Organisational Behaviour: Influence of Culture, Politics, and Power

This document analyzes how an organization's culture, politics, and power influence individual and team behavior and performance. It also evaluates how content and process theories of motivation and motivational techniques enable effective achievement of goals in an organizational context. The case study is based on Sainsbury, a supermarket retail chain located in the United Kingdom.

Organisational
Behaviour

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Analyse how an organisation’s culture, politics and power influence individual and team
behaviour and performance....................................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P2 Evaluate how content and process theories of motivation and motivational techniques
enable effective achievement of goals in an organisational context......................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
P3 Explain what makes an effective team as opposed to an ineffective team.......................8
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
P4 Apply concepts and philosophies of organisational behaviour within an organisational
context and a given business situation..................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Process in which study of behaviour an attitude of individuals as well as groups who are
working in a business organisation is done is called as organisational behaviour. There are
various functions included in organisational behaviour which helps a manager in monitoring,
predicting and controlling behaviours of various individuals in the organisation. Major motive of
organisational behaviour study in an organisation is to increase profits and revenues along with
efficiency of human resource of a company (Kitchin, 2017). Organisational behaviour includes
various issues including performance, rewards, business environment as well as productivity of
employs. The following report is carried on upon Sainsbury. It is a supermarket retail chain
located in United Kingdom. There are various political, power, influence and cultural factor
resulting in impact on business organisational behaviour. The following report also consist of
various motivational theories which are used by Sainsbury in order to create a positive
environment in their organisation and motivate the employs for maximum productivity.
TASK 1
P1 Analyse how an organisation’s culture, politics and power influence individual and team
behaviour and performance
Organisational behaviour can be said to be a process in which power, politics and cultures
and their impose meant on performance of individuals as Willis team which are working in an
organisation is seen. Organisational culture also includes various attitudes, beliefs and values
which are controlled by a business organisation (Elsmore, 2017). There are a number of ways
through which organisations make sure that they can increase the productivity in the
organisation. In order to do so they use various power, politics and culture to be imposed on the
organisation. When considering such politics, culture and power in Sainsbury are mentioned
below:
Culture
There are a number of ways through which operations can be carried out in an
organisation. This includes positive and active impact of behaviour of various employees in the
organisation. In order to make sure that the culture and environment is healthy and positive in a
company it is important for managers to make sure that right to equality is followed between all

the employs. It is also seen that a number of organisations provide employs to put out their views
and opinions which help them in attaining a feeling of belonging mess with the organisation.
Handy’s model explains four different types of organisational cultures. Below mentioned are
those four cultures which are used by managers in Sainsbury:
Power culture: This include various rules and policies of company which are to be
followed by every employee. This gives power to the managers to take decision in a company.
The managers in Sainsbury have strongly believed that taking fast decisions in organisation helps
in saving time as well as efforts of employees in an organisation (Gkorezis and Petridou, 2017).
Task culture: In this culture major focus is paid on the task which is allotted to every
member in the team. It is duty of every employee to fulfil all the tasks assigned to them so that
the goals and objectives of the firm can be achieved within the stipulated time period.
Person culture: It is often seen that human resources are said to be a most important part
in every organisation. The existence of organisation is dependent upon individuals working in
organisation. It is necessary to motivate them so that the productivity of organisation can be
increased which is the major focus of person culture.
Role culture: The role culture depends upon proper monitoring of performance of every
employee. It is necessary that every employee effectively understand their role in organisation
and make sure that all the responsibilities given to them are fulfilled by them.
In order to maintain a healthy and positive environment in the organisation it is necessary
for managers of Sainsbury to fulfil all this cultural need in the organisation. They also provide
necessary monetary as well as nonmonetary benefits to the employees for their performance.
With the help of all the steps they accomplish the objectives of organisation and increase
productivity in Sainsbury.
Politics
Politics is another factor in an organisation which have a direct impact on employees’
performance (Ruck, 2017). It is necessary that politics in an organisation is used positively by
the manager. There are various types of politics in an organisation which are mentioned below:
 Weeds are those which arise due to personal inspiration and informal links in an
organisation.
 High ground refers to politics which takes place due to compliance of various rules and
laws in the organisation.

 Rocks is considered the communication between formal authorities.
 Woods consist of assumed routines and unspoken expectations of people in an
organisation.
Due to all these politics taking place in an organisation there are various negative impact on
employees’ performance which are mentioned below:
Demotivation of employs: It is often seen that due to politics a number of employs in the
organisations are demotivated. The one who are working hard are let down by others which
demotivate them and decreases their productivity.
Reduced productivity: The people in an organisation who are spending much time in politics
do not complete the task effectively which lets an organisation in reducing its productivity
overall.
Negative working environment: due to politics in an organisation a number of conflicts and
grievances between employs arises (Cherry, 2017). This leads to a negative working
environment in organisation which is not good for the organisation’s performance.
When taking Sainsbury into consideration the manager focuses on politics which will only
have positive effect on the organisation. They need to make sure that all the negative effects of
politics in the organisations are erased. In order to do so they spread awareness between
employees in the organisation.
Power
Power can be said to be the capability of a person in order to guide others and get the task
done by them. The managers have the power to make their subordinates perform the task
effectively so that goals can be achieved. There are different managers at different level of
functions such as human resource, finance, operations, marketing and so on. Power gives a
person ability to motivate others and get the task done by them (Srivastava, 2017). Various
powers residing in hands of different individuals in Sainsbury is mentioned below:
Legitimate power: This is the power where supervisor possess capabilities according to
their status in the company. They are responsible for monitoring and controlling the whole
business structure.
Reward power: This is the power which enables managers to motivate others by
providing them various towards and incentives. This is the way used by managers in Sainsbury
to motivate the employs.

Referent power: Through the help of this power managers maintain loyalty and trust of
employees to words the organisation.
Informative power: In the following power supervisors take strategies and policies which
can compete those strategies of their competitors in the market (Batten, Lončarski and Szilagyi,
2018).
Expert power: export power is gained by individuals who have proper skills and
knowledge regarding a particular function and field in an organisation. This power requires
experience by an individual in a particular function of organisation.
These are different powers which managers of Sainsbury have in order to coordinate
different activities between employees. All these powers help the managers to increase
productivity of an organisation and guide the employs in right path.
TASK 2
P2 Evaluate how content and process theories of motivation and motivational techniques enable
effective achievement of goals in an organisational context
Soft Communication: Communication is often considered to be a soft skill. There are a number
of factors such as tone, body language, pitch, signs which are considered to be soft skills in
communication.
Hard Communication: The written form of communication such as mails, letters and all the
formal use of communication is often considered to be hard skills in the communication process.
The managers and employees at Sainsbury require a proper knowledge of both these skills to
grow personally and professionally.
There are a number of ways in an organisation through which the employs can be
motivated to words working on their best capability. It is vital for organisations to provide
motivation in order to influence the employs to increase their performance and productivity for
organisation. There are a number of ways which Sainsbury follows in order to make sure that it
can effectively motivate and encourage the employs and also maintain a healthy working
environment in the organisation. There are a number of motivational theories and concepts which
have been developed through our time. Different organisation uses different types of theories in
order to encourage and motivate employees in their organisation. Below mentioned is the content
theory and process theory followed by Sainsbury in order to motivate their human resource:

Mashlow’s need hierarchy theory
This theory was developed in 1950. There are five different levels which are included in
this theory. The major motive of this theory was to understand the hierarchy of needs which
should be satisfied for an employee in order to motivate them. The different hierarchy of needs
are divided into five parts which are mentioned below:
Physiological needs: Physiological needs refers to the basic needs for every individual. It
involves all the primary needs required for a person to survive. Is duty of an organisation to
provide basic needs of an employee which include food, water, house and air. Sainsbury make
sure that all these needs of employees working for eight is fulfilled so that they can survive and
maintain in the society in an effective manner.
Security and safety needs: After the fulfilment of basic needs security and safety needs
arises. It is necessary for an organisation to give various benefits to their employees so that they
can feel secure regarding the job. This may include various old age pension, job security,
insurances and assurance by the organisation for their employees (Rudani, 2020). Sainsbury
provide their employees with various medical benefits, financial security, insurance and pension
plans so that they can be motivated and improve their performance level and company.
Social needs: Once the security needs are fulfilled the need for social belongingness
arises. It is necessary that Sainsbury provide their employees with a feeling of belongingness and
improve their reputation in the company so that their social needs can be fulfilled.
Esteem needs: Esteem needs include all those needs for an employee which enables them
to feel superior from other. This basically includes prestige, status and self-respect for an
individual. Sainsbury make sure that all the employs and their performance are judged critically
after a specific interval of time and they are provided with various promotions in order to fulfil
their esteem needs.
Self-actualization needs: This is the last level of needs in this theory in which when all
the needs of an employee is satisfied they look for overall development. In order to do so
Sainsbury focuses on training and development of employs so that employees can experience
overall growth in their professional and personal career.
Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory
There are two factors included in Herzberg’s theory. There application on Sainsbury is
mentioned below:

Motivators: This This includes various factors such as achievements, recognition, work, roles,
responsibilities etc. These are effectively used by managers at Sainsbury along with
advancement and growth to motivate the employees.
Hygiene Factors: Hygienic factors are other factors in organisation which help in motivating
employees. A number of such factors used by managers at Sainsbury to motivate their employees
are policies of company, relationships between managers and subordinates, security etc. These
are some extra measures taken by managers to keep employees motivated.
Vroom’s expectancy theory
This theory of expectancy was developed in 1964. There are basically three factors
included in this theory. All these three factors are mentioned below:
Expectancy: Cording to this factor it is necessary for employees to increase their quality
of work. In order to do so it is necessary to provide them various incentives so that the
expectancy from employs can also be increased.
Instrumentality: Is often seen that when an employee is motivated correctly, they will
specifically complete the task in the given time period. So the managers allow employs in
Sainsbury to take part in decision-making so that they can feel a sense of belongingness and this
will motivate them in fulfilling all their duties towards the organisation effectively.
Valence: this factor states that there are different needs of different individuals who are
working in an organisation. It is necessary for the managers at Sainsbury to realise all these
different needs of the individuals and fulfil them through providing them monetary and non-
monitory benefits along with social status so that they can effectively carry on their work and
increase their performance in the organisation
There are more than four lakh employees working for Sainsbury. It is necessary for
organisation to prepare a proper balance of various strategies, plan and work so that human
resource of company can also grow personally as well as professionally. There are also a number
of problems faced while motivating employees so managers need to take special care of
motivating different types of employees whose needs might be different. Through these efforts of
managers in Sainsbury the productivity of organisation can be increased along with increase in
performance level of employee. This helps in career growth of employs along with their growth
in the company.
Adam’s Equity Theory:

Adams equity theory is divided into two parts namely input and output. Below mentioned
are ways in which it is applied on Sainsbury:
Input: Input basically refers to what are employees giving into their work. The managers in
Sainsbury emphasize on the factor that there are a number of other inputs rather than just
working hour. This includes efforts, punctuality, responsibility and so on. It is needed by
managers in Sainsbury to effectively access all of that.
Output: These are the rewards which are provided by management to the employees for
their inputs. In Sainsbury managers take care of the fact that outputs fulfil the inputs which are
put in by employees in their work. There are a number of outputs other than basic pay such as
incentives, bonus and so on.
It is necessary for managers at Sainsbury to make sure that there are no bias or imbalance
between inputs and outputs of employees. This helps them in keeping the employees motivated
and encouraged.
TASK 3
P3 Explain what makes an effective team as opposed to an ineffective team
A group of people who are allotted a specific task in an organisation which is to be
achieved in a limited time period is called a team. It is necessary in an organisation to make sure
that everyone in the team are working effectively. When considering Sainsbury management of
the company make sure that all the members working in a team are coordinating together in
order to perform their work and task effectively (Darcy and Manzi, 2017). Teams in an
organisation can be effective and ineffective. Below mentioned are various features of both of
these teams for an organisation:
Ineffective team: These are the teams in which goals and objectives of task allotted to them
are not clarified. The team members in the team have no idea about vision of company. There are
a number of conflicts arising between members of ineffective team. It is the duty of leader in a
team to accommodate communication between team members in which is not effectively done in
this team. This is a disadvantage for an organisation as it directly impacts productivity of an
organisation negatively.
Effective team: effective teams in an organisation are those teams who are very clear about
goals and object tips. Every member is clear about their roles and responsibilities in the team.

This is an advantage for the company as effective teams help in improving the performance of
company and also attaining maximum profitability and productivity for the organisation.
Tuckman theory of team development
The following theory was derived by Bruce document in 1965. This consist of various levels
through which a person and Manager might understand how are the experiences of different
members in the team while developing a team and what are the stages of team development.
Below mentioned are the five stages of team development according to this theory:
Forming: This is the first step in development of a team where all the members in the
team come together and the tasks are divided between them. The objective of team and task to be
conducted by team is explained to them. It is also seen that all the members in the team are
coming from different cultural backgrounds. It is their duty to focus on completing the task
allotted to them in the most effective manner.
Storming: This is the second step where all the members in the team are discussing about
the work and guidance are provided to them by the leader so that they can complete all the tasks
and objectives allotted to them in the stipulated time period (Wong and Wong, 2017). It is often
seen in this step that there are differences in opinions of various team members due to which
conflicts can arise between them.
Norming: This is the third stage in which all the individuals are performing their task and
making sure that the conflicts between team members can be resolved. This is done through the
help of a leader who communicates and solves the conflicts.
Performing: This is the stage where every individual in a team uses their skills abilities
and knowledge in order to perform the task which is allotted to them in the beginning of
formation of team.
Adjourning: Often seen that teams in an organisation are formed for a particular
objective. After the completion of task all the team members go back to their various functions
and the team is dissolved.
Team management is an important element in every organisation. It is the duty of supervisor
in an organisation to make sure that the management is done effectively completing all the
business activities and functions in an effective manner. The managers in Sainsbury follow this
theory in order to make sure that they can form an effective team and every member in the team
is involved in working together without raising any conflicts and grievances with each other

TASK 4
P4 Apply concepts and philosophies of organisational behaviour within an organisational context
and a given business situation
The process in which attitude, values and behaviour of individuals as well as teams
working in an organisation is analysed is called organisational behaviour. There are various
elements which required a deep study in order to understand this such as customs, beliefs, values
and traditions of people working in an organisation (MacKie, 2017). Various theories and
concepts adopted by Sainsbury in order to understand organisational behaviour in their business
are mentioned below:
Business condition: When considering the present business communication and condition
of Sainsbury it is seen that the communication between subordinates and superiors are not
effective. There is a lot of barrier between these communications. Due to these barriers the
impact can be seen on productivity of the company. There are a number of grievances and
conflicts between members who are working together in a team. This is proving difficult for the
organisation to achieve all its goals and objectives in the stipulated time period. The management
of Sainsbury have adopted path goal theory in order to deal with the situation. The application of
this theory on the organisation is mentioned below:
Path goal theory:
Particle theory majorly focuses on specifying different styles of leadership so that all the
goals and aims of the organisation can be achieved in the stipulated time period. Below
mentioned are various factors on which the teams in Sainsbury focuses on so that they can
increase the satisfaction level in employs which ultimately helps in increasing the productivity of
the company.
Categorisation of path goal theory
Employ characteristics: appropriate strategies are formulated by the executive level or top
management in Sainsbury. They need to critically assess all the requirements of employs so that
they can be encouraged with the help of these strategies. This will also help in creating a positive
and healthy working environment in the organisation which will boost up the confidence and
motivate subordinates to perform their work effectively.
Environmental and task attributes: this is the process of path goal theory where major focus is
paid on any issues or problems which are arising in workplace and faced by employs. This

majorly focuses on any conflicts and grievances which is occurring between the staff members
so that it can be solved effectively. They make sure that no grievances or conflicts are carried on
for a longer period of time as it ultimately affects the quality of products and services as the less
productivity of organisation as a whole.
Leadership behaviour: Considering this level of path goal theory it is appropriate to Sainsbury
for choosing a perfect leadership style which will help them in achieving all their objectives and
goals (Zhang, Jiang and Jin, 2020). It is necessary to focus on the leadership style which is best
suitable for the business condition. Various leadership styles which can be adopted by Sainsbury
in order to fulfil all its requirements of organisational behaviour are mentioned below:
 Supportive style: The following leadership style consist of leaders who make sure that
they support all the employs so that the work and task allotted to them are completed in
time. The managers at Sainsbury make sure that all the staff members are supported and
directed correctly whenever they need any help or are facing any dilemma.
 Participative style: This is clear by its name itself where leaders participate with
employees to fulfil their duty and work. Some of the task is divided amongst leader itself
so that employees can be motivated seeing the leaders working.
 Achievement style: The leaders in achievement leadership style only focuses on achieving
all the goals and objectives of the firm in the given time period which is decided while
formulating the strategy.
 Directive style: The directive leadership style is the style in which employees are
provided with direction which will help them in performing their work in a significant
and better way.
When considering various styles of leadership present for an organisation it is seen that
Sainsbury adopts participative leadership style. In this style the leaders provide employees to
take part in decision-making process so that there can be increase jn their experiences along with
career development and growth.
CONCLUSION
From the following report effects of organisational behaviour on productivity and profits of
an organisation can be concluded. It clearly shows how does individual and teamwork have great

effect on organisation and its working. There are a number of ways in which a manager can
control the behaviour of individuals and teams in an organisation which can be concluded with
the help of this report. It is necessary to understand organisational behaviour in order to create a
positive and healthy environment in the organisation. There are a number of concepts which will
help in fulfilling employee’s satisfaction which will ultimately result in them fulfilling the
customer satisfaction required by the organisation. Importance of an effective team in an
organisation and how can the effective team be built by managers of an organisations can be
understood with the help of this report. It is necessary for a manager to fulfil all these needs of
organisational behaviour so is that the goals and objectives of the organisation can be achieved
within the limited time period.

REFERENCES
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