Influence of Organisational Politics, Power and Culture on Behaviour

This report discusses the influence of organisational politics, power, and culture on employee behaviour and performance. It explores different types of organisational cultures and their impact on employee behaviour. It also examines the role of politics and power in influencing employee behaviour. Additionally, the report discusses various theories of motivation and their relevance in achieving organisational goals. Finally, it explores the characteristics of effective and ineffective teams and the concepts and philosophies of organisational behaviour.

Organisational
Behaviour

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Influence of organisation's politics, power and culture.........................................................3
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................5
P2 Theories of motivation to achieve organisational goals........................................................5
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................7
P3 What makes an effective and ineffective team .....................................................................7
LO 4.................................................................................................................................................9
P4 Concepts and philosophies of organisational behaviour........................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
It is important to study the behaviour of individuals associated with an organisation so as
to understand why their employees behave in a particular way and what factors affect their
behaviours (Arnold and et. al., 2015). This is done so that they can be motivated and influenced
to behave in such a way which will help the organisation in achieving its aims and objectives.
For understanding aspects related to organisational behaviour LG is taken which is a South
Korean company dealing in electronics and is headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South
Korea. LG is a multinational company and deals in home entertainment, mobile
communications, home appliances and vehicle components. In this report influence of culture,
politics and power on organisational behaviour will be discussed in detail along with importance
of motivational theories, forming of effective teams etc. so that the organisational goals are
efficiently achieved.
LO 1
P1 Influence of organisation's politics, power and culture
The organisation's ability to grow and develop in competitive market depends on the
behaviour of their employees which will determine the way in which they perform their tasks
efficiently so that the goals of the company are achieved. Organisational culture, politics and
power influence the behaviour of employees and creates an impact on their performance to
efficiently achieve their targets.
Influence of organisational culture : Organisational culture is influenced by the shared beliefs,
values and assumptions of all the members of the organisation which contribute in making-up the
socio-psychological environment of the company. Kinds of work cultures that exists in the
organisations are : Power culture : In this the power is centralised in the hands of one person usually the
owner and exists in small start-ups (Arnold and et. al., 2015). Role culture : The power is distributed on the basis of their roles in the company and
strict rules, obligation and procedures are followed. Task culture : In this the roles are assigned to the team members so that they can address
a specific problem and power shifts with the progress of project.

 Person culture : In this the employees have complete independence to exercise their
knowledge and expertise in their respective fields and is generally found in law firms.
LG follows task culture so that employees can perform their tasks efficiently.
Influence of politics : Politics in organisation are the use of power and social networking so that
people can be influenced to perform certain tasks that can benefit the organisation. Politics can
also be used by individuals to serve their personal interests without giving regard to organisation
itself. Organisational politics can decrease the overall productivity of employees as they get
diverted from their responsibilities and get involved in playing politics in the workplace. It spoils
the ambience of the company as the relationships among employees get deteriorated. The
employees can also get demotivated as favouritism increases on behalf of politics.
Influence of power : Power is the ability of managers to make the employees do something in
the way managers want or perceives beneficial for the organisation. Following powers are used
by manager : Reward power : It is related to giving rewards to employees on behalf of their
performance which will encourage them to perform even better in future (Dweck and
Bempechat, 2017). Coercive power : It is the use of threat or punishment so that the employees are forced to
do something which they don't want. For example terminating the services of employees
on behalf of misconduct.
 Legitimate power : This is the power exercised due to the position of a person for
example managers using their position to direct and monitor the activities of employees
(Eldor, 2017).
LG should use reward so that the efficiency of employees can be improved on behalf of the
rewards given to them for their performance.
All these factors thus influence and create an impact on the behaviour of individuals and
team members which are discussed below :
Basis Influence on individual behaviour Influence on team behaviour
Power Use of power can help in encouraging Better coordination and cooperation

the employees to enhance their
efficiency and work harder. While it can
also cause stress and tension among
employees.
among their work so that goals can be
achieved. But it can also create conflicts
by showing dominance using their
powers.
Culture Promotes individual learning so that
skills can be enhanced. But restricts free
thinking of individuals.
Affects communication, decision-making
and conflict solving among team members
but can also create high resistance among
the team members as they will have to
follow a defined structure.
Politics It can help the individuals in building
relations with their co-workers but can
decrease their productivity as they will
be deviated from their work (Elsmore,
2017).
Diverse ideas of team members can be
captured by using healthy politics but can
lead to conflicts among team members
due to feeling of jealousy.
LO 2
P2 Theories of motivation to achieve organisational goals
Motivation is an important aspect which helps in encouraging the employees to use their
skills and talents in an efficient manner so that their performance can be enhanced and
organisational goals can be achieved within time.
Content theories : It deals with factors that motivates people and considers the cahnge in their
needs and wants. LG can use these theories to address their employee needs so that they can
work efficiently and effectively.
 Maslow's hierarchy of needs : This theory was given by Abraham Maslow who said that
there exists a hierarchy of needs that needs to be satisfied moving from lower level to
upper level so that employees can be motivated to work efficiently. It defines all the
stages of hierarchy such as : Psychological needs- These are the basic needs of every
individual like water, cloths etc. which can be satisfied by LG by giving employees basic
pay. Safety needs – These are needs regarding job security and safety at the workplace
which can be ensured by LG through building good working environment. Social needs -

these are related to creating a sense of belongingness of the employees to the company so
that they can work effectively. Esteem needs – These are related to self recognition and
appreciation needs so that they can feel motivated. Self-actualization needs – This refers
to the need of personal and professional growth of the employees which gives them job
satisfaction.
Illustration 1: Our Hierarchy of Needs .2019
Source : Our Hierarchy of Needs .2019
 Mc Gregor's X and Y theory : These are related to two assumptions that are made by
managers regarding their employees which influences the level of their motivation.
Theory X says that people dislike work, have little ambition and are unwilling to take
responsibilities. This leads to extra supervision and providing directions to employees by
managers. Theory Y says that managers have positive and optimistic opinion of their
employees so that they can collaborate and coordinate more in the organisation (Fisher
and Royster, 2016).
Process theories : This theory is related with the psychological and behavioural processes that
motivates a person to perform their task efficiently. Some theories are ; The expectancy theory : This was given by Victor Vroom who said that people are
motivated to perform their task is they expect that they will receive high level of
satisfaction after completing that task.

 The equity theory : According to this theory employees are motivated to work efficiently
if they are given fair and equal opportunities based on their skills and talents and are not
discriminated on the basis of age, sex, caste, religion etc.
LO 3
P3 What makes an effective and ineffective team
Team is regarded as a group of different background individuals who works together with
an intent of attaining organisation pre determined goal of objective in an improved and
innovative manner. Moreover, the concept of team is classified into two categories that is i.e.
effective and ineffective. However, each of them are different from each other in terms of
performing organisational task in a better manner (Hall and et. al., 2016).
Effective Team: Under this category of team, each manpower acquire equal opportunities and
growth platforms which lead them to obtain improved level of satisfaction and motivation from
current working culture. In addition to this, they maintain a transparent and clear communication
channel into is functional unit that empower them to overcome the issue of conflict,
misunderstanding, disputes among team. Moreover, it help them to impose collaborative and
cooperation among each personnel that enrich LG's proficiency and productivity ratio.
Ineffective team: In such type of team, manpower are not much productive and dedicated
towards organisational goal compare to effective team which directly influence over company's
decision making process and working environment. In addition to this, there should be no proper
coordination and collaboration among each team members which lead them to face several issue
like communication gap, confusion, misunderstanding, ambiguities and so on and it disturbs the
productivity of firm (Lampaki and Papadakis, 2018).
Particulars Effective team Ineffective team
Goals Under effective team, each
personnel are much aware
about aims and objectives of
organisation which help them to
adopt any kind of modification
ans well as alteration related to
marketing environment in order
In this, every individuals of the
team forego compulsory
objectives which is imposed
by management and moreover
competitively organized that
make each personnel get over
the others.

to acquire best position within
competing industry.
Communication Effective team maintains clear
or transparent communication
channel which empower them
to attain increased level of
profitability and productivity.
Additionally, they implies two
way of communication i.e.
open and correct expression
that impose healthy relation
among manpower.
Ineffective team follows one
way communication which
restrict them to acquire other
person opinion or thoughts
and it drive to create conflict
high degree of dissatisfaction
among themselves.
Tuckman team development theory
This theory was founded by Bruce Tuckman in 1965. However, some of its phases are
discussed below:
Forming- Under this stage, team are formed and also they are assigned by
responsibilities. In case to LG, they determined the potentiality and competencies of the
manpower before the formation of the team and based on that manager delegate team roles and
task.
Storming- Under this, team share their ideas or views related to task or area. In LG ,
team has great facilitative leadership that create healthy relationship.
Norming- It is an ideal stage, in which team put their trust on each other which empower
them to acquire innovative thoughts or ideas in order to gain competitive advantage.
Performing- This is the fourth phase, team performance is evaluated or analysed by their
superior and on the basis of that they take corrective course of action (Sambrook and Herrmann,
2018).
Adjourning- It is the final stage, in which in which team performance will be recognized
by their superior and get reward in return in the form of monetary or non monetary rewards.

LO 4
P4 Concepts and philosophies of organisational behaviour
Path goal theory : This theory will help the managers to determine the leadership style
that can be followed in the company so that the employees can be motivated to work efficiently
in order to achieve organisational goals and objectives. This will help in maximizing the outputs
from employees and their productivity will increase. LG can use this theory so that the
employees can stay motivated to work efficiently which will help the company in becoming a
global leader in the electronics appliances.
Characteristics of path goal theory : Sub-ordinate's characteristics : These are the personal characters of the subordinates
related to their capabilities and focus of control which cannot be changed by managers.
These can although be managed by using appropriate leadership style like participative
style can be adopted if employees have focus of control.
 Environmental characteristics of workplace : Task structure and work group are the
environmental factors which determine the leadership style to be followed.
Leadership styles : Various leadership styles can be followed by managers so that employees
can be controlled, monitored and directed efficiently so that effective results can be drawn from
the performance of the employees. Path goal theory states following styles of leadership : Directive : In this leaders directs subordinates and give them guidance as to how the task
needs to be performed. Appropriate schedules are also made so that the team goals are
achieved within time. Leaders can use this style in LG when the task is complex and
members of team are inexperienced (Walker and Aritz, 2015). Participative : In this the leaders always consider the opinions of the team members and
encourages their participation so that efficient decision-making can be done. LG can use
this style when team members are experienced and have knowledge regarding the task. Supportive : This style can be used to make a task interesting. Leaders can apply friendly
and supportive approaches so that important works can be managed.

 Achievement-oriented : Under this style the leaders focus on giving challenges to
employees so that their efficiency can be improved and their performance can be
enhanced. This style make the team members more efficient which can also help in their
personal and professional growth. LG can use this style when the task is complex and the
leaders have high faith in the capabilities of the employees as they have already tackled
difficult situations before (Yuan and et. al., 2016).
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that for every organisation to survive in the
competitive market it is important to manage the behaviour of their employees so that their
efficiency can be improved and they can be motivated to participate in the activities of the
organisation. The balanced use of power, culture and politics can help in integrating their
employees so that they can work together and contribute towards increasing organisational
profits. This will increase employee retention and motivate them to work efficiently. Leadership
styles followed by managers is an important factor that will help in generating effective teams so
that tasks can be completed within time and budget.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Arnold, K.A. and et. al., 2015. Leadership styles, emotion regulation, and burnout. Journal of
Occupational Health Psychology .20(4). p.481.
Arnold, K.A. and et. al., 2015. Leadership styles, emotion regulation, and burnout. Journal of
Occupational Health Psychology .20(4). p.481.
Dweck, C.S. and Bempechat, J., 2017. Children’s theories of intelligence: Consequences for
learning. In Learning and motivation in the classroom (pp. 239-256). Routledge.
Eldor, L., 2017. Looking on the bright side: The positive role of organisational politics in the
relationship between employee engagement and performance at work. Applied
Psychology .66(2). pp.233-259.
Elsmore, P., 2017. Organisational Culture: Organisational Change?: Organisational Change?.
Routledge.
Fisher, M.H. and Royster, D., 2016. Mathematics teachers’ support and retention: using
Maslow's hierarchy to understand teachers’ needs. International Journal of
Mathematical Education in Science and Technology .47(7). pp.993-1008.
Hall, C.M. and et. al., 2016. Business and post-disaster management: Business, organisational
and consumer resilience and the Christchurch earthquakes. Routledge.
Lampaki, A. and Papadakis, V., 2018. The impact of organisational politics and trust in the top
management team on strategic decision implementation success: A middle-manager's
perspective. European Management Journal .36(5). pp.627-637.
Sambrook, S. and Herrmann, A.F., 2018. Organisational autoethnography: Possibilities, politics
and pitfalls. Journal of Organizational Ethnography .7(3). pp.222-234.
Walker, R.C. and Aritz, J., 2015. Women doing leadership: Leadership styles and organizational
culture. International Journal of Business Communication .52(4). pp.452-478.
Yuan, L. and et. al., 2016. Leader-member exchange differentiation and team member
performance: The moderating role of the perception of organisational politics.
International Journal of Manpower .37(8). pp.1347-1364.
Online
Our Hierarchy of Needs .2019. [Online]. Available
Through:<https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201205/our-
hierarchy-needs>