Organizational Behaviour Report: Culture, Motivation, Teams at Tesco

This report delves into the multifaceted realm of organizational behaviour, employing Tesco as a practical case study to illustrate key concepts. The report is divided into two main tasks, the first task explores the influence of organizational culture, power dynamics, and political maneuvering on employee behavior. It also examines motivational theories, including content and process theories, and how these theories and techniques enable the effective achievement of organizational goals. The second task presents an essay that identifies and analyzes the characteristics of effective versus ineffective teams and explores the application of various organizational behaviour concepts and philosophies within Tesco. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of how various factors like culture, motivation, power, and politics impact the working of an organization.

ORGANISATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1 REPORT...........................................................................................................................3
LO1 Influence Of Culture, Politics And Power On The Behaviour Of Others In An
Organisational Context...........................................................................................................3
LO2 Content And Process Theories Of Motivation And Motivational Techniques Enable
Effective Achievement Of Goals In An Organisational Context...........................................6
TASK 2 ESSAY.............................................................................................................................8
LO3 Characteristics Which An Effective Team, As Opposed To An Ineffective Team......8
LO4 Concepts And Philosophies Of Organizational Behaviour And their Impact In Tesco10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Organizational behaviour is basically a study of employee's behaviour and how they
interact within a group. Normally this study is applied in an organization to create a better
business organization or we can say that it is basically an interface between an organization and
employees. We will explain this report with the help of an example of a company “TESCO”.
TESCO is UK's one of the biggest retailing business organization founded in 1919. Today it is
one of the largest retail business organization in the world. Its main business is retailing in UK,
which has a contribution of 60% of it's profit and sales. This report will consist of following
topics such as: influence of culture, power and politics on the behaviour of others in an
organization, how to motivate individuals and team to achieve a goal, how to co-operate
effectively with others and concepts and philosophies of organizational behaviour in TESCO.
TASK 1 REPORT
LO1 Influence Of Culture, Politics And Power On The Behaviour Of Others In An
Organisational Context
Nowadays combination of these three has been all over an organization or workplace.
Today an individual need to worry not only about work or task assigned to them but many more
especially in a business environment. Culture, power and politics in an organization influence
daily operations as well as an organization's atmosphere is also governed. Culture, power and
policies have a huge impact in the workplace and it is reflected directly in an organization's
culture both informally and formally.
When a power is acquired by a person it is meant for achieving some purpose. When used
appropriately desired goals and objectives can be achieved(Nicolson, 2015). If these powers are
used in time and used appropriately then it can solve crises also like in TESCO, few years back
Tesco was facing crises because of suppliers more profit. Tesco managers used their powers and
reported it to the seniors and made them see the situation. Sometimes powers are used for
benefits of employees as it can inspire and motivate other employees to work hard and remain
committed towards their work. Many obstacles like bureaucratic obstacles can be removed
through use of power in an organization. If power is used in a positive way then creativity in
work of employees can be enhanced. So, we can say that influence of power is also positive for
an organization.
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When a power is used ineffectively or not used at all when needed, it can lead to non-
functioning of system. This can happen when inexperienced managers are appointed or those
who lack confidence. Power can be used in a negative way as sometimes higher authorities use
their power to cancel incentives of an employee for their personal agendas also.
There are four sources from where these powers come from i.e. an office or structure can
provide powers to a particular person, personal characteristics of a charismatic leader has power
to influence others, expertise in an organization also has powers as they have extraordinary
knowledge and some times opportunities can also give some specialized powers. Powers are
mainly on directional i.e. they flow form higher levels to lower levels i.e. mostly superiors
subordinates have power over their junior subordinates(Alvesson and Sveningsson, 2015). But
sometimes flow of the power is multidirectional when it comes to influence. This power of
influence gives both the sub-ordinates power to influence others i.e. juniors can influence seniors
decisions and seniors can influence juniors and get more from them.
Politics can be practices by both organization and government to struggle for influence,
power, bargaining, conflicts, resolution, reconciliation and consequences. There are mostly two
types of politics i.e. organizational politics and state politics. But in this study we will focus on
organizational politics. Organizational politics are a behaviour which are taken for a specific
position or against it. Politics are intended by individuals to obtain selfish ends which are
opposed by others in an organization. Organization politics can focus on individual or group of
people as well as behave in such a way that is harmful of an organization. They are certain to
happen but differ from organization to organization. Ethics always comes in between when
politics comes into picture so it is important to consider bargaining when it comes to
organizational politics. Organizational politics can come into picture anywhere for example it a
new company is to be set up then its location can be influenced by the desire of topmost people
like where they live or want to revisit. Few years ago Tesco was asked to change their tag line or
pay a fine.
Influence of politics is also positive in an organization as they can provide competitive
advantage when it comes to skilled employees. Politically skilled management can manage an
organization environment successfully even under pressure.
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Culture plays a vital role in an organization. First of all a culture gives identities to an
organization i.e. it creates an edge between one organization and others. If we look back in
history there has always been a struggle to balance power, culture and politics. In today's worlds,
it is important to link phenomena of culture to employee's behaviour in an organization. Culture
of an organization plays a vital role in creating organization's brand image. A healthy culture in
an organization can influence employees to remain loyal to the organization and remain
motivated or it can be said that it promotes healthy relationship among all the employees.
Organization culture build a sense of belongingness in the employees and commitment towards
the company to deliver results. Organization culture gives a set of predefined rules and
guidelines to the employees and gives them direction on how to work in an organization(Helms
Mills and Mills, 2017). Every individual working in an organization are clear about their roles
and responsibilities in that organization and knows to achieve and complete task performed by
them before deadline. This helps employees to develop positive habits which help them to
remain loyal, complete their task and achieve targets. Employees in an organization can also be
rewarded with incentives or awards etc. so that they can be motivated and work more efficiently.
Like in Tesco, few years back they announced that they will increase every employee's salaries
by 10.5% every year.
Handy's cultural model was developed by Charles Handy who was a well known philosopher.
According to him there are four types of models: Power culture: In this type of organization
power is held by only few individuals spread throughout the organization. Role culture: This
type of organization is completely based on rules. Each employee in an organization knows their
responsibilities, roles and act accordingly. Task culture: In this teams are formed in an
organization which address particular part of a project. Person culture: In this type of
organization individuals see themselves superior from the organization. In this type of
organization it simply exist because of work done by persons .
TESCO runes on role culture model.
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LO2 Content And Process Theories Of Motivation And Motivational Techniques Enable
Effective Achievement Of Goals In An Organisational Context
Motivational theories and techniques play a vital role in influencing behaviour of
employees to achieve targets and goals. There are four techniques through which we can
influence employee's behaviour(Bryson, 2018).
Motivation is basically a reason for any persons willingness to work and achieve goals.
Motivation was basically derived from motive means needs, desire or wants of an individual. It
can be said as a process of achieving goals. There are various motivational theories which can be
applied within a work environment and can have greater impact on management policies and
practices. There are 2 types of motivational theories i.e. content theories and process theories,
which are explained below:
Content theory: This theory explains why change is needed in humans with time. This theory is
the earliest theory of motivation. There are many types of content theories, few of them are
explained below:
 Maslow-hierchy of needs: This theory is widely known and the earliest motivational
theory. This theory divides the need into five categories. Maslow ordered these theories
in a hierarchy beginning with the most basic need then moving upwards. In this theory
the most basic need is the most significant and powerful need. When the most basic need
is fulfilled then individual tends to move upward in the hierarchy and seek to fulfil higher
needs. According to Maslow higher need do not motivate. Report will explain all the
needs in a brief such as: physiological needs (eg. Food, water, shelter, needs): this need
includes the most basic needs needed by the human to survive like air. Safety and
security(place to live, secure income source, well-being and health): When physiological
needs are fulfilled then safety needs' comes into picture. This comes into picture when
safety and security of a person comes into picture, everything else is less important when
it comes to safety and security. Belongingness and love(to feel part of group, community
or society): When both physiological and safety needs are fulfilled then need for love
and belongingness comes into picture. Esteem: In our society many people long for high
and stable valuation of themselves. Esteemed means respect, valued, and appreciated
which is desired by everyone(Kanfer and Chen, 2016). Self-actualization: This consists
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of individual's desire to develop and grow to his potential. Maslow described that people
should overcome their desires as mentioned above. This theory helps to satisfy all
employees need which helps en employee to work more dedicatedly and achieving
targeted goals and objectives.
 Herzberg- Two factor theory: It is also called motivation-hygiene theory. According to
this theory there are few factors (motivating factors) which causes that are the reason for
satisfaction and job satisfaction and there are few factors (hygiene factors) which causes
dissatisfaction. If we see opposite of satisfaction is no satisfaction not dissatisfaction.
According to Herzberg, person who are satisfied with the job deals with factors for ding
job but persons who are dissatisfied deals with factors which define job context. If
hygiene factors like salary, work environment, working conditions, security and safety
are at low level then that can make an individual unhappy. In Tesco motivating factors
are more than hygiene factors which makes an employee more job oriented. This theory
helps in achieving goals and objectives by providing all the motivating factors for
employees job satisfaction.
Process theory: Second type of theory is process theory. This theory is basically group of ideas
which explains how an entity is developed and changed. More issues are addressed in this theory
like how a process is working and is sustained over time. There are many types of process
theories one of them is explained below
 Adams' equity theory: This theory says that people get motivated if they are treated
properly, equally and get what they deserve and is fair for cost and their efforts.
According to this theory people tend to compare their benefits, contribution of work with
others benefits and contribution of work. If any employees think that ratio of their input
output is inequitable to ration of others input output then they will get motivated to
reduce that inequity. At workplace all employees put inputs into jobs such as efforts,
education, experience, energy and expect to get outcome as reward, salary, promotion,
verbal recognition etc.
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TASK 2 ESSAY
LO3 Characteristics Which An Effective Team, As Opposed To An Ineffective Team
Effective team is the group of people those who all work together for accomplishing the
organisational goal. They support each other so that problem can be resolved and task can be
finished in efficient manner. On other hand ineffective team is group of people those who do not
care for common goal and work individually.
Both teams are different from each other because effective team work hard to achieve the
common goal whereas ineffective team does not work to achieve the organisational objectives.
There are various kinds of team that work in TESCO, these are such as problem solving
team, working team, quality team ,virtual team etc. Problem solving team is responsible for
resolving issues of business unit. It works with all cross functional units and ensure that issues in
business can be resolved soon. Quality team always work to raise quality of existing operations
and minimising wastage in the organisation. Virtual team is responsible for handling
technologies, it coordinate with each member through online technique. This aids in circulating
information in firm immediately without any confusion.
Tuckman’s theory of team development
Team development in very important in organisation, Tesco has to ensure forming an
effective team so that it can meet with its common goal. It has four major phases:
 Forming: In this stage team members are unaware with their role and they are highly
depended upon their leader. Team leader has to give close guidance to them so that they
can feel comfortable in business.
 Storming: It is another stage in which team members try to establish themselves. Though
they face some challenges and learn to work better.
 Norming: In this stage employees have become comfortable in company and they
perform their duties easily. They become more committed towards brnad and contribute
to each other so that organisational goal can be achieved.
 Performing: This is last phase in which team members are strategically aware and they
are now able to perform their job individual. They are highly motivated and commitated
towards organisation.
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Good team aren't made automatically, they are the result of good leadership and hard
work and therefore fit together like puzzle pieces. Obviously individuals need to have good set of
skill sets but other than that they need to prove that they have skills to work within a team. Yet
this is not enough to be a part of an efficient team(Woodcock, 2017). There are many
characteristics which makes an effective team such as:
 Each team members should have emotional intelligence: An effective team should not
only have technical skills but also emotional intelligence. Infant it is more important than
technical skills or IQ of every team member. If every member is socially aware then full
group is kept in a better quality work. In a study it was proved that neither smartest
person not average person influence the performance of group instead of that person who
are socially sensitive persons had the ability to understand and sense feelings and
thoughts of others which is the most important factor for a success of a group.
 Every member should be a mix of introvert and extroverts: a balance of extroverts and
introverts can affect a team overall performance. Sometimes it happens that extroverts do
worst then they are expected and become a disappointment to the team whereas introverts
gain status if they perform exceptionally in their team work.
 Should understand and share their common goals: All the members of the team should
understand and share common goals in order to be very efficient team.
 Should make time for humour: it is not an obvious factor but instead they inspire
intimacy and trust which can be a good factor for team interaction.
 All members of a team should communicate proactively: Communication in a team is
very important but proactive communication is the most important factor i.e. they should
provide all the information even before asked, should provide assistance and support
before being asked(Wheelan, 2014).
 Strong Leadership at the helm: When all the above characteristics are fulfilled then also a
team needs a leader and show great leadership. Role of a team leader is very important as
they are responsible for correct people in a team. In a business organization like Tesco it
is very important to have an efficient team with all the above skills otherwise they may
fail a project they are working on and lead to loss faced by the team.
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All these points are really important for an effective team. If any of these points are missing then
it will lead to the efficiency of the team(Medina and Francis, 2015). There are also few factors
which makes an inefficient team like:Team focus: Ineffectiveness in a team can be because of
lack of focus. They may have an idea of what is to be done but not having day to day goals
affects the whole team. In-equal membership: Members of mismanaged team may not have
equal importance or status in the group. When a member of a team speaks or express their point
of view then the members who are overlooked may feel animus towards the whole group. Lack
of cohesion: ineffective team are often made of people who doesn't mix well or persons who do
not have skills which are necessary. Ineffective group communication: communication
between group members is really important or can be said that expressing their thought process
is important otherwise it may lead to misunderstanding between the groups. Criticism: It is
important to give positive feedback to other members because it the tendency of few people to
criticise others or give negative comments always which can lead to depression for other team
members. Atmosphere: Atmosphere of a team is likely to reflect either indifference (whispering
or side conversation), tension or boredom, then the group is not engaged genuinely.
LO4 Concepts And Philosophies Of Organizational Behaviour And their Impact In Tesco
Organization behaviour is influenced by nature of people or by nature of the company.
The concepts and philosophies helps to know about the key elements or points by which human
behaviour as individual or in a group influenced within an organization. Concepts may be put
positive or negative impact on the behaviour when they applied to the Tesco. Every person
differs from each other. Each individual carry their own qualities and capabilities. The capacity
of learning, remembering, understanding and implementing is different (Graham, Ziegert and
Capitano, 2015). To get best out of every individual, or the group it is important for the managers
of Tesco, not to be biased or partial towards anyone. And should assign work according to their
potential.
Path Goal Theory
This is a motivational theory, which discusses about how leaders of Tesco can motivate
sub-ordinates in the organization, to achieve the targeted goal. It helps in to know about the
behaviour and capabilities of individuals/team of Tesco and implement them in right situation.
As per the name, this theory sets a path for workers/employers which can help them to achieve
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the goal. According to this theory, behaviour of leader of Tesco can affect the behaviour of
employees and organization. It can be parted in four different styles, or in different leader
behaviour which can be used by the need of situation, i.e. Directive, participative,
accomplishment oriented and supportive(Nilsen, 2015). In directive, the leader is clear with its
goal and direct employees to achieve that objective. In supportive, The leader creates a friendly
environment and support employees to achieving the objective. In participative, participation of
leader as well as employees is must as the decisions are of both with consulting to each other. In
achievement, the leader challenges to the employees by setting the goal or target, and expect
from the employees to perform at their best.
Tesco can adopt these styles, according to the situation demanded. Behaviour of leader
influence the behaviour of group members/individuals. The philosophies are as follow:
System Theory Model
This is a motivational model which depend on faith, understanding between managers,
employees and organization. The motive of this model is to keep balance between individual's
goal and organization's goal. This model create positive organizational behaviour, as Tesco
values to the work of employees, their presence, and their effort, which motivate them to fulfil
the objective of the organization. It creates a positive working environment in the company,
which influence the behaviour of employees.
Custodial Theory Model
This model is concerned with the money security of employees or economy security,
which results in their loyalty and commitment to the Tesco in return. Ways of providing
securities to the employees can be in various ways such as through wages, giving them benefits
and facilities. It can be in both ways; positive and negative(Miner, 2015). Positive impact on
Tesco because, by giving benefits and rewards to the employees can motivate them for doing
more work to meet the organization's goal. And negative impact on Tesco because, it decreases
the passion of team work as every individual don't want to share their wages with others & want
to work individually. It create the competitive and political environment between employees in
Tesco.
Autocratic Theory Model
According to this model the power of control is all in the hands of top management of
Tesco, employees can put their decisions in front of management but to accept it or not is the
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final call of top managers. This environment is positive for Tesco because employees are
disciplined and obedient towards the organization. But it creates the environment organization
where employees do not feel important in the overall team. This model influences Tesco's
environment and maintain the discipline in individuals towards the decisions of top level
management and towards their work.
Collegial Theory Model
This model helps in to increase the team work and team development in Tesco, because
the employees are dependent on each other to achieve goal. This model motivate employees to
build and work in a team. This is a effective model for Tesco, as it influence the behaviour of
employees and create a optimistic and energetic working environment. And add value to the
work of employees and create a culture where the employees feel valuable and needed.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that culture, power and politics plays a major
role in an employees' behaviour. Their efficiency is affected by all these factors, Motivational
theories and techniques plays a vital role in achievement of goals or targets. Report has also
explained that how different factors can affect the efficiency of a team and how these factors can
reduce their efficiency and how different factors make an inefficient team and can affect an
organization's performance and at last how concepts and philosophies of an organization can
affect their behaviour and efficiency or it can be said that there is a huge effect of concepts and
philosophies influence behaviour in both positive and negative way an effect the workplace a lot.
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Wheelan, S.A., 2014. Creating effective teams: A guide for members and leaders. Sage
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Wlodkowski, R.J. and Ginsberg, M.B., 2017. Enhancing adult motivation to learn: A
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Woodcock, M., 2017. Team development manual. Routledge.
Online:
Maslow-hierchy of needs. 2018. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html>
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