Organizational Behaviour Report: Culture Analysis of ASOS Plc

This report provides an analysis of ASOS Plc's organizational culture, focusing on Handy's model of organizational culture, particularly the role culture adopted by the company. It explores how this culture impacts employee motivation, organizational effectiveness, and communication strategies. The report discusses the importance of clear communication, recognition of work, setting goals, and maintaining a positive work environment. It examines how ASOS leverages its culture to enhance employee engagement, improve productivity, and foster a sense of security and transparency. The report also touches upon Schein's model of organizational culture, outlining artifacts, values, and underlying assumptions within ASOS. The overall analysis highlights the significance of a well-defined organizational culture in achieving business success and employee satisfaction.

Individual Report

Executive Summary
The report is about organisational behaviour which refers to the behaviour of the
individual or the group in an organisation. Handy's model of organizational culture have four
culture: Power Culture or the Zeus culture, Role Culture or Apollo Culture, Task Culture or
Athena Culture and Person Culture or Dionysus Culture. ASOS Plc follow the Role Culture in
which it is highly job-oriented. Role culture in the organization is also very effective in employee
motivation. The culture can be created where the recognition of work is given by the senior
officials of the organization. The culture of the company can also help in the productivity and
success of the organization.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
Culture of ASOS Plc........................................................................................................................4
Organizational effectiveness through its culture with a focus on communication..........................5
The role of culture on employee motivation....................................................................................7
Using organization's culture to further enhance its success.............................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Organisational behaviour is the study of the employee behaviour and impact of it on the
organisation. This report consists of the Handy's model of organizational culture which is
divided into four cultures: Role Culture, Power Culture, Task Culture, and Person Culture. The
chosen company is ASOS Plc. and follows Role Culture. The communication of the employees
and the organization keeps the understanding of the work clear to the employees that helps to
give effective results to the organization. The importance of role culture in motivating the
employees for production good results. The use of culture in the organization to enhance its
success. Some points are discussed to make things more clear (Nasaireh, Abdullah and Obeidat,
2019).
MAIN BODY
Culture of ASOS Plc
The Handy's model of organizational culture is divided into four types of culture:
Power Culture
In ASOS, power is given to few senior officials in the organization, and they make the
rules and regulations for the employees of the organization. It is also known as Zeus culture.
The rules are to be followed by the employees. In this culture the decision are taken by the senior
in power only, which makes the decision-making easy and time efficient. The achievement of the
employees is indicated by the work they complete rather than the ways in which the task is being
completes with. This culture is considered a strong culture for the organization to follow but this
culture can also be toxic to the organization.
Role Culture
Role culture work on the rules made in accordance with the objectives of ASOS. It is also
known as Apollo culture. The power in the organization is distributed among the people working
there, the people know their responsibilities. The power is distributed according to the position of
the employees in the organization. The culture follows a long complex structural organization to
implement a decision. The decision-making in the organization following role culture takes
really long time and effort but the process of decision-making is done according to the
professionals. The organization following the role culture is very concerned about the procedure
of the decision-making process (Pathiranage, 2019).
Task Culture

The task culture can be followed in the ASOS when teams are made in the organization.
It is also known as Apollo culture. The teams are made to work in some specific projects. The
members of a team are decided according to the requirements of the projects. The team leader is
chosen with more experience and skills required for the given work project. The team leaders are
changed according to the work project. Completing the project is the most important thing in this
culture. The skills, personalities, attitude towards work of the members in the team can give
productive and creative results.
Person Culture
Personal culture is followed in the professional culture. The employees are highly
educated and can complete their own task without needing any expertise from other people or
higher authorities. Some example of such organization is lawyers firm and academic researchers
team. It is also known as Dionysus culture, and is a people oriented culture. The organization
benefits the people working there. There is small number of people in the organization following
the people culture. The power is in the hands of the individual working there. The many focuses
and importance is given to the employee working there rather than the organization. The
employees are working in the organization just because their interest and values are and have
same educational backgrounds. This culture does not prevail for long time and eventually covert
into one or the other cultures of the Handy's model of organizational culture.
The ASOS Plc follows the role culture for the development and growth of the company. This
makes the chosen organization highly job oriented and very bureaucratic. The rules and
procedures of the company are followed with strictness. The hierarchy is very clear and the
position of the employees suggests the power he/she holds in the given organization. This makes
the organization less flexible. But the role culture in ASOS Plc. provides the employees with the
security and stability (Nolte, 2017).
Organizational effectiveness through its culture with a focus on
communication
The culture of the organization like ASOS Plc is collectively the rules, objectives, beliefs,
principles and agreements of the company. The people talk or interact in the work place and
outside the company decide the culture of the organization. Culture is an important part of the
organization. The culture gives the chosen organization a brand name and reputation that make is
easy to distinguish from other company's outside (Warrick, 2017). Along with culture

communication also plays an important role in the company. The communication at the
workplace keeps it positive and lively. Communication at the chosen organization can be done
for the better understanding of the work and relation between the employees, if it is kept
transparent.
 The interaction between the employees and the seniors must be very effective to make
the employees clear about their work at ASOS. The clarity in the work is creates a
healthy culture. Communication gives the employees a complete idea of what their
responsibilities are and help them give their best at the workplace. Such culture will help
the employees get the perfect roles and responsibilities according to their skills, interests,
educational qualification and training.
 The culture helps the employees to get innovative with their work benefits the chosen
organization. The culture that provides an open platform for the employees to share and
discuss their ideas and thoughts help the company to get a creative solution. The culture
where the solutions are acceptable by all, makes the environment positive and healthy at
the work place (Nikpour, 2017).
 The culture of the ASOS Plc that involve the good performers of the company to share
their view in strategy planning can motivate them. Such activities motivate the
employees and help the organization to keep the employee's trust and loyalty towards the
company for long terms.
 The culture of the organization where the important communication between the
employees is done through emails, the chances of missing out on something important
regarding the work is less in comparison to the verbal communication. The employer
cannot back out about saying something over a mail (Radovic Markovic and
Salamzadeh, 2018).
The role of culture on employee motivation
The culture of ASOS Plc has a direct impact on the employees' motivation. The way
company works will determine the way the employees will work.
Recognition of great work
The culture of ASOS Plc consider the recognition of the hard work done by the
employees as an important factor for increasing the motivation. The motivation is increased
highly when the manager or the senior of the chosen company recognize the work of the

employee. This help the employee to keep working hard. The recognition of the performance of
the work that is more frequent and more than just the bonus can keep the employees motivated.
The employees expect something more meaningful for being high-productive, the culture need to
work according to the employees needs (Rantesalu, Mus and Arifin, 2017).
Setting small goals
The culture of the chosen organization set clear and small goals for the employees, where
they can see their progress in the project and keeps them motivated to continue. The culture in
which the goals are short and achievable boost the motivation. The motivation can be enhanced
with the celebration of those achievements (Epton, Currie and Armitage, 2017).
Staying positive
The culture of the chosen organization where the efforts are made to keep the work place
positive can motivate the people. Sometimes a negative emotion can invade in the work place
due to a tough conversation regarding the work, the senior can try to ease up the situation by
giving the positive impacts of the result on the work. This can help the employees be positive
and happy with what they are doing and get motivated. Staying positive can help the employees
and the business to expand.
Staying fuelled
The culture in the chosen organization where they provide the employees with the needed
hydration and snacks to keep them focused and driven towards the work helps the employees to
keep motivated. There are times when employees are very busy with their work that they can
barely take time to have lunch. In this case, keeping a healthy snack option and caffeine can
boost the employee to work effectively.
Scheduling breaks in work
The culture of the chosen organization provide the employees with scheduled breaks
from their work. Taking break is really productive and healthy for the employees. Taking time
from the work refreshes the employees and not only motivate them but keeps them healthy too.
Seeing the large picture
The culture of the chosen company provide the employees to look at the larger picture to
motivate them. The employees are made to understand how their work contribute to the
organization and the customers. The accomplishment of the small tasks can give some sense of

achievement to the employee but knowing the impact of work in bigger picture can motivate
them.
Transparency
The culture of the ASOS PLC is transparent to the employees to build the trust and
motivation at the same time. Transparency is very important for the company as it ensures the
employees have the same information, encourage the employees to trust the organization which
keep them motivated and engaged (Colombo, 2017).
Providing sense of security
The culture of the chosen company provide the employee with the sense of security.
Theories states that there is a step of basic needs which include need of the employees like food ,
water and shelter. These basic needs are fulfilled by the organization for the employees to get the
sense of security after which are more motivated towards their work.
The organisational culture is the values and beliefs of the organisation. The principles,
policies and the ideologies of the organisation are represented in the culture of the organisation.
The Edgar Schein model of organisation culture
Edgar Schein believes that the culture is not built in a day but with time and hard work.
In the process the employees have to go through various changes at ASOS. The model is divided
into three levels that include:
Artifacts
The organisational characteristics that can be heard, viewed and felt by the employees of
ASOS is collectively called artifacts. For example, the employees of ASOS are allowed to dress
up casually, the employees respect the seniors at the workplace and the try to avoid the disputes
that are unnecessary. The employees are very particular about their deadlines and the job needs
to be completed in the time limit. This helps the organisation to be follow policies and complete
the work with full sincerity. The culture helps the employees to follow the things willingly.
Values
The values of the individual employee impact the culture of the organisation. The
employee’s attitude has a deep impact on the working of the organisational culture at ASOS. The
mind-set influences the culture.
Assumed values

The individual’s hidden values impact the organisational culture and it is the third level of
the model. For example, at ASOS the department with females are not asked to work in night
shifts or sit for longer hours as it is not considered comfortable by the female employees at the
organisation.
Using organization's culture to further enhance its success
The culture of the ASOS makes the environment of the company where the employees
are able to give the best performance for the development or the success of the company. Culture
is the set of understanding between the employees and the organisation that impact the decisions
made in accordance to the objectives and the goals of the company.
 Culture in the given organization set the values, belief, objectives and policies all
together so that the employees can follow them and get the best results for the company.
The culture also explains the employees about the way in which the work is done by the
company, the ways in which the organization communicates with the employees and the
ways in which the company react to the customers, suppliers and stakeholders. This
makes the employees to work with ease to benefit the organization (Mazarin, Atkinson
and Foroudi, 2017).
 Culture that are healthy for the chosen organization can benefit it by increasing the
employee engagement and increasing the productivity rate. The engagement of the
employee includes the passion and motivation that improves the profit. Choosing the
right culture for the organization plays a major role in this. The culture that is useful for
the other organization might not work for ASOS Plc.
 The culture of the chosen organization affect the employees experience. The organization
gives the employees a reason to work for the company with passion. The culture
increases the intrinsic motivation of the employees which help to engage in the work. A
healthy culture makes the employees gain good relations with the associates, organization
itself, improve the work experience of the employee and increase the productivity.
 The culture of the ASOS Plc promotes the diversity in the company. The diversity refers
to the different perspective of the company where the thoughts and ideas of the
employees are accepted in a positive manner and is taken into consideration. This
improves the innovation and creativity according to the objectives of the company.

Innovation helps the chosen company in getting distinguished by the other company in
market.
McClelland’s Three needs motivational theory
The theory suggests that each individual have three needs that are:
Need for power
The individual at the ASOS feel motivated due the position of control. Such individuals
are self-disciplined and are strong leaders.
Needs for achievement
The employees are motivated at ASOS for achieving the objectives of the organisation.
These employees are the ones that enjoy the challenging situations at the workplace.
Need for the affiliation
The employees at ASOS who are working from home in a collaborative environment.
These king of employees do good job in group and have good social interactions.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the report that from the four cultures of Handy's model that the
ASOS Plc follow role culture. The four culture of Handy's culture are: power culture, role
culture, task culture and person culture. These cultures are also named as Zeus culture, Apollo
culture, Apollo culture and Dionysus culture, respectively. The culture plays an important role in
effectiveness of organization with the focus on the communication. Communication in the
organization increase the innovativeness, productivity, clear with the plans, relations between the
associates of the organization. The culture also plays an important role in the employee
motivation. The culture of the company can also improve the success rates of the organization.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
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Nasaireh, Abdullah and Obeidat, 2019. The relationship between cultural types according to
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International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. 9(1).
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Nazarian, Atkinson and Foroudi, 2017. Influence of national culture and balanced organizational
culture on the hotel industry’s performance. International Journal of Hospitality
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Nikpour, 2017. The impact of organizational culture on organizational performance: The
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Nolte, 2017. Implementing person centred approaches.
Online references
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Prachi Juneja, 2015. Role of Communication and Relationship for a Healthy Organization
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communication-in-organization-culture.htm>
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Shahzad, F., Xiu, G. and Shahbaz, M., 2017. Organizational culture and innovation performance
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