Organizational Behavior at BBC: A Comprehensive Case Study Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of organizational behavior within the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It examines the organization's culture, power dynamics, and political behavior, comparing the previous state to the changes implemented after 2015. The report delves into e...Read More

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
IN BBC
1

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
PART 1 .........................................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 .........................................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2 .........................................................................................................................................................4
a) It is important for the BBC to get the best out of its employees, both in an individual and a team
capacity. ..................................................................................................................................................4
b) How will improved levels of motivation within the BBC help to achieve its organizational goals?.....6
PART 2 .........................................................................................................................................................7
A) Different types of teams within the BBC and why having different types of teams is important.......7
b) Explain what makes an effective team in the BBC. .............................................................................9
b) What have been the main barriers to effective performance within the BBC?.................................11
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................................................13
2

INTRODUCTION
The term organizational behavior can be defined as a process which focuses on how
people interact in groups and also working with each other. The technique is applied so as to
create a more effective organization by focusing on areas such as employee motivation,
teamwork, and leadership among others (Ford, 2014). The present study is based on a case study
of BBC which recently underwent structural and cultural changes. This was after series of issues
were found in overall working of company with respect to culture, communication, management
as well as leadership. The study has made a comparative analysis of the culture, power, and
politics that was present before and the one which is there now. Other than this, focus is also
given on motivation and teamwork followed by discussing theories by which employee
performance and productivity can be increased. Last but not the least barriers to effective
teamwork in BBC have also been discussed.
PART 1
TASK 1
Organizational culture
According to Handy’s typology, BBC in previous times had a presence of power culture
in its organization where the power was held by just a few members who influenced overall
working of the company (Gill, 2015). The case study as well as Smith Review (2016) findings
also suggests that there was an existence of increased bullying, harassment by the management
on employees. Also, the staff complaints were not listened to which made the employees feel
demotivated. There was also an existence of gender pay gap which was very demoralizing for
female staff members (Newbery, 2017). The presence of complex work processes and tighter
collaboration between teams affected employee behavior as they were not comfortable with
respect to raising concerns on a ready basis. They were quite afraid to speak out and talk openly
about overall issues. Things took a drastic change when a new Director General joined the
company in 2015. There was now an existence of person culture as per Handy’s typology. The
hr. has been playing a key role in influencing organizational culture and they are there to provide
best of resources and atmosphere so that they work can be delivered by employees in an
unsurpassed manner (Bakker, 2017). There is also a presence of increased management visibility
followed by more work recognition that has led to an improved culture within organization. As
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per the case study, a drastic change has now been seen in employee behavior as there is an
increase in employee engagement by 3 percent and an enhanced passion and proud for work.
Power and political behavior of managers
As per French and Racen’s five type of power, the one present in BBC is coercive in
nature. This is as the management was involved in practices such as employee bullying and
harassment; not listening to staff complaints; keeping pay gaps with respect to gender (Burke,
2017). This kind of power usage led to unhealthy employee behavior in form of staff turnover as
well as overall work based dissatisfaction. Overall the power relations in BBC were such that
they did not justify the company values being trust, integrity, fairness in all dealings as well as
respect for each other. But things have changed for now, as there is a presence of legitimate
power within organization which given to the person on basis of his or her role within company.
In this regard, this has changed employee behavior as they can work without any fear as the
manager will reward or punish a person on basis of his or her activities.
As per Chanlat’s characteristics of political behavior, it can be said that politics practiced
in BBC in the past was as per personal nature of managers (Ford, 2014). The management used
to manipulate the policies for their own self-interest. For example, they did not allow the
employees to give their viewpoints in matters related to company and did not heard their
complaints as well. This affected staff behavior as they were not comfortable with respect to
work responsibilities and also felt highly demotivated. But things have changed for the good now
as there is a presence of good and friendly work culture and absence of unnecessary politics in
the organization. A drastic change in staff behavior has also been observed as they can raise
complaints without any fear and are ready to show increased loyalty towards the company.
TASK 2
a) It is important for the BBC to get the best out of its employees, both in an individual and a
team capacity.
Content theories of motivation
It is very essential to motivate the employees of BBC both as an individual and within a
team so that best results can be obtained from them. Various strategies can be used for the
following. One such is Maslow's Need Hierarchy theory of motivation where management must
assess varied needs of staff members such as good salary, work satisfaction, secured work
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culture etc. (Hoque, 2013). This will help in fulfillment of various needs. In case of BBC, several
areas of need hierarchy are required to be worked upon so as to motivate the employees. This in
on account of the previous work culture issues that were prevalent in BBC. For example, the
very first need to be fulfilled is of security. The employees can give their best efforts when they
are provided with good wages and salaries to the employees irrespective of the gender issue.
Along with this, as per past culture, the management at BBC did not give an ear to complaints of
employees hence this area should also be focused upon. Best performance can be generated
when management formulates an employee grievance cell where emphasis can be given on their
issues. There is also a presence of Belongingness need which not fulfilled in previous work
culture of the company (Emir, 2016). Things seemed to have improved by great extent in the
new work culture. More can be done in this regard so as to get best employee performance. This
can happen by treating everyone equal and also ensuring towards social interaction in employees.
Increased participation should be focused on by involving the staff members in decision making
process.
There can also be a use of David McClelland need theory where management must focus on
three main areas being power, affiliation and achievement to get the best out of employees (Gill,
2015). As per the past organizational culture, majority of the employees were in need of
affiliation which can be ensured by listening to thoughts and opinions of staff. Employee
performance can be enhanced by frequent discussion and open communication sessions that are
of two way nature. This will ensure that the every team member gets a chance to be involved
which will make him or her motivated (Mitchell, 2017). Then is the need for power which is
most likely to be prevalent in those staff members who have spent a good amount of item in
BBC. Hence the staff can be provided with leadership opportunities followed by promotion in
case good work has been delivered by them. This is most needed in journalism segment as the
work involves for her work and patience. Last but not the least need is of achievement where the
journalist can be made to work on those stories that help in creating difference for company or
mankind in particular.
Process theory of motivation
In order to get the best out of BBC employees, there can also be an application of equity
theory in workplace of BBC where the staff members must be given equal treatment. This was
however not prevalent in previous culture of BBC where there was an existence of gender pay
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issues. The need here is that all the employees whether male or female should be treated equally
with respect to the efforts given by them in the company. Another step can be by avoiding office
politics and paying as per the work that has been rendered by employees (Němečková, 2017).
For example, a hard working employee should always be paid a good compensation in
comparison to one who is not rendering full efforts. If this strategy is not employed by BBC
officials then demotivation is likely to take place in employees who will hamper success of
company.
Other than the above, management at BBC can further make use of Goal setting theory to make
sure that staff gives best both in terms of individual and a team capacity. In this regard, the need
is to set challenging goals such as involving journalists in crucial stories; setting timeline for
editors. The goals will ensure that staff gives maximum efforts in a given time span (Burke,
2017).
b) How will improved levels of motivation within the BBC help to achieve its organizational
goals?
An improved level of motivation in employees of BBC is most likely to help in
attainment of BBC goals in the following manner.
Increase in staff retention - A highly motivated staff is least likely to leave the
organization. This will automatically lower the rate of employee turnover and enhance loyalty of
staff towards organization. HR can save a lot of time and money on recruiting and training the
employee. This will help in attaining organizational goals of increased sales revenue and
profitability. The HR of BBC plan motivational activities such as training and development
sessions, motivational sessions, conduct employees engagement activities, encourage employees
and so on. By doing these type of activities in an organization, employer can develop feeling of
connection and relations among employees which leads to employees retention.
Easy attainment of goals - If the staff members of BBC such journalists, editors, writers
and employees of other department are motivated then there will be a great ease in attainment of
aims and objectives (Ford, 2014). This is as the staff members will work with increased morale
and dedication. Hence BBC can also maintain its long-term sustainability for coming future. The
HR manager of BBC must develop goal and objective which is easily understand by employees
and then can attain it in effective and efficient manner. Alongwith this, when manager take any
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decisions they must involve their employees so that they feel valuable in an organization and try
to accomplish goal in appropriate manner.
Better work culture – Good organizational culture can lead to increased motivational
levels which can help in attainment of BBC objectives. This is as an improvement will be seen in
teamwork on account of positive energy, increased communication, and collaboration of
employees (Pihlajamaa, 2017). These things are now visible in new organizational culture of
BBC which is clear on account of increase in employee engagement by 3 percent and enhanced
passion and proud for work. It is responsibility of BBC mangers to maintain and develop better
work culture so that employees fell motivated and satisfied with their work as well as culture. If
they develop positive working environment at workplace it will directly enhance the profitability
of respective organization.
More creative and innovative ideas - improved levels of motivation will make room for
innovation and creativity on account of transparency and openness in work-based processes. This
is most needed in the staff members as journalism is all about new idea sharing. This can only be
possible if the employees use their creative mind. This strategy is also in tune with value system
of BBC which showcases the Creativity is the lifeblood of the company (Nwibere, 2014). When
managers of BBC involve their employees or staff in decision making process they able to get
more numbers of innovative and creative ideas which help them in making effective and creative
decision.
Management of BBC has opted for these two theories. These theories aids organization to
have effective results as they will be able to satisfy basic needs of their employees which are
primary for everyone. If employees psychological needs are fulfilled then they will be able to
give their best in their job role as they know that at the end of day they will have job security and
there basic requirements. But if these needs are not met then this will have negative impact on
both employees as well as organization, as they will not be able perform their responsibilities in
desired manner because they know that its not worth it. Therefore, BBC has adopted these
motivational theory by which they are able to satisfy their employees which in turn leads to
enhancement in their performance.
PART 2
TASK 3
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A) Different types of teams within the BBC and why having different types of teams is
important.
The overall working of BBC requires focusing on teamwork so as to generate good news
content. Hence there is an existence of several teams within the company whose importance has
been discussed below;
Functional team – this is defined as the one which is involved in carrying out
operational activities such as hr., finance, editing, copy writing, creative writing works among
others. These types of teams have a presence of employees with a common expertise and skill set
such as human resource department (Gill, 2015). They are important in BBC to attain the basic
objectives of company which is to recruit, train, motivate and appraise human resources. By
develop functional group for conduct project help BBC to achieve goal in effective manner.
Problem-Solving Team – These teams are those that are not formed on a regular basis
and are usually of temporary nature. For example, in case of BBC, this team can be formed when
an issue arises while handling of new technology that has recently been introduced into
organization. The need is to involve employees from IT, management, HR as well as operations
so as to get a detailed understating of problem in hand. BBC from this type of team when they
are facing some major problems and issues. The members of problem solving team are expertise
and deal problems in effective and efficient manner.
Project team – this kind of team is formed in BBC when the need is to accomplish big
project such as broadcasting of a terrorist attack in a nation. The team is formed for a fixed time
period say a week and includes members from various fields such as photographers, technicians,
cameraman, reporter, writers, and editors (Hoque, 2013). The project team is important to
accomplish the job of broadcasting terrors attack on news channel in the given time frame and
within budget. This help BBC in achieving big project effectively by making group of
experienced and professional person. Managers of BBC didn't required to provide training and
development sessions to these employees.
Virtual teams – This kind of team can be defined as a group of individuals that work
together from different locations and rely on technology for communication. This can be in form
of using email, video or voice conferencing etc. This type of team can be formed in BBC to
cover a cricket match which also focuses on reactions of fans from all over the world. This type
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of team formation is cost effective because different location employees contact to each other
through different medium of technology. This can be use by BBC for group meeting,
conferences in different location and so on.
Contract teams – These kinds of teams are sometimes formed in BBC where the
members are outsourced for a project. The team members then disperse off as soon as the project
is completed and contract ends. For example, additional journalists may be needed to cover a
cricket series (Burke, 2017). Hence the company can enter into contractual relations with a few
journalists who are not a part of BBC. They will fulfill work responsibilities just like regular
employees and will leave the firm as soon as the cricket series gets over for which they were
signed for. Contract team is cost effective because BBC only do contract at the time of any
project and after that they disperse. By this respective company get experienced or professional
employees for particular project.
All types of teams mentioned above are important for effective functioning of BBC. This
is as each team is formed for different purpose and time frames. All of them assist in fulfilling
the aims and objectives of company. For example, project team is needed to help the firm in
grabbing audience base which leads to an increase in sales revenue for that time period. On the
other hand, importance problem solving team is for generating solutions for the issue and solving
it in least possible time so that working of BBC is not hampered. From above, it has been
analyzed that teams which are formed within BBC have strong impact on there working.
Depending upon organizational requirements teams are formed.
b) Explain what makes an effective team in the BBC.
An effective team is the one that focuses on increased communication, collaboration, and
team work so as to attain goals and objectives. There should also be a presence of support and
trust among the members followed by openness to express themselves honestly. The employees
should further be willing to resolve conflicts in a construtive manner so as to develop sound
inter-group relations. Effectiveness team working within BBC can be explained with the help of
Tuckman's model.
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Figure 1 Tuckman's model
(Source: Tuckman’s Team & Group Development Model, 2014)
Forming stage – There may be a need to form a team within BBC to broadcast a cricket
series. Employees such as IT experts, broadcasters, journalists, creative writers, cameraman etc.
will gather together. Their roles and responsibilities, time duration and overall objective will be
made clear. Effective teamwork can be attained if employees get comfortable with each other in
no time and are ready to cooperate. A leader is also appointed for this that must focus on proper
communication so as to increase overall effectiveness. At this stage team members get together
and try to understand each other and their work. In respective stage employees interact with each
other and conduct discussions on the topic of project.
Storming stage – In this stage, conflicts and disagreements occur among team members
which also lead to personality clash. An effective teamwork at this stage can be attained if all the
members listen to each other’s thoughts and opinions and respond instead of reacting. At this
stage some issues will occur in BBC related to work and responsibilities in specific task or
project. This can be overcome when manger divide responsibilities and duties of employees and
make them understand how to achieve goal and objective.
Norming stage – In this phase, the employees start focusing on their individual work
responsibilities and move towards attainment of common goal. Effectiveness at this stage can be
maintained if the leader supervises the work of employees and guides them wherever necessary
(Burke, 2017). He should also give space for creativity and open communication followed by
using strategies for employee motivation so as to get things done in best possible manner. At this
stage employees understand their responsibilities and start conducting their work to achieve goal
and objective in effective manner.
Performing stage- This stage is the one where employees actually perform by giving
best possible efforts. The effectiveness at this stage can be maintained by motivating the
employees to render exceptional performance. At this stage managers of BBC motivate
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employees to conduct their in appropriate manner so that they fulfill their goal in effective ways.
When organization as well as employees achieve their goal and objective in appropriate manner
they scatter or finish their group.
Management of BBC have opted for tuckman theory to formulate their teams to ensure
that they have effective teams. These teams have experts and work as a team to attain common
goal rather than competing with each other. There main motive is to achieve there goals. They
are open to ideas given by others and work on best rather than creating conflicts. This aids them
to accomplish there goals in stipulated time duration.
TASK 4
a) Using appropriate organizational concepts suggest how team performance and productivity
could be improved within the BBC.
Path goal theory can be defined as the one which focuses on leadership style that is best
suitable as per the employee and work environment so as to attain the goals (Ford, 2014). The
theory thus focuses on attainment of goals and objectives to generate necessary performance in
staff members. BBC can use this theory in form of setting recruitment target for HR staff for a
time span of 1 month. It can also ask the journalist to cover at least 15 stories on a monthly basis.
But the need on part of management is to provide guidance to employees in case issues are faced
by them while attaining the goals. This can be on account on increased work pressure, lack of
necessary resources among others. Other than this, the leaders should also be involved in
motivating the staff so that they work with full zeal and vigor. The management should set
rewards, bonuses as well as certification for those employees who render exceptional
performance.
Team performance and productivity in BBC can also be improved by making use of
contingency theory. It states that there is not a single best way to manage all the employees and
the strategy to be taken is dependent on situations that are prevalent in company (Gill, 2015).
Seeing the past issues in culture, it is best that management uses autocratic leadership only when
the firm is facing heavy work load. It can use other styles as per need of hour. For example,
participate style can be used with new employees while laissez-faire with dedicated and senior
most staff members. Rest of the employees can be managed by use of democratic style of
leadership.
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b) What have been the main barriers to effective performance within the BBC?
There was a prevalence of many barriers in past that did not help in attaining effective
performance within BBC. These are as follows;
Ineffective leadership - This issue was prevalent in past culture of BBC as the leaders
focused on delivering work to employees and never understood issues faced by them. There was
also a prevalence of bullying and harassment of staff members but the management did not paid
any attention towards the issue. The leaders were well aware of the presence of gender pay gap
but they did not make any attempt to solve the matter (Burke, 2017). If there is ineffective
leadership in BBC it will reduce motivation level of employees which directly affect the
productivity of employees and organization profit.
Poor communication - The case study and findings has clearly revealed that there was
an absence of open communication in BBC. The complaints registered by employees were not
listened to which demotivated employees to a great extent. If there is poor communication
between employers and employees in BBC it will reduce employees motivation and satisfaction
towards the workplace. Due to which, there is reduction in employees work performance and
productivity.
Problems with organizational structure – the company in previous times had a
presence of too many senior managers which led to increased cost. The amount spent was so
much that there was lack of focus on training and development session to be kept for employees
which degraded the performance to a great extent (Hoque, 2013). If employer of BBC not
provide training and development session to employees then they not able to achieve goal in
effective manner.
Barriers are mentioned above which have significant impact on performance of team. An
example can be taken to understand how barriers will effect performance of employees. An
employee gives an innovative idea for specific problem and leader appreciates it. But at the time
of implementation they have opted for something else, this indicates that leader is not open to
ideas given by others. This means that leader works on their terms and conditions. Furthermore,
it have impact on employees as they will feel they are not valued which will impact
communication level. This will impact their working structure. Employees will have to work on
something in which they are not interested, this will lead to decline in their performance. In this
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way these barriers have strong impact on overall performance of organization as well as
employees.
CONCLUSION
A conclusion can be drawn from above report that it is very essential to maintain a good
organizational culture in BBC so as to aid in overall productivity of staff members. This strategy
will also help the company to be in tune with organizational values. In this regard, there can be a
use of various strategies such as leadership, motivation and effective team work so as to assist in
growth and development of employees.
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REFERENCES
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Burke, R.J., 2017. Work and well-being. Research Handbook on Work and Well-Being.
Emir, A., 2016. Selwyn's law of employment. Oxford University Press.
Ford, J.K., 2014. Improving training effectiveness in work organizations. Psychology Press.
Gill, R., 2015. Why the PR strategy of storytelling improves employee engagement and adds
value to CSR: An integrated literature review. Public Relations Review. 41(5). pp.662-
674.
Hoque, K., 2013. Human resource management in the hotel industry: Strategy, innovation and
performance. Routledge.
Mitchell, D., 2017. 50 Top Tools for Employee Engagement: A Complete Toolkit for Improving
Motivation and Productivity. Kogan Page Publishers.
Němečková, I., 2017. The role of benefits in employee motivation and retention in the financial
sector of the Czech Republic. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja. 30(1).
pp.694-704.
Nwibere, B.M., 2014. Interactive Relationship between Job Involvement, Job Satisfaction,
Organisational Citizenship Behaviour, and Organizational Commitment in Nigerian
Universities. International Journal of Management and Sustainability. 3(6). p.321.
Pihlajamaa, M., 2017. Going the extra mile: Managing individual motivation in radical
innovation development. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management. 43.
pp.48-66.
Online
Legitimate power. 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2018/05/legitimate-power/> [Accessed on 2nd
September 2018].
Newbery, C., 2017. BBC: 'Our staff is now proud to work here. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/voices/case-studies/bbc> [Accessed on 2nd
September 2018].
Tuckman’s Team & Group Development Model. 2014. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com/get-your-team-performing-beautifully-with-this-
powerful-group-development-model/> [Accessed on 2nd September 2018].
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