M&S: Motivation, Culture, Team Dynamics in Organizational Behaviour

This report provides an analysis of organizational behaviour within Marks & Spencer, focusing on the influence of motivation and organizational culture on employee performance and behaviour. It explores various motivational theories such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Vroom's expectancy theory, alongside Handy's cultural model, to understand the company's culture, power dynamics, and politics. The report also examines the benefits of teamwork, group development theories, and the relevance of effective teams in influencing workplace behaviours. Recommendations are provided on how Marks & Spencer can improve employee performance and achieve organizational goals by fostering a positive work environment and utilizing appropriate motivational techniques.

ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PART 1............................................................................................................................................3
Influence of motivation and organizational culture on performances and behaviours in the
workplace.....................................................................................................................................3
Various motivational theories and organizational cultures, influence of these aspects on
behaviours and performance of the organization, recommendations on how the organization
can improve performance of their staff in order to meet goals....................................................4
Overview of Marks & Spencer's culture, power and politics, influence of these aspects over
behaviour in the workplace, motivational techniques and theories that have been applied in the
organization..................................................................................................................................8
PART 2..........................................................................................................................................11
Benefits of working in a team-...................................................................................................11
Benefits of working in a team as a leader and member-............................................................12
Effective teams ..........................................................................................................................13
Critical analysis of group development theories-......................................................................14
Critical reflection on the value and relevance of effective team-..............................................15
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................16
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Organizational behaviour is considered as the study of human behaviour in context with
an organization in order to motivate employees and increase their performance. It is beneficial
for organizations to gain insight about the group dynamics that has an influence over their
productivity. The current report will be based on Marks and Spencer, a British multinational
company which specializes in fashion, home and food products. The organization has expanded
to various countries in order to increase its market share and gain competitive advantage in the
industry.
The report will explain influence of organizational motivation and culture on
performances and behaviours within the workplace, various organizational cultures and
motivational theories, affects of these theories on behaviour and performance of the organization,
recommendations on how the organization could improve performance of their staff in order to
meet goals, an overview of the culture politics and power of the chosen organization, with
examples of how these aspects have an influence over the organization and motivational theories
and techniques that have been applied to the organization, benefits of working in a team, its
effects towards achieving specific goals and dealing with conflicts, group development theories,
relation of concepts of OB with effective teams, critical reflection on value and relevance of
effective teams in order to influence behaviours in a workplace.
PART 1
Influence of motivation and organizational culture on performances and behaviours in the
workplace
The organization culture may have a strong influence on productivity of Marks &
Spencer. It may be a major factor in developing a positive environment for employees in order to
achieve aims and objectives of the company. It may help the organization to improve its decision
making and reduce threat of risks and challenges. It may help the company to enhance creativity
and innovation in the management in order to increase engagement of employees towards the
crucial aspects of the company (Cheng, Wei and Lin, 2019). Organizational culture may also
have a negative influence on the safety of crucial information of the organization. There may be
lack of empathy among employees due to the organizational culture.
Motivation may have a significant influence on the performance of employees in Marks
& Spencer. It may be helpful for the workforce to enhance their skills and contribute more

towards the organizational aims and objectives. With the help of motivation, the organization
may be able to improve relations between employees and the management. A positive
organizational culture and motivation may help the organization to improve behaviour of
employees towards the management and may encourage them to work with their full potential
(Lowman and Harms, 2022). It may help in establishing a favourable environment for the
employees to work and enhance their skills.
Various motivational theories and organizational cultures, influence of these aspects on
behaviours and performance of the organization, recommendations on how the
organization can improve performance of their staff in order to meet goals
The values and beliefs in the culture of Marks and Spencer may be identified with the
help of Handy's cultural model which explains the distribution of power in an organization on
the basis of structure of authority in the organization. It may include different types of cultures
which are as follows:
Role Culture:
This type of culture may help an organization to provide stability and security to their
employees. It may include strict rules and regulations in order to manage the work effectively
(Shaw and Liao, 2021). It is not a flexible culture and may focus on hierarchy and status more
than the performance.
Power Culture:
It is a flat structure where power lies with the top management and the organization may
be highly flexible under this structure. It may help the organization to improve coordination and
cooperation among the workforce in order to achieve the organizational goals.
Person Culture:
This culture may be people oriented and may focus on improving the knowledge and
expertise of employees in order to improve their performance in order to meet the organizational
aims and objectives. There may be more freedom for the workforce under this culture which may
help in increasing their interest towards the decision making of the organization.
Task Culture:
It is a result oriented culture where employees are motivated to enhance their decision
making and problem solving skills. The management may highly focus on the accuracy of the
completed tasks in order to achieve better results.

The person culture may be adopted by Marks and Spencer as it may highly focus on
creativity and innovation in the organization. It may help the organization to establish a positive
environment in order to enhance the performance and satisfaction levels of the employees. This
culture may be highly suitable for the company to increase the trust of employees towards the
management (Gagné, 2018). The organization may use this culture in order to manage workforce
effectively and increase their engagement towards the decision making of the organization. The
motivation levels of employees may be increased by the organization by fulfilling their basic
needs. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is an effective model which may help the organization to
identify the crucial needs of individual in order to increase their engagement towards the
organization. The model may consists of various needs which are as follows:
Physiological needs:
These are the basic needs of employees such as water, food, air which may be crucial for
their survival in the organizational environment. The physiological needs of employees may be
Ill
ustration 1: Charles Handy’s Model of Organizational Culture
(Source: Charles Handy’s Model of Organizational Culture, 2021)

fulfilled by the organization in order to improve their motivation and commitment towards the
organizational goals.
Safety Needs:
These are the needs which may be required by the employees in order to ensure their
safety and security in the work environment. The major aspects like personal security, good
health, financial security may be some requirements of employees in order to improve their trust
towards the organization.
Social Needs:
These needs may be crucial in developing a sense of belonging in the employees, it may
be important in order to maintain their mental health. These needs of employees may be fulfilled
by the management by encouraging them and providing with flexibility in work environment.
Esteem Needs:
The need of individuals to gain respect and admiration from the management in order to
connect better with the organizational goals (Tost and Johnson, 2019). The recognition and
praise offered by the superiors is important for the employees to grow.
Self- actualization Needs:
These are the most important needs of the employees in order to identify and reach their
full potential in order to work effectively in the organization. It may help them to realize their
strengths and improve their decision making ability in order to contribute more.

The other theory of motivation is Vroom expectancy theory of motivation which
explains that the individual motivation of employees may depend on their future expectations. It
includes several factors which are as follows:
Valance:
It is the importance given by an individual to the expected outcome in order to increase
satisfaction. The value given to the potential rewards associated with specific behaviours or
results may be considered under this step.
Expectancy:
It is the trust of employees that better efforts may lead to an overall better performance.
The factors like availability of crucial information and resources, appropriate skills for the job
etc. may have an influence over expectancy.
Instrumentality:
It is the faith of individuals that a better performance may lead to better results which
may be affected by factors like belief and simplicity. It may include perception of employees
about their capabilities to get rewards that are promised by the management.
Illu
stration 2: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
(Source: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, 2022)

These theories may have a significant influence over performance of employees and may
help Marks & Spencer to reach their organizational goals effectively in order to achieve success
in the industry. The organization may choose Maslow's hierarchy of needs in order to motivate
its employees to perform better and improve their contribution towards the organizational goals
(Kim and et.al., 2019). The theory may help the company to enhance behaviour of employees
towards the work and develop their trust on the organization. It may be useful in improving
productivity of the organization by enhancing the commitment of employees towards the
organization.
The organization can introduce skill development programs for personal and professional
development of the employees. These efforts by the management may help employees to
improve their working ability in order to increase productivity of the company. Marks & Spencer
may provide a positive work environment for the employees with flexible working hours in order
to reduce pressure from them to work effectively towards the organizational goals.
Overview of Marks & Spencer's culture, power and politics, influence of these aspects over
behaviour in the workplace, motivational techniques and theories that have been applied in
the organization
Marks & Spencer may have a positive culture in the organization in order to motivate
employees to perform better and enhance their productivity. The person culture may be adopted
by the organization in order to improve decision making process of the company. The
Illustration 3: Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation
(Source: Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation, 2021)

organization may highly focus on their development in order to enhance innovation and
creativity in the organization (Latham, 2019). Politics may be self serving behaviours used by
employees in order to increase their performance and probability of obtaining positive outcomes
with the help of social networks. A positive organizational politics in the organization may have
a positive impact on the productivity of the organization to grow and prosper in the industry. The
power in the company may be examined with the help of French and Raven model which is an
effective theory to understand the power structure of any organization. The different powers
under the model are:
Legitimate Power:
This power derived from a position or a set of formal relationships in order to influence
the employees to follow the orders of the top management. It may be suitable for hierarchies
where there is a systematic approach towards leadership and working.
Reward Power:
It is power to give benefits or perks to the employees on the basis of their contribution
towards the organizational goals and which help in creating a positive work environment for the
employees to improve their contribution.
Expert Power:
It is power given to individuals on the basis of their expertise and skills due the trust of
organization towards the employees. It may help in increasing the efficiency towards the
organizational goals.

The company may use the reward power in its organizational structure in order to
improve the productivity of employees in order to perform better towards the objectives. It may
help in developing a positive behaviour of employees towards the tasks and may help in their
development (Weatherly, 2021). These aspects may help in improving the profitability of the
organization. They may contribute towards a positive image of the organization in the industry
which may have been the reason of its sustainability.
Marks & Spencer may use various motivational theories like the Maslow's hierarchy of
needs which may be helpful in understanding the basic needs of individuals in order to improve
their commitment and motivation towards the organizational goals. It may be beneficial for the
organization in order to gain competitive advantage in the industry and increase its market share
in order to achieve success (Lee, Oh and Park, 2020). Different techniques may be used by the
company in order to improve commitment of employees towards the organization. The company
may ask for inputs from employees in order to enhance the decision making process of the
company. It may help the company to increase engagement of employees towards the crucial
aspects of the company.
Rewarding employees on the basis of their contribution is another technique adopted by
the organization in order to increase the motivation in employees to work with their full potential
Illustration 4: The 5 types of power effective leaders use
Source: (The 5 types of power effective leaders use, 2022)

towards the organizational goals (Li and et.al., 2019). Various development programs may be
provided by the management to the employees in order to increase their proficiency and accuracy
in order to reduces the errors that may arise while working on the crucial tasks of the
organization.
PART 2
Benefits of working in a team-
Working in a team make a person thrive, in an organization a person can not perform all
the tasks itself so with this regard it is essential to have ability to work with others.
Effective team refers to the team which has people with higher skills, they work together
with their apex efforts, accomplish goals set by the authority, clear objectives, barrier-less
communication, effective role-playing etc. Such teams bring their best to the organization
(Rosell, 2018)
Ineffective team stands for such teams which do not mix appropriately, and do not
perform on their merits, they face perils like poor communication, low level of efficiency,
improper team efforts etc. which not only make their own performance disrupted but the team
also becomes ineffective.
Marks and Spencer Plc which is one of the biggest retail giant, having more than a
thousand stores across the world. Such organization is having rigorous need to build its teams
efficient in order to make the position strong in the market.
Benefits of working in a team-
For such big incorporation effective teams pave the way of success. The biggest benefit
of working in a team is to enhance the mix of knowledge. There are a range of such knowledge
and skills which make the team effective. While working in a team such knowledge and skills
can be developed (Jambhekar, 2020)
Knowledge and skills are collaborative communication, time management, skilfully
listening, critical thinking and taking initiatives etc. This knowledge and skills not only make the
team high performing but also prepare them to cope up potential jeopardies so can perform better
in future too.
Marks & Spencers is a retail giant so need experienced employees so can handle the
customers. Working in a team make individual to learn more about human behaviour aspects so
can augment one's experience factor as well.

M&S is in retail business where products are fast moving, experience is the key element which
empower the employee to enshrine the retention of the customers and make them loyal for the
organization.
The discussed knowledge, skills and experience factors help the entity to fulfil their
organizational functions. Functions like customer handling, operation management,
communication, finance management etc. can be managed properly with the help of such skills.
Benefits of working in a team as a leader and member-
Working in a team as a leader and member helps a lot to improve the quality and
efficiency pertain to the area of action.
Specific goals refers to such aims which are allocated to certain team to ace, While
working to curb such specific goals team learn to align their personal goals with the goals of the
organization. They learn collaborative working, helping others, coordination etc. M&S is
working globally so different teams are given such specific tasks to perform (Collins, 2020)
As a leader various skills can be developed while working for specific goals. Like
guiding the members, setting up strategies, objectives in order to achieve the goals, distribution
of the work, and channelization of the subordinates, commanding them etc. it helps to learn more
about better management and can bring better to the organization. As a member can also learn to
pursue goals for all and improving quality of work efficiency, understanding owns role and also
improving leadership qualities by observations too.
Dealing with conflict is one of the most significant task performed by the leader working
in a team. In a team inception of conflicts is part of operation, M&S is having global operations
so in teams conflicts may take place. Dealing with such conflicts improves ability of a leader it
learns different aspects like understanding human behaviour and as per requirements dealing
with it. As a team member should try to reduce such conflicts and promote harmony which
would be in benefit of their productivity and skills enhancement.
While perusing specific goals having difficult situations is a general phenomenon, in such
predicaments' development of specific roles is also a duty of the leader in order to mitigate the
challenges. M&S runs so many team projects so in such complications leaders can strive for
solutions and can improve their skills and team members who are allotted different tasks make
them learn new about their work it also boosts up their confidence level.