Effect of organisation power, politics & culture on individual as well s team performance

This report discusses the effect of organisation power, politics & culture on individual as well s team performance. It covers various motivation theories and their impact on organisational goals. It also explores effective & ineffective teams and leadership styles suitable for the organisation.

Organisational
Behaviour

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
P1. Effect of organisation power, politics & culture on individual as well s team performance.
.....................................................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
P2. Content & Process theories of motivation with its effect on organisational goal.................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
P3. Effective & Ineffective Teams..............................................................................................9
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................11
P4 Concepts of OB within an organisational context and a given business situation...............11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
The study of behaviour and performance of individuals as well as groups in the
organisation is termed as organisational behaviour. In simple terms, it is the interaction that takes
place between the managers and the workforce in order to know the performance and
effectiveness of employees at workplace. The study aims to build positive environment as well
as development among the subordinates of the companies. The company which is taken into
consideration to complete this report is Apple that deals in electronic devices. The company head
office in California and it is one of the renowned company founded by Steve Jobs in year 1977.
The major products of company is media player, mobile phones, IPOD, home pad, watches and
so on. In this present report, how politics, culture & power affect the performance as well as
behaviour of individual is going to discuss(Blader, Patil and Packer, 2017). With this, various
motivation theories is cover in this report which helps company in achieving goals in an
appropriate and timely manner. Later, it covers effective & ineffective teams wit their impact on
organisation. At last, leadership style is discuss which is suitable and beneficial for the
organisation working and for the activities of the organisation.
TASK 1
P1. Effect of organisation power, politics & culture on individual as well s team performance.
It is stated that organisational behaviour effects the efficiency and productivity level.
There are key elements such as politics, culture as well as power. These elements plays crucial
part that extremely impacts the overall attitude & behaviour of individual and team. Below are
the detail description of these factors in relation to the company are as follows:
Power
It is termed as the ability and power of a person to control an manage all the activities,
tasks and projects in an appropriate manner(Borkowski, 2016). Almost in an organisation the
[power is in the control of upper level authorities that is managers, directors etc. that creates
positive environment at workplace. According to the point of view of French & Raven, the
power is of 5 types. These power is mentioned below:
Coercive power- In this, the high authorities basically force subordinates to adopt and
follow all the instructions and rules of the organisation in a proper manner. With reference to

Apple, if coercive power is used by managers it will develop negativity in the mindset of
workforce and thus decline the productivity as well as efficiency of employees.
Reward power- In this, the top management of the organisation has the authority to give
appreciation, rewards, recognition & awards and many more to the employees according to their
performance. With reference to Apple, the manager of the company should give appreciation to
the workforce as per their capability and skills. This will built positivity and raise the level of
productivity of the company (Carnevale, 2018).
Referent Power- The organisation uses this power with an aim to encourage, motivate,
influences as well as inspire the employees so that their productivity rises. This assist managers
in improving the performance of subordinates. In context to Apple, it helps company in
developing and growth of workforce that further leads to increase in sales & profitability.
Legitimate power- As per this form of power, the company CEO, managers & owners
only have the right to participate in the process of decision making and takes decision. With
reference to Apple, using this kind of power in the company creates counter and adverse effect
on workforce which sometimes creates chaos and issues among the members of the
organisation.
Expert Power- In this, the decision making power is in the control of an expert in that
particular field. This will boost the performance as well as morale of subordinates of
Apple(Devece, Palacios-Marqués and Alguacil, 2016). As they have built the mindset that they
working under the guidelines of an expert which develops their skills as well as knowledge also.
From the above part, it has been analyse that the most appropriate form of power is
Reward power that motivates staff members to increase their efficiency in order to gain rewards
which is terms of non monetary incentives & monetary incentives.
Politics
The process that occur among the individual when they communicate or interact within
the organisation. Politics is also of two forms that is positive as well as negative. With reference
to Apple, Negative politics may develop issues in the company as employees did not trust on
other employee. This will also creates competition among the workforce which directly affect
negatively in the performance of company. In addition to this, the managers might not attain
goals with in the specified time. Whereas positive politics rise the level of performance of
subordinates and increases the profitability of the Apple.

From the above discussion it has been stated that developing positive politics in the
organisation develops strong & healthy relations among the employees of Apple. This will lead
to increase in profitability and performance of Apple.
Culture
It is termed as values,opinions, ideologies, ethics, norms, beliefs and many more at
workplace. The culture of organisation creates both adverse and positive results. The function of
high authorities is to maintain good and healthy relationship among the staff members(Gelfand,
2017). By the assistance of Handy's Typology, there are four kins of culture which are as follows
in context to apple:
Task culture- As per this, the task of project is divided among the employees. The main
motive is to carry out and complete the task with in the frame and in a proper manner. In context
to Apple, the manager of the company should this culture in the organisation as it enhance the
attitude or overall behaviour of the team members & individual employee. It also influence
subordinates to achieve task on time which in turns increases revenue as well as profitability of
Apple.
Power culture- In this, the authority and right of taking decisions regarding projects is
basically in the control of few employees who is working in the organisation. With reference to
Apple, adopting this form of culture might develops disputes & problems between the
workforce. It is said that it is a negative form of culture and affects the whole activities of the
company in a inappropriate manner.
Role culture- In this kind of culture, the task or duties is given by the upper level
authorities to employees as per their specialisation, knowledge, qualification,skills and many
more. The management team of Apple can follow this culture in order to gain efficiency and
positive outcome. In addition to this, the employees take more interest in the task and they work
with their full potential which is beneficial for the company as their productivity as well as
profitability both increases (Ghosh, 2017).
Person culture- In this, the managers mainly emphasises on the characteristics, attitude
and behaviour of employees in the company. With reference to Apple, following this form of
culture motivates and builds positive attitude among employees. In addition to this, the
employees have the chance to develop and grow themselves as they achieve many opportunities
by working effectively in the organisation.

By the assistance of above discussion, it has been analysed that the most suitable and
effective culture that organisation should adopt is Role culture. In this, the employee takes
interest and enjoy their work which automatically rise the level of efficiency as well as
profitability.
TASK 2
P2. Content & Process theories of motivation with its effect on organisational goal.
Motivation refers to the process of influencing, inspiring and encouraging people with an
aim to increase in the performance level as well as productivity level. It is crucial for every
manager to motivate its employees or subordinates so that organisational goals can be attain
within time fame(Holmlund, Kowalkowski and Biggemann, 2016). The behaviour and attitude of
employees is changed when they are motivated by the senior authority.
Motivational Theories- These theories attain companies to analyse requirements of
subordinates and fulfil them so that employees work with full zeal and gain objectives on time.
In addition to this, using these theories build positivity among the team members of the
company. with this, it boost the performance level of the employee or the company as well. In
this, the Human Resource department of Apple uses 2 types of theories in order to influence
workforce at workplace. The theories are mentioned below in detail:
Content Theory:
The content theory basically emphasises on the changing behaviour as well as
requirements of employees by the passage of time. It always examine the individual wants as
well as goals rather than focusing on team requirements. The HR manager of Apple uses ERG
theory as a content theory which are as follows:
ERG Theory of Motivation:
These theory was formulated by Clayton P. Alderfer in year 1969. He converts the
Maslow's theory of motivation which include five basic needs of human into three needs that is
Existence need, Growth need & Relatedness need(Kanfer and Chen, 2016). With this, the theory
states that more tan one need can be fulfil at a particular point of time. The three needs are
described in detail below in context to apple:
Existence Needs- This needs involves the basic human need of a person or the
physiological needs that is food, clothing, air, shelter and so on. It also concern security & safety

need which an employee needs in order to feel that the job is secure as well as safe. With
reference to Apple, the upper level authorities of company can fulfil or satisfy these neds of
employees by identifying them. The company can offer family trips, incentives, bonus, on time
salary and many more to employees so that they feel comfortable and secure while working with
the organisation. Fulfilling these need help company in increasing efficiency of subordinates.
With this, they can attain goals on time.
Relatedness needs- It includes social as well as self actualisation need of an individual
that is external. It is necessary for every individual to maintain a positive status in the society or
maintain a good relation with family, colleagues, friends as well. The management team of
Apple can conduct or organize informal parties or sessions so that employees get familiar with
each other and share their perception and ideas as well. This build strong relations among
employees and they feel comfortable at workplace(Kaufman, 2017). In addition to this, the
workforce feel secure which leads to reduce in the absenteeism rate.
Growth Needs: This need consider and emphasise on self actualisation need of a person.
It also involves the internal esteem of a human being. The skill to be productive & creative. In
context to Apple, the high authorities can organise and conduct training sessions for employees
in order to enhance their efficiency, skills & knowledge. They can plan activities that assist them
how effectively and on time period goals is achieve. This programs increases creativity and
productivity of employees which is beneficial for the company & employees as well.
Process Theory-
The psychological process that influence and affects an individual to change its behaviour
or act differently from their behaviour is termed as process theory. This theory basically identify
the reason of changing behaviour of a person. It also involves encouraging a person to bring &
adopt changes in order to improve themselves. The Human Resource manager of Apple should
use the best process theory that is Adam's Equity Theory in the organisation. This theory is
described in detail below with relation to Apple company:
Adam's Equity Theory:
The theory was proposed by John Stacy Adams in 1960s. This theory is totally based on
2 factors. The first, the morale of employees go down when their inputs are greater than the
output. We can say, there should be an equal balance between the input as well as output so that
employees feel motivated and work efficiently towards the organisation(Kinicki and Fugate,

2017). The inputs include efforts, skills, hard work, enthusiasm and many more. Whereas outputs
are wages, salary, rewards, monetary benefits as well as non monetary benefits. Second, the
managers keep a fair relation with the employees, they did not impartial among workforce. The
motivational level of an employee wholly depends on how they are treated by the mangers or
higher authorities of the company. In addition to this, the employees in the organisation did not
feel rigid or impartial at workplace.
In context to Apple, the management team of the company should appreciate
subordinates regarding their hard work and performance. They can provide benefits such as paid
leaves, medical facilities, insurance policies, family trips to all the employees who put their
efforts in gaining objectives on time. This assist company in employee satisfaction which
automatically increases the performance level of employees. In addition to this, it also helps in
increase market position and market share of the company which in turn increases revenue and
profitability level.
TASK 3
P3. Effective & Ineffective Teams.
The number of people assemble together to achieve a particular task or objective is
termed as Team or the knowledge, resources, skills and information of employees combine
together with an aim of achieving goal on time also known as Team(Latham, 2016). The
members of team are dependent on each other and builds good relations with each other for a
common purpose. There are 2 forms of teams in an organisation that is effective team and
ineffective team. With reference to Effective team, the members have the full knowledge or idea
about the task they need to achieve. This teams help companies to improve services as well as
quality and also ensures project completion on time(Liu, Zhao and Sheard, 2017). They handle
and solves issues together so that efficiency of organisation improves. On contrary, Ineffective
teams raises the conflicts in the organisation as they have no understanding about the goals of the
company. This teams are not focused towards their work and creates a negative mindset of
others. With this, the members of ineffective teams did not trust to each other and develops a
negative atmosphere & competition in the organisation. The high level authorities of Apple
develops an effective team and ensures that organisational objectives is attained on time and can
be fulfilled in an appropriate manner. Below are the differences between effective & non
effective teams which are as follows:

Dimensions Effective Team Ineffective team
Decision
making
In this, each members of the team has
the authority to take part in the process
of decision making. They have the
authority to express their ideas,
opinions or views to other team
members (Lee, 2019). This will lead
organisations in effective decision
making which as a result improves
and develops the growth of the
company. It also builds positive
mindset among the team members.
In this, few members have the right
to involve in decision making
process. Not every person can take
part in decisions. It creates
grievances in the organisation which
is a disadvantage to both employee
and managers. As employees did not
take interest in objectives of
company which automatically
decline productivity that further
leads to decrease in sales as well as
revenue.
Goals Effective teams have full knowledge
about the time frame in which
organisational goals attained. The
goals are properly described and
explained to them with relation to time
in an effective manner.
The members of ineffective team
does not have idea about
organisation goals as it is not
properly defined and understand by
the. This affects the overall
performance of company and the
profitability level goes down. In
addition to this, it sometimes degrade
the market position & market share
as well.
Types & forms of team:
As per company requirements as well as needs, some of the types of team are described
below:
Project team- This teams are made by the managers of the company with an aim to
achieve goals of the company in specified time(McShane and Glinow, 2017). The team
members have the idea about their duties and tasks. In context to Apple, it is an international

company and have several projects at at time so the project teams assist managers to execute and
implement the operations or activities on time in order to gain high profits which increases
market share also.
Functional Team: In this, the responsibility of team members is different but they
perform or work towards the same function. In this the members are from different vertical
levels and the manager has the right to control and mange the external & internal relationships in
the organisation. Finance, marketing, human resources,accounting are such instances of
functional team. With reference to Apple, if the management uses this team than there is full
utilization of resources, skills, abilities and knowledge of employees which further rises
productivity level (Organ, 2018). With this, it also assist company to retain employees for longer
period of time.
Virtual Team: It is also termed as Remote team, Distributed team. The members of the
organisation who works from different area or locations for a common purpose and thus depend
on the communication channels to interact and communicate. They communicate through Video
Conferencing, Email, Smartphones, Fax and many more technologies. It is also said, the teams
who are working beyond organisation levels refer as virtual teams. In relation to Apple, if the
company adopt this it will help company in managing their business globally or worldwide. With
this, the market share of the company increases which in turns increases sales & profitability.
TASK 4
P4. Concepts of OB within an organisational context and a given business situation.
Organizational behaviour can be defined as the study of the performances of both
individuals and groups in an organization(Secchi and Neumann, 2016). The concept of
organisational behaviour is primarily based on two concepts, namely – the nature of the
organization and the nature of people. The most commonly used theory by the organizations is
the Path Goal Theory. The same is discussed below -
Path Goal Theory
Path Goal Theory was proposed by Robert House in 1970 and identifies a particular
leadership behaviour or style that fits in the employee and the environment of work in the
organisation in order to achieve goals and objectives. The main objective of this theory is to

increase the employees' motivation, empower them and make them satisfied with their jobs so
that there is an increase in their overall performance and productivity.
As per the theory, the leaders within an organisation must pay attention on using different
types of leadership styles. The theory comprises of three elements, namely- characteristics of the
employees, environment and tasks and leadership behaviour. All three elements are explained
below -
Characteristics of Employees – The leaders in an organization should recognize and
interpret what do they subordinates need so that they can be more motivated and encouraged to
work. Employee characteristics should be kept in mind while formulating strategies which result
in increasing their performance as well as productivity. There are times when employees make a
negative state of mind due to non-fulfilment of their needs(Tian and Peterson, 2016). In
reference to Apple, the management of the company formulates strategies based on the
behaviours and characteristics of the employees. This not only helps the leaders in motivating
and encouraging the employees but also in increasing their productivity so that the employees
work with full enthusiasm which will in turn result in increase in the profitability of the
company.
Task and Environment Characteristics – This element is about leaders ensuring that
the organisational environment is healthy, secure as well as comfortable for the employees so
that they are easily able to perform the tasks. Also, the leaders ensure that the tasks that are being
assigned to the employees lie in their area of interest and match with their skills so that it is
simpler for them to complete it. This will not only help the companies in increasing their
productivity but overall sales also. With respect to Apple, having a negative atmosphere within
the premises causes conflicts among the employees which has a direct impact on the overall
productivity of the company.
The two elements of the theory explained above show that the working environment and
ineffective communication among the employees are affecting the performance of Apple to a
large extent. Therefore, the company needs to look into its strategies and refine them to improve
as well as enhance the level of is overall performance in the market and also to increase their
employees' productivity(Vasu, Stewart and Garson, 2017).
Leadership Behaviour – This element involves the leaders adapting and altering the
styles of behaviours as per the employees' requirements to ensure that they are motivated towards

getting the tasks done. Leadership behaviour comprises of four styles of leadership, namely –
supportive, participative, directive and achievement-oriented. This leadership styles help in
managing a smooth flow of tasks and activities in order to increase the motivational level and
self-confidence of the employees. According to the present situations of ineffective
communication and a gloomy environment in Apple, Participative style of leadership would suit
best in order to solve the prevailing issues.
This leadership style involves the management consulting for inputs and suggestions with
the employees of the company before any particular decision is made. This behaviour is
applicable when the employees are highly engaged with their work. This style gives the
employees a chance to share their inputs and how they feel in order to get outcomes that are
successful. It also gives them a sense of being a part and being considered in the company which
empowers them to work more productively which helps the organisation to achieve its goals and
objectives within the specifies period of time(Vibert, 2017). Besides having advantages, this
leadership style comes with disadvantages along with it. It is a time consuming process as the
leaders or the managers require time to listen and understand the inputs of each employee and
understand their point of view. This may lead to a slower decision making process. Also, there
may be cases where leaders may feel that using this type of leadership style will lessen their
authority and influence over the employees.
Participative leadership style has both positive as well as negative impacts on the
functioning of the organization. It helps in increasing the self-confidence of the employees as
their inputs are considered for the organisation to be successful. This in turn makes employees
participate more actively in improving the conditions at workplace and this helps the company in
adapting to the policy changes at a high pace. It also helps in retaining the employees as they
would not like to switch companies and also encourage sharing of innovative and creative ideas.
Participative leadership style can also assist in improving and enhancing the quality of decisions
that are undertaken by the company. Since different employees have different perspectives, this
can also lead to conflicts and demotivation in the company. Thus, Apple needs to consider both
advantages as well as disadvantages of the leadership style that it chooses to implement.
Organizational Behaviour also includes contingency and autocratic philosophies with the
former focussing on the employees and latter focussing on making strategies and plans that are
effective and are formulated according to employees' needs(Weick, 2017). As far as Apple is

concerned, The management of the company should use contingency philosophy in order to
encourage better and effective communication among the employees of the company.
CONCLUSION
From the above study, it has been stated that there are several factors that affect
negatively as well as positively on the attitude and behaviour of team or individuals. It includes
politics, culture, power and many which directly affect organisation performance and
productivity. In the report, some motivational theories is mentioned that assist companies in
encouraging and build positive behaviour among the members of companies. This theories also
build positive mindset which directly influence profitability of organisation in a positive manner.
With this, developing effective teams decline the risk level and grievances that occur in the
organisation. Thus, it assist in gaining organisational objectives on the stipulated time. Tuckman
theory of team development builds and make positive environment in the organisation. By this,
the positive outcomes is achieved in an appropriate manner. The morale of employees brings
down when their hard work is not appreciated by the managers of the company. At last, the
leaders choose participative leadership style that gives an opportunity to every employee to
share their thoughts and skills in decision making process. In addition this, it increases overall
efficiency and productivity of subordinates in the organisation.

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