Organisational Behaviour Report: Woolworths HRM Challenges Analysis

This report examines the organizational behavior of Woolworths, an Australian retail giant, focusing on its HRM challenges. The primary issue identified is job design and flexible work arrangements, particularly within the context of the retail industry's demands. The report explores relevant organizational behavior theories, including Employee Engagement Theory, Job Design Theory, Herzberg's Dual Factor Theory, and Strategic Human Resource Management Theory. It analyzes how these theories can be applied to address the challenges faced by Woolworths. The report also provides a conceptual framework to illustrate the practical application of these theories. It concludes by summarizing the key findings and offering insights into how Woolworths can improve its HRM practices to enhance employee engagement and address the complexities of job design and flexible work arrangements within its diverse operations and global presence. The report is a comprehensive analysis of Woolworths' organizational behavior, supported by relevant examples and research to provide an in-depth understanding of the challenges and potential solutions.

Running head: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR - WOOLWORTHS
Organisational Behaviour – Woolworths
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The primary objective of the given report is to study the Human Resource Management
challenges faced by the retail chain industry of Australia named Woolworths in connection to
the scenario of the organisational behaviour of the same. Concerning to this study, the report
investigates that the company is known to face several challenges that are related to the
management of the Human Resource. Out of these several challenges, the most implicit
challenge faced by the HRM of Woolworths had been recognised to be the challenge faced in
the job designing and the arrangement of the flexible work scenario in the organisation. In
connection with the issue identified, the report tends to suggest the best possible theories and
concepts related to the organisational behaviour that would help Woolworths to meet the
adversity of the challenge faced by the same. The OB theories with this regards are suggested
to be the theories named as the Employee Engagement Theory, Job Designing Theory,
Herzberg's Dual Factor Theory and the Strategic Human Resource Management Theory.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Human Resource related challenge in Woolworths...................................................................3
Organisational Behaviour Theories and concepts......................................................................5
Employee Engagement Theory..............................................................................................5
Job Design Theory.................................................................................................................6
Herzberg's Dual Factor Theory..............................................................................................6
Strategic Human Resource Management Theory..................................................................8
Conceptual Framework..............................................................................................................9
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................11
Appendices...............................................................................................................................14
Appendix 1...........................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
As opined by Schechner (2017), the ideology of organisational behaviour is
determined as the methodological study of the performance related to both the individual as
well as any group of individuals who works within a speculated business entity. In this
connection, the given report is focused on identifying the major issue related to the
organisational behaviour of a retail industry named as Woolworths. The organisation of
Woolworths is considered to be a supermarket chain industry that is predominantly owned by
the Woolworths Group (Devin & Richards, 2018). The same is determined to be an
Australian company which was effectively founded in the year of 5th December 1924.
Woolworths is known to work under a duopoly with the practical organisation of Coles
supermarket as well. Studies show that the concerned company is considered to work in the
sale of several grocery items such as vegetables and packaged foods. Not only this, but it also
deals with the products of household, pet and baby goods, stationery as well as health and
beauty and personal care products. At the current time, the firm is known to operate with
around a 1000 number of stores only spread in the region of Australia. In light of this, it can
be stated that Woolworths is recorded to be a significant retail industry with its operations
spread all across the globe (Fernie & Sparks, 2018).
Human Resource related challenge in Woolworths
As stated above in the report that Woolworths is recognised to be a multinational
retail chain industry that is headquartered in the region of Australia, the organisation is
known to have various challenging human resource issues as the same works in a global
synergy as huge organisational firms (Bailey, 2017). In this context, the most challenging

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problem that the Human Resource Management of Woolworths faces is recognised to be the
concern related to job design as well as a flexible work arrangement.
As opined by Slack and Brandon-Jones (2018), any business sector operating itself in
the retail industry needs to work with the most significant manner to maintain its job
designing structure as well as the flexibility in its working environment. This is because a
multinational retail industry works in the synergy of diversified sectors and departments. In
connection to this aspect, the concerned organisation of Woolworths under discussion here in
the paper is also recorded to have diversified areas of operations. Woolworths operates itself
all across the globe with several numbers of employees posted at different designations and
levels with a different set of responsibilities and activities allocated to each one of them
(Turton, 2017). In addition to this, there are several segregated departments that are to be
handled in the retail chain industry that works in the form of a multinational company.
Moreover, the working hours in a retail chain industry are known to be long ones as
compared to other kinds of business industries (Gereffi & Lee, 2016). Therefore, in light of
this factor it can be stated that the concerned business entity of Woolworths has to effectively
and efficiently manage the synergy of its diversified operative nature both in the synergy of
designing the job plan for the employees in the consideration that the connected
organisational, social, cultural, as well as technological needs of the firm, is fulfilled. Along
with this, the concerned retail industry firm also has to be responsible regarding the
management of the working hour schedules as well as the timings that are concerned with the
break schedules as well as the shift schedules of the employees (Gerstel & Clawson, 2018).
In addition to this, the Human Resource team of the concerned retail chain industry is
responsible for the management of the hours worked by each individual worker who works as

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part-time workers and job shares in the firm as the same also comes under the synergy of the
flexible work arrangement.

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Organisational Behaviour Theories and concepts
According to the viewpoint of Landy and Conte (2016), the organisational behaviour
theories, as well as concepts, are those aspects that are useful for the work considerations of
the human resource managers. Organisations are the ones which are recognised to be the
place where different employees interact with each other in the connection of accomplishing
the shared organisational as well as individual objectives. Therefore, the study related to the
organisational behaviour theories and concepts as well as its connected affiliated subjects is
the synergy that helps in the understanding of the thinking of those people working in the
organisation and what they feel regarding the setting of the organisation. In this connection,
the given report investigates the relevant OB theories and concepts that can help the
organisation of Woolworths practically manage the challenge related to the issue of job
designing and flexible work arrangement.
Employee Engagement Theory
The above-mentioned organisational theory is stated to help the employees effectively
engages in the organisation, and that know the way have to perform their duties. This theory
of OB ensures that the employees are entirely switched mentally and physically at their
allocated activities during their working hours (Bailey et al., 2017). Thus, Woolworths can
adopt the aspect of the theory related to employee engagement in the concern of managing
the challenge that is related both to the factors of job designing and flexible work
engagement. The HRM at Woolworths would be able to let the employees understand the
societal as well as personal requirement of the job and thus the job designing challenge would
turn to be positive and, in turn, the HRM will understand the work timing and behaviour of
the employees (Shuck, Adelson & Reio Jr, 2017). This will help the management to set up

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the flexible work timings of the employees and fix the required amount of work timing for
the part-time employees working in the firm.
Job Design Theory
Job designing theory is determined as a psychological theory concerned with the
factor of motivating the employees (Noe et al., 2017). It is defined as the systematic as well
as a purposeful approach towards the synergy of allocating the required tasks and activities to
different individuals or group of individuals within a specified organisation. This mentioned
theory helps a business organisation to fulfil the five core traits related to the aspect of job
designing (Kanfer, Frese & Johnson, 2017). The skill variety, the identification of the task,
the significance of the task, autonomy as well as providing the job feedback to the
employees. All of these core characteristics are known to be successfully allocated and
understood by the HRM of the organisation to the concerned lower level of employees with
the help of the job designing theory. Thus, the HRM of the relevant retail chain industry of
Woolworths can effectively use the theory of job designing to solve the issue related to the
designing of the job activity itself in the firm.
Herzberg's Dual Factor Theory
Considering the OB theory stated as Herzberg's Dual Factor theory, the same is
known to be divided into two main factors that are used in the synergy of motivating the
employees working in any sector of business industry (Alshmemri, Shahwan-Akl & Maude,
2017). The two factors, as connected to the challenge faced by the organisation of
Woolworths, are specified below.

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Positive factors
The factors that are positive in nature are determined to impact the mental state of the
employees in a motivational way (Argyris, 2017). Therefore, Woolworths should focus on
providing the employees with effective method and relationship towards their job scenario.
Along with this, the HRM of the concerned retail chain industry should make sure that the
shift timings and the working environment of the firm are adequately flexible in nature. This
will implicitly motivate the employees to remain entirely focused on their allocated work and
activities and complete the same on a timely basis. In light of this, it can be stated that the
retail industry Woolworths would significantly be able to meet the challenge they are facing
related to the job designing and flexible work arrangement.
Negative factors
In lieu of the decisive elements, the negative factors are considered to decrease the
interest of the employees when they are at their working place (Pigou, 2017). This is because
the satisfaction level to their mental state is not achieved. The negative factors in
consideration with the retail industry of Woolworths based on the HRM challenge the firm is
facing are considered to be the unavailability of the flexible time of work and the rigid
scenario of shift the employees have to follow. In addition to this, if the employees are not
supported by the management to understand their work nature and receive a non-friendly
working environment where the employees cannot engage with each other, they will get
demotivated to work with their best capability.
Based on this approach of the negative and positive factors of the Herzberg's Dual
Factor Theory, the report tends to suggest that the organisation of Woolworths can

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profoundly use this theory to motivate the employees positively and therefore resolve the
HRM challenge the same is known to face (Stern & Cooper, 2017).
Strategic Human Resource Management Theory
The synergy of Strategic Human Resource Management Theory is recognised as the
aspect which ensures that a business entity has the needed personnel, plans as well as
processes that is stated to execute as well as achieve the mission and vision desired by the
entity (Collings, Wood & Szamosi, 2018). The above-mentioned theory, in this context,
would significantly help the HRM concerned with the retail chain industry of Woolworths to
perform the diversified strategic functions that relate to the communication of the core values
of the company to the entire workforce of the same. These functions are known to include the
establishment of the ethical standards as well as the training of the personnel and the group of
employees concerned about their work and the timings of the same. The SHRM theory is
known to help the managers to effectively plan the transactions of the organisations and
communicate the same to the employees who are needed to perform the stipulated activities
(Bailey et al., 2018). This will help the HRM the challenge they face regarding the
management of the job designing where they need to allocate the individual or group of
employees with the required work and entirely let them engage into the same to achieve the
efficiency and the effectiveness in the desired goals and objectives of the organisation.
Moreover, the synergy of the SHRM theory would help the senior management at
Woolworths to understand the work behaviour of their lower-level operators and employees
and the timings they are comfortable to work in (Albrecht et al., 2015). Therefore, the
allocation concerning the shift of the work, the working hours of the shift, the break hours
and the timings related to the extra-curricular activities of the Woolworths retail chain
industry are all operationally measured by the HRM and synchronised in turn. When the

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employees get the opportunity to work in the flexible timings and have the scenario of a
healthy working environment, they are highly motivated to work at their best agility and
enthusiasm. This, in turn, would help the concerned organisation under discussion here in the
paper to resolve the challenge the same is facing with the concern of maintaining a flexible
working environment.
Conceptual Framework
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of the OB Theories and Concepts for Woolworths
(Source: By Author)
Conclusion
Hence, to bring to a logical outcome, with the help of the above-illustrated pieces of
organisational behaviour theories and concepts it can be stated that the Human Resource
Management connected to any retail business industry is identified to be the most vital part of
the same. This is because the HRM is the one who is solely responsible for the effective
management of the plans and processes of the firm that are to be strategically implemented in

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the connection of achieving the desired set of goals and objectives of the firm. Not only this,
but the HRM has to remain accountable to face the challenges that come up at every step of
the implemented plans and take necessary steps to mitigate the risks and issues coming up
from the obstacles. Any retail business organisation would be able to achieve the paradigm of
compelling competitive advantage as well as the positive profit-earnings ratio only when the
connected HRM to the same is extensive in its management system.