Organisational Behavior

Organisational Behaviour

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Number of words : 2700


1 Table of ContentsIntroduction................................................................................................................................

Task 1.........................................................................................................................................

1.1 Comparison of the organisational structure and culture of WAL-MART plc and British Airlines.......................................................................................................................

1.2 Influence of structure and culture on WAL-MART 'S performance................................

1.3 Factors that influence individual behaviour in the workplace at WAL-MART ..............

Task 2.........................................................................................................................................

2.1 Effectiveness of the leadership styles that is being used by WAL-MART and Virgin Atlantic...................................................................................................................................

2.2 Organisational theories practiced at WAL-MART ........................................................

2.3 Evaluation of the different approaches to management used by WAL-MART and Virgin Atlantic........................................................................................................................

Task 3.........................................................................................................................................

3.1 How different leadership styles may impact employee motivation at WAL-MART in periods of change................................................................................................................

3.2 Application of the different motivational theories in the context of WAL-MART ........

3.3 Usefulness of the motivational theories and the applicability of the Hertzberg theory for the managers at WAL-MART .......................................................................................

Task 4.......................................................................................................................................

4.1 Nature of groups and group behaviour within WAL-MART an how that will enfluence employee behaviour.............................................................................................

4.2 Factors that will promote or inhibit the development of effective teamwork within WAL-MART .......................................................................................................................

4.3 Impact of technology on team functioning within WAL-MART .................................

Conclusion................................................................................................................................

References................................................................................................................................

Web References.......................................................................................................................

Bibliography.............................................................................................................................

Student Name: Student ID:


2 IntroductionIn a company the way functions are oganised can be identified as the organisational

structure. Mainly this structure will be aligned with the culture that the company operates

within and also as per how things are done inside the company. When it comes to human

resource management in an organisation these company culture and its structure can be

considered as the main considerations where the respective organisation will have to carry

out its processes carefully to comply with the way it works. In this assignment it will

mainly focus on different leader ship styles that are being used, organisational theories

practiced, human resource management and its procedures of a worldwide retailer Wal-

Mart . In this assignment it will also pay attention to the culture and structure of it, by

comparing with another company, and also leadership styles, theories, motivational

factors, which are related the Wal-Mart and also their culture will also be analysed based

on the nature of groups and their behaviours.

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3 Task 1

3.1 Effectiveness of different leadership styles that are being used by WAL-MART

and Virgin Atlantic

At WAL-MART

The main objective of WAL-MART can be identified as give the best value to their

customers while making sure people or employee will work for the best of the company

at their best. Considering that we can see mainly management and participative styles are

being carried out by the organisation, where this gives them the chance to utilise the

maximum out of their employees towards the work of the organisation. According to the

latest annual report published by the Wal-Mart we can see that this leadership concept is

somewhat different to what other retailers are following in the environment that they

operate. As per Henry (2011, p 380), the main target of Wal-Mart is to make sure that

they will be able to empower and let each other to follow to develop themselves to

achieve targets and enables the company to meet its long term objectives. In this another

thing we can see is that trustworthiness and openness are being considered as the key

values and this actually gives everyone a good chance to take part in all the company’s

activities.

At Virgin Atlantic

A flight operated by Virgin Atlantic

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Source: (http://www.virgin.com/sites/default/files/legacy/virgin-atlantic-new-plane-vaa-12313.jpg)

As per Rawlins (2008, p 195), traditional leadership styles at Virgin Atlantic can be seen

as a more bureaucratic and an authoritative leadership style where all the employees are

encouraged to follow a more hierarchical structure and stick to the rules and regulations.

But with the wider knowledge that Virgin Atlantic’s CEO, Richard Branson has, he

changed the style to a more consultative leadership where employee participation has

been emerged through giving support and training, and these can be considered as the key

values.

3.2 Organisational theories practiced at Wal-Mart

As per annual reports of Wal-Mart recently published, the main successful factor at their

stores can be seen as employee participation through which they get really motivated in

performing their main activities without forcing and they make themselves work towards

achieving goals that ultimately help the company to achieve their objectives. The

employees at Wal-Mart are usually coordinated to operate in groups mainly in the form of

Matrix structure. In this the managers are given a chance to gain more experience through

other subordinates by looking at the way they handle works, giving to the customers and

carrying out the different operational activities. In this the learnings are coming from

experiences which will more embedded into the strategies which will then enable the

customers to get a good shopping experience at their stores. Also in this way Wal-Mart

has will be able to promote cross functional communications inside the organisation

which will enable the management to respond immediately to the changing customer

retirements and market dynamics.

According to Podmoroff (2005, p 80) a key success in any of the organisation can be seen

as the motivation level of employees. In the Wal-Mart different motivational theories are

used in different ways along with interest levels of employees in the company. As per

Herzberg dual factor theory hygiene factors and the motivational factors needs to be

given to the employees of the company to motivate them really well.

3.3 Evaluation of the different approaches to management used by Wal-Mart and

Virgin Atlantic

In the Wal-Mart employee participation and increasing the customer satisfaction level to

the maximum level can be seen as the main values in the culture of this organisation. Also

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management style that are being used by Wal-Mart is helping to settle the organisational

culture. Also a consultative and a participative management style is being used let

employees work well with others in different levels. The employees are mainly divided to

number of groups under many functions inside the firm and managers get to work well

with the others in amore collaborative way (Thompson, 2005, p 194).

At Virgin Atlantic the main approach their management is using can be seen as the

authoritative management style but with the recent changes to the company culture their

CEO is now taking a more participative style. As per Hills and Jones (2012, p 231) the

employees are allowed to follow their job roles while engaging with the customers at all

levels really well to give a really good experience while enjoying their services.

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4 Task 2

4.1 Comparison of the organisational structure and culture of Wal-Mart and

British Airlines

WAL-MART plc.

According to the Annual report recently published for Wal-Mart stores, Wal-Mart can be

identified as the largest supermarket chain in USA, where main focus is on delivering the

best customer service and enable a culture that is based on the customers. The whole

culture of the organisation is based on the customer values and employee participation. In

this all the employees without considering their position in the company are asked to

work in a more collaborative environment which is to increase the value which is

delivered to the customer. As per Smith (2012, p 120) the culture at Wal-Mart can be

identified as mainly a customer centered task culture.

Virgin Atlantic

According to Media Centre of Virgin Atlantic, (2013) Virgin Atlantic is one of largest

budget and also comfortable airline in the world considering the fleet size, international

destinations and international flights. Virgin Atlantic mainly focuses on giving the best

service to its customers in the cabin and at the terminals by following task culture and by

following a more bureaucratic culture at all of the levels in operations. As per Gregory

(2010, p 320) this is different from the culture at Wal-Mart where the whole organisation

is trying on encouraging the employees to deliver the best quality service.

4.2 Influence of structure and culture on Wal-Mart’s performance

Wal-Mart being a main competitor in the world retail industry they mainly focus in

offering quality products to the customers at an affordable price than their other market

players. As per the Wal-Mart website, (2014) it is mainly considering this theme of giving

the best quality product. To make sure that they will provide the best quality service it is

very important for Wal-Mart to be closer to the customers identifying their needs and

requirements effectively giving to them which enable a customer oriented culture at Wal-

Mart.

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The hierarchical informal company structure at Wal-Mart is solely focusing on giving the

support to its employees to easily collaborate with each other and to take and implement

the decisions that will add value to the customers. According to Steward (2004, p.230) all

the employees are working together without considering their levels at the organisation

keeping the objective of increasing the company performance adding value to the

customers in the services they consume. Therefore because of this customer oriented

employee driven culture within Wal-Mart the employees are always motivated in carrying

out their operations which then increase the services that are being offered to the

customers. So the customers get loyal towards the company allowing Wal-Mart to gain a

good profit.

4.3 Factors that influence individual behaviour in the workplace at Wal-Mart

The customer oriented employee driven culture at Wal-Mart enables to get closer to the

customers giving them a better service and in getting higher levels of customer

satisfaction. As described by Berman (2007, p 350) the main values at Wal-Mart,

customer satisfaction and employees working together are at their best of all the

employees. In this employees without considering their roles and levels at the

organisation are working together in making the company’s overall targets are a reality.

This can be seen as the secret behind Wal-Mart's success over the last few years in

continuously increasing its profitability and increasing its market base.

The employees are working together in different groups sharing the experiences at work

which will help them to improve in their underperforming areas by easily identifying

them. Wal-Mart management understands the employee involvement is a more important

thing in the super market chain where they are continuously rewarding its employees

motivating them to more improve their services. As per the Annual report for Wal-Mart

stores, (2013) they clearly recognise the employee participation as a main part in their

organisational culture which has proven to be.

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5 Task 3

5.1 How different leadership styles may impact employee motivation at Wal-Mart

in periods of change

As described by Sims (2002, p 248) successfully managing the human resources can be

seen as the main force for success in any company. Restriction for change is a usual

behavior in any company where the employees are not willing to get out of their daily

routines and work. According to that managing human resource can be very crucial. As

Wal-Mart followed a more authoritative culture with their employees. As per Beer and

Nohria (2000, p 165) in earlier periods the company went through a huge financial crisis

where the company had to make a loss of several periods. In that situation the senior

management decided upon changing the organisational structure and the culture in which

the employees will be driven by following a participative and a consultative leadership

style and in which creating customer values will be at their best of the culture. Wal-Mart

was successfully able to implement this new strategy within the organisation as the

employees were motivated with regard to the authority and the decision making power

they will get along with the implementation.

5.2 Application of the different motivational theories in the context of Wal-Mart

In creating the customer value by encouraging the employees it is important for the

company to properly identify the different factors that will surely motivate the employees

to carry out their operations with the objective of delivering the best towards the

customers. In that light the different motivational theories can be used effectively to

specifically identify the motivating factors.

Maslow's Hierarchy of needs

This theory identifies the different needs of the individuals in the form of a hierarchy

where the employees will get motivated to achieve the needs in the next level which they

have not yet been able to fulfill (Goble, 2004, p.24).

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Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs

Source: (http://www.21stcentech.com/transportation-part-6-the-21st-century-and-the-automobile-what-will-we-use-to-make-them/maslow/)

Wal-Mart needs to maintain a better and strong relationship with its employees in

understanding the exact needs and the requirements of them which then can be effectively

used in motivating the employees to willingly perform their operations. The basic needs

are anyway being provided by Wal-Mart so that by allowing the employees to fulfill their

psychological needs and self-fulfillment needs by giving them promotions and rewards,

chance to work in groups and actively take part in decision making processes, they could

be motivated to provide a better service to the customers.

McGregor Theory X and theory Y

Wal-Mart consists of diversified employees where there will be employees who are not

willingly taking part in organisational activities and who will be lazy and reluctant to

carry out the allocated operations. As per this theory these people will be the theory X

people where the management will have to be authoritative towards them in managing

them. According to Gordon (2007, p.63) theory Y people will be motivated to perform

their operations provided that they are allowed to actively take part in the decision

making processes of the organisation. Wal-Mart management could motivate such

employees by allowing them to actively take part in the decision making processes of the

organisation.

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5.3 Usefulness of the motivational theories and the applicability of the Hertzberg

theory for the managers at Wal-Mart

As per Riley (2006, p.127) motivational theories play a vital role in understanding the

factors that will enable a firm to motivate its employees to achieve the company

objectives and goals. The above mentioned motivational theories can be effectively used

by the management of Wal-Mart to identify the factors that are already being fulfilled by

the company and the factors that are not yet been fulfilled by the company. For example

the Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be used to identify the levels of needs that the

company should allow its employees to fulfill achievement of which will motivate them

in providing a better customer service. As explained in the Hertzberg dual factor theory

the management should effectively identify the hygiene factors and the motivating factors

within the organisation which can then be used in order to motivate the employees.

According to Mukherjee (2002, p.152) the hygiene factors are the basic requirements of

the employees such as a convenient working environment, a good salary and recognition

which have already being fulfilled by Wal-Mart.

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6 Task 4

6.1 Nature of groups and group behaviour within Wal-Mart an how that will

influence employee behaviour

As per Mullins (2004, p.354) groups can be identified as a set of individuals that may or

may not have a specific mission or a target to be achieved. On the contrary a team can be

identified as a group with a specific mission to be achieved. Wal-Mart within its informal,

wide and flat organisational structure is actively promoting group behaviour as an

important part of its employee driven customer centered culture. The group behaviour of

the employees of Wal-Mart enables the managers to maintain a closer relationship with

the employees getting their ideas and experiences in giving to the customer requirements

and in carrying out organisational processes.

Apart from that the group behaviour within Wal-Mart enables the employees to increase

their productivity and improve the problem solving procedures as more issues can be

effectively solved with the views and the ideas of different employees with lesser input

and effort. As per Brooks (2002, p.28) the levels of creativity among the employees will

improve due to this group behaviour and most importantly the information flow will get

efficient and fasten enabling the managers to quickly respond to the changing customer

requirements and market dynamics.

6.2 Factors that will promote or inhibit the development of effective teamwork

within Wal-Mart

As per Macmillan (2002, p.120) the group behaviour is actively promoted with in Wal-

Mart’s culture where the management should pay specific attention on the factors that are

promoting and inhibiting the effectiveness of the team work within Wal-Mart. One of the

main factors that limit the effectiveness of the team behaviour can be identified as the

group thinking where the entire team will agree on a particular decision which may not

particularly benefit the organisation. In that light the management should closely monitor

the decisions that are being taken prior to allowing the employees to go ahead with that

decision. As per Markowski (2008, p.120) the intra group collisions may also inhibit the

effectiveness of team work where the different views and ideas among the different group

members may clash with each other. So the management and the team members should

be mindful to quickly solve those conflicts without allowing them to go more. Sometimes

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the groups may tend to take unnecessary risks to protect the image of the teams and

groups. In such situations also the management must closely monitor these team

behaviour in order to guide them in the correct direction. Apart from all the above factors

considered, attainable and reliable short term and long term targets, rewards and

incentives will particularly promote the group behaviour within Wal-Mart.

6.3 Impact of technology on team functioning within Wal-Mart

According to Eason (2005, p 220) technology will play a crucial role within any

company. Within Wal-Mart different technology implications play a major role in

enabling the company to perform their activities in a better and efficient way. Customer

value creation is at their best of Wal-Mart and therefore the identification of the changing

customer requirements and the market trends is very much important for the management

of Wal-Mart. The group behaviour within the organisational culture is promoted actively

in order to fasten the information flow in order to fasten the decision making process. In

the context the different technologies such as emails, video conferences, mobile and

group messages can be effectively used within the groups in order to improve the

communication processes. As per Rippin (2002, p.48) the different teams within the

different functions can be connected via communication technologies so that the

information flow within the whole organisation will get improved. The emails, mobile

technologies will enable the team members to have an effective and an efficient

communication flow between them which will improve the group efficiency. Also new

mobile computing devices can be used in effectively carrying out different work inside

the organisation mainly in group work. Planning different work well which will enable

the company and different groups to achieve their targets effectively and also easily to

achieve the overall organisational objectives.

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7 ConclusionOrganisational structure and the culture are considered as the main factors which runs an

organisation towards the success. The human resources of a company needs to be handled

carefully by recruiting and managing according to the organisational structure and

culture. Wal-Mart with its customer oriented and employee driven culture, they have been

able to thrive number of targets successfully by giving a better service to the customers

which automatically enable the output to be on a high. Through different motivational

factors in the Wal-Mart they have been able to improve the decision making process of

the company and also the functioning of different groups inside the company. This

enabled the Wal-Mart to come closer to their customers by identifying their exact needs

and requirements. This enabled the Wal-Mart to deliver a better service to the customers

by gaining customer satisfaction which also enabled them to gain a competitive advantage

in the market.

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8 ReferencesBeer, M. (2009), High Commitment High Performance: How to Build A Resilient

Organization for Sustained Advantage, 1st Edition, John Wiley & Sons, p140

Beer, M. and Nohria, N. (2000), Breaking the Code of Change, Illustrated, Harvard

Business Press, p165

Berman, (2007), Retail Management: A Strategic Approach, 10/E, 1st Edition, Pearson

Education India, p350

Brooks, (2002), Organisational Behaviour, 1st Edition, Pearson Education India, p28

Eason, K.D. (2005), Information Technology and Organisational Change, 1st Edition,

CRC Press, p220

Goble, F.G. (2004), The Third Force: The Psychology of Abraham Maslow, 1st Edition,

Maurice Bassett, p24

Gordon, J. (2007), the Pfeiffer Book of Successful Leadership Development Tools,

Illustrated, John Wiley & Sons, 63

Gregory, M. (2010), dirty Tricks: Virgin Atlantic' Secret War against Virgin Atlantic,

1st Edition, Ebury Publishing, p320

Henry, A. (2011), Understanding Strategic Management, Illustrated, Oxford University

Press, p380

Hills, C. and Jones, G. (2012), Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach, 10th

Edition, Cengage Learning, p231

Koontz, H. (2010), Essentials of Management 8E, 1st Edition, Tata McGraw-Hill

Education, p128

Luecke, R. (2003), Managing Change and Transition, Illustrated, Harvard Business

Press, p12

Macmillan, A. (2002), The Leadership Lifecycle: Matching Leaders to Evolving

Organizations, 1st Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, p120

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Markowski, M.J. (2008), Modeling Behavior in Vehicular and Pedestrian Traffic Flow,

1st Edition, ProQuest, p120

Mukerjee, K. (2002), Prin of Mgmt & Ob, 2E, 1st Edition, Tata McGraw-Hill Education,

p152

Mullins, M. (2004), Management and Organizational Behaviour, 7/e, 1st Edition,

Pearson Education India, p534

Podmoroff, D. (2005), 365 Ways to Motivate and Reward Your Employees Every Day--

with Little Or No Money, Illustrated, Atlantic Publishing Company, p80

Rawlins, R.A. (2008), Total Quality Management (TQM), 1st Edition, AuthorHouse,

p195

Riley, E.M. (2006), Reaching the Top: A Study of the Success Strategies and Motivation

of African American Women who Have Achieved Executive Status in the Fortune

500, 1st Edition, ProQuest, p127

Rippin, A. (2002), Teamworking: People 09.05, Illustrated, Wiley, p48

Sims, R.R. (2002), Organizational Success through Effective Human Resources

Management, 1st Edition, Greenwood Publishing Group, p248

Smith, D. (2012), Wal-Mart Magic: The 7 Principles of Building a High Performance

Culture, 1st Edition, Grosvenor House Publishing Limited, p120

Steward, B. (2004), Australian Sport--better by Design? The Evolution of Australian

Sport Policy, Illustrated, Psychology Press, p230

Thompson, J.L (2005), Strategic Management: Awareness and Change, Illustrated,

Cengage Learning EMEA, p194

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9 Web ReferencesAnnual Report for Wal-Mart stores, (2013), (Online), Available from:

http://c46b2bcc0db5865f5a76-

91c2ff8eba65983a1c33d367b8503d02.r78.cf2.rackcdn.com/88/2d/4fdf67184a359

fdef07b1c3f4732/2013-annual-report-for-walmart-stores-

inc_130221024708579502.pdf [accessed on - 03-24-2014]

WAL-MART website, (2014), (Online), Available from: http://www.Wal-Mart

.com/[accessed on-03-24-2014]

Blog of WAL-MART leadership programme, (2014), (Online), Available from:

http://www.iedp.com/Blog/WAL-MART _Leadership_Program[accessed on-03-

24-2014]

Virgin Atlantic Media, (2014), (Online), Available from:

http://www.bamedia.co.uk/[accessed on-03-24-2014]

Media Centre of Virgin Atlantic, (2013), (Online), Available from:

http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/bamediacentre?articleType=Latest news

[accessed on-03-24-2014]

Moth, D. (2014), How Walmart, Wal-Mart and The Rolling Stones use mobile push notifications, consultancy, (Online), Available from : https://econsultancy.com/blog/64382-how-walmart-Wal-Mart -and-the-rolling-

stones- use-mobile-push-notifications[accessed on-03-24-2014]

The Guardian, (2013), Virgin Atlantic, (Online), Available from:

http://www.theguardian.com/business/britishairways[accessed on-03-24-2014]

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10 BibliographyHaslam, S.A. (2004), Psychology in Organizations, New Delhi: SAGE Publications

(India) Pvt Ltd.

MacMillan, P. (2001), the Performance Factor: Unlocking the Secrets of Teamwork,

Illustrated, B&H Publishing Group, p 130

Sapru, (2008), Administrative Theories & Management Thought, 2/e, PHI Learning Pvt.

Ltd.

Shi, L. (2010), Managing Human Resources in Health Care Organizations, Illustrated,

Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Slocum, J. W. and Hellrige, D. (2009), Organizational Behavior, USA: Southwest

Cengage Learning.

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Organisational Behavior