Organisational Behaviour: Power, Culture & Politics

This document discusses the influence of organisational power, culture, and politics on the performance and behaviour of teams and individuals. It also assesses how process and content theories of motivation can help achieve organisational goals and objectives.

ORGANISATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................3
P1 Evaluate how organisational power, culture & politics influence performance & behaviour
of team along with individual.................................................................................................3
M1 Critically examine how power, culture & politics of a business entity influence
performance and behaviour of team and individual...............................................................6
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................7
P2 Assess how process & content theory attain goals and objectives of an organisation......7
M2 Critically measure application of these theories influence others behaviour..................9
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
P3 Discuss what makes a team effective and ineffective.....................................................10
M3 Examine effective theories of team development..........................................................12
TASK 4 .........................................................................................................................................12
P4 Apply various philosophies and concepts of OB in context of organisation..................12
M4 Investigate and measure how concepts & philosophies influence behaviour in positive as
well as negative manner.......................................................................................................14
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15
Book & Journals...................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
OB or Organisational behaviour is define as the study of individuals behaviour within an
organisation which takes place in different situations arise at workplace. Major purpose behind
conducting a study on organisational behaviour is to examine the relationship among staff
members of the business entity. It is an assignment where M&S is selected as the basic
organization which is a British international retailer institution (Chan and Lai, 2017). It is the
company which is established in year 1884 by Thomas Spencer & Michael Marks. Company
deals food items, clothing and home products. It is the report which includes a discussion about
various theories, concepts and philosophies which influences the behaviour of individual as well
as team. Along with this it includes different motivational theories which encourages staff
members working within the workplace.
TASK 1
P1 Evaluate how organisational power, culture & politics influence performance & behaviour of
team along with individual.
Organisational culture define as a behaviour, attitude and values of an individual and
organisation which provide contribution to perform task in an effective manner. It is the factor
which includes expectations, experiences, philosophy as well as values of an organisation due to
which employees level of satisfaction remain positive. In order to attain desired results, Marks &
Spencer have effective organisational culture. For this, managers use Handy's typology which are
going to be discussed as follows:
Handy's typology
It is defined as one of the most effective and beneficial model as it assist in examining the
culture of an organisation in an effective manner. According to Handy's Typology there are
majorly 4 main types of culture which will assist the top authority of an organisation so atht they
can accomplish there goals & objective within specific time period (Conard and et. al, 2016). In
the references to M&S, all these elements are going to be discussed in an effective manner:
Role culture: It is define as a type of culture where managers and leaders of the company
hold the authority and responsibilities in order to assign duties, jobs and work to individual
person working within the organisation. With the assistance of sense of encouragement,

employees will be able to produce positive result within given time frame. This as a result, help
them so that they can perform their work in an appropriate manner within given time frame.
Task culture: This is define as a type of culture where managers develop various groups
in order to resolve disputes and conflicts arise within the organisation. With the assistance of this
culture, organisation will be able to gain support from their staff members in order to create
positive environment within the organisation (Dedahanov, Rhee and Yoon, 2017). Management
team of M&S create develop different small task in order to attain the main task. Each and every
task includes ample number of individuals which might assist them in order to perform their task.
While conducting these task, performance of teams as well as of individuals increases. Task
culture witnesses the assignment of roles and responsibilities as per the skills, competencies,
knowledge and expertise of employees. This instils a sense of positive behaviour within
individuals and team. Also, it enhances the output delivered by them as the tasks allotted to them
are as per their likelihood. Task Culture influences the individual performance and behaviour is
positive way because with the help of this culture, the encouragement of common vision among
employees is done and their behaviour is positively influenced to give more willingly to the
organisation. This culture also encourages teamwork. The positive influence is also because they
are made curious about things and they learn things from one another and seeks assistance for the
things which they do not know about for better delivery of services.
Person culture: According to this culture, employees of the company consider
themselves as the superior and start enhancing self growth rather than team development.
Execution of team culture within the business entity might affect there overall performance and
profitability at the competitive marketplace. It is define as the culture which might influence the
whole performance of staff members. In reference to M&S, person culture negatively affects the
behaviour and perception of team as individual focuses on their development rather than
development of the whole team. It has been analysed that it is a negative type of culture as the
centre point is individuals rather then the whole team. Therefore, it is said that if this type of
culture is used by the company, this as a result directly boost the behaviour and performance of
employees as they attain opportunities in order to develop themselves according to organisational
requirements. As the employees will make their focus on individual goals so there will not be
any consideration of organisation in the working of employees. This will make them lazy and
leisured as thye are focused on getting their salary and passing the working hours. These hours

are not spent on making improvement in the overall working of their organisation. So this will
impact negatively on the productivity and profitability of the organisation.
Power culture: It is define as a type of culture where power is limited to only the top
management authority of the company. This as a result assist in positive manner as decisions will
be taken within limited time frame but on the other hand it reduces the level of motivation within
the employees of Marks & Spencer.
With the assistance of above specific discussion, it is identified that management team of
Marks & Spencer might use role culture so that they can enhance teams as well as individuals so
that they can enhance their overall income. With the help of enhanced motivational level,
employees attain their pre defined goals in a proper and appropriate manner. If this type of
culture is executed within M&S, it would develop negative impact on the behaviour pattern of
individuals and teams, reason behind this is that there skills, creativity as well as capability is not
gained importance among the organisation.
Politics
It can be regarded as the dissemination or various conflicts which occur in companies
because of power. This affects the overall behavioural conduct of individuals and groups in a
very adverse manner (Halbesleben and Wheeler, 2015). Marks & Spencer, can have a positive
politics which helps them in having flexible practises at workplace, rotational shifts, timely
feedback is being taken from employees, paid leaves medical leaves are provided to them. This
enhances the overall level of performance of employees. Negative politics can occur in form of
discrimination, partiality, stereo types, biasness on part of company etc.
In the context of Marks & Spencer positive politics helps in motivating employees and
helping them in attainment of long term objectives of company. Every organisation have some
individuals who talks about other in both positive as well as negative manner. If employees
motivate others by says something about them it will highly influence the overall performance of
staff members and vice versa. It has been said that negative politics creates negativity among
organisation as it adversely affect the performance of team and individuals. Reason behind this is
that trust among employees are missing towards organisation and each other which affects the
overall performance of the company.
Chanlat describes political conduct in three classes they are decisional, structural and
personal. Decisional attributes are applied by administrators during procuring process where they

consider just the aptitudes and quality that an individual have as it bolster them in accomplishing
want result in not so distant future. Personal qualities is utilized by a chief when they impact
workers individual to play out specific activities by utilizing their capacity and procedures. Third
which is Structural is basic which express that managers of Marks ad Spencer ought to play out
an activity in an arranged orc auxiliary way. In this way, with the help of making use of three
categories, the impact has been drawn on the working of their organisations as well as on the
employees also.
Power
It is considered as one of the most effective method where top management authority of
the company takes effective decisions so that they can achieve organisational objectives within
stipulated time frame. In the present context of Marks & Spencer, there are basically two types of
power which are going to be discussed as follows:
Reward power: In this context, business entity measures the performance of individuals
and team in order to provide them rewards. With the help of this power within the workplace of
Marks & Spencer, it will assist in motivating staff members. This as a result, increase the level of
productivity as well as performance of employees (Harvey, Bolino and Kelemen, 2018).
Coercive power: It is define as a type of power which is used by the managers of Marks
& Spencer. With the assistance of this managers of the company perform their business functions
in an effective manner by making usage of force or threats. Therefore, in such cases staff
members feel demotivated as they have to perform all the task against their will.
With the assistance of above discussion, managers of Marks & Spencer use reward power
so that they can encourage their staff members on a regular basis so that they can attain
organisational objectives within given time frame.
M1 Critically examine how power, culture & politics of a business entity influence performance
and behaviour of team and individual.
The execution of power culture inside Marks & Spencer would depreciate the
productiveness of individuals as well as teams which influence the whole performance of
behaviour in a negative way. Furthermore, negative politics such as partiality, demotion, bias,
affects the overall performance and profitability of the company in a negative manner. On the
other hand, enforcement of coercive power leads to reduce the outcome which creates conflict
within the organisation.

TASK 2
P2 Assess how process & content theory attain goals and objectives of an organisation.
Motivation defines as a procedure which assist in influencing individuals behaviour,
attitude and mindset in order to perform their task in a proper manner and help in attaining goals
and objectives. It is considered as one of the most positive process which assist in changing the
behaviour of individual so that they can create required outcome (Khalid and Ahmed, 2016).
Further, motivation is categorised into two parts which includes intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation:
Intrinsic Motivation Extrinsic Motivation
It is define as a type of motivation which
comes from inside of an individual and do not
need any kind of extra efforts. It is a kind of
motivation which is quite rare but beneficial
for the organisation.
On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is
considered as a motivation which comes from
various external factors. In this case, individual
requires different sources of motivation such as
money, position, power, success and so on.
Motivational Theories: It has been identified that there are various philosophers who
develop effective theories in order to examine and explain behaviour and attitude of individual.
Along with this, various factors are going to be evaluate which can assist in motivating
employees in a positive manner (Khan, Khan and Gul, 2019). Some of the effective process &
content theories are going to be discussed as follows:
Maslow's Hierarchy Theory: It is define as one of the most effective content theory
which is developed by an American philosopher named as Abraham Maslow. He developed this
theory between 1940s to 1950s which includes 5 main stages. All these stages assist in
motivating staff members of Marks & Spencer to perform their task in an appropriate way.
Physiological needs: It is considered as the first stage where all the needs and
requirements of an individual are basic. It includes water, cloths, food, shelter and many more.
All these requirements help in motivating staff members so that they will be encouraged in a
positive way in order to fulfil their task.
Safety & security Needs: It is the second stage where individual work only if there first
need is being fulfilled. In this case, individual person wants financial and non financial security.

In this context, Marks & Spencer provide job security, health insurance, various medical benefits
to their staff members in order to encourage them in a positive manner (Mackey and et. al, 2018).
Social Needs: After attaining both the above levels, social needs is considered as the
third stages where individual person demands to be emotionally satisfied, wants mental peace,
affection and acceptance. In the present context of M&S, managers develop positive and strong
relationship between their staff members so that they feel satisfied and attain different types of
opportunities.
Esteem Needs: In this context, person demands for self-esteem & self-respect so that they
feel motivated and encouraged. It is the kind of staff members it is the level where they need
intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic motivation. In the context of Marks & Spencer,
managers need to provide recognition as well as appraisals so that they feel motivated (Mueller,
Renken and van Den Heuvel, 2016).
Self-Actualization Needs: It is considered as the last stage where employees of Marks &
Spencer wants to increase their personal as well as professional development. They provide T&D
sessions to their employees on a regular basis.
With the help of above analysis, it has been identified that there must be a proper
hierarchical culture for motivating staff members of M&S on a regular basis. If employees of the
company feel satisfied at the first stage they will positively move towards the next stage. This
will assist in enhancing the overall efficiency of employees so that they can attain goals and
objectives of the company.
So it is also important for Marks and Spencer to make their focus on the identification of
needs and demands of their employees so that the organisation could provide their employees
with their own needs and demands. But there are also critiques of this theory as well which says
that implementation of this theory will not prove to be fruitful for an organisation. This theory
focuses on the series of needs and expectations but it is not important that every individual is
following the same series of needs. So in this case, the following theory fails to apply.
Vroom's Expectancy Theory: It is the theory which was developed in the year 1964 by
Victor Vroom. It is the theory which includes three main elements which are going to be
discussed as follows:
Expectancy: It has been said that each and every employee have their own performance
level which is required to perform high quality work. If staff members do not have enough

capabilities it will affect the whole work. Therefore, according to the skills of staff members,
managers categorised it in two ways such as authorities and responsibilities.
Instrumentality: An individual person feels motivated if they are attached with their
work or organisation. Therefore, it is very essential for the management team of company that
they must provide positive working environment or fulfil their basic necessities so that they feel
motivated and encourages towards the company. For this, managers of Marks & Spencer need to
involve their capable staff members in the process of decision making which make them
encouraged and motivated.
The impression of workers with respect to whether they will really get what they want
regardless of whether it has been guaranteed by a chief. The board must guarantee that
guarantees of remunerations are satisfied and that representatives know about that.
Vroom recommends that a representative's perceptions about Expectancy,
Instrumentality, and Valence communicate mentally to make a persuasive power with the end
goal that the worker demonstrations in manners that bring delight and stay away from torment.
Valency: In this context, every person have their own expectations which is quite
different from others. Each and every individual have their own skills which is different from
others, therefore managers need to assign roles and responsibilities according to their
capabilities. Marks & Spencer motivate their employees by examining their requirements and
expectations and then provide them rewards accordingly.
The final outcome that an individual accomplishes is their work performance which is
done by every person working in an organisation. This worth depends without anyone else
essential needs. All things considered, it's a smart thought for an organisation to discover what an
individual representative qualities and what his own needs are. One may esteem cash, while
another esteems more days off.
M2 Critically measure application of these theories influence others behaviour.
It has been critically evaluated that all these theories applied within the organisation in an
effective manner so that they can motivate their staff members. All these theories highly
influence the behaviour of employees in a positive manner which will assist them in order to
produce result within stipulated time frame (Rashid, Gul and Khalid, 2018). But on the other
hand, if these theories does not apply effectively within the organisation it will negatively affect
the overall performance.

TASK 3
P3 Discuss what makes a team effective and ineffective.
Team is defined as group of individuals who works collectively towards attainment of
organisational goals. Development of effective teams within an organisation helps in improving
productivity and performance of firm. Two types of teams are exist within an organisation
including effective and ineffective teams. The characteristics of both the teams are different
which are mentioned below:
Effective teams are those which have clear objectives and purposes. The members of
this team have potential to attain all the tasks on time in an organised manner (Skinner and
Stewart, 2017). Effective teams must includes skilled, qualified and highly educated individuals
which might have knowledge about each and every aspects of an organisation. Apart from this,
effective team members assist in accomplishing goals and objectives of the company by using
their skills and knowledge. In context of M&S, it provides benefits to company by improving its
productivity. The working environment in this type of teams is good and friendly which makes
it possible to ensure optimum utilisation of resources as well as of their time as well. Along with
this, good leadership style is also an essential requirement of an effective team which is also
present in this type of teams which makes it possible for them to achieve their goals and
objectives in an effective manner. Every team member is considered as equal important as of
others and their viewpoints and suggestions are taken into consideration and after evaluation of
those suggestions and ideas, appropriate suggestion is chosen for the effective accomplishment
of given tasks. The team members are not only good speakers but also good listeners. They listen
with concentration to the views and suggestions provided by other employees and makes debate
process in a calm and patient way for knowing about the best decision suitable to working
environment of the organisation and for the achievement of goals and objectives.
Ineffective teams lacks its purpose and its objectives are not clear. Conflicts and issues
are exist among the team members that affect overall productivity of the firm. These teams are
not appropriate for Marks & Spencer as it leads to delay in work. The members have less
knowledge and skills which negatively impacts the performance of company. Ineffective team
members have various issues which affect their overall working in a negative manner. They are
the one who might affect the overall outcome as individuals included in such teams are not
effective.

The characteristics of this type of team is different from that of effective team. As in this
type of team, there is lack of coordination and cooperation in between the team members and
along with this, they do not take into consideration the suggestions of each other and due to this
the accomplishment of their goals and objectives is also not made possible.
Tuckman Theory of team development:
This theory was founded in 1965 by Bruce Truckman. It is regarded as famous model of
team development which assist in formation of team for achievement of particular goal and
objectives. The theory consists of five stages of team development such as:
Forming- It is the first stage of team development theory where team is gathered together
and task is allocated to them. Marks and Spencer has to form team for accomplishment of their
objectives. Most of the time is spent on collecting information, planning and bonding as each and
every members are unknown to each others.
Storming- In this stage, the formed team start sharing their task and suggesting ideas to
each other for completion of project work. As each of them present ideas so there are high
chances of conflict among members. The relationship can be made or broke in such phase.
Norming- In this phase, team members work on practices which are agreed on values
and rules in which they should be operate (Szabó and et. al, 2018). Members of team trust and
listen to each other and perform their work in an effective way. All the work are discussed and
methods are adopted for project work.
Performing- This phase is identified through high level of independence, knowledge,
motivation and competence. There is high respect and communication among team members of
Marks & Spencer for making decision towards project work. All the team members of respective
organisation perform their roles and responsibility in effective manner.
Adjourning- This is called the last phase of team development where project is
completed and member of team are separate. This stage indicate whether team has achieved their
objectives or not. It is success and failure stage for members (Harvey, Bolino and Kelemen,
2018). The manager and leaders can arrange party for team and in case of failure to project can
provide guideline and feedback for improvement.
Proper implementation of this model within Marks & Spencer helps manager and leader
in developing effective team which assists in attaining organisational goals.

M3 Examine effective theories of team development.
It has been identified that Tuckman Theory assist Marks & Spencer in order to develop
effective team. It includes 5 main stages which help in attaining organisational goals and
objectives in an effective and positive manner as well as within given time frame. It is the theory
related with team development where managers create teams so that goals attain in such a
manner that will enhance the reputation of organisation at the marketplace.
TASK 4
P4 Apply various philosophies and concepts of OB in context of organisation.
Organisational behaviour consist of various elements which includes values, ideologies,
beliefs, traditions, concepts and many more. In this context, one of the most essential role of a
leader is to attain objectives of the organization and encourage employees on a regular basis.
Business Situation: In reference to M&S, present situation of the organization is that
there is ineffective communication among staff members which affects the overall performance
of the company in an effective manner (Halbesleben and Wheeler, 2015). This as a result,
generate lot of confusion among staff members which affects the attainment of organisational
objectives. In order to deal with such situation in an effective manner, Path Goal Theory are
going to be applied by the Marks & Spencer which are as follows:
Path Goal Theory
It is a theory which mainly focuses on the application of different types of leadership
style which best suits with the current situation. Here, in the existing context of M&S, managers
use Path Goal theory within their organisation in an effective manner.
Classification of Path Goal Theory
Employee Characteristics: In relation with M&S, management team of the organization
gain knowledge about the requirements and needs of customers so that they can motivate their
staff members in an effective manner on a regular basis (Dedahanov, Rhee and Yoon, 2017).
This as a result assist in developing positive impact within the organisation as they motivate their
employees after examining the requirements of each and every members.
Environment and Task Characteristics: Herein, leaders of the company solve issues and
problems faced by staff members arise within the workplace. In the context of Marks & Spencer,
leaders ensure that there is no issue arise within the organisation so that they can create positive

working condition within the company. This as a result assist in enhancing performance as well
as productivity of employees and organisation.
Leadership Behaviour: According to this stage of Path goal theory, leader select best and
suitable style of leadership after being familiar with the employees and other factors. This as a
result, leaders of Marks & Spencer attain organisational goals and objectives in an appropriate
manner as well as in stipulated time frame.
In this context, managers and leaders of Marks & Spencer adopt effective leadership style
which is Participative Leadership Style. It is the style which includes efforts of employees and
leaders must involve their potential employees in the whole process of making effective
decisions. This will develop positive environment for working and reduce in the issues arise
within communication process. It has also been identified that it is the style which have both
positive as well as negative influence. In the context of positive influence employees feel
encouraged and motivated which increase their performance and productivity (Conard and et. al,
2016). But on the other hand, in case of negative impact it will create disputes among staff
members. When the employees are not involved in the decision making process of the company
and they are hired only for doing the work and go back to homes, so this will remove the feeling
of belongingness to the organisation from them and they will not able to giver their due
dedication and efficiency in the different tasks of the company. In this way, the impact will be
negative on the mindset of employees and also on the productivity and profitability of the
organisation. As employees does not feel satisfied and motivated in order to perform their task.
Therefore, it is important for the top authority of M&S, that to consider both the aspects of
Participative Leadership Style.
Philosophies of Organisational Behaviour: There are different types of philosophies which is
related with organisational behaviour. It includes custodial, autocratic, collegial, supportive and
system model. Some of these philosophies are going to be discussed in detail as follows: Autocratic Model: According to this philosophy, it has been said that managers develop
strategies and policies as well as communicate them with their staff members. In addition
to this, managers are the one who take effective decisions. Along with this, it is essential
for the employees to follow these policies in an effective manner.
 Custodial Model: In this context, managers start focusing on studying the needs and
requirements of employees so that they can express their thoughts and ideas. If

employees of the company feel secure and satisfied they will enhance the overall
profitability as well as working of the organisation in a positive manner.
M4 Investigate and measure how concepts & philosophies influence behaviour in positive as
well as negative manner.
It has been evaluate that OB is a concept which includes Path Goal theory. It consist of
various elements such as employee, task, environment characteristics & leadership behaviour or
Style. All these elements contribute in handling business situations arise within the environment.
Furthermore, Organisational behaviour philosophies consist of autocratic as well as contingency
philosophy (Chan and Lai, 2017). In order to deal with the problem of ineffective
communication, managers of Marks & Spencer use Contingency philosophy.
CONCLUSION
With the assistance of above discussion, it can easily be concluded that behaviour of
individuals within the organisations highly influence the performance of business entity. It is
essential for the managers to examine requirements and demands of employees so that they can
maintain positive atmosphere within the company. In addition to this, theories, concepts and
philosophies used by management team of the company assist in satisfying the needs of their
staff members in an effective manner. With the help of effective team, company will be able to
perform their task effectively and attain their objectives within given time frame.

REFERENCES
Book & Journals
Chan, S. H. J. and Lai, H. Y. I., 2017. Understanding the link between communication
satisfaction, perceived justice and organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of
business research. 70. pp.214-223.
Conard, A. L. and et.al, 2016. Tactics to ensure durability of behavior change following the
removal of an intervention specialist: A review of temporal generality within
organizational behavior management. Journal of Organizational Behavior
Management. 36(2-3). pp.210-253.
Dedahanov, A. T., Rhee, C. and Yoon, J., 2017. Organizational structure and innovation
performance: is employee innovative behavior a missing link?. Career Development
International. 22(4). pp.334-350.
Halbesleben, J. R. and Wheeler, A. R., 2015. To invest or not? The role of coworker support and
trust in daily reciprocal gain spirals of helping behavior. Journal of Management. 41(6).
pp.1628-1650.
Harvey, J., Bolino, M. C. and Kelemen, T. K., 2018. Organizational Citizenship Behavior in the
21st Century: How Might Going the Extra Mile Look Different at the Start of the New
Millennium?. In Research in personnel and human resources management (pp. 51-110).
Emerald Publishing Limited.
Khalid, J. and Ahmed, J., 2016. Perceived organizational politics and employee silence:
supervisor trust as a moderator. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy. 21(2). pp.174-
195.
Khan, N. A., Khan, A. N. and Gul, S., 2019. Relationship between perception of organizational
politics and organizational citizenship behavior: testing a moderated mediation
model. Asian Business & Management. 18(2). pp.122-141.
Mackey, J. D. and et.al, 2018. Perceived organizational obstruction: A mediator that addresses
source–target misalignment between abusive supervision and OCBs. Journal of
Organizational Behavior. 39(10). pp.1283-1295
Mueller, B., Renken, U. and van Den Heuvel, G., 2016. Get Your Act Together: An Alternative
Approach to Understanding the Impact of Technology on Individual and Organizational
Behavior. ACM SIGMIS Database: the DATABASE for Advances in Information
Systems. 47(4). pp.67-83.
Rashid, A., Gul, F. and Khalid, G. K., 2018. Internal corporate social responsibility and intention
to quit: The mediating role of organizational citizenship behavior. NUML International
Journal of Business & Management. 13(1). pp.79-95.
Skinner, J. and Stewart, B., 2017. Organizational behaviour in sport. Routledge.
Szabó, Z. P. and et.al, 2018. “The Darkest of all” The relationship between the Dark Triad traits
and organizational citizenship behavior. Personality and Individual Differences. 134.
pp.352-356.