Organisations and Behaviour - Australia Assignments

Assignment title

Organisations and Behaviour

Learning Outcome	Learning outcome	Assessment Criteria	In this assessment you will have the opportunity to present evidence that shows you are able to:	Task no.	Evidence (Page no)
LO1	Understand the relationship between organisational structure and culture	1.1	Compare and contrast different organisational structures and culture	1
		1.2	Explain how the relationship between an organisation’s structure and culture can impact on the performance of a business	1
		1.3	Discuss the factors which influence individual behaviour at work	1
LO2	Understand different approaches to management and leadership	2.1	Compare the effectiveness of different leadership styles in different organisations	2
		2.2	Explain how organisational theory underpins the practice of management	2
		2.3	Evaluate the different approaches to management used by different organisations	2
LO3	Understand ways of using motivational theories in organisations	3.1	Discuss the impact that different leadership styles may have on motivation in organisations in periods of change	3
		3.2	Compare the application of different motivational theories within the workplace	3
		3.3	Evaluate the usefulness of a motivation theory for managers	3
	Understand mechanisms for developing effective teamwork in organisations	4.1	Explain the nature of groups and group behaviour within organisations	4
LO4		4.2	Discuss factors that may promote or inhibit the development of effective teamwork in organisations	4
		4.3	Evaluate the impact of technology on team functioning within a given organisation	4

Learner declaration

I certify that the work submitted for this assignment is my own and research sources are fully acknowledged.

Student signature: Date:

INTRODUCTION

Organizations behaviour (often abbreviated as OB) is field of study that investigates how individuals, groups, and structure affect and is affected by behaviour within organizations. Behaviour refers to what people do in the organization, how they perform, and what their attitudes are. Organizations behaviour isfrequently applied to address workplace issues such as absenteeism, turnover, productivity, motivation, working in groups, and job satisfaction. Managers often apply the knowledge gained from OB research to help them manage their organizations more effectively. This assignment therefore seeks to assess learners on their knowledge and understanding of how individuals behave at work and how these behaviour impacts the overall performance of the business. It also seeks to assess the individual learner’s understanding of the significant of organisational structure and culture on business performance.

Scenario

Founded just 15 years ago, Capco is a leading international provider of consulting, managed services and technology solutions for the financial services industry. With 20 offices around the world Capco employs over 2,000 people. In 2013 Capco ranked 27th in The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list and is also featured as one of The Times Top 50 Employers for women.

One of Capco’s key differentiators is that it is solely dedicated to the global financial services sector. The financial services sector includes banking, finance and investment. This sector faces many challenges, the main ones being:

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increased customer expectation and demand

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new entrants to the market

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a need for innovation

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significant regulation following the recent global financial crisis.

Company values

For Capco, its employees must be creative and think differently to provide tailored solutions in order to meet the needs of their clients facing these challenges.

‘We understand the business drivers of global financial services. Working shoulder to shoulder with our clients, we address and then look beyond immediate issues of compliance and competition. We help foster an entrepreneurial, innovative and growth-focused approach.’

Strong values of respect, integrity, commitment, excellence and knowledge define how the company works with its clients and reflect the behaviours Capco expects from its employees. It has a very large client base working with 75% of the world’s global financial services institutions. Its success is demonstrated by the fact that globally, it has grown 14.7% faster than its fastest growing competitor. Capco’s Associate Talent Programme (ATP) helps to ensure a pipeline of talent to meet this growth.

This case study shows how the organisational structure at Capco helped develop an innovative and entrepreneurial culture to facilitate its success.

Organisational structures and cultures

Organisations are established to meet a need, for example to provide goods or services. Organisational structures can take many forms. These are influenced by factors such as its purpose, size, the complexity of the tasks it performs, the external environment and its culture. Its products, services or where it is located also determine which structure is best. The structure chosen will govern the way in which the organisation operates and can have positive and negative effects. Traditional bureaucratic organisations such as the NHS have a hierarchical structure. This has many layers and a long chain of command from the top to the bottom layer. In the twentieth century, as organisations grew, hierarchical organisations were popular. This type of tall structure ensured effective command of the organisation because of the narrow span of control. (This is the number of people who report to a manager or supervisor).

In contrast to a hierarchical structure is a flat organisational structure. This structure has fewer layers or sometimes just one layer of management. This means that the chain of command from top to bottom of the organisation is short and the span of control is wide. With fewer layers for information to be cascaded down communication channels are clear and effective. Another alternative is a matrix structure. This type of structure is commonly used for project based work within an organisation. The team is made up of individuals with specialist skills, such as marketing, HR, or sometimes specialist technical skills, who work together on a specific project.

A tall hierarchical structure would not fit with Capco’s innovative and entrepreneurial culture. It has a non-hierarchical, team-driven flat structure. Within Capco’s flat organisational structure operate matrix structures for specific projects that require a variety of skills. Once the project has been completed these employees move on to another project with a different group of employees.

This structure creates a highly motivated and empowered workforce with everyone having access to advice and coaching. Its focus on innovation has created a ‘bottom up’ leadership approach where there is little bureaucracy. Employees are able to freely ask questions and suggest improvements. All have open access, for example, to the UK Chief Executive Officer who sits in the middle of the office.

‘We support and encourage an entrepreneurial outlook and independent thinking. Capco is not about organisational charts and layers — we operate with little hierarchy because we want all employees to feel that Capco is their firm to own and run.’

Organisational culture

Capco’s entrepreneurial and innovative culture supports its structure. Its culture celebrates individuality, integrity and openness in the work environment. Employees have freedom to realise their aspirations. Built on four key pillars the Capco culture embraces:

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personal growth opportunities

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performance and reward

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a challenging portfolio of work

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Experience and learning.

Capco’s structure and culture fosters flexibility, creativity and an element of risk-taking. Teamed with a long-term vision, its employees are able to meet the changing and challenging needs of the financial services industry.

Conclusion

The structure of an organisation varies depending on a number of influencing factors. Structure is influenced by the external environment in which the business operates as well as its culture and the nature of the work and activities it undertakes. The structure can have both a positive and negative impact on a business. Having the right structure allows a business to respond and adapt to changes in the market quickly. Innovation and creativity are usually found in flatter organisational structures and in organisations with an entrepreneurial and employee focused culture, such as Capco. Capco’s culture means its employees feel empowered and motivated. This in turn encourages them to positively contribute to generating relevant ideas and effective team working in this innovative working environment.

Source:http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/capco/organisational-structure-in-an-innovative-environment/introduction.html#axzz39bpY1RD3

Task 1 (L.O. 1: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and M1, M2)

As the New Personnel Manager of CAPCO, you have been asked by the Chief Executive officer to write an essay, educating your colleagues (both junior and senior) on the following:

Show the similarities and differences between the organisational structure and culture of at least two different organisations. You may consider CAPCO andany other organisation of your choice compare and contrast different organisational structures and culture (P1 )

Explain how the relationship between Capco’s organisational structure and culture can impact on the performance of its operations (P2)

Discuss the factors which influence individual behaviour at Capco’s or your chosen organisation (P3)

To achieve M1, you will make effective judgement in your discussion on the factors which influence individual behaviour at work. (P3)

To achieve M2, you will have used suitable techniques to clearly show the similarities and differences between the culture and structure of Capco and Deloitte or your chosen organisation.

Task B (LO2: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, and M3, D1)

As a Training Manager at John Lewis prepare a report to be presented to senior management on the following:

Compare the effectiveness of the different leaderships at John Lewis and its competitor House of Frazer or any other organisation of your choice (P4/AC2.1).

Explain organizational theories (e.g. scientific management and human relations theory) have had influence on the practice of management (P5/AC2.2)

Evaluate the different approaches to management used by John Lewis and House of Frazer or your chosen organisation (P6/AC 2.3)

To achieve M3, you will appropriately presents and communicate your answer in a report format for P4-P6

To achieve D1 you will have to use critical reflection to evaluate the different approaches to management used by John Lewis and House of Frazer or your chosen organisation. (P6)

Task C (LO3: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and D2)

Working as a junior member of the HR team at Google for 5 years, a vacancy now exist for the position of a HR Manager for the branch you work for and you have been selected to compete for the position by writing a short answer essay to the following questions :

Discuss the impact that different leadership styles may have on motivation within period of change(P7)

Compare the application of two motivational theories (e.g. Maslow’s & Herzberg theories) within organizational setting (P8)

Explain the necessity of managers to understand and apply motivation theories within workplace(P10)

Task D (LO4: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and D2, D3)

As the HR Manager at Microsoft or any other organisation of your choice, You have been asked by senior management to prepare a presentation covering the following topics:

10.

Explain the nature of groups and group behaviour within Microsoft or your chosen organisation (P10)

11.

Discuss factors that may promote or inhibit the development of effective teamwork within Microsoftor your chosen organisation (P11)

12.

Evaluate the impact of technology on team functioning within Microsoft or your chosen organisation(P12)

To achieve D2 you will have demonstrated an effective approach to independent research as evidenced from the citations and reference list and study and will have met the deadline to submit the tasks and achieve the unit assessment criteria. (P1-P12)

To achieve D3, you have demonstrated critical thinking skills in discussing the factors that promote or inhibit the development of teamwork within Microsoft

Evidence checklist	Summary of evidence required by student	Evidence presented
Task A	An essay assessment criteria 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 (P1-P3)
Task B	A report covering 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 (P4-P6)
Task C	Essay covering 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 (P7-P9)
Task D	PowerPoint presentation covering 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3 (P10-P12)

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