Organisational Behaviour Report: BBC Case Study - Motivation and Teams

This report analyzes the organisational behaviour of the BBC, a UK-based broadcasting company. It examines the impact of culture, power, and politics on employee behaviour, drawing upon Handy's cultural typology, Hofstede's work, and Chanlat's characteristics of political behaviour. The report further explores content and process theories of motivation, including McClelland's Need Theory and Vroom's Expectancy Theory, to understand how to achieve organisational goals. It also discusses different types of teams within the BBC, such as problem-solving, functional, and project teams, and what makes an effective team. Finally, the report covers the concept and philosophies of path-goal theory of leadership styles and identifies barriers to effective performance, providing a comprehensive overview of how these elements interact within the BBC's organisational structure.

ORGANISATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
1A: How culture, power and politics within BBC effects the behaviour of employees........3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
2A: How Content & Process theories helps in achieving organisational goals.....................6
2B: How improved levels of motivation helps BBC to achieve their goals...........................7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
3A: Types of teams in BBC....................................................................................................7
3b) Explain what makes an effective team in the BBC..........................................................8
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
4A: Concept and philosophies of path goal theory of leadership styles...............................10
4B: Main barriers to effective performance.........................................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Organisational behaviour is the study of behaviour of individuals and teams who are
working for the betterment of the organisation. Various organisational theories are used by
management of organisations in order to increase the productivity and performance of the
individuals and teams. It is also known as the procedure of recognising, explaining, identifying
and predicting the various type of working behaviour of workers towards the given task or
activity by the organisation's management. The taken company for this assignment report is BBC
which is a UK based broadcasting company that deals in Radio and communications sector. This
assignment report will discuss the culture, power and politics influence on the organisational
behaviour and individuals or team behaviour. Content and process theories of motivation are
used for identifying the factors for motivation. The need for different types of teams in BBC
along with theories of team development has also been discussed.
TASK 1
1A: How culture, power and politics within BBC effects the behaviour of employees
Handy's cultural typology
Culture is defined as the beliefs, assumptions and values of an organisation which is
necessary for the future development of employees. This theory was given by Charles Handy in
1999. Elements of Handy's typology are described below: Power culture: In such type of culture, power of authority is given to limited numbers of
individuals for making decisions in an organisation for achieving organisational goals.
This culture often described as a strong culture because the taken decisions are beneficial
for the company. In BBC, if this culture is exist within BBC, then it impacts
performance and behaviour of employees in negative manner as individuals with power
have authority to take all the decisions and other people needs to follow their decisions
which demotivate them. Role culture: It refers to assigning different roles and responsibilities to the individuals
based on their skills for achieving the desired target. In BBC, If HR manager should
assign the duties to other managers then it will leads to job satisfaction among employees
and their productivity can be enhanced which is a positive outcome for individual and
teams.

 Task culture: It refers to assigning task to a team having members from different
specialized areas. They are coming together to provide effective and quick solutions for
specific problems in less time possible. If BBC should use this culture then it will have a
positive effects on the performance of the firm and employees which will increase the
productivity of employees as well as of firm. It leads to enhanced performance which is a
positive impact on the behaviour of employees in terms of individual and teams.
 Person culture: This culture improves the performance and capabilities of employees for
executing a task. If BBC motivate their workforce for following such type of culture
because with this the company as well as employees will work with improved efficiency
for accomplishing the targets. This will impact positively on performance of team and
individual because of their interest in doing work which will ultimately leads to increase
in performance.
After analysing these type of cultures, Task culture should be the most suitable culture
for BBC as this will reduce inefficiency of the employees which will results in improved
efficiency of employees in performing the assigned task. Also They can adopt role culture
because such culture will bring morale and values to the employees for the higher authorities.
Hofstede work of culture:
This theory is developed by Geert Hofstede which describes the effects of culture on the
values of members of an organisation and how these are interconnected with the behaviour of
members. In 2016, BBC faced downfall due to the huge gender based pay gap and the
harassment complaints of employee which resulted in dissatisfaction of work force which leads
to downfall until the new director changed the working culture of BBC.
Power
Physiologists French and Raven divide the power in five forms which impacts the
success and leadership of managers. These five types of power are stated below: Coercive power- It refers to the pressure exerted by superiors for increasing productivity
against the will of individuals. At BBC, It leads to negative impact on the individuals as
well as team members which will decrease their productivity due to the demotivation
caused by the superiors which affects the overall performance of the company. Reward power- This power states that when rewards are given to individuals on their
performance, they tends to work in better manner and with improved efficiency for

achieving their goals. BBC is rewarding their employees based on their behaviour and
performance whose work gives good results and quality. It will have positive impact on
individuals due to benefits involved. Legitimate power: It is the power which belongs to the position or designation in a
organisation. In case of BBC, CEO has such power, which provide him the authority to
control activities of other employees of the organisation. It will negatively impact on the
team and individuals performance because of the power and pressure exerted by the
superiors which leads to low motivation level among employees. Referent power: This type of power comes by mutual respect and mutual understanding
with the others employee through the influence and motivation provided by management
to employees. This power is given to leaders for getting maximum output from workers.
Such power will impact positively on the performance of team and individuals due to the
mutual trust and understanding which is involved among team members. Expert power- Such type of power come with work experience or knowledge in a
particular field. For example- The newly elected director of BBC was hired by HR due to
their knowledge and expertise in leadership which results in change of culture of BBC
and enhancing the growth of company. Such type of power makes positive impact on
individuals and teams due to motivation in work place.
Chanlat's characteristics of political behaviour
Chanlat segmented the politics in three sections which are,structural personal and
decisional . Decisional behaviour can be implemented by BBC during the hiring process through
which management can identify the skills and capabilities of the potential candidates. Personal
characteristics are related with workers which helps them to properly use political behaviour and
power. Structural characteristic will aid the managers of BBC to make a proper structure for
their company so that they can take judgment in a systematic manner.
By using these characteristics of power, culture and political behaviour, BBC can
increase the efficiency of taking judgements through the suggestion from the experienced team
leaders and managers. From these, BBC can get competitive edge in the market over their
competitors. Politics affects the team performance and individuals performance positively due to
the interest in work taking by employees.

TASK 2
2A: How Content & Process theories helps in achieving organisational goals
Motivation: It refers to the need of an individual to bring something better and innovative
to peoples. People often feels extra motivated when there are money benefits involved.
Motivation is an important element for any organisation which affects the demands and
behaviour of the workers of an organisation. For achieving their organisational goals, the
managers of BBC should adopt different approaches and theories for motivating their employees
as described below:
Content theory of motivation: Content theory of motivation concentrates on elements
and demands which are motivating employees in a company. Managers at BBC should analyse
such factors which affects the behaviour and demands of workers. The motivation theory used
for motivating employees is McClelland need theory which is described below:
McClelland Need Theory: It is also called as the Learned Need Theory by David
McClelland. Such theory states that the needs and demands of employees influence the actions
performed by them in the work place. It is segmented in 3 types as described below: Need for Affiliation: Employees with such needs should be hired by BBC because such
persons desires to develops social and interpersonal relation with their co-workers which
will directly effects the performance individuals due to the developed mutual trust and
relations. This will enhance the productivity of employees in terms of individuals as well
as teams. Need for Achievement: Such type of employees tracks their performance from taking
feedback of their work from the superiors for recognition in the company. BBC is
offering benefits such as Financial & retirement plan, insurances, incentives etc. to
employees for enhancing their performance both in terms of individuals and
organisational growth. Need for Power: Such peoples desires to take control over other employees for decision
making process. Such type of people wants to lead other individuals and achieve success
in their ideas. In BBC employees should need to perform better for achieving the goals in
order to get promotion which results in improved performance of company.
Process theory of motivation: Process theory states the factors which motivate workers
behaviour. The managers of BBC should implement such theory for increasing the motivation

and the working behaviour of their staff. BBC organised various development programs and
training for improving the performance of staff as well as to equip the staff with right kind of
skills which are needed for forming a effective team. Vroom's Expectancy Theory is taken for
this theory as described below:
Vroom's expectancy theory: It states that action is the outcome of a person choices for
increasing the satisfaction and pleasure in the job. Vroom stated that the performance of workers
is linked to several factors such as experiences , knowledge, abilities and skills. Managers of
BBC should use covariant such as expectancy, instrumentality and valence, for identifying the
needs and wants of workers in achieving the desired objectives. Expectancy: BBC management should provide suitable training and development
programs to employees for better performance in achieving the goals in terms of
individual and organisational. Instrumentality: BBC is providing benefits to potential employees so that they can
perform well with improved performance due to the additional benefits of rewards.
 Valence: Management of BBC should implement required strategies to understand the
desires of their workers and must meet with these desires for improved performance.
2B: How improved levels of motivation helps BBC to achieve their goals
For achieving the individuals as well as organisational goals, Management of BBC
should implement the above discussed approached and theories for motivating the employee's
in meeting the level of expected performance. It will helps in improving performance and
productivity of both individuals and teams. Other motivational techniques could include the
impact of developing emotional intelligence and use of situational leadership, culture, Job
satisfaction which will improve effectiveness of team and individuals in executing the tasks.
TASK 3
3A: Types of teams in BBC
Team: It is defined as the individuals who comes together for accomplishing shared and
common goals within a specified time period. Various types of team within BBC are stated
below:

 Problem solving Team: This team provide quick and effective solution to the problems.
Using this team, BBC can resolve the pending issues of bullying, harassment or staff
complaints which will results in job satisfaction among employees.
 Functional team: This team involves people from common fields for execution of a
shared task. BBC use functional teams for bringing employees together for mutual
understanding and support for completing the task and hence, reducing communication
gap.
 Project team: This team involves people from different fields assigned a common task
for a specified time. BBC uses this for increasing the efficiency of work done using the
huge knowledge of team members which ultimately results into successful execution of
work from many aspects.
 Virtual team: This team mainly communicate through the digital media or medium
instead of physically. BBC is using virtual team for communication from head office to
Birmingham service centre as the transactional HR, recruitment and resourcing support
division was transferred to Birmingham.
Different teams are essential for BBC in order to achieve success and growth in the
market place. Teams reduces the pressure on individual's mind and with the multiple knowledge
of fields in team members, work can be distributed equally among them. Less pressuer results in
enhanced work efficiency. According to HR director “Valerie Hughes-D’Aeth” BBC is now
undergoing several changes from last few years to enhance their team efforts and culture which
leads to job satisfaction among employees both in terms of individually and as a team.
3b) Explain what makes an effective team in the BBC
Effective teams- This type of team is created with skilled and capable staff members
who are loyal towards organisation and gave their maximum efforts for completing a desired
task.
Characteristics : In this type of team, members gave their views and it is created with
mutual cooperation their roles are balanced they have good communication skills so that they
will achieve their targets easily.
Ineffective teams :This team is also formulated with skilled staff members but due to
lack of guidance and motivation by leaders they can't perform better for completing a task.

Characteristics : This type of team has no unity in their team members and they are not
following structure so that, they have an unorganized structure and They have inefficiency in
their team members so they can't do analyse before starting a task which results will be negative
in future.
Tuckman and Jensen's model of team development
They develop a model of interaction which is invented in 1965. BBC can implement this
model in order to tackle the entire process of forming a efficient and skilled team from initial
phase through management of work among team members, increasing trust and faithfulness,
cooperation and evaluating their performance. It is divided into four parts, they are as follows:
Forming
It is the initial stage which involves assembling of members to form a team, allotment of
work, Communication channels for team members and team leaders. By implementing this,
management of BBC can form effective team and allotment of work to different members lead to
less anxiety.
Storming
In this second phase, leaders of BBC motivates their team members to give their
maximal efforts by pushing their boundaries in order to effectively completion of project in
allotted time through incentives and other amenities.
Norming
After second stage, team members cooperates with their team and works effectively for
the given task. In BBC, management should use this method for overcome the gender gap in the
employees and increase their accepting power.
Performing
In the last stage, team members develops a close relationship among them. In the result of
this they are more motivated towards organisation and their work. Their supporting power will
be use for achieving objectives of the firm. In BBC, it will be used for overcome the complaints
and increase their motivation towards goal of the organisation.
By applying such methods, BBC will create a transparent culture for solving the issues
and conflicts of employees so that, they can work conviniently. By transparent environment
employees tends to feel valueable for the organsiation. It will be helpful for BBC, because

employees will gave their maximise efforts in the organisation. By using such methods they will
be able to reducing their cost.
TASK 4
4A: Concept and philosophies of path goal theory of leadership styles.
BBC is a leading organisation in broadcasting network. Organisation has solid
hierarchical culture and currently trying to build moral workplace for their employees or
representatives. BBC is centred around ideal use of assets in order to gain sustainability and
growth. The important reason for every organisation has responsibility to achieve their desired
goals in a given time frame. For this, every management has to work in right way for achieving
their central goal and vision. The structured culture of BBC helps in holding healthy working
environment for workers in the company. The main objective of BBC is to develop the
performance of their workers by using different theories in which path goal theory plays an
important role in maintaining the proper leadership in a systematic way which is described as
under:
Path goal theory: This theory was suggested by House Mitchell in the year of 1974 with
an aim of helping an organisation in accomplishing their desired goals and objectives with in a
given time frame. Through this theory, the company can easily determines the leadership style
which is useful in order to increasing performance of employees. It follows the victor's vroom
theory which defines the expectation of employees from the organisation and it will assists
management to getting desired outcome from the workforce. In context of BBC their
management should adopt such type of theory which directs the management in analysing the
capabilities of workforce, In order to make more capable staff members. Furthermore, it will
give aid to managers in consideration of views of employees which will improve their
performance level in both way at group level or individual level. This model is explained as
follows:
Employee characteristics: It defines the capabilities and adopting abilities of workforce
in organisation. For this, management should implement suitable strategies for making the
business environment friendly for the employees so that they can achieve their goals in a
apecified time period. Furthermore, if, employees are not able for performing a task or they have
no skills for completing a task in given time period this theory will not helpful . In BBC, it can

be helpful for the workers of BBC, By using this style they will contribute their effort for doing
a task and their performance level will also improve.
Task and environmental characteristics: It is a essential part for this theory. According
to these characteristic, workers wants a proper path for carrying out the their activities such as
understanding the goals, guidance and motivation from leaders in a tough task. By using such
style company can achieved their desired goals in a given time period. In the context of BBC it
will be helpful for the management due to the skilled workers as they cooperates together and
performs the work. From this style, employees tends feel valuable in the company and goal will
be achieved in time. Some of characteristic of this style are described as under:
Formal authority system: It directs employees to follow the guidelines which are created
by their superiors or managers. In BBC, it will useful for enhancing their employee's
performance at individual or team level.
Work group: It gives proper directions to leaders for increasing motivation and loyalty in
their team mates at organisation. Due to this, their objectives will be achieved in time. In BBC
they should applying this with motivating their skilled staff and gives proper directions to them.
Leadership styles: In an organisation, management or leaders plays various roles for
achievement of organisational goals in a specified time period. It is further explained by its
various styles which are as follows: Directive: In such style, management of BBC must plays their role as the superior
authority for providing guidance and support to the team mates in accomplishing the
goals. BBC have to use this style for giving proper guidance to their employees in order
to improving their performance level.
 Participative: In this style, organisation use suggestions and ideas from their staff
member in decision making process. Furthermore, organisation takes help from their
skilled staff in finding solution of a critical condition. In BBC, their management should
use this for improvement in skills and strength of their capable staff. It is more effective
because it will helps to management in improving performance level of employees.
After discussing various styles of leadership and its characteristics. BBC can adopt the
participative style of leadership because this style can increase the knowledge of employees and
build a confidence level in them. Employees of BBC can gave their suggestion for betterment of
organisation.

4B: Main barriers to effective performance
 Poor communication causes delays and bottlenecks- If organisation will used a poor
communication structure this will gave a negative impact on the performance of
employees. Furthermore, if there is no network available for employees. Due to this their
dissatisfaction will be increased and their performance level also reduced. Management
of BBC should equip their staff with necessary skills by providing training and programs.
 Complexity in structure – Big organisations has big structure which brings complexity
while applying a new idea. Due to this, management can't adopt suggestions from their
staff members which brings demotivation in staff member and also affects negatively on
their performance level. Company should segment the employees so that they wont find
the structure as complex.
To eliminate such type of barriers BBC should take suggestions from the skilled staff members
and build a healthy environment in the organisation for increasing the performance level and
productivity of their employees.
CONCLUSION
By this report, It has been concluded that management and employees both gave their effort
for achieving goals of an organisation. Organisation increases skills and strength of their
employees that helps them in facing various challenges which will be helpful to individual and
team. By using motivation theories BBC will able to achieve their goals in time. By using
different style of team leadership it can be helpful for increasing efficiency and strength of their
employees. By overcoming the barriers, organisation can gain growth and maintain relations
with their employees.