Asda plc: Organisational Culture, Politics, Power, and Motivation

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Organisational Behaviour
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Table of Contents
Introduction..............................................................................................................................1
LO1............................................................................................................................................2
P1 Analyse how an organisation’s culture, politics and power can influence
individual and team behaviour and performance.............................................................2
M1 Critically analyse how the culture, politics and power of an organisation can
influence individual and team behaviour and performance............................................3
LO2............................................................................................................................................4
P2 Evaluate how content and process theories of motivation and motivational
techniques enable effective achievement of goals in an organisational context.............4
M2 Critically evaluates how to influence the behaviour of others through the
effective application of behavioural motivational theories, concepts and models.........6
D1 Critically evaluates the relationship between culture, politics, power and
motivation that enables teams and organisations to succeed, providing justified
recommendations.................................................................................................................7
LO3............................................................................................................................................8
P3 Demonstrate an understanding of what makes an effective team, as opposed to an
ineffective team.....................................................................................................................8
M3 Analyse relevant team and group development theories to support the
development of dynamic co-operation.............................................................................10
LO4..........................................................................................................................................11
P4 Apply concepts and philosophies of OB within an organisational context and a
given business situation......................................................................................................11
M4 Justify and evaluate a range of concepts and philosophies in how they inform and
influence behaviour in both positive and negative ways.................................................12
D2 Critically analyse and evaluate the relevance of team development theories in the
context of OB concepts and philosophies that influence behaviour in the workplace.
..............................................................................................................................................13
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................14
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References...............................................................................................................................15
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Introduction
The concept of organizational behaviour is all about understanding the real ways regarding
how individual behave within the workplace. In every type of organization it is necessary
that employees must present positive behaviour and in the case of negative behaviour it
represents that that the internal culture and practices of the firm are not at all effective.
Further, for better functioning teams are formed and on the basis of this operations within the
workplace are carried out efficient (Niven and Boorman, 2016).
Concept of motivation is also very important in the organization as by considering various
motivational practices it is quite easy to motivate the most valuable staff members in a
positive manner. The theories of motivation such as Maslow need, Herzberg two factors or
any other highlight the key factors through which staff members can be motivated easily.
The present study is based on company Asda plc that conducts operations in the market of
UK. The report is based on analyzing the organizational behaviour practices of Asda plac
along with influence of power, politics, importance of motivational theory etc.
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LO1
P1 Analyse how an organisation’s culture, politics and power can influence individual
and team behaviour and performance.
In every type of business organization culture, power and politics plays most crucial role and
it directly influences the team behaviour along with various members also. Further, in case
of culture different type of organizational culture are present such as task, role, power and
person. In case of role culture every individual is highly aware about the key roles and
responsibilities assigned. Power culture reflects that power within the organization is held by
few individuals only in the workplace (O'Neill, et al. 2016). Task culture takes place when
teams are organized for conducting the business tasks. At last in person culture every
individual perceive themselves to be highly superior.
In case of Asda plc mainly task culture is practiced where for accomplishing any specific
task teams are formed and this positive influences team and individual behaviour. Every
individual prefers to take actions or initiatives and at the same time support is provided to
every team member for accomplishing the business goals in a proper manner. This culture
has brought fruitful results for the firm and at the same time every individual focuses on
providing proper support to each other (Provan, et al. 2017). On the other hand if the culture
of the firm is power when only top officials have high power then it negatively influences
behaviour within the workplace.
Within Asda plc the politic level is sound where management provides proper support to the
employees and through this the business tasks are conducted smoothly. On the other hand,
when level of politics is not favourable and it creates hurdle for the employees to act
efficiently then in such case it has negative impact on team and individual performance also.
At last the role of power is also very crucial. Within Asda plc power is distributed equally
when every individual has power to conduct all the business operations and taking crucial
decisions also (Takeuchi, et al. 2015). Hence, in this case individuals and teams within the
workplace prefer to behave in a positive manner and their contribution in the business
practice also increases. On the other hand, when power is not distributed equally then it
creates de-motivation among the staff in the workplace. Hence, through the analysis it can be
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clearly stated that role of culture, power and politics directly influences the behaviour of
team along with the individuals in the workplace.
M1 Critically analyse how the culture, politics and power of an organisation can
influence individual and team behaviour and performance
As per view of Wu, et al. (2016) culture of the organization plays important role in
influencing team behaviour. When the culture is favourable then it directly enhances the
contribution level of the staff members in the business affairs. In case of Asda plc the
company has considered the task culture where efficient teams are formed for conducting the
business practices properly. Hence, in this case influence level is positive and in turn
individuals along with the teams are able to perform better. According to Yu, et al. (2018)
level of politics also matters a lot when politics is negative and in turn it adversely affects
every individual then performance is negatively affected in this case. Employees of Asda plc
will not be able to perform in a proper manner when politics level is not at all favourable.
Presence of positive level of politics directly supports in encouraging staff so that they can
easily take large amount of initiatives for the welfare of the firm. However Zhong, et al.
(2016) argued that level of power is also very important and when power is provided to
every individual equally then in such case they can easily perform better. It is necessary that
power must be distributed in a proper manner as it allows staff members to contribute
maximum in the key practices of the firm.
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LO2
P2 Evaluate how content and process theories of motivation and motivational
techniques enable effective achievement of goals in an organisational context
Presence of right motivation is very important in the workplace as it is all about encouraging
the staff members in a proper manner. Further, content and process theories of motivation
are present that are applicable in case of Asda plc. In case of content theories they mainly
focus on knowing what motivates the individual within the workplace. On the other hand,
process theory helps in knowing why and how motivation occurs. Different theories lie
under content one and it undertakes Maslow need hierarchy, McClelland three needs,
Herzberg two factor etc. Within Asda the Herzberg two factor theories is highly relevant
with respect to motivate the staff members in the workplace (Aithal, 2016). Two factors are
motivating and hygiene. Generally in case of motivating factor they enhance the staff
motivation level such as reward, incentive, salary, working environment of the firm etc. This
is most crucial from the point view of motivating staff. On the other hand, presence of
hygiene factors such as poor salary, reward, negative working environment etc de-motivate
the staff members and they are not able to work efficiently. Hence, this theory can be easily
undertaken in order to enhance the staff motivation level.
On the other hand, in case of process theories it involve Vroom’s expectancy theory, Adam
equity theory etc. These approaches to motivation are different from content theories. In
accordance with the Adam’s equity theory it is based on input and output (Alvesson and
Sveningsson, 2015). Mainly the employee input in the form of skill level, hard work etc
brings acceptable amount of output in the form of reward etc. With this theory also it is
possible to enhance the motivation level of the staff members working in Asda plc and in
turn it can provide long term benefits to the business also.
In comparison in between the content and process theories it has been found that content
theories are highly effective. The main contribution of this theory is that it helps in knowing
about the real factors that can be considered for enhancing the staff motivation level and
through this staff members can actively participate in the key practices of the firm. With the
assistance of Maslow need hierarchy theory it is possible to undertake different needs of the
staff such as safety, security, self esteem, actualization etc are highly effective and through
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this employees can be easily motivated to work for the betterment of the firm. Hence, in this
way the content and process theories are highly effective.
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M2 Critically evaluates how to influence the behaviour of others through the effective
application of behavioural motivational theories, concepts and models.
In order to influence behaviour in a positive manner the best part is to undertake
motivational theories. One of the best theories is Herzberg two factor theory that undertakes
motivation and hygiene factors within the workplace. In case of motivation factor the
company like Asda plc can easily focus on providing favourable working environment to the
staff, good salary, incentive, bonuses etc through which employees will be able to contribute
in the business activities properly (Armstrong, 2018). Generally monetary rewards are
considered to be highly effective and if they are provided to the staff members from the point
view of motivation then it can surely bring favourable results for the firm. On the other hand,
presence of hygiene factor creates de-motivation like improper pay scale, lack of incentives,
poor reward strategy etc and this reduces the motivation level of the staff members.
Along with this, Maslow need hierarchy theory is also present so as to motivate the staff
members in the workplace. The key needs are safety, esteem, self actualization,
physiological and love need. In case if all these needs are satisfied within the workplace in a
proper manner then employees can be easily encouraged to actively participate.
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D1 Critically evaluates the relationship between culture, politics, power and motivation
that enables teams and organisations to succeed, providing justified recommendations.
As per view of Azhagarasi and Vijayakumar (2017) when different elements of
organizational behaviour are in favour of the firm like power, politics, culture etc then it
supports a lot in enhancing team and organizational performance. Presence of right culture
and equal distribution of the power supports a lot in engaging staff members into the
business affairs and they prefer to work for the betterment of the organization. Right culture
leads to increase in the staff motivation level where employees are highly motivated and they
are encouraged to conduct the business tasks efficiently.
According to Barry and Wilkinson, (2016) when level of politics is not up to the mark and at
the same time culture of the firm is not at all supportive then it becomes very difficult to
encourage staff members so that they can work efficiently. It is recommended to the
management of Asda plc to focus on distribution of power in a proper manner like in case if
all the individuals are given equal power then in such case they will be easily encouraged to
take part in the key activities of the firm actively. Another main practice that is
recommended is to focus on different motivation practices like undertaking reward,
incentives, bonus scheme etc through which actual behaviour of employees can be
influenced in a positive manner.
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LO3
P3 Demonstrate an understanding of what makes an effective team, as opposed to an
ineffective team
Development of effective team is quite necessary within Asda plc as through this all the
operations of the firm can be carried out efficiently. One of main factor is proper
communication that makes effective team. In case when flow of ideas and information takes
place smoothly within the workplace then it leads to development of effective team. On the
other hand, when proper communication is not at all present then sharing of ideas will be
very difficult and in turn the team will be inefficient also.
Another main factor that leads to development of effective team is clear roles and
responsibilities (Burrell and Morgan, 2017). In the case when team members are not at all
clear about their roles within the workplace then they will not be able to conduct the
assigned tasks properly. For building efficient teams within Asda plc the most crucial part is
to clarify the real responsibilities in advance and with the assistance of this the team
members can conduct the assigned tasks in the best possible manner. When role of every
team member is not at all clear then it acts as hurdle and at the same time the organizational
tasks are not carried out smoothly.
From the point view of effective team development leadership is most important where if the
leader is efficient enough in conducting the overall practices of the team then in such case
team affairs will not be carried out. For instance, if the leader has adopted democratic style
then in such case the leader will be able to encourage the team members to actively
participate in the team affairs and it will have positive impact on the team performance. On
the other hand, if leadership style is not at all appropriate where team members are not
considered to be valuable then in such case it can lead to ineffective team. In short without
effective leadership no team can successfully operate or can carry out the overall affairs in a
positive way (Marques, et al. 2018).
Proper coordination between the team member is also important and it leads to development
of effective team. When all the members within the workplace prefer to coordinate with each
other then it leads to effective team. Moreover, when no such coordination is present and due
to lack of understanding employees are unable to act properly then it leads to ineffective
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team. Hence, in this ways these are some of the factors that lead to effective and ineffective
teams within the workplace.
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