Organisational Behaviour: A Case Study of the BBC

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This assignment examines the organisational behaviour of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), focusing on the impact of culture, power, and politics on its workforce. It explores how content and process theories of motivation could have been applied to improve team effectiveness and productivity. The assignment also analyzes the different types of teams within the BBC and the barriers to effective performance, drawing on relevant theories such as Tuckman and Jensen's model of team development and Belbin's team roles. Finally, it suggests how the Path-Goal theory of leadership could be used to enhance team performance and productivity.
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ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
1
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Table of Contents
I
ntroduction...................................................................................................................... 3
Part 1
................................................................................................................................ 4
Task 1
...........................................................................................................................4
Task 2
...........................................................................................................................7
Part 2
.............................................................................................................................. 13
Task 3
.........................................................................................................................13
Task 4
.........................................................................................................................16
Conclusion
..................................................................................................................... 19
Reference List
................................................................................................................ 20
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Introduction
Organisational behaviour can be defined as the medium or study by which the working

environment and the ambiance of the organisation are monitored. The principle idea of

organisational behaviour is to determine the working environment of an organisation

and how it affects the overall business process of the concerned organisation. The

scientific approach of the study is evaluating the effect of culture and variation in the

work culture and how it affects the performance of the employees and staffs. There are

many models and theories which can be used in order to determine the organisational

behaviour. In order to determine that, certain key parameters are considered.

In this assignment, the case study of the British Broadcasting Corporation has been

considered and the organisational culture inside t he organisation has been determined

and evaluated. Along with this, the impact of the previous and present work culture of

the organisation on the employees has been determined.

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Part 1
Task 1

a) Using Handy’s cultural typology (1986) or an alternative academic cultural

model, identify and discuss the earlier organizational culture within the BBC, as

observed by the Smith review.

The culture and internal business structure of the organisation has witnessed a drastic

change in the last few decades. BBC has been criticized for its work culture while the

organisation was under Jimmy Savile. The organisation witnessed a notable downfall

and criticism because of its sexist work culture, along with this, Jimmy Saville has been

charged with sexual abuse on his fellow female employees (
Smith 2018).
The Handy’s model of Organisational culture includes four classes of culture. The four

classes of culture include Power, Role, Task and Person. The Power culture is one

where a specific set of individuals or executives are the principle decision makers of the

company. Here the business executive determines the rules and regulations because

the power lies in the centre. Here, the bureaucracy is very little (
Jansen 2017).
The role culture is one where rules are primary. In a business organisation where role

culture is followed, the overall process is structured into segments. The bureaucracy in

this type of culture is hierarchical. Here, power is determined according to the position.

The employee’s position and post determines the power (
Jansen 2017).
The task culture of Handy’s model of organisational culture is one where all the duties

and functions are segmented among the employees. Here, the power can shift

depending on the business scenario. In a task culture, there is no particular source of

power and the organisational pattern is matrix (
Jansen 2017).
The person culture can be defined as the organisational culture where the individuals

consider themselves far more superior than the administrative. Generally, in a person

culture the employees have a similar background and training. Business firms like Law

or accounting follow a person culture. In this type of culture, the power lies within the

masses and not the executives.

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The previous work culture of the British Broadcasting Corporation under Jimmy Saville
followed a more stringent work culture. Considering the study on the work culture of the

company in the 70’s and the fact that the employees were aware of the condition of the

system and the regular abuse of the female employees, it can be determined that the

company previously had a power work culture where the executives determined the

internal business setting (
Smith 2018).
b) How has culture, power and politics affected the behaviour within the BBC in

the recent past and today.

Culture, power and politics are factors that have great impact on the functioning of the

organization and the environment of work. The impacts range from changing employee

behaviour to governing decisions of the organisation. These factors affect all the

businesses irrelevant to their size or nature. The environment and culture of the work

place along with the powers delegated amongst the members of the organisation

majorly contribute to the quality of work being delivered by the employees. The below

list will explain the impacts of the stated factors and highlight the issues recorded at

BBC:

Impact of Power

Power at the work place if used positively will result in the increase of productivity in the

work delivered and motivate the employees to outperform their previous work quality

delivered (Ross, 2017). The negative use of power and depriving the employees of the

deserved respect will inevitably result in workforce de-motivation and a decrease in

quality as well as efficiency. BBC before the reorganization of the work ethics and

culture within it received several complaints such as work place harassment and

respect less positions. After the effective implementation of the HR policies and

governing decisions, the environment of work changed and the employees felt positive

about working with the organization.

Impact of Politics

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The reported unethical practices by the management at BBC were biased work
delegation, remuneration for the work according to gender and others that affected the

work quality of the esteemed organisation and the employees resigning quite often

hampering the reputation and productivity of the organization. However, the Director

General of the organization looked into these issues and corrective steps were taken.

Work related politics and the development of a negative environment at work leads to

loss of efficiency and productivity (Abbas et al., 2014).

Impact of Culture

The complaints of work related harassments against female employees as well as not

paid at par to the other employees were a result of the toxic work culture practiced at

BBC. The employees at the organization complained about their grievances and

appeals not being catered leading to a high employee turnover ratio. The revised HR

policies and practices under the supervision of the new Director General helped in

restoring normality and peace at the work place. This move assisted in developing a

positive work culture for the diversified workforce of the organization. According to the

news article (
Ruddick, 2018), the female employees at the BBC claimed to be victims of
gender bias within the organization and stated low pays compared to the other

employees. PricewaterCoopers (PwC) the audit firm investigated the matter and found

the presence of elements, which prompted that, some predominant groups and

individuals in the organisation were paid too much as compared to the others. However,

BBC claimed of no evidence of gender bias in the pay decisions of the organisation.

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Task 2
a) Provide examples of how content and process theories of motivation, along

with other motivational techniques may have helped to improve the effectiveness

in the teams within the BBC.

Motivation can be defined as a reason or encouragement to act or take action in a

specific manner. It can be both positive as well as negative (
Kelman, 2017). Positive
motivation is necessary for enhancing productivity of the business. The various

motivational theories and techniques can be applied to improve conditions of the

organisational behaviour and work. The employees require positive motivation in

developing improved work efficiency and productivity. Some motivational theories and

techniques are explained below that could have helped in improving effectiveness within

the teams at BBC:

Motivation Theories

Figure 1: Motivation Theories

(Source: Business Jargons, 2018)

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Process Theory
This theory focuses on how the motivation is inculcated amongst the employees and the

types of processes that assist in developing employee motivation at the work place. The

process theory of motivation puts stress on the importance of critical examination of the

behaviour and attitudes of the employees towards their work in order to take corrective

measures in case of the productivity not being aligned to the expected results. The

management at BBC could have adopted this theory in their organizational practice to

examine the reasons of employee dissatisfaction and mass grievances being received

by the human resource and the management (
Miner, 2015).
The process theory contains four prominent heads, which are expectancy, Equity,

reinforcement and goal setting. These theories help in identifying the needs of the

employees in order to devise the strategies that can assist in giving rise to motivation at

the work place amongst of the members of the organization. The Adam’s equity theory

could have helped BBC remove obstacles in the path of organisational productivity. Its

implementation could have helped the organisation show the employees that there is no

gender bias in the pay and not let any feeling in relation to it get into them.

Adam’s Equity Theory

This theory emphasizes on the importance of the maintenance of balance between an

employee’s performance or input and the output they receive in return. The theory

identifies the variable and hidden factors that affect the relationship of employees with

the organization they work with. The belief incorporated in the theory is that the

employees are de-motivated if they feel that they are working for more than what they

are being paid for or the benefit they are getting in return (
Lazaroiu, 2015).
Content Theory

The content theory of motivation focuses on the factors that motivate the employees to

perform better at the work place as well as the reasons why the human needs change

over time. It lays an emphasis on ‘what’ rather ‘how’ in the context of factors responsible

for boosting motivation in a group of members or individual employees. This theory is

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the earliest of all the motivational theories and contains four prominent theories within it.
The four theories are Maslow’s need hierarchy, Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene theory,

McClelland’s needs theory and Alderfer’s ERG theory.

The motivational content theory examines and explains the factors that trigger positive

motivation such as rewards system, behavioural concepts and job satisfaction. BBC

could have applied the content theory of motivation in their administration and

governance at the work place in order to find out the factors that could have helped

trigger positive motivation. The organization could have been able to identify the factors

with the help of Maslow’s theory that would boost motivation as well as identify needs of

the employees and restored balance in the employee relations within it with the help of

the content theory. The incentive schemes and revised salaries could have helped the

employees satisfy their safety and security needs as stated in the Maslow’s theory. The

organization could have maintained transparency with the female employees in help in

removing their doubts (
Miner, 2015).
Maslow’s Theory

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Figure 2: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
(Source: Tankonyvtar, 2018)

Maslow presented the human needs into five categories. Physiological needs, Safety

and security needs, Belongingness and love needs, esteem needs, and self-

actualisation needs. These needs are presented in a form of a pyramid and are placed

in a hierarchy and beginning with the basic needs. The needs, which are required to be

satisfied first, are stated in an ascending order in the pyramid. The theory highlights the

lowest placed needs in the pyramid as the most significant human needs (
Stoyanov,
2017
).
b) How will improved levels of motivation within the BBC help to achieve its

organisation’s goals?

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Improved levels of motivation help in directing human behaviour and actions towards
productivity. The organizational goals can only be achieved if the workforce is positively

motivated, satisfied with their work and position, and co-ordinates effectively with the

organizational in the performance of activities required in the business (Leary and

Baumeister, 2017). BBC, keeping its deteriorating reputation in the eyes of its

employees and outside environment, needs to apply motivational techniques in order to

build positive relations with the employees and improve its productivity and image. The

organisation, BBC, would have gained the following by improving the levels of

motivation of its members:

Low Rate of Employee Turnover

Having good levels of motivation would have helped BBC in retaining valuable

workforce. The loss of talented employees would have never taken place if the

organization worked towards identifying the needs and grievances of the employees.

BBC would have been able to reduce employee resignations because of being

dissatisfied with the treatment they received from the organization.

Positive Employee Relations

BBC’s deteriorating relationship with its employees would have been saved if the

organisation and its human resource department paid attention to the complaints of the

employees regarding harassment and workplace bullying as well as politics. If the

organization had addressed them appropriately and investigated the complaints the

relationship with the employees could have been made better.

Increased Productivity

The productivity can be improved if the employees are determined to deliver quality and

efficient work. BBC could have enjoyed the benefits of increased productivity and

reaching of organizational goals through motivated retained employees. If the

organization were able to improve the employee relation and motivate the members

then no employee would have thought of resigning or leaving the organisation. They

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would further be willing to co-ordinate with the management to work together towards
reaching the organisational goals and increasing productivity.

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Part 2
Task 3

a) Identify and explain the different types of teams (you must include functional,

problem solving and project and virtual teams), within the BBC and why having

different types of teams is important.

The division of teams within an organization helps the tasks to be divided accordingly

and contingencies handled in an organized manner. The designated teams can execute

the tasks efficiently within the allotted time for them. The teams can be assembled

according to the proficiency and skills of the employees
(King and Lawley, 2016). The
tasks that require particular skills can be then assigned to the teams that will be able to

execute them effectively. BBC, in a similar manner, created teams within its

organization by compiling the skills, expertise, experience and qualifications. The main

organizational goals consist of sub-parts that need to be achieved periodically to assist

it in reaching the final goals. Some of the teams within the organization at BBC are as

follows:

Project Teams

These teams are responsible for the development and handling of specific projects

(
Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017). The team members look into the execution of the projects
and supervise the tasks involved. The project teams at BBC supervise the projects

since their inception and control the day-to-day operations. An example of work handled

by such teams at BBC can be given as news broadcasting.

Operations Teams

The operations teams at BBC are responsible for the work their department is supposed

to handle. The departments such as finance, marketing, public relations and human

resource have teams handling various parts of their work and are delegated with the

powers required to execute and complete them (
Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017). Every
operations team in BBC has a team leader spear heading their work and ensuring

productivity that needs to be delivered.

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Problems Handling Teams
Organizations encounter various issues and problems in their daily operations. BBC has

assembled a team of employees with similar problem solving skills and expertise to

overcome challenges at work and provide resolution that need to be followed in order to

solve the issues. The team is responsible to remove the factors that hamper the normal

flow of work (
Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017).
Virtual Teams

The members of such teams are not physically present at the work place and might be

operating from different geographical locations. They work remotely, commonly through

the internet, in co-ordination with the regular teams and employees and assist the

organization in reaching its goals and objectives (
Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017).
b) Explain what makes an effective team in the BBC. In answering this question

you should relate to appropriate theory such as Tuckman and Jensen’s model of

team development and/or Belbin’s team roles.

An effective team is a body that is able to deliver the task they are responsible for in the

best possible manner with the required efficiency. The effort made by the team consists

of individual efforts of each member that are capable of influencing the whole team’s

performance (
Levi, 2015). Valerie Hughes-D’Aeth, the Director of the HR department at
BBC, has brought about positive changes in order to reform the organisational structure

and culture. The HR director has assembled the team based on the expertise and skills

of the members. These teams will be given task according to the skills required to

execute them effectively.

The process of assembling or building teams have been examined and explained by

several theorists. One of the prominent theories of team development
is the Tuchman’s
theory of teamwork
. The theory consists of four stages that the BBC can consider
while building teams and solving the related issues in the process. The stages are

discussed below
:
Forming

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This is the initial stage of team building where the team members are new to each other
and are trying to understand the others. The team members try to gel up with each

other in this stage (
Eide, 2016).
Storming

As the members are still trying to figure out the qualities and expertise of the other

members there are differences and conflicts that are bound to arise in this stage.

Members of the new team may try to challenge each other as well as the team leader to

regarding the workings of the team (
Eide, 2016).
Norming

At this stage, the conflicts decrease and team members start bonding as well as divide

work amongst each other in order to deliver efficient execution and completion (
Eide,
2016
).
Performing

This stage provides synergy with the help of created balance between the work and

relationships shared between the members. Members now are able to work together

effectively and deliver quality performances (
Eide, 2016).
With the help of this team building framework, BBC can control the processes and

situations arising in the building of the teams in the organization and achieve desired

results.

The other team developmental model that BBC can consider is the Belbin’s Team

Roles. Belbin identified the nine roles within a team that need to be assigned by

observing the behaviour cluster at different work places. The nine roles are resource

investigator, team worker, co-ordinator, plant, monitor evaluator, specialist, shaper,

implementer and complete finisher. Each member is designated with individual roles in

accordance with their respective skill sets and expertise. BBC can consider this model

while building a team to ensure each member holds the position that he/she is

comfortable and capable of (
Eubanks et al., 2016).
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Task 4
a) Using an appropriate organizational concept/theory (such as path-goal theory)

suggest how team performance and productivity could be improved within the

BBC.

There several factors that affect the team performance and productivity at work. BBC

and the new HR director had to reduce the number of senior managers by 40 percent to

ensure that the organization and its environment become
favourable for the employees.
The help of the Robert House’s Path-Goal theory of leadership can be adopted to

improve team performance and productivity by introducing suitable leadership styles in

order to effectively manage the teams. The leadership styles of the Path-Goal theory

are discussed below:

Directive Leadership

In this style of leadership, the leader is well aware of the guidelines of the work as well

as the time in which it needs to be delivered. This style of leadership is applicable to the

teams that have new employees who are not fully aware of the guidelines of the tasks

and need a leader to guide them in the execution of the tasks (
Antonakis and House,
2014
).
Supportive Leadership

The leaders applying this style of leadership work towards the fulfilment of the needs

and requirements of the team members as a priority. They are always by the side of the

members to guide, empathize and create a friendly atmosphere along with getting the

required productivity of work (
Antonakis and House, 2014).
Participative Leadership

The leaders applying this style of leadership encourage the members to participate in

the decision-making processes by providing their inputs. The decisions are then taken

according to the ideas held by the majority and accepted in unison (
Antonakis and
House, 2014
).
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Achievement-oriented Leadership
In this style of leadership, the leaders set specific goals of the highest level for each

member respectively according to their qualifications and skills. The members are

forced to perform well and reach the set goals by the leader (
Antonakis and House,
2014
).
The team leaders and managers at BBC should adopt participative and supportive

leadership styles in order to improve the performances being delivered by the teams

and increase productivity.

b) What have been the main barriers to effective performance within the BBC?

According to the case study, it can be seen that there were many mistakes made on the

part of the BBC’s management that resulted in disastrous results. The female

employees did not feel safe in the work environment within the organisation. They also

felt that some of the other employees were given more importance and were paid better

in comparison to others. These issues were a result of many loopholes in the

management’s way of governing the operations and activities within the organization.

The list below identifies and explains some of the barriers to effective performances

within the organisation, BBC:

Lack of Employee Relation

The management should have taken valid steps to ensure that positive employee

relations are maintained in the organization. The management should have encouraged

the employees to come up and disclose their problems to them. This could have helped

solve them as well as let the employees know that the management is not against them

and help in creating a positive work culture.

Ineffective Communication

The grievances and complaints of the employees were not addressed and therefore it

led to the employees leaving the organization, as they felt left out. The management

needed to contact the complainants and investigate into the matter. Transparency and

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effective communication at BBC could have helped in the removal of the
misconceptions regarding the salaries and payments being made to some employees.

Lack of Strict Policies

The cases of sexual harassment could have been avoided if the organization had strict

rules and policies against it. The female employees felt unsafe because nothing was

being done to stop such incidents and rate of occurrence of such situations kept on

increasing. If the accused were investigated in a proper manner and punished if found

guilty, then the others would not dare to take such a step and outrage the modesty of

any female employee.

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Conclusion
The assignment delivers valuable knowledge in relevance to the work culture and the

factors affecting them. It sheds light on the significance of motivation and theories as

well as steps that can be implemented to improve it in order to increase productivity of

the organisation. The theories related to team building along with effective leadership

styles have been discussed. The assignment has been successful at analysing the

issue arising at BBC and has identified the areas where there was lack of management.

It provides suggestions to the management to help improve the conditions and regain

the organisational performance and productivity.

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Reference List
Abbas, M., Raja, U., Darr, W. and Bouckenooghe, D., 2014. Combined effects of

perceived politics and psychological capital on job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and

performance.
Journal of Management, 40(7), pp.1813-1830.
Antonakis, J. and House, R.J., 2014. Instrumental leadership: Measurement and

extension of transformational–transactional leadership theory.
The Leadership
Quarterly
, 25(4), pp.746-771.
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King, D. and Lawley, S., 2016.
Organizational behaviour. Oxford University Press.
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Lazaroiu, G., 2015. Employee motivation and job performance. Linguistic and
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https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jan/30/bbc-pay-review-claims-no-evidence-of-

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/dame_janet_smith

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