Managing Organisational Behaviour, Importance of Motivation - Case Study Example

Student Name: Tutor: Title: MGT5000 Managing Organisational Behaviour: Course: Task 1 – The Scenario This scenario relates to case whereby a workmate of mine was summarily dismissed during a departmental meeting where were working on a group project. Brian, my colleague, had been having a bad relationship in the company with our head of department, Robert. It was rumoured that Robert had bought his way into the position and was overly apprehensive of anyone who showed more ambition and agility in the company. Brian is sharp and outgoing. He is naturally a go getter and cannot hesitate to show his displeasure when treated unfairly. He had worked in a senior position in a rival company before quitting to pursue further education. Robert has a chip on the shoulder about the work environment and other staff member’s loyalty to him. Many people in the company who had interacted with Robert complained about his overbearing strictness and lack of interpersonal skills with other workers. Few people had a good experience with Robert. It never took long before someone realized that he was threatened by any form of competition. He had accused Brain for leading a mutiny against the company when some work delayed and the company almost missed out on an important deal. He had Brian reprimanded human resource manager. It was never Brain’s fault and things got to normal but his bad relationship with the departmental head continued. Efforts by some colleagues to iron out the differences through emissaries failed. We were in a group of ten working on a group project on the internal systems of the company. Things had been going on well for a large part of the group project. Brian was our team leader and he had good rapport with everyone in our group. Robert had hatched up a plan to kick Brian out of the company. In the course of one departmental meeting Robert worked in with the human resource manager and unceremoniously announced that the company had decided that Brian will be leaving the company immediately. The human resource manager informed him that he will be paid his dues as per payment contract. All members of the group were shocked and confused at the same time. It was later learnt that Robert had accused Brian of canvassing for a rival company. He was the enemy within. Another leader was elected for the group and it was not easy getting the project going. Brain’s replacement was eager to please Robert and gave little attention to the suggestions of the group. It was not easy getting on track again. Some members were withdrawn from the group and replaced; it took as four months to finish a project that would have been completed within three weeks. Establishing norms and discipline in the group was not easy but eventually people calmed down and went to work. It was not easy for the new members to work together without full support and trust Robert just wanted Brain out of the way and many members were discouraged with the action of the human resource manager buying into the lies he concocted. Task 2 – A critical analysis of the scenario Motivation Motivation refers to the willingness to demonstrate high degree of effort on organizational objectives and goals directed by the ability of the effort satisfying individual need. Some of the components of motivation are effort, needs and organizational needs. In this case human relations movement is important since non-economic factors are vital in productivity of workers (Khalifa & Quang, 2010). Issues such as group norms as well as management attitudes influence the motivation of workers. Robert’s attitudes towards Brain and his treatment of other workers were demoralizing. The attitude of the management was viewed as partisan and selective by many people in our department and a large part of the organization. Commitment, ambition and hard work have to be rewarded positively instead of being condemned and crucified. Both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards are important to workers. Hardworking Workers have to be promoted and their work recognized by the management. Not rewarding positive work is a deterrent to workers’ productivity since it kills morale. We all looked up to Brian in our department; he was hardworking and intelligent but the way he was treated by the management demoralized many of use. Job satisfaction cannot be attained in such an environment where job security is not a guarantee. Herzberg’s two factor theory refers to certain characteristics within a workplace that are persistently connected to job satisfaction whereas there are different factors that are linked to job dissatisfaction. Some of the factors that lead to job satisfaction include recognition, achievement, opportunities for growth, responsibility, and work itself. Some of the factors that lead to dissatisfaction are company policies, work conditions, salary, job security, status, supervision and relationship with peers and supervisor or managers. These that lead to job satisfaction are distinct and separate from those that lead to job dissatisfaction. Factors that lead to dissatisfaction have to be eliminated from the workplace. Factors linked to job dissatisfaction are commonly referred to as hygiene factors. If the hygiene factors are adequately addressed, people will not be dissatisfied. Hygiene factors are needed for the existence of motivation in the workplace. These factors have no role in leading to satisfaction in the long-term but if the factors are absent at the workplace they contribute to dissatisfaction (Rekha & Kumar-Lenka, 2012). The hygiene factors are extrinsic to work. They are needed in order to avoid dissatisfaction. Many of us in our department felt that there is no job security and recognition after the Brian’s incident. Hard work is not recognized and rewarded accordingly and instead people who are perceived as threats are hounded and smoked out of the company using dubious means and flimsy reasons. The hygiene factors that are fundamental for the realization of satisfaction among workers were not present at the workplace (Tay & Diener, 2011). The company policies seemed to work against diligent and committed workers instead of rewarding them. The management struggled to explain Brian’s shameful dismissal and some people went ahead to quit over this incident. The management did not look for ways of showing commitment to the workers’ welfare safe for the company’s profitability goal. Group dynamics Group processes refers to the forces operating within a group which affect task performance as well as human resource maintenance. The task performance of the group was greatly affected after the exit of Brian. He was the team leader and motivated many people to participate in group activities. Groups can either be formal or informal. Our group was formal hence established by the organization to achieve a certain objective. It was under our department. In organizations people join groups for different reasons such as goal achievement, affiliation, security, status, self-esteem and power. This group was formed for a specific goal achievement. Tuckman’s (1965) Integrative Model refers to group development stages as forming, storming, norming, and performing. During forming interpersonal relationships are established (Pinto, Marques & Abrams, 2010). There is boundary testing in the relationships as well as task requirements as group member jostle for power. In the storming stage conflicts are bound to arise owing to interpersonal behaviours. There is also some sort of resistance to group influence and specific task requirements. In the norming stage there is a single leader who emerges and cohesion in the group is established. The group established new standards and roles for members. The performing stage is whereby members perform tasks together; establish clarity in role and teamwork becomes the norm. Wilber’s model has two more stages namely initiating and adjourning. Initiating is the stage before forming where it occurs before group members contact each other. It commences with the realization of the need of a group for fulfilment of a specific purpose. Some members have a clear idea of the group purpose at this stage. The adjourning stage is whereby the group wraps up its activities and the sense of collective team identity comes to an end. It was not easy beginning as a group but we had gone through initiating, forming, norming, and we were at the performing stage of the group development stages. Brian was our leader (Fischer & Ferlie, 2013). However the naming of a new leader disrupted out activities. Role ambiguity became evident since members were still shaken from Brian’s dismissal. Brian’s replacement was not as bold and emphatic as he was. He never got the full support of the group and members saw him as someone who was there to represent Robert’s interests. With the coming of new members; it was as if we were starting afresh by getting to know each other once new members came in. we had to get to know each other well and assign new roles and establish the group norms that could be accepted by everybody. The group was important for the accomplishment of the task assigned to us. Communication Communication is the dynamic process that involves transmitting and receiving meaningful information. Communication was important in our group since it serves important roles. Communication enables achievement of coordinated action. Communication that is effective is important for development of a focused group of people as well as conveys the norms that have to be followed. Secondly, it is through communication that information is provided (Fay & Kline, 2011). The organizing secretary had to inform the group of important schedules like meeting or retreats that were needed to settle issues within the group. Information is needed at all levels of the organization. It is through information that we got instructions from the management and implemented them in the group project. Communication is also important for emotional expression. This entails feelings as well as for fulfilment of social needs. Emotional expression is important since it gives members of the organization and the group to communicate their emotional needs. Bottling up issues leads to frustration and underperformance for workers. it is important for members to find ways of ventilating on different issues affecting them and the organization as a whole. Communication is important for motivation and communicating roles. Receiving and sending job role expectations are attained though communication whereas motivation is fostered by communication through the clarifying to employees what has to be done, how well to perform and what has to be accomplished to enhance performance. Organizational communication that is good is founded on good interpersonal communication (Froman, 2010). There was breakdown of communication and the administration send down the wrong signals by terminating Brian’s contract without hearing his side of the story. There is a better way of handling crisis within an organization than parading people who are perceived to be out of favour with the management. Motivation can only be achieved if there is effective communication. When employees feel left out of important decision, they lose a sense of belonging and trust in the organizational management. There are various barriers to communication such as noise, cultural differences, closed mindedness, use of jargon, snowing, lack of feedback, and selective perception. Selective perception is whereby the expectations and attitudes that influence the selection of information from various sources (Losado, 2009). The management chose to believe Robert’s side of the story without letting Brian to explain himself. Cultural differences never played out in our group project but we had a good rapport with one another before Brian was dismissed. The fact that we were from the same nationality enhanced understanding and interpersonal relationship among us. Non-verbal clues were plenty but members sought clarification through asking questions than entirely relying on non-verbal cues. There were no jargons that we were using during the group project save for the formal language within the workplace. Lack of feedback affected our morale in the group. There was no formal communication on the eventuality of the group save for new members and a new leader being appointed to lead the group. Effective communication has to involve exchange information from the sender and the receiver. In a conflict situation a third party can enhance communication where he steps in to prevent antagonism from the warring functions (Froman, 2010). Using power in the wrong way as the case of Robert communicated a wrong message to us and led to demotivation. Many people understood that hard work and commitment are not rewarded but condemned. Task 3 – Table of Recommendations Motivation The limits and powers of a supervisor or a manager have to be clearly spelt out so that people do not misuse their positions for personal gain. A motivated, committed and hardworking member of the organization, Brian should have been rewarded in order to encourage other members instead of being dismissed. Brian’s dismissal without a fair hearing was very discouraging to many members of the organization. Where hygiene factors like pay, job security and company policies are not observed there will be no motivation to perform. A company has to investigate fully all incidents that are brought up to the management to verify the facts before taking action. Many people can shy off from being outgoing and more dedicated for fear of being victimized by those in senior positions like was Brian’s case. It is important for the management to use motivation theories to ensure that they create an environment that will not demoralize workers but motivate them (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg & Coulter 2009). Hardworking and committed individuals have to be rewarded with promotion and recognition besides good pay but they should not be sacrificed for selfish gains. Punishment muted out to a hardworking and committed work sends chills of fear in other workers who cannot express their ideas freely for fear of reprisal. The company has to create more ways of recognizing and rewarding hardworking and diligent workers. Being fair and nonpartisan in case of a conflict helps to build employees confidence and give them a sense of security. Group dynamics The life time of a group has to last its full course before being dissolved or adjourned. Changing group members and appointing a new leader amid a project creates more confusion and panic in the group. Brian should have been left to stay until the group accomplished its mandate before other issues being raised. The interference by management for selfish gains was very detrimental and delayed the mission of the group. Whatever we achieved with the new formation cannot be compared with what we could have achieved with the old composition before Brian’s exit. Moreover, interference by management can lead to a group being derailed from its course and hence a delay in a project completion. Constant interference in the group’s performance demoralizes group members and undermines the agenda of forming the group (Pettigrew &Tropp, 2006). The operations of a group can be ruined if the management takes upon itself to appoint leaders and recruit new members. Members should be allowed to choose their own leaders and establish group norms. Communication Effective communication has to involve feedback. Brian’s case should have been handled differently instead of Robert taking advantage to settle personal scores. There was no official communication letting members know what Brian had exactly done and why the management decided to dismiss him. Doing it publicly was a humiliation act to fulfil personal ego and may be send a message to the members of the group to stay loyal to Robert. The case should have been settled outside the public eye and people should have learnt about Brian’s dismissal after he would have left the company. The act communicated a negative message to people and instilled fear in many. Workers grievances have to be listened to and threats and intimidation should not be used to silence perceived rivals (Neves & Eisenberger, 2012). A workplace where there is competition is better than where there is no competition. Channels of addressing issues raised by departmental heads have to be clear to avoid some people using alternative channel to witch-hunt others who they do not like. Any barrier to communication has to be dealt with prudently. Communication has to serve the right purpose and not spread fear and intimidate workers. The company has to create avenues where workers can raise issues in open forums and discuss with the management on the way forward. List of References Fay, M. J. & Kline S. L 2011, The influence of informal communication on organizational identification and commitment in the context of high-intensity telecommuting, Southern Communication Journal, 77 (1), 61-76 Fischer, M.D.; & Ferlie, E 2013, Resisting hybridization between modes of clinical risk management: Contradiction, contest, and the production of intractable conflict, Accounting, Organizations and Society 38 (1): 30–49. Froman, L. 2010, Positive psychology in the workplace, Journal of Adult Development, 17 (2), 59-69. Khalifa, MHE. & Quang, T 2010, The Relationship between Employee Perceptions of Equity and Job Satisfaction in the Egyptian Private Universities, Eurasian Journal of Business and Economics 3 (5): 135–150. 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Tay, L & Diener, E 2011, Needs and subjective well-being around the world, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 101 (2): 354–365. Read More