Organizational Behaviour: Analysis of Retail Store Challenges

This report delves into organizational behaviour, examining a retail store's challenges stemming from employee demotivation and ineffective leadership, leading to customer dissatisfaction. The analysis highlights the lack of performance appraisals, impacting employee morale and productivity. The report explores how theories of employee motivation, leadership effectiveness, values, attitudes, and performance management can be applied to understand and address these issues. It recommends implementing transformational leadership styles, developing motivational strategies, fostering a positive organizational culture that aligns employee values, and establishing performance appraisal techniques to identify skill gaps and enhance training initiatives. The overall goal is to improve employee engagement, boost customer satisfaction, and enhance the organization's performance.

Organizational Behaviour
Student Name: Student ID:
Subject Name: Subject ID:
Date Due: Professor Name:
1 | P a g e

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Organizational behaviour provides various theories and framework for understanding various
ways an organization functions. Focus for every organization is to direct its employees and staffs
towards goals and objectives of the organization. The scope of current analysis deals with an
organization problem where employees faced demotivation and lack of leadership effectiveness.
Absence of performance appraisal revealed deeper concerns related to customer dissatisfaction
and employee challenges faced. Recommendations to overcome the challenge are by integrating
effective leader and motivational techniques along with performance appraisal methodologies.
2 | P a g e

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
1.0 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................4
2.0 ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEM............................................................................................4
3.0 ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGE................................................................................................5
4.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOOEMDATIONS..........................................................................7
5.0 REFERENCE LISTS.................................................................................................................9
3 | P a g e

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Organizational behaviour represents a complex set of area of understanding related to an
organization (Wang, Waldman & Zhang, 2014). Organization behaviour comprises of relation
and interrelation between various stakeholders within the organization. There are various aspects
of organizational behaviour that acts as factors towards determining ways that an organization
can attain its objectives. It’s the aim for any organization to direct as well as employees and
staffs towards its end goals and objectives (Cennamo & Gardner, 2008). The scope of the current
analysis deals with a problem scenario that has arisen in an organization, which has been
analysed through various concepts in organizational behaviour techniques.
2.0 ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEM
Organizational behaviour represents a vast array of topics that that stakeholders within
organization need to deal with. There are various theories of organizational behaviour that
represents complex range of framework for analysis of diversified challenges. In the current
scope of analysing organizational problem, it was noted that a retail store in Australia was facing
high levels of customer dissatisfaction due to prolonged waiting time in queues. The organization
had been facing with immense amount of challenges as a large number of customers complain
regarding waiting at long queues. Increased time at billing while purchasing retail products has
deterred customer’s ability to remain loyal towards the brand. Customers often complain that
employees or staffs present at billing counters at highly ineffective and lacked motivation to
complete billing at a fast rate to cater to larger number of customers (Dobre, 2013). This resulted
in decreasing consumer loyalty and brand switching behaviour amongst customers. The
customers were highly dissatisfied that they had to wait for prolonged time at queues and
employees did not assist them in making their purchases easier.
Employees and staffs who were catering to customer services could not cater to client’s need as
they lacked tremendously in motivation and guidance. Deeper analysis revealed overall reduced
productivity within the organization which led to immense ineffectiveness by reducing business
scope. Communicating with employees led to the understanding that they did not have any
performance appraisal scope which led to their dissatisfaction (Harms & Credé, 2010).
4 | P a g e

Employees did not want to work for the organization as they felt they lacked a clear sense of
direction. Their managers and leaders could not effectively direct employees as to what their
performance or roles should be within the company. Though employees knew they were
responsible for catering to customers, yet they did not know any specific processes they had to
adopt. Moreover, most employees did not visualize a prolonged role in the company and there
was great deal of absence as well as employee turnover. Analyzing the challenge from prominent
organization behavioral theories reveals that concepts related to employee motivation, leadership
effectiveness, values and attitudes and performance management need to be analyzed (Gruman
& Saks, 2011).
3.0 ANALYSIS OF CHALLENGE
Organizational behavioral theories in varied areas provide a framework for deeper analysis of
challenges faced by an organization. There have been a number of interrelated situations that
have arisen in the current organization, which can be linked to organization behavioral theories
to provide detailed recommendations related to the same. First factor that needs to be analysed
here is employee motivation (Lazaroiu, 2015). Employee motivation has been seen to a critical
factor that affects performance of employees. Currently all contemporary organization is
focusing their initiatives related to factors and engagements that can help raise motivation in
employees. Absence of motivation whether intrinsic or extrinsic in nature can lead to
dissatisfaction amongst employees. It is also known to decrease productivity, consecutively
increasing absence and turnover rates. Theories of motivation propose various frameworks that
impacts motivation or demotivating employees. An organization has to consider factors that are
proposed by these theories along with organization specific factors that determine an employee’s
levels of motivation (Roos & Van Eeden, 2008). In the present case, it can be clearly understood
that employees were highly demotivated due to presence of several factors.
Leadership is another crucial factor that deters mines performance of employees. Effective
leadership provides direction to employees and clear communication of organization’s goals and
objectives. Leaders within an organization make employees their followers, and then they set
goals and objectives for them to follow. Effective leader’s not only direct employees but also
5 | P a g e

provide motivation and engagement to employees, such that they remain committed to their
current jobs. Lack of effective leadership is bound to confuse employees as they might not be
receiving clear communication regarding senior management strategic decisions (Sadeghi &
Pihie, 2012). In absence of strategic decisions, employees might feel disengaged from the
organization. They will perform their roles with no clear definition with organizational
objectives. In the current scenario lack of leadership effectiveness have led to employees feeling
disengaged and not being able to cater to organization’s objectives.
Values and attitudes is another integral factor for organization performance. An organisation
culture aligns an employee’s values and attitudes with that of the organization have to enhance
productivity. Appropriate values and attitudes promote motivation amongst employees.
Schwartz’s value theory provides value and attitude theories across cultures (Yang, 2008). They
are the basis for developing feelings amongst employees related to the organization or their job
profile. A positive value and attitude framework within an organizational culture promotes
commitment of employees towards the organization. Employees are able to cater to
organization’s goals through a shared framework of values. This allows employees to be
physically, emotionally and cognitively oriented towards their role performance. In absence of
appropriate values and attitudes in employees, there will be lack of employee engagement. In the
current case analysis, it was noted that there was absence of employee values and attitudes that
was oriented towards organization which led to lack of productivity.
Performance appraisal is another integral factor which determines performance of employees. It
is a reviewing process of employees, which analyses several data and information pertaining to
employees (Ferreira & Utley, 2009). Reviewing employee performance provides a positive spirit
in them and enhances their engagement with the organization. An organization which undertakes
performance appraisal of its employees makes them feel important and helps direct them towards
goals and objectives of the organization. This appraisal method allows employee review their
skills and performance levels as well, and then they are able to undertake skill development and
training on the same basis. Through performance management it is possible to get employee
motivation hence increase commitment towards the organization. In the current organization
analysis, it was revealed that performance appraisal was not conducted (Aguinis, 2009). This led
to several challenges arising that deterred the organization’s performance affecting customer
6 | P a g e

satisfaction levels. The current organization neither appraised skills and knowledge of
employees, not provide any training, therefore affecting employees commitment levels. These
hosts of challenges faced by the current organization revealed that
4.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The organization analysed here has been facing several challenges and problems that has been
revealed. The organization need to devise strategies such that it can overcome its current
challenges by catering to their employees. The organization need to follow the following
recommendations to attend to its challenges;
 Organization’s leaders or senior managers need to adopt transformational leadership
styles. Such leadership styles have been known to be effective and enhance employee
performance by directing them towards goals and objectives of the organization.
Contemporary organizations are increasing adopting transformational leadership to
increase and improvise their employee related performances.
 The organization need to devise appropriate motivational strategies. Motivational
strategies including intrinsic and extrinsic motivational strategies have to be focused on.
Employee specific motivational strategies have to be designed and attended to such that
they can lead to increasing employee performance.
 The organization need to accommodate an appropriate culture that promotes values and
attitudes that lead to employee productivity. As values and attitudes are known to be
important determinant of employee performances, it is integral that organization’s leaders
are able to direct employees toward them. It will allow enhancing employee motivation
and performance levels. Employee will be feeling greater sense of commitment as well
which in turn will lead to customer satisfaction levels.
 The organization need to devise performance appraisal techniques. Designing appropriate
performance management techniques will allow ascertaining levels of skills and
knowledge of employees hence understanding levels of skill gaps. Moreover, ascertaining
skill gaps will allow developing training initiatives that will allow catering to employee’s
7 | P a g e

development in a better manner. Performance appraisal techniques will allow assess an
employee’s position in the company and understanding reasons as to why skill and
knowledge gaps exists. Therefore, additional strategies can be undertaken for overcoming
of the same.
8 | P a g e

5.0 REFERENCE LISTS
Aguinis, H., 2009. Performance management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Cennamo, L. and Gardner, D., 2008. Generational differences in work values, outcomes and
person-organisation values fit. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23(8), pp.891-906.
Dobre, O.I., 2013. Employee motivation and organizational performance. Tabel of Contents.
Ferreira, A. and Otley, D., 2009. The design and use of performance management systems: An
extended framework for analysis. Management accounting research, 20(4), pp.263-282.
Gruman, J.A. and Saks, A.M., 2011. Performance management and employee
engagement. Human Resource Management Review, 21(2), pp.123-136.
Harms, P.D. and Credé, M., 2010. Emotional intelligence and transformational and transactional
leadership: A meta-analysis. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 17(1), pp.5-17.
Lazaroiu, G., 2015. Employee motivation and job performance. Linguistic and Philosophical
Investigations, 14, p.97.
Roos, W. and Van Eeden, R., 2008. The relationship between employee motivation, job
satisfaction and corporate culture: empirical research. SA journal of industrial psychology, 34(1),
pp.54-63.
Sadeghi, A. and Pihie, Z.A.L., 2012. Transformational leadership and its predictive effects on
leadership effectiveness. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(7).
Wang, D., Waldman, D.A. and Zhang, Z., 2014. A meta-analysis of shared leadership and team
effectiveness. Journal of applied psychology, 99(2), p.181.
Yang, J.T., 2008. Individual attitudes and organisational knowledge sharing. Tourism
management, 29(2), pp.345-353.
9 | P a g e