Organisational Behaviour: HP's Culture, Politics, Power and Motivation

This report provides an in-depth analysis of organisational behaviour within Hewlett-Packard (HP), examining the influence of culture, politics, and power on individual and team dynamics. It evaluates Maslow's and Herzberg’s content theories along with Vroom’s process theory of motivation and their effectiveness in achieving organisational goals. The report critically assesses how to influence behaviour through motivational theories and explores the relationship between culture, politics, power, and motivation in fostering team and organisational success. Recommendations are provided to enhance employee development, motivation, innovation, and overall working quality within HP's organisational structure, considering both positive and negative impacts of internal and external factors.

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Student Name
Student ID
Assessor Name SUJATA OMWENGA
Qualification Pearson BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma Business (Management)
Unit Number & Unit Title Unit 12ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Assignment Title HEWLETT-PACKARD
MEGA SOLUTIONS
Date of Submission
Signature: ……………… ……………………… Date: ___________________
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3
TASK ONE................................................................................................................................4
1. Critically, analyse how HP’s culture, politics and power would or have influenced the
behaviour of individuals or teams in the organisation...............................................................4
2. EVALUATE HOW MASLOW’s Or HERZBERG’S CONTENT THEORIES AND
VROOM’s PROCESS THEORY OF MOTIVATIONAL TECHNIQUES ENABLE
EFFECTIVE ACHIEVEMENT OF GOALS IN HP OR ANY OTHER ORGANISATION
YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH..................................................................................................7
3. Critically evaluate how to influence the behaviour of others through the effective
application of behavioural motivational theories, concepts and models. You may support your
points with practical examples, from any organisation............................................................13
4). Critically evaluate the relationship between culture, politics, power and motivation that
enables teams and organisations to succeed, providing justified recommendations...............15
Conclusion................................................................................................................................18
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INTRODUCTION
The term “Organizational Behaviour” refers to the process of managing and maintaining all
the organizational aspects in an effective manner. Organizational behaviour allows a
company to measure the performance and activities of a group and individual inside the
company. This specific study helps to determine human nature, behaviour inside the
workplace and how it makes impact on the structure of the organization, job, interaction
process, management and leadership, other different perspective (internal and external).
This assignment emphasizes on identifying and analysing the impact of politics, culture and
power on the behaviour of a team or a group within the workplace in the context of Hewlett
Packard (HP). In this assignment, two different organizational theories are selected in order
to explain how those are related with the workplace and how those help to manage
organizational aspects. The last part of the assignment includes the relationship among
organizational culture, power and politics and they influenced the company towards success
are also provided along with proper recommendations.
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TASK ONE
1. Critically, analyse how HP’s culture, politics and power would or have influenced the
behaviour of individuals or teams in the organisation
OVERVIEW OF HEWLETTPACKARD
HP (Hewlett Packard) is one of the renowned companies across the world for its excellent
quality products (e.g. hardware, software, networking components and others) and services.
HP is an American MNC, which headquartered in Palo Alto in California. In the present day,
HP is providing various hardware and software components to their clients (e.g. small and
medium businesses, government agencies, health and social cares and normal customers)
(Miner, 2015).
In the year of 1979, HP was founded by Hewlett and Packard in one-car garage in the Palo
Alto and firstly, the company manufactures different electrical components (especially
electrical test component). Form the year of 2007, HP became the leading PC manufacturer
company across the globe. The company is also involved in manufacturing data storage,
computing, networking related hardware, software designing, printers and many other
products.
CULTURE AND HP CULTURE
The term “organizational culture” refers to the process of reflecting the traditions and ethics
of an organization through its working activities inside and outside of the workplace (Luthans
et al., 2015). As HP is a multinational company and includes a massive market share and
profit share inside the market, therefore the company includes a large number employees and
most of them are of different background. Therefore, a diversification among their cultures
can be identified. This diversified culture inside the workplace leads the company towards
failure as due to cultural difference of the employees, they are failed to communicate with
each other effectively and as a result, the teamwork inside the workplace is hampered along
with working efficiencies of the company.
POWER AND HP POWER
In case of power, it has been identified that HP likes to maintain the hierarchical structure in
its working environment and therefore, the administration and management of the company
hold the highest power and their orders should be followed by all the employees. The main
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purposes of these departments are to maintain and monitor the working activities effectively
and they have the power to lead the entire organization towards success or failure (Pinder,
2014). After the management and administration department, planning, HR, R&D, finance,
sales and marketing and others are placed. In case of planning department, the employees of
this department hold the position to make effective planning and marketing strategies so that
the company can perform their commercial activities effectively in the market. In case of HR
department, the employees of this department hold to power to recruit or terminate other
employees and they are arranging proper training and development program for the
employees (if necessary). Finance department of this company tries to reduce all the expenses
in order to make the company more profitable and R&D department innovate new products
as per the demand of market.
Though the organizational structure of HP is divided into several subcategories in where the
normal employees (tester, coder, developer and others) belongs to the lowest position in the
hierarchy, but in reality the company treats them their main asset, which describe their main
workforce power inside the workplace (Vasu et al., 2017).
POLITICS AND HP POLITICS
For being a renowned and multinational company, HP is greatly influenced by the political
parties inside and outside of the organization. In the outside, local political parties can
hamper the activities of the company if HP fails to maintain a healthy relationship with them.
On the other hand, the employees of the company have a tendency to achieve the top most
position of the organization not for only gain more money, the addition is to hold the highest
power. Therefore, sometime they are taking negative paths in order to accomplish this (Hogg
and Terry, 2014). The local politics inside the working environment can lead the employees
to positive and negative both aspects and therefore, if the politics aims for motivating the
employees to perform their best so that the objectives of the organization can be
accomplished and the best performer (among the employees) will be rewarded. On the other
hand, if the politics makes negative impact on the employees, then it can lead the employees
to take wrong ways in order to accomplish organizational objectives.
CRITICALLY ANALYSE THE EFFECTOF HP’s CULTURE, POWER AND
POLITICS ON PERFORMANCE and JOB SATISFACTION
This part of the assignment depicts about the impact of power, culture and politics over the
employee performance and how it can provide job satisfaction to them. On the other hand,
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employee development, motivation, innovation, working quality are affected by this are also
described in this assignment..
EFFECT ON EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT AND MOTIVATION
From the above-discussion, it has been clearly identified that organizational politics, culture
and power makes a direct impact on the employee performance, development and motivation.
Therefore, HP should maintain their traditions and cultures in such a way that can draw the
attention of the employees towards accomplishing the organizational objectives. It will also
lead them to perform their best in order to accomplish that (Graham et al., 2015). The
management of the company should use their designation’s power in order to arrange
effective training and development facilities in order to enhance the employees’ performance
and the politics inside the workplace should be aimed for motivating the employees towards
performing their best in order to achieve the objectives of the company.
EFFECT ON INNOVATION AND QUALITY OF WORK
Innovation and working qualities are also affected by the organizational cultures, powers and
politics. The politics should be aimed for inspiring the research and development team of the
company to innovate new things so that the company can be more profitable from the market.
Politics will lead them to enhance the quality of their products and services as well as the
working quality of the company will enhanced effectively. On the other hand, workplace
culture will lead the employees to compete with each other and in order to be the best; they
are trying to innovate new things, which will improve the quality of their work as well. Power
also plays a crucial role in this context, as it will lead the management to take a proper care
on the innovation and quality improvement of their products and services (Zhu et al., 2015).
EFFECT OF BEHAVIOUR ON INDIVIDUALS AND TEAMS
Through organisational culture, power and politics the nature of individuals and teams are
also enhanced in an effective manner. HP should make their working culture in such a way
that it can motivate their employees in an effective manner for understanding the necessity of
their best performance. Through this, the company will be able to bring out the best of their
employees in order to accomplish the organizational objectives. Power can lead the
employees (individual or groups) in two different ways (Jacobs et al., 2014). It can lead the
employees to provide their best performance in order to be the best among others and other
one is the negative way to hold the highest power of the company.
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2. EVALUATE HOW MASLOW’s Or HERZBERG’S CONTENT THEORIES AND
VROOM’s PROCESS THEORY OF MOTIVATIONAL TECHNIQUES ENABLE
EFFECTIVE ACHIEVEMENT OF GOALS IN HP OR ANY OTHER
ORGANISATION YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH.
EXPLAIN HIERARCHY OF NEEDS THEORY
Maslow’s motivational theory is one of the most effective thesis, which are invented by the
researcher in the mid-century and according to this theory, every basic needs of the human
being are highlighted and fulfilled. In case of basic needs of the human-being, food, cloth and
home are taken into consideration. In case of Maslow’s need theory self-actualization, esteem
needs, belongingness and love needs, safety needs and psychological and biological needs are
the crucial factors, which implies all the demands of human beings and those can be
described as follows-
Figure 1: Maslow’s hierarchical need theory
(Source: Ashkanasy et al., 2014)
Psychological and biological needs: Needs refer to the basic three needs of human beings,
which they required for survive in the world (e.g. food, cloth and home). Therefore, human
can do anything or can go any further extensions in order to achieve these three. In case HP,
these factors play a crucial role as every employee of HP is working for the company to earn
money, which are required to survive in the present world.
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Safety needs: If the basic needs are fulfilled, then humans are looking for security and safety,
which they require for live safely. In case of HP, once the employees of the company ensure
their basic needs, then they look for getting proper security and safety of their life along with
their job (Holmlund et al., 2016). In order to do so, they are performing their best so that they
can get promotion and can secure their job effectively for the future.
Belongingness and love needs: Once the above two needs are fulfilled, then human are
started to search for other needs in order to accomplish their passion, love and to gain trust of
other to spend their entire life. For Hewlett Packard, this remains same as every employee of
the organization are looking forward to settle down with their loveable ones.
Esteem needs: Esteem needs refers to the willingness of human beings to see respect into
others’ eyes for own. In order to do so, they are started to involve into several social and
cultural activities to be popular.
Self-actualization: Self-actualization refers to the aim of human being to achieve higher
position in a place or the willingness to hold the ultimate power. In case of HP, once all the
above-mentioned demands are fulfilled then they are looking forward to get promotion and
incentives from their workplace by performing more effectively (Ashkanasy et al., 2014).
Evaluate its usefulness/benefits/advantages towards achieving the goals and objectives
of HP or any other organisation.
It is very crucial for a company to motivate their employees in such a way that they become
ready to give their 100% in order to accomplish organizational objectives. Therefore, in order
to do so, it is also required for the company to identify the needs of their employees so that
they can motivate them by fulfilling their requirements. In case of Hewlett Packard,
management of the company provide different awards (e.g. performance appraisal,
incentives, promotions and others) to their employees based on their performance, so that
they can give their all to achieve organizational objectives (Kong, 2016). On the other hand,
in order to bring out their employees from their daily working lifestyle, management of the
company arranges different social and cultural activities on weekend or month-end and
influence their employees to take participating in this with their families. This can be called
another strategy of the management to provide refreshment to their employees so that on the
next day they can perform more effectively.
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In order to increase the market share and profit-rate of the company, it is mostly important
that their employees will understand about the mission and vision of the organization and
perform their best to accomplish that. In order to do so, management of the company needs to
arrange proper training and development program so that it can enhance skills and knowledge
of the employees and they can work more efficiently. Management of HP can also maintain
their culture inside workplace in such a way that it can reflect their mission and vision and it
can motivate them to compete with each other and as a result the productivity of the company
will increase gradually. Hence, HP will increase their market share and profit rate
automatically (Becker et al., 2016).
HERZBERG THEORY
In order to increase the market share and profit-rate in the market, an organization needs to
make effective planning and strategies. Herzberg’s two factor theory depicts about the same,
which include two different and important aspects, Hygiene factors and motivational factors
that an organization needs to maintain to be more profitable and effective in the market (Jha,
2014). Herzberg’s two-factor theory is related with the job-satisfaction and based on the
range of job-satisfaction, Herzberg’s factors are selected. This is basically a dual-factor
theory, which leads the company and employees of the company towards satisfaction.
Figure 2: Herzberg’s two-factor theory
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(Source: Jha, 2014)
Herzberg’s two-factor theory includes two different factors and those can be described
as follows-
Hygiene Factors: Hygiene factors of HP refer to the salary system, working environments,
work culture, relationship with the colleagues, employees and management relationship and
others. In an organization, all the employees are looking for job satisfaction and in order to
gain so they are looking for basic facts such as working environment, salary, communication
and others. For example, if work pressure in the company is high and salary of the employees
is low related to the work pressure, then it will not provide any job satisfaction to the
employees (Tofighi et al., 2015). On the other hand, if management of the company fails to
make or maintain a healthy relationship with their employees then it will also lead the
employees for not getting any job satisfaction.
Motivational Factors: Motivational factors refer to those aspects, which lead an organization
or its employees to perform their best in order to accomplish the objectives. In order to
accomplish the objectives of the company, it is required by the management to motivate their
employees in such a way that they can give their best. In order to do so, the management
needs to make their employees understand about their responsibility, scope for growth in their
carrier, achievement and others.
Through maintaining the above-mentioned procedure, it becomes much easier for HP to be
more effective in their operations and gain objectives of the company more accurately.
Evaluate its usefulness/benefits/advantages towards achieving the goals and objectives
of HP or any other organisation.
From the above-discussion, it has been identified that in order to achieve the top-most
position in the market, HP needs to make effective planning and strategies so that they can be
more profitable (Friedman et al., 2015). Herzberg’s theory will allow the company to provide
job satisfaction to their employees effectively. For example, Hygiene factors of Herzberg’s
theory will allow the company to offer better salary and better working environment so that it
can lead them to get job satisfaction from the workplace. It is obvious that after getting job
satisfaction, the employees of HP will perform their best in order to achieve promotion and as
a result, productivity and profit-rate of the company will increase. In case of motivational
factors of Herzberg’s theory will motivate their employees by highlighting their roles and
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responsibilities for the organization. Through this way, HP will get the best performance of
their employees and as a result, their market share, profit-share in the market will increase
drastically.
VROOM’s EXPECTANCY THEORY
Herzberg’s and Maslow’s motivational theory are based on the connection between internal
requirements and its outcome, but Vroom’s theory is based on different effects such as
outcomes and performance (that are raised from motivation) (Tofighi et al., 2015). Vroom’s
expectancy theory aimed for increasing the rate of pleasure in accordance with reducing the
rate of pain of the employee. According to Vroom, the performance of employees is based on
several individual factors, like experience, knowledge, skills, personality and others.
Therefore, Vroom invent this theory on the basis of Expectancy, Valence and Instrumentality,
which can be described as follows-
Figure 3: Vroom’s expectancy theory
(Source: Tofighi et al., 2015)
Expectancy: Expectancy refers to the trusts of employees that will lead them towards
increasing their performance, such as if they work hard then they will get better result. In case
of HP, employees of the organization believe to get promotion and other rewards by hard
working.
Instrumentality: Instrumentality refers to the beliefs of human-being that if the person
performs well then the person will get better outcome. In Hewlett Packard, instrumentality
makes their employees belief about performing much better in order to achieve better
outcome.
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Valence: Valence is another belief of human-beings about getting desired outcome from their
performance. In Hewlett Packard, every employee beliefs that they will get better outcome if
they performed well, but if they fail to gain their expectations, then their motivation towards
achieving organizational objectives will lose as well (Friedman et al., 2015).
From the above discussion, it has been clearly identified that every employee of an
organization are working to accomplish their personal requirement along with organizational
requirements. Therefore, management of HP should look to their employees in order to fulfil
their requirements.
Evaluate its usefulness/benefits/advantages towards achieving the goals and objectives
of HP or any other organisation.
From the above-discussion, it has been identified that Vroom’s theory is crucial in order to
enhance the rate of profit, market-share of the company. As this theory allows the company
to fulfil the demands of the employees. By fulfilling the requirements of their employees, it
becomes easier for the company to get the best performance of them. As a result, the
effectiveness and production rate of the company will increase automatically. This process
also leads the company towards achieving their objectives in an effective manner.
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