Influence of Culture, Power and Politics on Organizational Behavior

This document discusses the influence of culture, power, and politics on the behavior of organizations. It explores the impact of these factors on teamwork, motivation, and organizational philosophies. The case study focuses on Unilever, a multinational company headquartered in London.

ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
LO 1............................................................................................................................................................3
P 1 Influence of culture, power and politics on behaviour of organization..............................................3
LO 2............................................................................................................................................................6
P 2 Motivate individuals..........................................................................................................................6
LO 3............................................................................................................................................................8
P 3 Effective team as opposed to an ineffective team..............................................................................8
LO 4..........................................................................................................................................................11
P 4 Philosophies of organizations behaviour.........................................................................................11
CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
The study of individuals and group in an organization is known as organizational
behaviour within a business. The performance of the company needs to be strong in the market
because the demands and expectations of the customers are increasing and they have to be
matched. Unilever is having its headquarters in London, United Kingdom and has more than
155,000 employees working in the organization. The company has been working in this industry
from 90 years which is making the company have a strong competitive advantage in the market.
The company is dealing in products like cleaning, food & Refreshment, beauty & personal care,
etc. The further report discusses the impact of culture, politics and power in business on the
behaviour of all the employees. Effective and ineffective team work, as well as the motivational
methods being used by the company would be discussed. There is also going to be an effective
discussion on the philosophies and concepts which are present in the business according to the
situations so that the company can operate effectively.
LO 1
P 1 Influence of culture, power and politics on behaviour of organization
In order to be able to achieve the targets and goals in the market businesses in the market
have to have effective team. Team work is important to increase the productivity in the market
and the further report would discuss the factors which are influencing the working of an
organization.
Culture
There are different values, beliefs, behaviour, etc which are present in the organization
and it is important to maintain them so that the company can get competitive advantage for a
long run.
Handy’s Culture Model
 Person

Employees are the backbone of Unilever which is why it is important for the company to
focus on them (Hosseini and et.al., 2020). Culture and beliefs of the employees has to be
respected and equality must be present amongst them so that the company can benefit. Team
work can reduce if any employees feel superior in the tasks.
 Task
Participation of all the employees is strong in Unilever from time to time so that the task can
be completed according to the capabilities of the employees of the company. Task distribution is
going to make the team working also more efficient and standards of the company are going to
improve in market.
 Role
There has to be good direction of sense which is needed in the company and that comes when
the roles are distributed effectively. Distribution of work is also going to make the functioning
and operations are higher which is provided to the employees.
 Power
Power is always in the hand of few people but if the power is given to the right people then
the performance is going to be higher. Monitoring is important in Unilever so that the employees
give in their best and motivation is going to be intact in the employees of the company.
Politics
It is important for the organization to understand the politics and make it be shaped in an
advantage for the company’s long run which is going to make the organization be able to operate
effectively in the market (Christy and Duraisamy, 2016).
Chantel’s
 Individual Factors
The employees have to match the standards of the company and have to be well motivated as
well. Individuals get interested in politics very easily which can be bad for the reputation of the
company since the tasks are not going to be completed on time.

 Organizational Factors
Right employees have to be given the rewards so that they can continue the hard work which
they have been doing in the company (Rawabdeh and et.al., 2019). Performance of the company
cannot fall because Unilever is having a lot of targets which needs to be achieved and politics
does not affect this factor.
Power
Power does makes people change their behaviour and attitude and that can be positive as
well as negative to make the company achieve their objectives.
French & Raven Theory
 Coercive
There are strict actions which management or any authority can take when the employees are
not matching the expectations of the organization even after they receive training and
development. Punishment is going to make the employees know better as to what is expected out
of them.
 Reward
Rewards are the best method which Unilever is using in order to motivate the employees
from time to time. There are incentives, salaries, promotions, other advantages which are being
provided to the employees of Unilever so that they continue to give in their best (Jena and
Pradhan, 2018).
 Expert
There are experts in Unilever which is a great advantage for the company since there is a lot
of experience which is being shared in the company. Knowledge and experience is present in
employees of the company which is great for operations.
 Legitimate

The power in the company is in ECO, executives, owners hands for the decisions making.
Employees so not like this factors which is why Unilever includes the employees as well in this
factor so that there are higher results which can come out.
 Referent
Due to charm, attitude looks, etc in few people there is an unfair and atmosphere of
negativity in the company which is going to make the motivation level fall. There are a lot of
conflicts as well which the company is having and that is not good for the environment of the
company (Farris, 2018).
LO 2
P 2 Motivate individuals
It is important for the workforce to make the company be able to achieve the targets
which are set. There has to be good motivation in the employees so that there is going to be good
theories which would be used in the company. Unilever is applying a lot of theories in the market
which is helping Unilever be able to gain a lot of competitive advantage in the market and the
further report is going to discuss these factors in detail (Ndoja and Malekar, 2020).
Process Theory
It is very important for the teams and individuals of an organization to be well motivated
and for that there has to be good understanding as well which is required. Unilever is working
very hard to motivate the employees and make sure that they are using the right methods as well
so that the company will be able to gain the competitive advantage as well as value in the market
which is going to make the company have higher operations and productivity.
Reinforcement Theory
Reinforcement theory was given by B F Skinner; it is famous and is based on law of
effect. All the actions have taken place or are going to take place are going to have a negative or
a positive influence on the company according to this theory (Fischer, Hyder and Walker, 2020).

 Positive Reinforcement
Unilever is providing rewards both physical and mental to the employees from time to time
which are a great factor because the employees well like they must repeat their actions.
Employees want to be appreciated in some way or another which is going to make the company
be able to achieve the changes coming in the market and also help the company get a competitive
advantage in the market so that the company can take higher measures.
 Negative Reinforcement
There are a lot of employees which do not match the standards of the company and they are
trained by Unilever and if they still do not match the expectations then they are given warning
and then strict actions are taken for them (Connolly and et.al., 2017). Negative measures for the
employees can also motivate them to be able to function and operate effectively in the market
which is going to make the performance improve.
Content Theory
All the human beings are having a high need and want which is present in all. This
change in needs has to be understood by Unilever so that the company will be able to make the
retention level of the employees be present. With the help of Herzberg’s two factors theory there
is going to be effective understanding which would be present in the company.
Herzberg’s two factor theory
The factors which are going to influence a workforce’s satisfaction level are two forces
which are hygiene and motivator factors. Unilever takes care of both the factors in the company
so that there is going to be effective working.
 Motivators
All the employees need to have a strong recognition in the market so that there is going to be
effective motivation which would be present. The quality and standards of the company have to
be present so that the company can maintain the value and responsibilities have to be given to the
right employees at the right time according to their knowledge and experience.

 Hygiene Factors
The employees of Unilever are provided the best of environment to operate in so that there is
going to be higher performance which is going to be present in the company. The productivity
and operations is in the hands of the workforce but there has to be good and healthy environment
as well which needs to be provided to the employees so that they would be able to give in their
personal best.
Influence the behaviour of others
The leaders and managers play a very important role in Unilever to make the company
have good workforce and brand image and value in the market can be well maintained. Leaders
give a very strong sense of direction to the employees which make Unilever be able to reach the
goals and objectives from time to time. Rewards and other physical rewards are given to the
employees so that they can continue to work hard and this is going to be good for the
productivity level as well (MacKie, 2017). The company will not just be able to compete with
the competitors but also match the objectives and goals they have set for themselves.
LO 3
P 3 Effective team as opposed to an ineffective team
Effective Team
Effective team is going to make the pressure on all the individuals be reduced and the
tasks are going to be achieved effectively and efficiently in the market. There are going to be
lesser conflicts and more creative ideas and innovation which would generate in the market
which is going to be very good for the reputation of the company. Problems are going to be
discussed effectively and solved on time as well which is going to maintain time management as
well.
Ineffective Team

Ineffective team work is going to make the productivity and operations of an organization
fall in the market which is not good for the reputation of the company. The decisions making
process is going to be slower and so is the quality and demands of the customers is not going to
be matched by the organization.
Tuckman’s Theory
Tuckman has given stages in order to be able to gain a competitive advantage in the
market so that the company can have higher functioning. The sense of direction is going to be
present and the company is going to achieve the targets and goals faster.
 Forming stage
Right work has to be given to the right employees of the company so that there is going to be
higher performance which would be present. There is a deadline for all the tasks therefore there
has to be good performance of the employees in the company (Pradhan and et.al., 2018).
 Storming Stage
There are going to be different opinions and conflicts are going to be created in the company
and there have to be effective decisions which the company will have to take on time otherwise
there are going to be low productivity. The roles and responsibilities have to be given to the
employees according to the task so that the satisfaction level can be maintained.
 Norming Stage
There is going to be good exchange of knowledge and skills which would be present in the
company so that the productivity level is going to be maintained. The team work is going to get
stronger and the company will be able to operate effectively.
 Performing Stage
Right decisions at the right time are going to help the company be able to improve their value
and reputation in the market which is important. Employees will be able to work together and
help each other by this stage which is a great competitive advantage for the organization.
Belbin’s team role theory

Belbin has given nine stages which are implementer, team worker, plant, specialist,
shaper, coordinator, resource investigator, monitor evaluator and completer finisher. The person
who gets the ideas into action is the implementer, team worker is to cooperation in
encouragement, and plant is get new innovations and ideas in the company. Specialist are the
ones who get the right skills for the task to be completed effectively, shaper are for improving
the team functioning and solve the problems and challenges, coordinator are the ones who are the
chairperson and makes sure that the sense of direction is right. Resource investigator are for
exploring the opportunities which are outside the company and can be beneficial for the
company, monitor evaluator are going to analyse the ideas and make sure that they are
implemented effectively and the completer finisher are the ones who check on time management
for the tasks to be completed on time (Chang and et.al., 2016). This tool is used by Unilever in
order to make sure that there is effective working which is present in the company.
Factors Affecting Effective Team
 Communication
Sense of direction in businesses is going to be effective when there is going to be good
communication. Workforce is going to be aware of the objectives and tasks in detail which is
going to make the workforce put in their efforts accordingly. Unilever’s leaders and managers
are putting in their best so that the employees have a higher understanding.
 Team size
There are a lot of conflicts which are going to rise in a large group therefore there are small
groups which are present in Unilever so that the understanding is going to be more powerful.
There are new ideas and innovations which can rise making the company gain higher functioning
(Shah, Anwar and Irani, 2017). Employees can also be monitored well by the leaders and
managers of the company which is going to make the performance level better.
 Leadership
Leaders and managers of the company must have the right experience and knowledge to
make the decisions in different situations which are going to make the functioning be smoother.
Leaders can make the team working also strong and targets can be matched on time. There is

going to be higher clarity of working which is going to be present in the company which is a
great factor.
LO 4
P 4 Philosophies of organizations behaviour
Path Goal Theory
Right methods and strategies have to be used by the company in order to be able to
operate effectively in the market. Unilever has been using this theory from a long run in order to
be able to maintain their competitive advantage in the market which is a very important factor.
Leaders and managers of Unilever have to use different theories in different situations in order to
be able to operate effectively in the market which is going to not harm the working of the
company for a long run (Dunphy, 2016).
 Achievement
The management and leadership have to gain the trust of the employees so that the working
is going to be higher. The company has to maintain their loyalty in the company so that the
organization will be able to operate effectively. There are a lot of targets which Unilever is
having in the market and they must be fulfilled. Extra privileges are being provided to the
employees of the company as well which is going to make the loyalty of the employees be
gained in the company which is good for the company’s long run in the market.
 Directive Path
Responsibilities and duty of the employees have to be distributed effectively and efficiently
in the business so that there is going to be higher target achievement which would be present in
the company. Leaders of the company have to make that the employees have a clear path in front
of them which they need to follow.
 Supportive leaders

The environment in which the employees are working has to be healthy and understand the
employee’s personal life as well. There has to be good balance between professional and
personal life of the employees so that the company will be able to achieve the targets and goals
which are present (Maio and et.al., 2020). Trust of the employees has to be gained which is
going to help the company be able to achieve their goals and targets so that there is going to be
professional development.
 Participative Leaders
There are no short cuts for getting the work done therefore the leaders have to make sure that
all the employees are participating in the tasks. Monitoring and controlling them is important for
the company. There are achievers in the market already and if Unilever is not going to work on
this factor then the company will not be able to operate effectively. Participation of all the
employees and leaders in the company is important because that is going to make the
performance of the company be higher and negativity from the working environment is going to
reduce which is good for the competitive advantage of Unilever. The competition in the market
is anyways increasing rapidly and this factor has to be worked upon so that the company can
have higher performance which is going to make the organization have a better functioning.
Custodial organizational behavior model
The safety and security of the employees is very important in Unilever which the leaders
and management is taking care of for the workforce. There is a better productivity and operations
as well which the company is having because they are providing the employees with retirement
plans and other incentives which is very good for the employees to be retained in the company
(Wood and et.al., 2016). The needs and demands of the employees are being fulfilled and the
company is working very effectively in the market which is making the organization gain
competitive advantage for a long run. There are financial packages which are modified with time
because it is important for the company to provide the employees with the right experience and
environment in the company which is going to be beneficial for the company as well.

CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that the businesses need to work on their
internal as well as external factors so that they can provide the employees with healthy and safe
environment. Culture, politics and power does make a lot of difference in the company and the
strategies and methods are going to be influenced as well. There are a lot of objectives which a
business has in the market and they have to be improved upon so that the company will be able
to operate effectively, efficiently and smoothly in the market which is very important. There has
to be good balance which needs to be found out by the companies in the market which is going
to help the company be able to gain a competitive advantage in the market which is good for a
long run. There are a lot of changes as well which are coming up and they have to be achieved so
that the company will be able to operate effectively.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Chang, K and et.al., 2016. HR practice, organisational commitment & citizenship
behaviour. Employee Relations.
Christy, V. and Duraisamy, S., 2016. INFLUENCE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT
BREACH ON ORGANISATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOUR: MEDIATING
EFFECTS OF AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP STYLE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL
WELL-BEING-A WORKING PAPER.
Connolly, L.Y and et.al., 2017. Organisational culture, procedural countermeasures, and
employee security behaviour. Information & Computer Security.
Dunphy, S., 2016. Using keywords to construct wuzzle-picture-puzzles for the purpose of
mastering management and organisational behaviour terminology. Behaviour &
Information Technology. 35(6). pp.471-478.
Farris, D., 2018. Organisational citizenship behaviour in university administrative
committees. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. 40(3). pp.224-238.
Fischer, S., Hyder, S. and Walker, A., 2020. The effect of employee affective and cognitive trust
in leadership on organisational citizenship behaviour and organisational commitment:
Meta-analytic findings and implications for trust research. Australian Journal of
Management. p.0312896219899450.
Hosseini, S.H and et.al., 2020. Investigating the role of moderating the quality of working life on
the relationship between psychological capital and organisational citizenship
behaviour. International Journal of Services and Operations Management. 36(4).
pp.425-439.
Jena, L.K. and Pradhan, S., 2018. Workplace spirituality and employee commitment: The role of
emotional intelligence and organisational citizenship behaviour in Indian
organisations. J. Enterp. Inf. Manag. 31(3). pp.380-404.
MacKie, D., 2017. Connecting coaching and positive organisational psychology research.
Maio, G.R and et.al., 2020. Setting the foundations for theoretical progress toward understanding
the role of values in organisational behaviour: Commentary on “Values at work: The
impact of personal values in organisations” by Arieli, Sagiv, and Roccas. Applied
Psychology. 69(2). pp.284-290.
Ndoja, K. and Malekar, S., 2020. Organisational citizenship behaviour: a review. International
Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion. 11(2). pp.89-104.
Pradhan, N and et.al., 2018. Unit-4 Organisational Behaviour. IGNOU.

Rawabdeh, M and et.al., 2019. The mediating influence of organisational citizenship behaviour
on employee job performance and staff incentive's relationship. International Journal of
Management Practice. 12(2). pp.200-227.
Shah, N., Anwar, S. and Irani, Z., 2017. The impact of organisational justice on ethical
behaviour. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research. 12(2). pp.240-
258.
Wood, J.M and et.al., 2016. Organisational behaviour: Core concepts and applications. John
Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd..