Organisational Behaviour Assignment -

Assignment Title - Organisational Behaviour: Cultures, Workforce Motivation and Team Dynamics

Learning Outcomes -

1. Analyse the influence of culture, politics and power on the behaviour of others in an organisational context.

2. Evaluate how to motivate individuals and teams to achieve a goal.

3. Demonstrate an understanding of how to co-operate with others effectively.

4. Apply concepts and philosophies of organisational behaviour to a given business situation.

ASSIGNMENT BRIEF AND GUIDANCE:

Purpose of this assessment - The assignment is designed to test the students' understanding of the influence of culture, politics and power have on the behaviour of others in an organisational context and also to test their awareness of key influences which affect the behaviour of individuals, teams and organisations as a whole.

Scenario - Part 1 - You have been recently appointed as a Junior Business Advisor to your local chamber of commerce's employer advisory forum. The forum asked you to provide a written article or formal report on organisational culture and motivation for them to publish on their monthly magazine.

If you are currently employed, choose your own organisation to research and discuss about these matters as a case study in your written report. If not, use any organisation of your choice that you have the access for the information.

The purpose of the article/report will be to establish the influence that organisational culture and motivation has upon behaviours and performances within the workplace.

Activity 1 - You are required to produce a written article or report and submit it to the editor of the monthly magazine at the local chamber of commerce's employer advisory forum. In your article or report, you will be required to discuss and analyse the various organisational cultures and motivational theories, and to identify which ones can be found in your or chosen organisation. The discussion within the article must then evaluate how the above-mentioned theories influence behaviours within organisations and how this affects the performance of each organisation. You will conclude with recommendations on how your chosen organisation could improve the performance of their staff to meet goals.

You are required to produce a written article and submit it to the editor of the monthly magazine at the local chamber of commerce's employer advisory forum. Your article or report will be an overview of your chosen organisation's culture, politics and power, with relevant examples of how these aspects of organisational behaviour have influenced behaviour in the workplace. It should also include how motivational theories and techniques have been applied in your organisation, supported by relevant examples.

Word count:2000 - 2500.

Scenario - Part 2 - The employer advisory forum committee of the local chamber of commerce's was impressed with your first article/report. The forum is considering changing the committee to be more team based. Looking at you performance on the article, forum ask you to write a formal report on Team Dynamics and Organisational Behaviours to provide to its Senior Management Team.

Activity 2 - You have been asked to investigate group and teamwork theories (for example, Belbin, Tuckman, and hard and soft skills) and their effectiveness. You are also required to analyse various factors and skills that assist or hinder effective teamwork. Further, you also have to consider appropriate philosophy regarding team performances and the impact on behaviours.

You should reflect on the various concepts and theories in the article of your team performance, analysing team dynamics, team members' roles and behaviour. You should conclude with an explanation of what factors are instrumental in teams effectively achieving their objectives and identify those aspects which threaten successful achievement and cohesive group work.

While demonstrating your understanding of how to co-operate effectively with others in your report, you should assess the benefits of working in a team; identify the mix of knowledge, skills and experience necessary for a team to fulfil its functions in an organisation providing examples from chosen organisation. You should also discuss the benefits of working in a team as a leader and member towards specific goals, dealing with any conflict or difficult situations to develop roles during team assignments, reviewing the effectiveness of teamwork in achieving the goals and relating the effectiveness of teamwork to achieving goals in the workplace.

Word count:2000 - 2500.

Team and Group - Reflection Activity

This activity is designed to help you to consider the range of issues that managers need to be aware of in order to understand and successfully manage group and team work. This will help to prepare you for the unit, which takes a holistic approach to the team-work process.

First, consider a team or group in which you have participated. You can choose a work group or team, or a group or team from another area of your life, for example, a voluntary action group or team.

Group/team work: A reflection

1. What was the purpose of the group or team?

2. How well did it achieve its goals and aims?

3. Who was involved in it?

4. How were members selected?

5. Did they have different skills and experiences?

6. If so, were they complementary?

7. What processes and activities worked well and what did not work so well?

8. What are the positive features you can remember?

9. What are the negative features you can remember?

10. Other thoughts

GROUP WORK: CASE INCIDENT

Why Don't Teams Work Like They're Supposed to?

Despite years of promises that teamwork will serve as a cure-all for the problems of business, many managers have found that even teams with highly motivated, skilled, and committed members can fail to achieve the expected results.

Professor Richard Hackman from Harvard University has been studying teams for years and believes that more often than not, failing to establish the groundwork for effective team performance leads teams to be less effective than if the leader simply divided up tasks and had each individual work on his or her assigned part. As Hackman notes, "I have no question that a team can generate magic.

But don't count on it."

What are the main factors Hackman has identified that lead to effective teams? Teams should be kept small and have consistent membership to minimize the types of coordination tasks that take up valuable time. Too often, organizations set up project-based teams and then reconfigure them, without considering the stages of group development that might have to occur before the team can achieve full performance. Supports need to be in place, like group-based rewards and clearly defined group responsibilities.

Surprisingly, in his study of 120 senior management teams, Hackman found fewer than 10 percent of members agreed about who was even on the team! Successful teams also have assertive, courageous leaders who can invoke authority even when the team resists direction. Similar lessons were derived from the failure of Ghana Airways, a state-run organization that experienced frequent changes in top management that were disruptive to establishing a consistent leadership team. As a result of excessive turbulence and lack of strategic vision, the 40-year-old air carrier that was once an emblem for the country went bankrupt.

Do these weaknesses mean teams are never the answer to a business problem? Obviously, it is often necessary to bring together and coordinate individuals with a diverse set of skills and abilities to solve a problem. It would be impossible for all the management tasks of a complex organization like Ghana Airways to be done by disconnected individuals. And often there is more work to be done in a compressed time period than any one individual can possibly accomplish. In these cases, it is wise to consider how to best heed the advice provided above and ensure your team isn't less than the sum of its parts. (From: Levi, 2014).

Questions -

1. What do you think of the elements of successful teamwork Hackman has identified? Do you believe these elements are necessary for effective team performance?

2. Can you think of other conditions necessary for teams to be effective?

Attachment:- Organisational Behaviour Assignment File.rar