Organisational Behaviour Report: Motivation, Performance, and Culture

This report delves into the complexities of organisational behaviour, examining how culture, power dynamics, and workplace politics influence individual and team performance. It uses Arcadia Group Ltd. as a case study to illustrate these concepts, exploring the impact of different cultural typologies (power, role, task, and person) and the effects of organisational politics and power on employee behaviour. The report further investigates motivation theories, including Maslow's hierarchy of needs, McClelland's needs, expectancy theory, and equity theory, to understand how to enhance employee motivation and productivity. The analysis provides insights into creating a positive work environment and achieving organisational goals through effective leadership and management strategies.

Organisational
Behaviour

INTRODUCTION
Organisation behaviour is the learning of behaviour of individuals in an organisation
while carrying out their roles and responsibilities. It helps in understanding, predicting and
controlling human behaviour individually and in group so that their performance can be
enhanced to achieve organisational goals and objectives. It interprets people-organisation
relationships. This helps in understanding the employees better and solving their conflicts by
applying effective leadership strategy within an organisation so that a good team can be
developed and their productivity can be increased. Arcadia Group Ltd. Which is a multinational
company dealing in retail market and has its headquarters in London, UK is taken to understand
how the members behave in an organisation. Through this report the effects of culture, politics
and power existing in an organisation on the behaviour and performance of individuals, groups
and organisation as a whole will be discussed which will help in making positive changes in the
workplace.
TASK 1
P1
An organisation's ability to grow and develop in a market depends on its human resources
who are directly and indirectly affected by its culture, politics and power. These parameters have
an impact on their performance and productivity which help in achieving organisational aims
(Atherton, 2015). Power and politics are often related to the management and leadership of an
organisation. The influences of these aspects on individual and team behaviour are discussed
below:
Organisational culture: These are the shared ideas, beliefs, values and behaviours of all the
members who work together in an organisation. This makes the unique social and psychological
environment of each organisation. Handy's cultural typology model can be used to understand
work cultures which are described as follows: Power culture: This represents a type of culture where power is concentrated with a
single person, usually the founder of the organisation. Small start-ups usually have this
type of culture. This culture creates tension and stress among the employees and restricts
innovation.

 Role culture: These organisations follow strict rules and are highly disciplined. All the
members know about their area of duty and power is determined by a person's role in the
organisational structure. The task gets completed on time as everyone knows about their
roles and responsibilities. Task culture: This culture usually forms when a specific problem is to be solved or a
project is to be completed. Task is the most crucial factor and power often shifts among
members of team depending on the progress of project. The problems get solved and
projects get completed on time.
 Person culture: This culture usually exists in organisations where professionals work in
their individual capacities, have complete freedom, are well-educated and work with their
own expertise and knowledge. Law firms for example have this type of culture
(Chevallier and et. al., 2012). This culture brings expertise in a particular area and helps
in dealing with related situations efficiently.
Arcadia Group Ltd. Needs to adopt task culture in the company so that employees can
complete projects and solve complex problems using their knowledge and skills on time. This
helps in achieving goals and objectives of the company efficiently.
Organisational politics: It is the use of power, authority and social networking in an
organisation to influence the individuals and teams to achieve targeted objectives. These are
informal and unofficial efforts to assess the functional capability and balance different views of
employees. Following are the effects of organisational politics: Decrease in overall productivity: The productivity of employees decreases as they are
more involved in playing politics in the workplace and spend their time in gossiping on
unofficial issues. This impacts their concentration and targets are not achieved within
time. Demotivated employees: The employees who are serious towards their work gets
demotivated when undeserving employees gets better opportunities on-behalf of politics.
 Spoils the ambience: The relationships among workers get affected due to negative
impacts of workplace politics. It also inflicts hatred among them.
Organisational power: It is the ability to force someone to do something according to one's
perspective even if the person is not willing to do so. Managers exercise their powers so that the

work that is assigned to workers can be done within deadline. Following are the different types
of organisational powers: Reward power: It is the power of a manager to give rewards or compensation financially
or otherwise to the employees in order to influence them to complete a specific work. In
Arcadia Group Ltd. Managers can reward employees after completion of a task (Dolan
and et. al., 2017). Coercive power: It is using force to get workers to follow an instruction or order and the
ability of giving punishment to them in the case of noncompliance. For example, when an
employee carries out a task in the fear of losing his job or bonus. In Arcadia Group Ltd.
this power is rarely exercised. Legitimate power: This power comes due to the formal position of a person in
organisation. CEO of Arcadia Group Ltd. has this power to control and manage the entire
organisation. Expert power: This power is based upon high level of knowledge or a specialized set of
skills. Team leader have this type of power to monitor, assist and control the actions of
the group to achieve a project goal.
 Referent power: This refers to the ability of a leader to influence an employee based on
their loyalty, respect, admiration towards their leader. Through this way the leader can
make employees to accomplish a goal (Farndale, Hope-Hailey and Kelliher, 2011).
Impact of power, culture and politics on individual and team behaviour and performance
Basis Influence on Individual behaviour Influence on team behaviour
Power With the use of power the employees
can be made to increase their efficiency ,
performance and work harder so that
organisational objectives can be
achieved within time.
Better coordination among the team
members by monitoring and controlling
them in a proper way so that the team
objectives can be achieved. Problems can
also be solved efficiently through grouped
efforts.
Culture Culture prevailing in an organisation
motivates and promotes individual
learning which also builds their
Culture affects communication among the
group members which influence group
decision-making and solving conflicts. A

confidence to adapt better in the
organisation and effectively use their
skills.
positive organisational culture can help in
better managing of the teams.
Politics Politics generally have negative impact
on the performance and behaviour of
individuals as their concentration and
focus deviates from their work to other
unofficial gossips.
Team work also gets affected with politics
in workplace as the team members who are
involved in politics tends to influence
performance of other team members and
hence team objectives cannot be achieved.
M1
The culture, politics and power in an organisation has both positive and negative effects
on the behaviour and performance of an individual and team.
Basis Positive Negative
Culture Helps in coordination and building strong
relations which also builds strong
organisational image.
Restrictions on employees to work strictly
in organisational culture which might
hinder their freedom to express their ideas
in role and power culture.
Power Organisational goals can be achieved in
time by pushing workers to work harder.
Can lead to tensions and stress among
employees to finish the work as and when
required.
Politics Workers can express their ideas freely
and interactions among employees
increases
Affects concentration and overall work
gets effected.
TASK 2
P2
Motivation is the act of inciting or inducing someone to act in a predetermined desired
manner so that the goals of the organisation can be achieved. Motivation creates a positive
impact on the workers and their productivity and performance increases.

Content theory of motivation: This theory explains the change in needs of employees
with time. Following theories will help managers at Arcadia Group Ltd. to determine factors that
lead to change in employee needs:
 Maslow's Hierarchy of needs: According to the American psychologist Abraham
Maslow, there exists a hierarchy of needs which consists of five levels and these needs
are prioritized based on their importance. Needs at lower level are to be satisfied first
before progressing towards high level (The Hierarchy of Human Needs: Maslow’s Model
of Motivation, 2018).
1. Psychological needs: These are the basic human needs like light, water, food, clothing
etc. for which basic pay should be given to them. These basic needs when fulfilled will
motivate employees to fulfil higher level of needs.
2. Safety needs: These needs are related to job security, safety at workplace etc. for which a
clean working environment should be maintained and employee legislations should be
followed. These basic needs when fulfilled employees are motivated to improve their
quality of work to feel more integrated with the workplace.
3. Social needs: These are related to building relationships through interactions among
employees for which a friendly work culture, training and development programmes etc.
can be maintained. After fulfilment of these needs employees are motivated to be
recognised in the organisation.
4. Esteem needs: These are needs of getting recognised and appreciated for their work so
that they feel motivated to work efficiently. These psychological needs when fulfilled
encourages employees to increase their standard of living.
5. Self-actualization needs: These needs are referred to personal growth and development so
that their job satisfaction increases (Gold and et. al., 2013). These needs give complete
job satisfaction to the employees and they feel happy and contended with their work.

Illustration 1: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. 2018
Source: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, 2018
 McClelland's need for achievement, affiliation and power theory: According to this
theory every person has one of the basic motivators: need for achievement or affiliation
or power. It depends on the background and life experiences of people.
1. Need for power: Employees who desire to be at higher power in the organisation so as to
influence and control others.
2. Need for affiliation: Some employees want to feel affiliated with the employees and tend
to make good relations with other employees (Geppert and Dörrenbächer, 2014).
3. Need for achievement: These employees are high achievers and they tend to achieve their
goals as soon as possible.
Process theory of motivation: These theories are concerned with the thought process
that influences the behaviour of employees to perform a particular task within time. Some
process theories that can be used by management of Arcadia Group Ltd. are: The expectancy theory: This theory was given by business professor of Yale Victor
Vroom, who said that motivation is a result of the choices made by employees which can
either increase pleasure or lessen pain. Rewards given to the employees must be on the
basis of their performance. The expectation of satisfaction after completion of work
motivates employees to work harder (Kaur, 2013).

 The equity theory: This theory was given by John Stacey Adams, who said that
employees can be positively driven by fair treatment of all workers at workplace. The
goal is to ensure employees are rewarded equally based on their performance. They must
neither be over-rewarded nor over-awarded as both the situations cause distress among
the employees.
Hence the above mentioned theories can be used by the managers of Arcadia Group Ltd.
So that appropriate policies can be formulated in the company to motivate employees which can
enhance their productivity and performance which in turn will increase the profitability of the
company. The goals and objectives will be achieved in time and with perfection.
M2
The behaviour of employees at the workplace needs to be motivated so that they are
encouraged to achieve organisational goals within a specific time. Motivation inculcates in them
a positive attitude towards their work which enhances their abilities to perform efficaciously any
work given to them and they are more directed towards goal-oriented approach. Maslow's theory
and McClellend theory can help managers to identify needs of employees and what motivates
them whereas the expectancy theory and equity theory can help managers in understanding
employee expectations and how can they be fulfilled to enhance their performance.
D1
The culture, politics and power that exists in an organisation directly and indirectly
affects the motivation of employees to perform better in order to achieve the goals and objectives
of organisation. The better the organisational culture, the higher is the motivation of employees.
Recommendations:
 Rewarding employees based on the basis of how they carry out their work can motivate
employees to achieve targets on time.
 Training and development programmes can help in building better relations among
workers which creates a friendly environment at workplace.
 Task culture can help in better distribution of work among employees.
 Positive politics can help in building healthy competition among the workers.

TASK 3
P3
Every organisation is facing high competition from their rivalries that exist in the same
industry and so it is important for Arcadia Group Ltd. to have effective members in the teams
who can perform their work in an efficient manner that helps the organisation in achieving its
mission and vision. Effective teams give businesses opportunity to grow and develop in the
industry and attain a superior position over other firms (Kiatkawsin and Han, 2017).
Effective team Ineffective team
Effective team members are work-oriented and
work progressively towards achieving the
targets efficiently within time. They are more
focused and motivated to continuously work in
the direction of achieving success. They are
well coordinated in their efforts and the
conflicts among them can be solved in a
planned manner.
The ineffective team members often lack
direction that needs to be followed to achieve
the organisational goals and objectives. Their
efforts are not coordinated or synergise to
achieve a common goal. The members lack
motivation to work and are often not very
focused.
Belbin Theory:
According to Belbin, each person possesses a pattern of behaviour which distinguishes
them from others. Each individual within a business behaves differently in a situation. Belbin has
given different roles for the teams which are discussed below: Shaper: These people often challenges the team to improve by supporting and guiding
them to solve problems in a better manner to achieve organisational goals. Arcadia
Group Ltd. Must employ more shapers to gain a competitive advantage in the industry. Implementer: These people practically apply the team ideas and concepts to form plans.
Managers of Arcadia Group Ltd. ensure that discipline is maintained at the workplace
and work gets completed systematically and efficiently (Michailova and Sidorova,
2011).

 Completer-finisher: These people in a team at Arcadia Group Ltd. ensures that the tasks
get completed thoroughly by looking for every small mistake in details. They are very
obsessed about deadlines. Coordinators: At Arcadia Group Ltd. the chairman of team guides them to work on
perceived objectives. They are calm and good natured and understands the contribution
of each member of the team. They can efficiently delegate tasks among all the members. Team worker: At Arcadia Group Ltd. these are the people who supports team and are
negotiators among the team members. They prioritize cohesion and are flexible,
diplomatic and perceptive. Resource Investigator : At Arcadia Group Ltd. these people are innovative and try to
explore accessible options, make contacts and negotiate among resources on behalf of
the team (Rowold, 2014). Plant: These people are innovative and come up with new and creative approaches to get
the work done on time. They prefer to work independently from the team and are often
poor at communication which can effect team work and lead to delay in project
completion. Monitor-Evaluator: They are best at analysing and evaluating ideas of others and then
choosing among the best options available so that the objectives can be achieved on
time.
 Specialist: These are the people with expertise knowledge about a certain area in the
project and generally guides the teams through their abilities and skills to get the work
done on time and with efficiency.
All the above mentioned are the different kinds of people who behaves differently in
different situations. All these members help in achieving the goals and objectives of Arcadia
Group Ltd. by monitoring and controlling the work of teams in efficient manner.
M3
Belbin theory is the most appropriate team and group development theory in delegating
tasks of a project among all the team members so that the project gets completed on time. This
theory also helps in assigning roles to the team members who can work together in a coordinated
manner to synergise the team efforts in accomplishing goals that are assigned to them. This helps
in building strengths and dealing with weaknesses of the team so that team-members have

similar work-strengths to complete their work. This theory helps in building dynamic
cooperation among team-members that can be utilized in achieving organisational objectives.
TASK 4
P4
Path goal theory: This theory helps in providing ways through which leaders in an
organisation can encourage and support their employees in achieving organisational goals and
objectives thereby improving the productivity and performance of employees. The main aim is to
motivate employees, empower and strengthen them so that their satisfaction from job increases.
It helps in maximizing employee output. This theory can help Arcadia Group Ltd. In analysing
and evaluating the capabilities of employees to do the assigned work or solve work related
problems. It also helps in developing a path with clear directions that are to be followed to finish
the work given to them (Suma and Lesha, 2013).
Characteristics of path-goal theory :
 Sub-ordinate's characteristics: These are the personal characteristics of subordinates
which determines the type of leadership styles that can be followed in an organisation.
Locus of control – The extent to which individuals think that what happens to them is
either due to their own behaviour or from external factors. Ability – to perform certain
task. Authorization – directive leadership is preferable for high authoritarian subordinates
who wants to be lead in a particular direction.
 Environmental characteristics of workplace: Task structure and organisation of group are
the two environmental characteristics. The leaders provide direction and support to work
groups and lead them through appreciative leadership style. Leadership style depends on
the structure of group. When the structure is low, directive leadership can be used.
Leadership styles : These are the different ways through which leaders in an organisation can
guide, control, monitor and lead the employees through a specific path that needs to be followed
to be able to achieve organisational goals and objectives within a time limit. Some styles that can
be followed by leaders in path-goal theory are:
 Directive leadership: Under this style the leader gives clear and specific directions that
are to be followed by the subordinates to fulfil certain objectives and expectations that are
essential to complete specific works on time. This type of leadership is effective when the

task is complex and employees are not skilled or lack experience. Arcadia Group Ltd. can
use this style to delegate roles and responsibilities among members depending on their
capabilities. Rewards can also be given on the basis of their performance (Vance,
Siponen and Pahnila, 2012).
 Participative leadership: Also known as democratic leadership, in this style all the team
members are involved in identification of important goals and subsequently developing
strategies and procedures through which those goals can be achieved. Arcadia Group Ltd.
can use this style when the team members are skilled in the work assigned to them.
Through this new idea from all the members can be analysed so that the best among the
available options can be selected to solve task related issues.
 Supportive leadership: The managers do not simply emphasize on delegating roles and
responsibilities and getting work done, instead they work with the employees and try to
support them which improves their skills and talents. A supportive leader is friendly and
approachable who focuses on building self-esteem of the workers. Supportive leadership
is followed in Arcadia Group Ltd. when the work is stressful and boring.
 Achievement-oriented leadership: Under this leadership the leaders have high
expectations from their employees and have confidence on the capabilities of employees
because of which challenging goals are set for the employees to be achieved in time.
Challenging work leads to both work and self improvement. Arcadia Group Ltd. use this
style when a work needs to be done that matches the capabilities and skills of the
employees in the team (Wood and et. al., 2016).
M4
The concepts and philosophies that are followed in an organisation influences the
behaviour of employees which puts an impact on their productivity and performance to achieve
the goals and objectives of organisation. They also help in building interactions among
employees and building their relationships with managers through which they can be managed
by offering constructive feedbacks about their work so that their skills and talents can be
efficiently utilized. Rewarding and appreciating employees for their work to keep them
motivated and encouraged to work efficiently. Diverse workforce can be managed well by
efficiently managing conflicts.

D2
Team development theories are important to control and monitor the behaviour of
individuals in a team as each team member has different set of skills, come from different
backgrounds and life experiences and have different expectations from their jobs. This effects the
way in which employees pursue their work and the amount of efforts they are willing to put in to
get the work done on time. Appropriate leadership style helps in monitoring teams and
coordinating their efforts in a specific work-oriented direction which can help in achieving
targets within deadlines thereby increasing the profitability of the organisation.
CONCLUSION
From this report conclusion can be made that organisational behaviour is an important
aspect that needs to be considered for developing strategies and policies in an organisation that
can assist in attaining its objectives within time. Employees needs to be motivated so that they
are always encouraged to increase their work efficiency so that their productivity can be
increased. Belbin theory can help in making a team effective by appropriately choosing team
members whereas Path goal theory can help in formulating a leadership style to lead and guide
team members.

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