomberg, 2015). Hence the need on part of BBC management is to
identify varied needs and help the employee to fulfill them so as to motivate him or her in
the best possible manner.
 Equity theory – Effectiveness of team within BBC can further be improved by usage of
equity theory. The management must treat all the employees equally in terms of the
efforts they give for the growth and development of BBC. They must reward the
employees accordingly which can be in form of a sincere praise, salary hike, promotion
and a senior journalist among others.
Hence it seems clear that each and every motivational theory is crucial for BBC to enhance the
effectiveness of employees who are a part of BBC. The theories can be used individually or in
combination so as to generate best results.
c) Goal attainment of BBC through use of enhanced level of motivation
The goals of BBC as per its website is providing impartial news to the people, generating
high quality and creative content and to reflect UK in terms of its culture and values to the world
(Public purposes, 2017). The above set of goals can be achieved if the employees work in
motivation manner so as to deliver exceptional performance. This can only be done when the
management works for enhancing the motivation of entire team which is inclusive of presenters,
cameraman, journalists, writers, editors among others. For example, as per expectancy theory the
management of BBC should set attainable goals for the HR team and also fix rewards if the goals
have been met (Heywood and et.al., 2014). The motivated HR can then further set rewarding
goals for the employees so as to attain the objective of generating high quality and creative
content for BBC. In the same lines, Maslow need hierrachy theory can also be used by senior
officials of BBC to identify the needs and desires of presenters who are also the face of the
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company. There need fulfillment will make them feel motivated and hence the presenters will
give a positive reflection about UK culture to the entire world.
The motivated employees of BBC will then show an increased commitment to work and
generate a positive energy that may aid to motivate other team members as well. Also if the
employees feel satisfied with the workplace then they will be motivated to work harder and thus
give exceptional results that will ultimately benefit the company.
TASK 3
a) Different types of teams present in BBC and importance of having different types of
teams
It is very necessary for BBC to have different types of teams within it organization so as
to maintain a proper flow of work and also ensure that employees deliver what is expected from
them. Every team has got its own purpose which has been described below.
 Functional team – this is one of the most crucial team structure that is prevalent within
BBC and has a permanent nature. It is meant to carry out different functions as HR,
marketing, finance and broadcasting activities. These teams are often headed by a
manager who guides the members to perform their work responsibilities which can be
selecting presenters, journalists by HR, keeping accounts by finance and broadcasting
news by presenters.
 Problem-Solving Team – this kind of team comes in picture when the company faces an
issue such as sexual harassment by presenters of BBC. For the present issue a team of
management, senior officials, presenters as well as affected employees may be formed
who often work together so as to get permanent solution to the issue (Song and
Michaelmas, 2014). The management along with senior officials may work on the
solutions and come on a decision that may benefit the entire company.
 Virtual team – Virtually networked teams are very crucial for overall success of BBC as
news is generated from multiple locations that are required to be broadcasted from a
single platform. The success of this team depends on overall coordinating,
communication skills and knowledge of the ones involved (Kallio, Kallio and Blomberg,
2015). In this regard, journalists, cameraman and presenters are in touch with each other
through video conferencing so as to ensure that news is broadcasted in a timely manner.
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 Project team – This kind of team is formed within BBC when a big project is needed to
be accomplished such as covering Olympics event or ongoing natural disaster. This team
is designed for a fixed period of time and includes members from diverse groups.
b) With reference to Belbin team roles explain what makes an effective team in the BBC.
Teams at BBC may give an effective performance if every member has a clear sense of his or
her responsibility. Every role within team is needed to attain the objective of making BBC
become one of the most renowned firms in the world. Hence following is the set of Belbin team
roles which can be applied by management of BBC as well. If a team is required to sort out a
technical issue which has occurred during prime hours of its broadcasting then the roles of
members will be as follows;
 Shaper – these team members will challenge to improve the overall working of team.
They may come with innovative solutions to curb up the technical problem and will
engage in communication with everyone.
 Implementer – these can be the members of technical team who will work on turning the
ideas into practical actions and can be counted upon by BBC management to get things
done.
 Completer-Finisher – these are the ones who may ensure that there is absence of any
error or technical default once the idea has been implemented. They will ensure to get
work done on time.
 Coordinator – This member may guide the working of entire team by taking up leader
role. He or she may act as excellent listener to shaper and will value the effort of every
team member who are working on the technical issue that has affected the broadcasting.
 Team workers – These members will act as negotiators within the team and ensure that
all the members are supporting each other.
 Resource Investigator (RI) – These members have a curious and innovative nature and
may negotiate with the management for resources such as external help for solving the
technical help in BBC news channel.
 Plant - these are the ones who come with innovative ideas that are often impractical and
hence may not play an efficient role in BBC at the time of present crisis which is of
technical default.
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 Monitor-Evaluator – they are the ones who perform the work of evaluating the ideas that
are given by others so as to come out of the technical glitch. Hence they are best suited
for the present issue.
 Specialist – they are the technical experts that have specialized knowledge for getting the
work done.
TASK 4
a) Use path-goal theory to suggest how team performance and productivity can be upgraded
within the BBC.
There can be an application of path goal theory for increasing the team perfromance as
well as overall productivity within BBC. This theory is of the opinion that leaders own the
responsibility to provide information to employees as well as other resources that are required to
attain goals. Hence the management team of BBC should ensure that leaders are able to show the
proper path by which employees can reach to organizational objectives, Hence the manager is
required to use varied leadership styles that must be different according to the situation. For
example, there can be use of directive approach for the new journalists and editors who are
recently joined the company.
Supportive style of leadership can be used when the company has faced a change such as
change in top management or any merger. This style will help the team to understand that a
manager is aware about their concerns and will strive hard to give a good performance. The
management can further make use of achievement oriented style during busy schedules such as
covering an important piece of news like terrorist attack, tsunami among others. Overall, path
goal theory can aid the managers in understanding what leadership style should be chosen in
order to attain the goal. Other than this the management team is further required maintain a good
work culture which was somewhere lacking in the recent past. Moreover journalism and
broadcasting is very stressful work hence proper organizational environment will aid in
achievement of goals.
b) main barriers to effective performance within the BBC?
BBC in the recent past had faced many barriers that somewhere affected the overall
performance of employees. One such was the lack of open communication between the
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employees and management. The employees were unable to put their concerns in front of
management as the managers depicted a tough sand abrasive nature. This affected the overall
productivity of employees due to increased level of demotivation among other (Greer and
McLaughlin 2013). The presence of fearful atmosphere during the times of sexual assaulters Hall
and Savile further made things worse. The impact was so much that the employees just worried
about themselves rather than the safety of children who were sexually assaulted by top
assaulters. The supervisors who were aware of the incidents often told the employees to keep
their mouth shut. This fearful atmosphere affected the performance f those e employees who
were aware about the wrong acts that were happening in the company (Silverstone, 2014). The
policy enforcement was also not in tune with what was written on papers. The staff members
often faced the problem of unfairness which decreased there morale.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that BBC had faced its own share of tough
times especially during the times of Jimmy Savile and Stuart Hall who created a fearful and
deferential organizational culture for the employees. Moreover, non-adherence to investigative
policy, bad management as well as lack of open and transparent communication further made
things worse. Things did improve after the joining of Hughes-D’Aeth as a new Hr director.
However the need is further to ensure that employees are motivated and proper norms of team
development is followed. This can be ensured by usage of motivational theories as well as team
work approaches which has been mentioned in above report.
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REFERENCES
Journals and Books
Cowling, L., 2017. Understanding the “Sowetans”: journalism as a product of organisational
culture. African Journalism Studies.38(1). pp.1-18.
Dempsey, J., 2015. Moral responsibility, shared values, and corporate culture. Business Ethics
Quarterly. 25(3). pp.319-340.
Głowacki, M. and Jackson, L., 2013. Public media management for the Twenty-First Century:
creativity, innovation, and interaction. Routledge.
Greer, C. and McLaughlin, E., 2013. The Sir Jimmy Savile scandal: Child sexual abuse and
institutional denial at the BBC. Crime, media, culture. 9(3). pp.243-263.
Heywood, V., Bilton, C. and Cummings, S., 2014. 13. Promoting ensemble: creative leadership
in practice at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Handbook of Management and
Creativity, p.249.
Hopkins, S., 2017. The “informer” and the political and organisational culture of the Irish
republican movement: old and new interpretations. Irish Studies Review. 25(1). pp.1-23.
Kallio, T.J., Kallio, K.M. and Blomberg, A.J., 2015. Physical space, culture and organisational
creativity–a longitudinal study. Facilities. 33(5/6). pp.389-411.
Kelsey, D., 2017. Children, Shadows, and Scapegoats: The Child Abuse Scandals of Rotherham
Council and Jimmy Savile. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Lewis, G., 2016. The Broken BBC: From Public Service to Corporate Power. Monthly Review.
67(11). p.20.
Nissen, C.S., 2013. 5 Organisational Culture and Structures in Public Media
Management. Public Media Management for the Twenty-First Century: Creativity,
innovation, and interaction. 54. p.81.
Shipp, S.P., 2015. Crisis Communication in an International Organization: An Investigation of
the BBC’s Reputation in the Aftermath of the Savile Scandal.
Silverstone, J., 2014. Jimmy Savile: Abuse and a Question of Trust. British Journal of
Psychotherapy. 30(3). pp.384-398.
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Song, Y. and Michaelmas, H., 2014. A comparison of arts and culture television programmes
between the BBC and KBS. Reuters Institute for the study of journalism, University of
Oxford. London.
Online
Foster, P., 2016. BBC to pledge end to 'culture of deference' that allowed Jimmy Savile's sex
abuse. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/media/12172435/BBC-to-pledge-end-to-culture-of-
deference-that-allowed-Jimmy-Saviles-sex-abuse.html> [Accessed on 13th November
2017].
Newbery, C., 2017. BBC case study: “Our staff are now proud to work here. [Online]. Available
through:
<http://www2.cipd.co.uk/pm/peoplemanagement/b/weblog/archive/2017/05/24/our-staff-
are-now-proud-to-work-here.aspx> [Accessed on 13th November 2017].
Public purposes, 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/corporate2/insidethebbc/whoweare/publicpurposes> [Accessed on 13th
November 2017].
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