Organizational Culture, Politics, and Power in M&S

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ORGANISATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
LO1..................................................................................................................................................2
P1 (M1) Analyse how an organisation’s culture, politics and power can influence individual
and team behaviour and performance..........................................................................................2
LO2..................................................................................................................................................5
P2 (M2) Evaluate how content and process theories of motivation and motivational techniques
enable effective achievement of goals in an organisational context............................................5
LO3..................................................................................................................................................9
P3 (M3) Demonstrate an understanding of what makes an effective team as opposed to an
ineffective team...........................................................................................................................9
LO4................................................................................................................................................14
P4 (M4) Apply concepts and philosophies of OB within an organisational context and a given
business situation.......................................................................................................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................16
References......................................................................................................................................17

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Types of culture................................................................................................................2
Figure 2: Types of organisational powers.......................................................................................3
Figure 3: ERG theory.......................................................................................................................6
Figure 4: Theory of expectancy.......................................................................................................7
Figure 5: Tuckman's stages............................................................................................................10
Figure 6: Team roles......................................................................................................................11

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Team Types.....................................................................................................................12

Introduction
The organisation now-a-days has to study human behaviour to fulfil organisational goals. The
current study aims at analysing power, culture and politics that has greater impact on team and
individual behaviour in context to Marks & Spencer. Further, the study will focus on process and
content theories that are determined as motivation theories that help in getting successful results.
The study will mention importance and benefits of team dynamics in organisation by comparing
effective and ineffective teams. At last, various philosophies and concepts are listed in context to
business situation that helps in maintaining organisational behaviour with successful approaches.
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LO1
P1 (M1) Analyse how an organisation’s culture, politics and power can influence individual and
team behaviour and performance
Marks & Spencer is known as British multinational retailer that has it’s headquarter in London.
The firm deals in high quality clothing, food and home products. It was founded in 1884 from
Thomas Spencer and Michael Marks and currently operating over 959 outlets within UK and out
of those 615 sells food products. It earns over £10377 million as revenues by employing over
80787 people in organisations. Even it has huge number of stores that generated situation of
market saturation due to which 100 shops will be closed till 2022under the radical plan. The firm
initiates flat culture which is practised due to its customer’s oriented properties (Elsmore, 2017).
The business of M&S uses various cultures that help in maintaining working standards. The
employees working interest can be increased by practising Handy’s model that is created for
identifying business culture that is discussed below:
Power Culture – This is authority or duty that is present with limited people of organisation that
has major influence on firm’s decision making. This culture is followed by specific regulations
in which target achievement is monitored by management instead of actions and things. In M&S,
providing task deadlines is major power and getting results on time in only motive.
Figure 1: Types of culture
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(Source: Handy’s Culture, 2018)
Role Culture – In this, all employees are pretty much sure about individual roles and duties that
are to be completed using certain rules prepared by management (do Carmo Silva and Gomes,
2015). The power is determined from employee position just like store manager knows its duty
has certain amount of control over things but senior store manager has power to either stop or
start law or rule developed by store manager in M&S.
Task Culture – This type of culture is created in firm to face and determine progress projects and
problems. The team formation will decide importance and power of task culture only with skills,
leadership and personalities. Thus, task culture is important as it plays and practise power in
effective manner.
Person Culture – In this, the employees in firm always thinks their own position as superior and
unique. This is practised in firm in which people are promoted to work. This culture is followed
for making individual collection to practise power over the task.
The customer services require best powers to practise for eliminating various issues occurring at
time of production. The power in business is essential ingredient for completing tasks by team
members that helps in maintaining firm’s image (Glisson, 2015). The management in
organisation should have capability to allow and guide positively to team for practising powers
that includes the following:
Figure 2: Types of organisational powers
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(Source: Power Types, 2018)
Legitimate Power – This aims at completing all needs of leaders and managers so that power can
be initiated on employees in positive way for accomplishing goals.
Expert Power – It targets people with information, knowledge and deep understanding. It aims
on practising power by leaders with higher intelligence that enhances working quality (Elgie,
2018).
Reward Power – This power is created through HR policies in which best employees are given
rewards by increasing performances that might lowers another employee working interest in case
it is not rewarded.
From above power types, the organisation gets systematic way of conducting businesses. It is
true that practising such power types in M&S highly affects daily functioning if political impact
occurs. The major impact is on team and individual that might include unemployment rate, the
change in fiscal policies, unstable political situations, giving high business loans and duties of
excise and import. Initiating structural change is necessary that consist of working structure, aim
on replacing unskilled member, production process and taking decisions.
The organisations has major influence in functioning from culture and power but at same time it
goes through huge politics that minimises production capacities as well as business results. The
politics plays important role in formulating variety of tactics and strategies that helps in boosting
interest of employees in work. The employee control and performances gets highly affected in
case power is not used with politics (Shafritz, et.al, 2015). For instance – firm needs to have
strong relations between employee and manager for boosting performances. In case, it destroys
due to some reasons than politics is only way through which organisational performances can be
managed again.
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LO2
P2 (M2) Evaluate how content and process theories of motivation and motivational techniques
enable effective achievement of goals in an organisational context
M&S is serving across the world that sometimes faces problems and issues in gaining profits and
competitiveness. For this, restructuring of business is best idea from which positive results can
be obtained. The change in business generally requires preparing employees through techniques
that helps in accepting the change. It can be done using motivation concept that will drive work
interest in employee minds thus helps in achieving goals and objectives. Motivation refers to
force stimulation on employee or individual that guides to perform task with quality. The skilled
employees get huge benefits from motivation such as job satisfaction, monetary expectations and
enhance working interest (Lăzăroiu, 2015). There are two types of motivation first is intrinsic
that mentions all internal factors for employee motivation such as contact, curiosity, acceptance,
independence, power etc. The second is extrinsic that boost working interest from factors such as
package benefits, bonus, incentives, rewards etc that are determined as external factors.
For plans of restructuring business process in M&S it is very important to encourage employees
for accepting change that can be done using motivational theories for gaining productivity. The
theories of motivation consist of process and content that are listed below:
Content Motivational Theories – Such theories has greater impact on organisational policy and
practise that helps in boosting productive results. This is determined need theory as it evaluates
factors that bring motivation in employees for doing better work (Kanfer, et.al, 2017). In
reference to M&S, content theories are discussed below:
ERG Theory
This theory was revised from Maslow’s Theory by Clayton Alderfer in year 1972. The aim of the
motivational theory was to reduce hierarchy level to three from five that was named as existence
needs, growth needs and relatedness needs. This theory is beneficial for organisation as it will
prepare employees to focus on major needs for which they are working and will regularly work.
The problem is that will people regularly be motivated from such theory as fulfilling demand of
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purchasing phone by employee will over once the phone is recieved than the work quality will be
highly impacted till next desire is come across minds. In that case, it is important to use theory to
regularly generate interest of employees (Cook and Artino, 2016).
Figure 3: ERG theory
(Source: Alderfer’s ERG Theory, 2018)
McClellands Need for Affiliation, Power and Achievement Theory
The three needs of people are important that was argued by McClellands. The theory stated that,
there is strong connection within achievement needs and high performing managers and in such
case, power and affiliation are terms which are least required. Thus, based on this theory, the
managers of organisation must identify employees with higher drives that will be motivated soon
for three important needs as compared to employees with low drives. The arrangement of work
and situations can be managed according to employees that enhance their motivation towards
work in effective manner that will improve M&S conditions in upcoming time (Rowe, 2017).
Process Motivational Theories – The process theory aims at addressing problems and issues
that are linked to work process that needs sustained method that identifies various continuation,
modification and degree effort. Following are content theories of motivation that includes:
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Equity Theory
Under this theory, employee develops effort level against co-workers for getting better rewards
and incentives. Thus the difference between co-workers and effort level creates issues in staff
that needs to be improved by increasing motivation from which adjustments can be made to get
better results. The award taken by best performers helps in motivating other employees that will
help in M&S for restructuring in better manner (Hatfield, et.al, 2016). Therefore, all employees
must be rewarded in equal and fair manner that will help in adjusting inequities. Thus, equal
treatment will help in boosting employee working morale.
Expectancy Theory
Figure 4: Theory of expectancy
(Source: Vaeenma, 2018)
The theory aims at highlighting motivation as process of decision making that aids in analysing
outcome efforts. The process is included for completing task by using employee suggestions and
choice of styles by team to follow while producing products. The valuable reward is given to the
person involved in planning and creating products and services. The main aspects employees
think are selection of task, results expectation and result availability (Kiatkawsin and Han, 2017).
Thus initiating this theory helps in creating relationships within present behaviour of employees
and anticipated future rewards.
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Employee motivation can be done using various methods that includes developing employee
pride, increasing employee involvement, giving performance appraisals, ways of leading team,
boosting personal skills etc.
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