Barclays Organisational Behaviour: Power, Culture, and Team Motivation

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Organisational Behaviour of Barclays
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
LO1 Determine the impact of power, culture and politics on organisational behaviour...........3
P1 Evaluate the effects of power, culture and politics on performance of an individual and
team in an organisation..........................................................................................................3
LO2 Analyse how motivation of teams and individuals is provided to achieve goal................6
P2 Give description regarding motivational theories and further elaborate the techniques of
motivation used for achieving organisational goals...............................................................6
LO3 Exhibit the ways in which, effective cooperation is developed and maintained with other
people.........................................................................................................................................9
P3 Discuss the detail regarding effective team and factors, which differentiates from an
ineffective team......................................................................................................................9
LO4 Apply concepts and philosophies of organisational behaviour to a given business
situation....................................................................................................................................13
P4 Examine the behaviour of organisation by the application of suitable theories and
principles..............................................................................................................................13
Conclusion................................................................................................................................14
References................................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
Organisational behaviour is the study of human behaviour in the business environment, inside
the organisation and acts as an interface between human behaviour and the organisation. This
report constitutes of the behaviour of individual and the roles played by them in the
organisation. In this report, the researcher is chosen as a HR manager of Barclays, and the
steps that must be taken to improve the performance of the company are mentioned.
Organisational behaviour in the company is influenced by developing sectors such as
sociology, psychology, economics, engineering, and by gaining experience of practitioners.
Barclays is a multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in
London. The HR manager in this report determines the impact of power, culture and politics
on the organisational behaviour. Various theories are provided in this report to analyse the
effect of motivation on teams and individuals. The importance of effective team in an
organisation to support the organisational behaviour is also described. All the necessary
factors to influence the organisational behaviour and to improve the performance of
organisation will be identified by the HR.
LO1 Determine the impact of power, culture and politics on organisational behaviour
P1 Evaluate the effects of power, culture and politics on performance of an individual
and team in an organisation
Influence of Culture and Handy’s model
Culture of an organisation represents the beliefs, ideologies, practices and policies performed
in it. According to Suppiah and Singh Sandhu, (2011), culture of an organisation sets
boundaries for the team and gives a sense of direction.
Figure 1: Handy’s four classes of culture

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(Source: S3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com, 2019)
Handy defined organisational culture in four classes, i.e. Power, Role, Task and Person.
Power culture in an organisation is held by few individuals. Few rules and regulations
determine the power culture. A team is controlled form the centre using the power culture.
Role culture in an organisation is based on rules. Each team member is been made aware of
their rules and regulations towards the organisation. Task culture is formed in an organisation
when a team is formed to address a specific issue in a project. This culture has no single
power source and unites all the team members. As suggested by Halligan and Zecevic (2011),
organisations, which operate person culture, make the individuals see themselves as unique
and superior to the organisation. Customers in Barclays are seen as person culture.
Hofstede’s theory and the cultural differences
Figure 2: Six dimensions of Hofstede theory
(Source: Research-lincs.org.uk, 2019)
The culture of Barclays influences the employees and the customers. When an organisation is
engaged in global advertising, the promotional efforts of the company need to appeal the
customers in different cultures. As reflected by Montgomery et al. (2011), the six cultural
dimension of Hofstede theory are, power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty
avoidance, time orientation and indulgence. The power distance dimension expresses the
hierarchical distribution of power and the needs in Barclays. Individualism vs Collectivism
dimension expresses about the interests of individuals and groups in the organisation. Next

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dimension, masculinity versus femininity is about which values are considered more
important in society. Fourth dimension in Hofstede theory is uncertainty avoidance, which
expresses the degree to which general public feel uncomfortable with vulnerability and
uncertainty. According to Hofstede (2011), the time orientation dimension expresses the
challenges of present and future faced by company. The last dimension of this theory is
indulgence and is defined as the degree to which people can try to control their desires and
impulses.
Influence of politics
Actions which are not officially endorsed or accepted by a company that are taken to impact
others in order to satisfy personal greed and goals is referred as organisational politics. Yoo et
al. (2011) have stated that individual who has political power in the organisation has the
ability to intercede for someone in trouble, exceed the budget limits and gets things done on
own terms at meetings. This influences the organisation and the affects adversely on the
performance of other employees. Factors that contribute towards the organisational politics
are autocratic decisions, discretionary authority, biased performance appraisal and saturation
in promotion. Organisational politics affects the overall productivity of Barclays, demotivates
employees, affects the concentration, increases stress on individuals and wrong information is
provided to the employees. According to Taras et al. (2012), organisational politics has not
helped anyone and has created negative ambience at the workplace.
Influence of power
Power in an organisation is the ability to control the environment. If an individual has more
control over the power, he can choose and make act others accordingly. As per the opinion of
Cacciattolo, (2014), managers lead at Barclays by empowering more power to the employees.
They drive power from the five sources, which are reward, coercive, legitimate, referent and
expert power. Performance of extraordinary things in an organisation results in gain of
personal power. It is possible for an individual to affect the behaviour of others using his
personal power and without having any formal permission or authority. According to Garcia-
Gavilanes et al. (2013), legitimate power is gained by an individual with his position in the
company. In case of legitimate power, authority confers the power. Positional power is the
activity of an expert assigned to an individual. Barclays empowers more to the employees
due to high competition and the need for obtaining quick decisions to maintain their position
in the market.

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LO2 Analyse how motivation of teams and individuals is provided to achieve goal.
P2 Give description regarding motivational theories and further elaborate the
techniques of motivation used for achieving organisational goals
Motivational theories
As opined by Chinomona and Chinomona (2013), leaders from early time need to find out the
source of motivation for their team members and so does Barclays. Managers and leaders
always hold a personal meeting with their employees to find out the mistakes done in the
task. Various motivation theories, (content and process theories) enables Barclays to achieve
their desired goals. As defined by Abbas et al. (2014), content theory focuses on what,
whereas process theory is focused on how human behaviour is motivated in the organisation.
Content theories
Alderfer theory
As reflected by McLaughlin et al. (2012), the needs for existence, such as food, water, air,
clothing etc., relatedness needs such as relationship with co-workers, family, subordinates
etc., and growth needs such as internal self-esteem, self-realisation are satisfied by Barclays
by providing financial incentives to the employees. Alderfer theory focuses on the fulfilment
of human desires by providing financial incentives, to the employees who have gained value
in the organisation and had a positive effect on other people. As opined by Joshi and Fast,
(2013), Barclays, do provide financial incentives to its employees but is unable to meet other
needs of the people, and thus does not meet the motivation level. To execute Alderfer
motivation theory in an effective manner, the managers at Barclays focus on multiple needs
of the employees rather than focusing on only one need. Leaders at Barclays recognise the
needs of employees at an early stage and apply Alderfer theory to meet all those needs and
pursue growth again.
Herzber’s two-factor theory
According to Yang et al. (2011), the manager at Barclays asks his employees that, when do
they feel good about their job and when do they feel extremely bad for it. This decides the
satisfaction and dissatisfaction level of the employees towards their work and the factors
affecting it. Certain factors, which truly motivate the employees, are called motivators and

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some factors that lead to dissatisfaction are called hygiene factors. Examples of hygiene
factors that demotivate the employees are salary, personal life, policy and the relationship
with subordinates, whereas the factor which motivates the employees of Barclays are,
achievement, recognition, advancement and the work itself. As defined by Oswick et al.
(2011), managers use this theory to neglect situational variable and motivate an individual.
Managers at Barclays not only help to eliminate the hygiene factors but also improve the
motivating factors. They talk to their team members to understand the dissatisfactory
elements and eliminate them.
Figure 3: Herzberg’s Two-factor theory
(Source: Tankonyvtar.hu, 2019)
Process theories
Vroom’s expectancy theory
As defined by Tan and Waheed (2011), this theory implies that strongest motivator is the
expectation of outcomes. The managers at Barclays set a goal, which is not too hard for the
employees as employees can clearly see the potential output and get highly motivated.
Managers make their employees believe that better performance in their job will lead to
exciting rewards such as upgradation or increase in salary. Pegler (2012) has stated that the
rewards provided should be closely related to their performance to enhance their
performance. The rewards must be according to the needs of employees and provided to the
deserving employees. Barclays should make high effort in training their employees to

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improve their capabilities, which would lead to better performance. Employees also need to
feel that their increased effort will make them able to gain high bonus.
Locke Goal setting theory
Goal setting theory is based on the idea that, a person must be dropped in the water to make
him swim so should be the employees of company to face challenges. According to Suciu et
al. (2013), SMART objectives are set by the managers to achieve goal of the company.
Managers at Barclays, push their employees to do something that they believed they could
not do. This would make the employees feel motivated and tackle challenges easily. These
challenging goals would develop the skills of employees and reap the reward in terms of
positive feedback. As per the opinion of Renko et al. (2012), managers set a clear and
challenging goal at the organisation. The employees also understand and get committed to the
goal. A regular feedback is gained by the managers to keep the goal on track and helps the
employees to break down tasks to perform it efficiently.
Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation
Motivation can be thought as permanence, with qualities and rewards portrayed by intrinsic
elements at one end and extrinsic factors on the other end. Intrinsic implies that the
employees are inspired by rewards, which are generally intangible. According to Landers et
al. (2017), intrinsic motivation comes from inside and place more value on the outcomes
rather than the external factors. The factors that can be linked to our feelings are enjoying the
challenge, feeling satisfied, feeling capable, and the satisfaction at realising self-potential. As
opined by Welsh and Ordóñez (2014), intrinsic motivation plays an important role in
motivating the employees at Barclays.
Extrinsic motivation arises from the external factors and rewards in an organisation. At
Barclays, some of these factors are fringe benefits, things that can be bought by salary,
security and the conditions of work. These factors are not controlled by manager of the
organisation and are determined at an organisational level. As described by Cerasoli et al.
(2014), effective manager at Barclays do not care about the external factors and support their
colleagues, which are motivated by such factors. At the organisation, both intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation could be found at each end. Employees need to follow one end and move
along the continuum.
How motivation influences team building at Barclays

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Motivated people in an organisation have positive outlook and tries to get the best out of any
situation. Employees at Barclays need to be motivated high enough to achieve of their true
potential. As opined by Rogstadius et al. (2011), the managers make the purpose of the team
clear and help to build an effective team. The challenge, which needs to be overcome by a
team at Barclays to build an effective team, should be high motivation. A challenge creates
high motivation and brings the team closer to achieve it. Responsibility and authority in a
team maintains motivation within a team for a longer period. According to Reader et al.
(2011), a good leader acts as a catalyst to influence motivation and to understand the purpose
of team. These factors tend to create the best possible environment at Barclays and sustain
motivation.
LO3 Exhibit the ways in which, effective cooperation is developed and maintained with
other people
P3 Discuss the detail regarding effective team and factors, which differentiates from an
ineffective team
Types of organisational team
Different companies have different organisational teams. Similar happens with Barclays,
some of the teams are permanent and some are temporary. According to Pelegrini Morita et
al. (2014), the collaborative work of a team is very necessary and members have both
individual and mutual accountability. The different organisational team at Barclays include
business-banking team, corporate banking team, and a team that provides solution to the
customers, group functioning team and technology management team. As opined by Raes et
al. (2015), a successful organisational team is a group of many hands and one mind. The five
teams in a workplace include project team, self-managed team, virtual team, operational team
and problem-solving team. All the members of the team work with a unique purpose to
achieve a shared goal. Most of teams at Barclays represent hybrid of these team and serve the
organisation.
Factors that differentiates an ineffective team from effective team
Smith et al. (2012) argues that insignificant presence of teams or groups in an organisation
does not guarantee success of the team. Effective team holds a healthy discussion and
introduce creativity before reaching a decision whereas ineffective team quickly agrees on a
decision. The conflicts over a discussion are seen as positive light in an effective team. Factor

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which contribute towards the effective team at Barclays are open discussion, using situational
leadership, pursuing common goals and the assessment of own’s progress to achieve the
goals and make necessary changes. Clear assignments are made and accepted by all the
members of an effective team whereas the decisions made are unclear in an ineffective team.
As reflected by Perrone-McGovern et al. (2014), factors that can be found in ineffective
team are atmosphere full of tensions, as decisions are made through voting, or performance is
not assessed. To become successful, a team must be effective and contribute towards the
success of organisation.
Tuckman’s team development model
Figure 4: Tuckman’s team development model
(Source: Businessballs.com, 2019)
The Tuckman’s theory also known as Forming Norming storming and performing theory
explains the behaviour of a team. According to Alanazi et al. (2013), this model can be
applied to any group to understand the stages of development where a team has to pass at
work. The first stage at Barclays is forming, where people with different background get to
know each other and try to avoid conflict by playing nice. Next stage is storming, where the
boundaries set in forming stage are pushed and the team decides to move together. Conflicts
may rise in this stage and some teams may be stuck in this stage. In the third stage called as
norming, action plan of the team comes together. Battilana and Casciaro (2012) have stated
that trust within the team members is developed in this stage. Performing is stage where the
performance of a team is assessed. People in the team are motivated and leaders encourage

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creative conflicts in this stage. The last stage in this model is adjourning, as it wraps or sums
up of the task and breaking the team. A good leader analyses all these stages and support the
team.
Belbin’s typology
Action oriented roles
Shaper It challenges the team to
improve.
Implementor This role puts the ideas of
the team into action.
Completer or Finisher This role ensures the timely
completion of the task.
People Oriented Roles
Coordinator The role of coordinator is to
act as a chairperson.
Team Worker It encourages cooperation in
a team.
Resource investigator The role of resource
investigator is to explore the
outside opportunities.
Thought Oriented Roles
Plant Plant team presents new
ideas and approaches to the
team.
Monitor-Evaluator The task of this team is to
analyse the different options
and areas for a team.
Specialist Specialist team provides
specialised skills to the
team.
Table 1: Belbin’s team roles
(Source: Learner)

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As suggested by Talke and Heidenreich (2014), a large group at Barclays is broken down into
smaller and assigned the roles mentioned above. These roles help to identify the potential
strength and weakness of a team and resolve the conflicts between the co-workers. The team
at Barclays is asked to come up nine roles within their team as per the three action roles,
which would help the team to focus and perform more efficiently.
Conflict resolution strategy
Figure 5: Conflict resolution strategy
(Source: Theparticipationcompany.com, 2019)
Different conflict resolution strategies are required to deal with conflict. The five strategies
that are used by people to handle conflict are avoiding, defeating, competing, accommodating
and compromising. As reflected by Suppiah and Singh Sandhu (2011), avoiding strategy is
used to ignore or withdraw a conflict. If a conflict would be avoided, nothing is resolved in
the organisation. Second strategy to resolve conflict is competing. It is used to win a conflict
by the people. It is a good strategy to solve problems in a group. Next strategy is
accommodating, in which one party gives up on the demands of others. Collaborating is the
fourth strategy and is used when the people of both the groups are cooperative and assertive.
The last strategy to resolve conflicts is compromising in which participants are partially
assertive and cooperative.