Organizational Behaviour Report: BBC Culture, Teams, and Performance

This report analyzes the organizational behavior of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), examining its historical culture, the impact of power and politics, and the evolution of its team structures. The report begins by discussing the BBC's previous organizational culture, as observed by the Smith review, highlighting its task-oriented nature and internal politics. It then delves into the influence of culture, power dynamics, and political maneuvering within the organization, including its impact on employee satisfaction and commitment. The report then examines the application of content and process theories of motivation within the BBC and suggests motivational techniques to improve team effectiveness. Finally, it evaluates the improvements made within the BBC to achieve its organizational goals, including changes in leadership structure and employee support systems, and identifies barriers to effective performance.

Running head: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Organisational Behaviour
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

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Contents
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................2
a) Identification and discussion of the earlier organizational culture within the BBC, as
observed by the Smith review......................................................................................................2
b) Analysis of the impact of culture, power and politics............................................................3
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................5
a) Content and process theories of motivation............................................................................5
b) Motivational techniques to improve the effectiveness in the teams within the BBC..............6
c) Evaluation of motivational improvements within BBC help that will help achieve its
organization’s goals.....................................................................................................................7
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................9
a) Identification and explanation of the different types of teams within BBC...........................9
b) Factors involved in making an effective team in BBC.........................................................10
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................11
a) Improvement of team performance within BBC...................................................................11
b) Barriers identified to effective performance within the BBC...............................................12
Reference list:................................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
British Broadcasting Corporation or better known as BBC is one of the oldest media
houses in the world and over the years the company has set some of the significant benchmarks
in the media and news industry. But in the past decade the growth of the company had become
stagnant and the management had be continuously facing criticism for various reasons.
Established in the year 1922 the company has its headquarters in London (bbc.co.uk, 2017). The
organisation has been a part of the culture and heritage of the country and has been the official
media partner with the monarchy as well.
Task 1
a) Identification and discussion of the earlier organizational culture within the BBC, as
observed by the Smith review
In the theory of organisational behavior culture of an organisation plays a significant role
in determining the commitment of an employee towards the organisation he or she is employed.
According to Handy’s concept on cultural theory organisation culture can be divided in four
segments: Power Culture: the power distribution in this type of culture is concentrated among a
few top management people and these people are the ones who formulate decisions and policies
for the organization. The rules and regulations of the organisation is also dependent on these
people, the advantage of this culture is that the decision making process is quick. Role Culture:
in this process the power is distributed and people have a designated role to play in the
organization, usually there is a hierarchal structure. Task Culture: group involvement and team
works are a major part of this culture and assignments depending on the expertise of the team is

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delegated. The power shifts from person to person depending on the changes in the task
requirement. Lastly Person culture: the people in this organisation position themselves above the
organization, the delegation of power is in group of people, legal and accounting firms are the
example of such a culture (Russo et al, 2013).
As observed by Smith the culture that previously prevailed in BBC can be
explained as task culture. The departments of the organisation work individually without close
monitoring of the higher management of the organization. Smith explains in her review that if a
subordinate is in trouble or has some queries regarding a topic he should referrer to the person
who is the immediate senior, now it is up to the senior to move the communication further
upward. The managers as observed by her during the 1970s and 1980s had strong personalities,
and were confident people (Kaufman & McCaughan, 2013).
b) Analysis of the impact of culture, power and politics
Culture is an important aspect in running a business successfully because it ensures
employee retention. In BBC the culture that has been analyzed previously is based on a lot of
internal politics and power that has been identified within the departments as the higher and the
top management of the company did not have proper control or monitor over the department’s
internal matters. In any organisation the level of competition has increased immensely, this has
given rise to enhanced amount of internal conflicts and politics which in turn gives rise to job
dissatisfaction among the employees as well as reduced commitment towards the organization.
Sometimes the situation is such that politics become significant to even survive in the
organization (Kaufman & McCaughan, 2013). The transformation of power within the
organisation to actions can be called politics. A skilled and expert employee of an organisation
might decide to leave an organisation as he or she does not have the ability to counter the

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political environment. This is regarded as a major loss for the company as organisation
employees a lot of time and resource to train and develop skills within an employee. On the other
hand, power and politics is inevitable while running an organization, decision making and
formulation of policies are one of the major output of the system. BBC is a media house and it
has an enhanced responsibility towards the society in providing the correct facts and figures to
the common people. The company is known to have pioneered and set benchmarks for other
media houses in terms of values and principle that has to be incorporated in the business
(bbc.co.uk, 2017). In the recent past the company has recognized the importance of working
together as a team and not individually in departments, the previous issues that the company has
faced in terms of organizational structure and behavior can be solved with this new approach. To
combat the issues within the company the executives of BBC started with redefining the
structure in order to provides better programming and content, in an efficient and effective way.
Secondly the company was also up for a revamp of its culture, to encourage more people to be
enthusiastic and motivated to do their work (Serrat, 2017).
The leadership of director general Tony Hall, and is known as the creative leader of BBC.
The HR department under his leadership has developed segments that bring together area of
expertise such as ‘nations and regions’ and ‘channels and commissioning’ the company has also
led to a delayering of management. The company has been focusing on establishing prominent
command chains provides facility for the employees an easy operation platform. This will also
help them find the answers they require and channelize the challenges as well as grievances to
the right people. The culture that the company is trying to implement focuses on collaboration of
the employees to work together towards a common objective of the organisation regardless of the
departments. To improve the culture of the company an overall change has been implemented

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like: employee support in grievances and issues, better management visibility, identification of
good work, promoting team work as well as simplification of complicated procedures (Inside the
BBC, 2017).
Task 2
a) Content and process theories of motivation
Motivation is an internal or external stimulus that is incorporated in a person to deal with
situations it is the desire to do things. It is the process of inspiring people in order to accomplish
the goals as motivation is the responsible for a person’s action. Developing urge and willingness
among the people in order to increase their productivity and efficiency is regarded as one of the
most important functions of management. There are stages of motivation that has to be analyzed
and utilized by the management in order to encourage the people (Pakdel, 2013).
Content motivation theory is the traditional prospective of motivation that has been
discussed by several theorists like Maslow in the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Federick
Herzberg in his Two factor theory as well as David McClelland in Need for achievement,
affiliation and power. In these theories the explanation of motivation is from the perspective of
individual need and requirements it answers the question: what motivates a person? To what
extent and to what level is the content achieved. In business organizations it is very important to
recognize the needs that would satisfy and encourage the employees so that their productivity is
improved and their efficiency is enhanced (Teixeira & Hagger, 2016).
Process motivation theory is the contemporary approach towards the concept of
motivation. This concept is explained in theories like Reinforcement, Expectancy, Equity and
Goal setting. This theory deals with the question: how are people motivated? The foundation of

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this theory is the diverse behavioral patterns of individuals in the way of attaining fulfillment of
desires and needs (Elliot et al 2017).
b) Motivational techniques to improve the effectiveness in the teams within the BBC
Team effort in any organisation is the key to success and smooth running of the daily
operations of the company. As a media house BBC has several segments and departments within
the organisation that deal in interconnected services which lead to a common goal of keeping the
people informed and enlightened with correct news. Over the years the company has expanded
its operation in several countries and in several medium as well, BBC operates in the market that
include television, radio and online (bbc.co.uk, 2017). In any organisation that is dependent
heavily on the teams to deliver the goals individual as well as team wise motivation is essential.
Firstly the company has distributed the power and has reduced the amount of senior manager by
40% this has made approachability easier. In case of any issue or grievance within the
organisation a person will know whom to approach. This will work as an intrinsic motivation as
the employees will know that there is someone to listen to their issues as well. This is also
essential for BBC as according to the review of Smith people are looking for a work environment
where they can raise any grievances and queries and a safe work culture (Gagné, 2014). The
approach of the company of working together will also promote an equal treatment among the
employees and also reduce the internal conflict which is one of the main reasons for reduction of
efficiency and productivity of the employees. BBC regards the employees of the organisation as
the ambassadors of the organisation hence giving each employee equal importance and respect.
Performance management was enhanced to identify hard work and reward it, this practice was
already prevalent but it has to be more concrete and on various levels. This will motivate the

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people as that will understand that their efforts are being recognized by the company (Niemiec &
Spence, 2017).
In team management and motivation it is very important for the leaders to understand and
recognize the different abilities of the employees and delegate tasks in their forte in order to
increase productivity as well as efficiency of that person. In team recognition of the efforts play
an important role in motivating the person to strive harder. By developing a favorable and
encouraging work culture the company can motivate the teams. Rewards in teams of materials as
well as encouragement for performance help the team members to be motivated. Proving the
members of the team opportunity to grow and develop their skills better is also another way BBC
can implement to improve their motivational practices. This strategy is also at par with the
changes in the work culture that the company is trying to build (Gagné, 2014).
c) Evaluation of motivational improvements within BBC help that will help achieve its
organization’s goals
The organisational objectives of BBC are:
 To develop a more personal approach
 To demonstrate value for money in every area of work
 To come up with innovative and creative content this is informative, enlightening and
entertaining
 To provide the employees an enriching experience by working with BBC
Motivation among the people of the organization is directly responsible for their productivity and
efficiency. Motivation helps in reducing the employee turnover of the company. Motivation

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helps in creating a work environment that is friendly and helpful providing the people of the
organisation a will to work towards the objectives of the organisation. BBC recognizes that the
employees of the organisation are the backbone of the company (Deci & Ryan, 2014).

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Task 3
a) Identification and explanation of the different types of teams within BBC
The structure and division of BBC can be firstly divided based on the medium: the
company has television, radio as well as digital. Like any other company the organisation has an
HR, Finance, executive, administrative and marketing segment. Depending on the medium the
teams are segregated as: for television and radio - the teams are divided in pre production and
post production purposes the teams are production team, editorial team and content team. In the
digital segment there is a content team, editorial team, production team to generate videos and
photographs (Dochy et al 2013).
In any organization division of teams depending on the expertise and skills are
important in order to de-clutter the complex procedure of delegation of work. For a company
whose operation is as large as BBC the delegation of assignment and daily job is complex and
hence segregation of the teams is easy for the management to monitor. The leaders of the team
will also be an expert in the segment that the team deals in and hence it will be easy for the
manager of the team to guide and direct the subordinates in the correct direction (Dochy et al
2013). Dividing the teams in the organisation helps in creation of talents as the people are
focused in their expertise and grows in their specific area; teams reduce the work stress form one
person and disperse it among the group by concentrating on the individual talents and skills. The
motivation can be inflicted in a team based workforce better as the colleagues in the same team
work as inspiration and internal conflicts can also be easily resolved in a team based workforce
(Woodcock, 2017).

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b) Factors involved in making an effective team in BBC
Tuckman in his theory explains four stages of team formation with the association of
Jensen a new stage was added to the theory. The five stages are: forming, storming, norming,
performing and adjourning (Mone & London, 2014).
BBC has established itself as a pioneer in the media industry and the operations of the
company have expanded to various countries as well. There are many correspondents in other
countries who report from the specific area to the head quarters. The company looks after the
skills and expertise of a person before hiring and accordingly delegates the resource to a team.
For example if a person is good in the language of communication but cannot handle the
equipments then he or she will be in the content or editorial team than the production team.
Formation of the team is based on the requirement that arises, after hiring a person he or she
joins the team has to become a part of the team. In this case the managers have to make the
person feel welcome to the team and based on the recent cultural advancement in the
organisation the leaders of the team should make the people of the group feel that they are
approachable under any circumstances. When the above circumstances are met the team grows
into a stage where the efficiency of the team members are enhanced, there is significant progress
in the efficiency as well as performance level of the people. As motivation is regarded as one of
the most important factor in team building and team management after the enhancement of the
performance external motivation is not that important as the people are self motivated
(Nancarrow et al 2013).