Biogenta plc and Outback Inc - Essay Example

? Topic: Lecturer: Presentation: Word Count: 3085 Personality There is no agreed definition of personality hence different authors give different definitions. Champoux (2011: 108) defines personality as “a set of traits, characteristics and predispositions of a person while Singh (2010: 38) defines it as “a relatively stable pattern of behaviours and consistent internal states that explain a person’s behavioural tendencies.” However, most researchers are in agreement that the personality of an individual is as a result of complex interaction of a person and his/her environment or situation. Personality also depends on the perception of individuals and also by the culture in which the individual resides. For example, countries like US which have individualistic cultures emphasize autonomy while collectivist cultures like Japan emphasize group work hence characteristics associated with team work such as sensitivity (Epstein, 1998). In an organization context, the employer and the employees need to understand each other’s personality or behaviour so that they can work together in harmony. Various theories try to explain how personality develops. Trait theories assume that individuals have genetic traits which influence behaviour. According to Cattell, there are 16 personality traits that are the source of an individual’s personality while Eysenck recognized 3 traits; introversion/extraversion; neuroticism/ emotional stability; psychoticism (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2010). Extraversion involves focussing on the environment and other people hence extroverts are outgoing while introversion focuses on inner experiences. The management should be able to understand the behaviour of individuals based on these traits hence manage them effectively. For example, the extroverts may be given challenging tasks and can work in groups while psychotics are antisocial hence would rather act as individuals. The commonly used traits or dimensions that form human behaviour is the Big Five theory which focuses on extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness to experience (Champoux, 2011: 112). Extraversion includes traits such as sociable, active, talkative; emotionally stable personalities are calm, relaxed and secure; agreeable individuals are cooperative, tolerant, trusting; conscientiousness persons are dependable, responsible, achievers while openness includes intelligence and creativity among others. The management can thus assess individuals and classify them based on these traits and offer them varied experiences to elicit productivity and good performance. For example, conscientious individuals can be given leadership roles since they are responsible and dependable while those who portray openness can be entrusted with projects due to their creativity. The problem with trait theories is that they are unable to explain individual differences in personality. Another problem is that an individual may not behave in a similar manner in a different situation thus personality assessment during recruitment or selection based on traits may be unreliable. The person may not be able to produce results when placed in a different situation hence the theory is not a good predictor of behaviour (Ewen, 2003). The behavioural theorists emphasize the interaction of individuals and the environment. Theorists like Skinner and Watson believe behaviour is learnt through operant and classical conditioning (Ewen, 2003).The stimulus in the environment forces individuals to act in certain ways and behaviour is reinforced through rewards or discouraged through punishment. They believe that people are born empty and gain personality through a processes of association (Engler, 2009). The management can thus change people’s personality by providing them with a proper working environment and by reinforcing behaviour through reward system. The management has to decide the kind of behaviour required in the organization and reinforce it. The psychoanalytic theory by Freud believes that personality can be structured into Id, Ego and Superego. The Id is responsible for all needs and urges and is at the unconscious level. Ego based on reality principle allows individuals to delay gratification and use accepted means to satisfy their needs. The superego enables individuals to follow morals and ideals in gratification (Rollinson, 2008). The management should understand the role of emotions in human behaviour and how their decisions can have unintended consequences. For example, at Id structure, one does not act rationally and the manager should have emotional intelligence to manage emotions of these individuals and also self. Understanding personality enables the management to design jobs properly and fix the right persons to those jobs. It also enables the managers and employees to understand one another hence avoid conflicts. The manager’s and employee’s attitudes and perceptions may also affect performance hence it is crucial to understand human behaviour and avoid bias in the workplace. Most people attribute their behaviours to the situation and fail to acknowledge their faults and this may affect the work (Mullins, 2010). For example, if an employee feels that he/she was passed over for promotion because the manager is discriminatory and not because of poor performance, this may lead to turnover. The organization culture should not only enable new employees to learn and adapt but also to bring in new ideas that can change the culture. Learning “Learning is a process of acquiring knowledge through experience which leads to enduring change in behaviour” (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2010: 732). In the contemporary global competitive climate, organizations need to have the appropriate human capital to maintain competitive advantage and also achieve superior organizational performance. As a result, an organization needs to develop its human capital to be able to adapt to the changing environment by enabling them to have the right knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes to perform their tasks. People learn in different ways in organizations; they can learn from others, some have cognitive abilities while others learn through experience. However, the organization should provide a conducive environment for learning. There are various learning theories that explain how individuals acquire skills, knowledge and abilities such as behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism and humanism. The behaviourists believe that behaviour is shaped by the environment and that learning is acquired through conditioning (Engler, 2009). The individuals according to Pavlov and Skinner are thus provided with a stimulus and respond to it and the behaviour is reinforced through reward or punishment. In this case, the management provides an environment that elicits desired responses such as curriculum or direct instruction. For Albert Bandura, people learn by observing and imitating others hence the management should provide role models for employees to emulate if they have to learn but only portray behaviour if they expect a reward (Baruch, 2004).The cognitive theory stresses on mental process of transferring skills and knowledge. People have skills and abilities that they transfer to their tasks through mental processes. Prior knowledge thus plays a part in the learning process and management should structure the content of learning activities for cognitive development to occur. According to Buchanan and Huczynski (2010), people learn through experience and this is reflected by the constructivism theory by David Kolb. Kolb argues that learners construct new ideas or concepts based on current and past experience and that the teacher or manager’s work is to facilitate the learning process. Learning according to Kolb’s experiential theory is a cycle which involves concrete experience, observation and reflection, formation of abstract concepts and testing them in a new situation. (Bratton, 2010). Knowledge is thus created through transformation of experience. In most cases, employees learn through this process in an organization. For example, the supervisor assigns a task to an individual or a group and in the process of performing the task; the individuals overcome a lot of difficulties until they find a solution to the problem and accomplish the task. After the task is accomplished, an individual can reflect on that experience and realise where they made mistakes and how the mistakes were rectified. The learner thus conceptualizes a theory of what he/she observed and plans how to test the model in a new experience. By applying what was learnt in a previous experience, the learner is able to perform the task more effectively and perfect it in time by internalizing concepts, rules and principles. This can be done in organizations through active learning, action learning and discovery learning among others. However, Watson (2006) argues that the learner should be willing to be actively involved in the experience, have analytical skills, problem-solving skills and apply the new ideas. For people to learn through experience, the management should transform the organization into a learning organization. This is where individuals, groups and the organization continuously learn to develop skills and abilities (Senge, 2006). A learning culture is installed in the workplace where workers are encouraged to take risks, develop new ideas and experiment them without fear of reprisal and hence learn through their mistakes. High performance is also rewarded in order to encourage individuals to continue learning and working hard and utilizing their innovative skills. Teamwork is also encouraged so that individuals can learn from each other since different personalities have different skills and abilities. Different individuals learn differently hence Kolb identified four learning styles that can be used in experiential learning (Armstrong, 2009). The diverging style involves watching and feeling and involves use of imagination to solve problems. Assimilation involves watching and thinking hence use of logical approach and also requires clear expectations from management. The converging style involves doing and thinking hence finding solutions to practical problems. It involves experimentation of new ideas by application. The accommodating style involves doing and feeling hence individuals rely on intuition and prefer hands-on approach. The management should set targets to these individuals and leave them to design strategies for achievement. Motivation In this era of limited availability of resources, effective utilization of human resources is crucial in solving most of the organizational problems. Motivation is therefore very crucial in an organization that strives for success as it enables employees to be committed to their work and the organization, improve performance and also gain engagement, as well as staff attraction and retention hence low staff turnover (Armstrong, 2009). However, the management should understand how and why people are motivated and also follow the principles and practices of motivation in order to achieve the desired results. Motivation according to Singh (2010: 145) refers to “the forces within a person that affect his/her direction, intensity and persistence of voluntary behaviour.” Some of these forces are innate while others are induced through use of incentives. Different individuals are motivated differently hence the organization should put proper measures in place to ensure success. To identify what motivates individuals, a group of fifteen individuals from diverse cultures and backgrounds were chosen and asked to discuss the importance of pay in choosing a job when they graduate and the importance of autonomy in their work motivation. The group produced divergent views regarding the issues based on their personality and beliefs which will be discussed by use of various theories. Various motivation theories try to explain what motivates individuals and how individuals can be motivated. The content theories by Abraham Maslow, Frederick Hertzberg, McClelland and Alderfer try to explain what motivates individuals and are based on the belief that people are motivated by needs (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2010). According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, individuals strive to satisfy five types of needs which are arranged in a hierarchy. One must satisfy a lower level need before satisfying a higher a need and these include; physiological, safety, social, self-esteem and self-actualization. Physiological and safety needs can be satisfied by use of pay, fringe benefits and job security. However, different individuals had different views regarding the importance of pay in choosing a job. Most of the people felt that pay was important in choosing a job as it would satisfy their immediate needs of food, shelter and clothing or the basic needs which Maslow refers as physiological needs. Others would choose pay as a means of self-esteem in a society that values paid work and identifies people based on their work. If one is in a highly paid job, he/she would be respected. However, for others pay is not important as they would rather have a job where they relate well with peers and the management and also a job that is secure. This shows that different individuals have different needs at a certain stage hence the hierarchy of needs may not work for them but Alderfer’s ERG theory acknowledges this fact. All needs are important but vary from person to person and between cultures (Rollinson, 2008). Others would prefer a job where there are good working conditions which Hertzberg refers as dissatisfiers. Poor working conditions demotivate individuals but an enabling environment does not necessarily lead to motivation. The managers should thus improve these factors before trying to motivate workers with higher pay. Some people consider pay as important but it depends on how fairly and equitable it is. If one is paid according to the job performed and according to the market rates as well as in comparison with other individuals in similar position in the organization, then pay would determine the choice of job (Bratton, 2010). On the issue of personal autonomy, most people said autonomy was important in their work motivation. Not all individuals are motivated by extrinsic rewards such as pay increase, promotion, or praise but also require intrinsic rewards provided by the job itself (Mullins, 2010). The job designing is therefore crucial in eliciting motivation from employees. Those that are higher in the hierarchy and want self-actualization need more responsibility and power hence should be given autonomy in their jobs to guide themselves. Watson (2006) argues that they should be given challenging tasks and allowed to control their work to achieve desired results without supervision so that they can fulfil their needs hence motivation. They have already acquired the lower level needs and thus believe they can work on their own besides too much control and supervision can demotivate workers. They need an environment where they can experiment and generate new ideas hence be recognized by others. Communication Communication is very crucial in an organization and refers to the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another. It can be verbal involving use of written messages or non-verbal involving use of gestures, eye contact, facial expression, vocals or posture among others. Both forms are used in the organization and success depends on effective delivery of the intended message to the recipient. Communication entails thinking of what message to deliver or the content, encoding by putting it into writing and sending to the intended person and the person decodes the message by interpreting its meaning (Robbins & Judge, 2009). In the process, the message intended for delivery may be misunderstood by the receiver hence confusion or communication failure. Giving feedback by the receiver is important so as to ascertain whether the communication was effective. There are many barriers to communication resulting into failed communication. According to the trait theory of communication, different individuals behave in different ways across situations and have different thinking, feeling and way of behaving (Engler, 2009). The manager may thus send a message to an employee but the employee may interpret it differently or if it is non-verbal, the individual may misinterpret the behaviour of manager thus failure to communicate. For example, introvert personalities and hostile hence may use hostile language to the employee and although the message meant well, the employee may view it to mean differently. According to Armstrong (2009), culture may act as a barrier to communication. People from different cultures interpret meanings differently hence effective communication may not occur. Stereotyping and bias may occur in interpretation hence the intended message is ignored or is not understood. Personal perceptions also act as barriers to communication. For example, if we feel the sender is not articulating the message clearly we ignore it or if we have a negative attitude towards the sender, then message may not be delivered. The organization structure may also act as a barrier. Too many channels of communication affect the delivery of messages or if workers are not sure about the channels of communication, he/she may fail to communicate. Lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities also inhibits communication in organizations as employees are not sure of what is expected of them. Besides the structure, poor management may cause delays in communication or resistance hence the receiver may not act on the information. Failure by the management to consult employees when making decisions that affect their work may lead to communication failure (Mullins, 2010). The employment Act requires employers to consult with employees and provide information on issues that affect them but if the manager fails to do so, then employees may not take the message into account and may not act on it. The environment may also be a barrier to communication. A lot of noise in the background when transmitting information may hinder delivery. Some items in the environment act as stimulus that cause distraction and inhibit communication such as the amount of lighting. Poor or outdated equipment or failure to introduce new technology may affect communication in the organization. For example, if individuals are working at different sites, information technology may be used to deliver information but if the equipments are outdated then it may be difficult to communicate (Furham, 1994). There are various ways managers may overcome barriers to communication in an organization. Managers can overcome barriers by considering other peoples feelings thus actively listening to them and responding to their needs. They should learn to understand the employees and always give them feedback so that they can know their decisions are being taken into account or that their contribution matters (Bratton, 2010). The management should ensure clarity of their messages so that employees can understand what is being communicated. For example, by clearly stipulating what the employees are supposed to do or defining roles clearly, the employees will understand and change behaviour towards what is expected of them. Managers should also modify their perceptions and attitudes and value employees’ contribution. Personal bias should not be used to interpret messages and should also consider that people are different and interpret messages differently hence try to understand them. The management should also minimise bureaucracies and allow employees to communicate directly to avoid confusion and to allow them to air their views hence a better understanding. This involves consulting employees before making decisions and communicating to them to avoid resistance (Watson, 2006).Furthermore, management should consider the audience it wants to communicate to so as to present information effectively and avoid use of vocabularies. Understanding the cultural context under which the organization is operating is essential as different symbols have different meanings in different cultures and avoid stereotyping (Little John & Foss, 2008). Effective communication is vital for achievement of organizational success hence managers should ensure practices and procedures foster communication. References Armstrong, M. 2009. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. London: Kogan Page Baruch, Y. 2004. Managing Careers: Theory and Practice. Harlow: Pearson/FT Prentice Hall Bratton, J. 2010. Work and Organizational Behaviour. 2 edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Buchanan, D., Huczynski, A. 2010. Organizational Behaviour. 7 edn. England: Pearson Education Champoux, J. 2011. Organizational Behaviour: Integrating Individuals, Groups, and Organizations. 4 edn. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Epstein, S. 1998. Constructive Thinking: The Key to Emotional Intelligence. Westport: Praeger. Engler, B. 2009. Personality Theories: An Introduction. USA: Cengage Ewen, R.2003. An Introduction to Theories of Personality. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Furham, A. 1994. Personality at Work: Individual Differences in the Workplace. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Little John, S., Foss, K. 2008. Theories of Human Communication. 9 edn. USA: Thomson Mullins, L. 2010. Management and Organisational Behaviour. 9 edn. Harlow: Pearson/FT Prentice Hall. Robbins, S. and Judge, T. 2009. Organizational Behavior. 13 edn. Harlow: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Rollinson, D. 2008. Organisational Behaviour and Analysis: An Integrated Approach. 4 edn. Harlow: Pearson/FT Prentice Hall. Senge, P. 2006. The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. London: Century Business. Singh, K. 2010. Organizational Behaviour: Texts and Cases. India: Dorling Kindersley. Watson, T. 2006. Organising and Managing work: Organizational, Managerial and Strategic Behaviour in Ttheory and Practice. 2 edn. Harlow: Pearson/FT Prentice Hall. TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTENTS PAGE 1. Introduction 15 Scope of the Report 15 Background of Organizations 15 Operational Environment 15 2. Organization Structure and Design 16 Span of Control 16 Types of Structure 16 Organization Design 17 3. Teams and Team working 18 Group Formation 19 Group Leadership 19 Group Effectiveness 19 4. Approach to Leadership and Management 20 Leadership Vs Management 20 Effective Leadership 20 Communication 21 5. Organizational Culture 21 Definition 21 National Culture 22 Healthy Culture 22 6. Conclusions 23 7. Recommendations 23 8. References 24 9. Appendix 26 1. Introduction Scope of the Report The success or failure of an organization depends on how an organization is managed. Different organizations are managed differently depending on their size and the environment in which they are operating but sometimes change is needed in order to respond to the ever dynamic global competitive environment. The aim of this report is to carry out a comparative analysis of two organizations on how they differ in the way they are operated and managed. Specifically the report will consider how the two organizations are structured and designed, how teams are formed and their workings, their approach to leadership and management, and the organization culture. The report will also give recommendations on various areas that require change for the organizations to function effectively. Organizational Background Biogenta plc is a multinational company with manufacturing facilities in over 10 countries and a span of 15, 000 employees in over 80 countries. It is a world leading business dealing with crop protection products such as herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Its mission is to be the most trusted provider of crop-protection products in the world and has a set of values embedded in its culture to foster performance. It encourages diversity and corporate social responsibility and has innovation as its strength. Outback Inc on the other hand, is a family managed organization operating in Sydney, Australia. It is an adventure based tour company established in 1990s and has grown from a small size to moderately sized company offering a variety of services such as guided tours, accommodation and meals. The company has no clear vision or strategy to guide its actions and depends on Japanese clients. A lot of problems such as declining profits, high turnover and loss of clients are being experienced in the company due to poor management and organizational culture. Operating Environment Both organizations operate in a turbulent environment but Biogenta operates in several countries hence it may be affected more by diverse cultures. Outback has also to deal with individuals from different cultural backgrounds in its service provision but mostly deals with Japanese nationals and does not have to deal with complex management issues associated with international human resource management. Biogenta recruits individuals from all over the world hence likely to be affected by the political climate of home country as well as foreign countries. Outback is much affected by the political climate of the country where global share of tourism is dropping, airline pilots strike, a pay dispute closing the airline down on October, and interruptions due to union demands. The company is also operating in an environment faced with shortage of talent and legal issues with trade unions. Moreover, the tourism sector is affected economically by Iraq war and a decline of tourism as a proportion of gross domestic product. 2. Organizational Structure and Design Span of Control Traditional organizations designed jobs based on scientific management practices developed by Taylor in 1911 which involved analyzing jobs and grouping them and then finding suitable candidates to perform the tasks under close control. This was a source of efficiency and productivity but today’s organizations are determined by contingency factors and division of labour is seen as creating boredom and stress hence low productivity, increased absenteeism and high turnover(Watson, 2006). Organizations like Outback that still maintain many hierarchies and close control of employees therefore risk losing talented employees who are difficult to find. Biogenta, on the other hand, has a large span hence minimizing the number of managers and allowing employees to have some control. Types of Organization Structures There are two types of organization structures based on formalization, centralization and complexity. Bureaucratic or traditional organizations are highly complex, centralized and make use of rules and procedures. They are vertical or hierarchical showing the flow of information or communication from top to bottom. Such organizations are departmentalized according to classical groupings such as functional, product, geographic, and process (Daft, 2009).Organic or horizontal organizations on the other hand, have low complexity, formalization and centralization. Small organizations are assumed to have an organic structure but as they enlarge, they realize the value of rules and procedures hence become more mechanistic. Contrary to this belief, Biogenta a large company still utilizes a traditional structure while Outback, a medium sized company thus should have an organic structure has a mechanistic structure. Both organizations are thus departmentalized according to functions as shown in exhibit 1.0 1.0 Functional Structure. These departments at Outback are headed by family members and under them are a number of hierarchies which affect the organization negatively. First, it is difficult to communicate effectively as workers have to go through many channels hence no chance of voicing their opinions. For Biogenta, the functional structure is complemented by cross-functional teams to enhance horizontal linkage and communication thereby eliminating bureaucracy. Such a structure is not suited for a dynamic environment as it is not easy to respond to environmental changes due to inflexibility but it ensures equity and fairness (Benowitz, 2011). Organization Design Due to frequent changes in the environment, an organization needs to continuously redesign its structures to adapt to the changes. Organizational design is affected by size, technology, and environment. As noted earlier, a small sized organization should have an organic structure while large sized organizations have a mechanistic structure. However, contemporary organizations combine both structures for effectiveness (Singh, 2010). Technology affects the work process hence requiring an adjustment to the organization structure. For example, Biogenta highly utilizes technology and is therefore able to operate effectively across different countries through use of information technology. This minimizes management levels thereby enabling a horizontal dimension. There are various organization designs such as functional, divisional, matrix, hybrid and networking designs. Functional designs activities are grouped according to functions as indicated in exhibit 1.0. This enhances economies of scale, accomplishment of functional goals and skill development but it cannot respond quickly to changing environment, decisions take long to make and there is no linkage to organization goals as each function is independent ( Champoux, 2011). The divisional structure groups activities according to products, services or major projects. For example, at Biogenta individuals from different functional areas are brought together to complete projects aimed at product development. Divisional structures are suited for dynamic environment and are aimed at customer satisfaction. The matrix structure comprises of elements of both functional and divisional structures. According to Mullins (2010), this design is used when technical expertise and product innovation are important for meeting organizational goals. For example, Biogenta concentrates on developing new crop-protection products but also concentrates on functional areas such as research and development, manufacturing, sales and marketing, and support. Although the design is good in facilitating communication and coordination and to meet dual demand from customers, it leads to employees reporting to two authorities thus confusion (Daft, 2009). Exhibit 1.1 shows the matrix structure of Biogenta. 3. Teams and Team Working Traditional organizations emphasized on individual work hence tasks were highly specialized and defined but contemporary organizations have discovered the need to use team work to achieve results especially due to human relations movement. Teams may be formed for a specific purpose and once it’s accomplished the team is disbanded or it may be permanent such as cross- functional, departmental, and project teams (Daft, 2009). Virtual teams consist of members in different geographical locations linked by information technology. Team Formation The management should first identify the task that needs to be accomplished. For example, Biogenta wanted to form a team to develop a new herbicide in South Africa. Other teams have the function of ensuring constant product improvement and innovation hence are permanent teams. Outback on the other hand, does not value teamwork but encourages individual work. After identifying the task, the manager then identifies the skills needed to accomplish the task. For example, in Biogenta different individuals with different skills from different functions and different geographical areas were selected to carry out the task as their expertise was needed. Mixing of skills encourages diversity at the workplace and also enhances learning through experience and observation (Watson, 2006). While forming teams, the manager should take into account the fact that individuals have different personalities hence choose the right team members. Belbin (2010) argues that failure to acknowledge personality differences may lead to team failure due to conflicts or lack of right mixture of skills. Team Leadership Another task for managers is to choose a group leader for the team based on personality or let the team choose its own leader and delegate authority and responsibility to the team to manage its work. This will give the team freedom to control its work hence motivation to accomplish the task. If a group is not given autonomy, it may lack trust in management hence lose commitment to its objectives. Besides being motivational, the leader should have problem-solving skills as a diverse group cannot escape conflicts. A visionary leader is also essential to give group direction and good communication skills are vital (Brooks, 2009). This enables the leader to communicate clearly what is expected and to manage the team effectively. Team Effectiveness Belbin (2010) argues that for a team to be effective, the management gives clear expectations so that the team knows what is expected and how to achieve the goals. The team should also understand how their work fits in context of organizational goals. For example, a team formed for new product development at Biogenta understood how it fits as the mission of the organization is to be a product leader in the market. Give the group freedom and control, communicate feedback regularly, and recognize individual as well as team efforts. An effective team should comprise a small number of individuals for effective management and to avoid some people taking advantage of others. 4. Approach to Leadership and Management The word leadership is used synonymously with management but the two have different meanings. Leadership involves giving direction to followers whereas management is a complex process of planning, organizing, controlling, and directing (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2010). To be a good leader does not mean that one is also a good manager but a good manager should be an effective leader. Leadership depends on the personality of the person. For example, an individual like Nelson Mandela commanded a large following due to his charismatic nature and ability to influence or extraversion behaviour. Leadership Styles Various theories have been put forward to explain the effectiveness of a leader. Some theorists believe that good leaders possess some innate traits which make them effective such as intelligence, self-confidence, sociable, creative and determined (Rollinson, 2008). For example, Jane Morgan the CEO of Biogenta is considered as inspirational and motivational in that she always stimulates her staff to be creative and innovative thus empowering them to take risks and develop new products. The CEO of Outback on the other hand, lacks all the qualities of a good leader and this may be the cause of his failure. Behaviourists on the other hand, distinguish five types of leaders based on their concern for production or for people (Bloisi, 2007). The task compliant leaders have more concern for production and little concern for people. They therefore do not value employee contributions, human relations and creativity but only get employees to accomplish tasks. The team leaders have great concern for people and production hence encourage innovation, human relations, are motivational and responsive to changes. This can be said of Biogenta’s CEO who is very motivational and has great concern for people. This is reflected in the way she ensures employee training and development to improve performance and develop careers. The organization invests highly on people development and offers in-house courses which emphasize on skills and personal development. It also gives employees resources in terms of finance and time for further studies to develop their skills. The organization has therefore turned into a learning organization where continuous learning and development is encouraged. Besides skill development, the organization offers personal development by offering gym membership. She also encourages team work which enhances learning and motivation. The Outback CEO has no concern for people or production. He does not engage in developing services or the people and does not empower them. The product offering remain constant throughout despite changes in the environment and he has no vision for the organization. As such, the employees are always demotivated as they do not know where the company is heading. There is no room for career or self development as individuals work in their functional departments throughout without team work to enhance learning and interpersonal relationships. Communication Communication is very crucial for organization success according to Mullins (2010). Poor communication can lead to goals not being achieved and poor performance. An effective manager or leader should be able to empower workers to make decisions on matters that affect them (Northouse, 2010). For example, Biogenta management has eliminated hierarchies and bureaucratic structures that act as barriers to communication. The CEO communicates clearly what is expected of employees hence there is no confusion and the organization is able to attract and retain highly talented individuals. Outback CEO uses autocratic form of leadership and does not listen to employees especially those at lower levels hence employees who are young and talented fear sharing their ideas even if they are beneficial to the organization. Decisions are made at the top and communicated downwards hence hindering employees from contributing to organizational success leading to high turnover, absenteeism and low productivity. Employees should own decisions to avoid resistance (Jones & George, 1998). 5. Organization Culture This refers to “the dominant ways of doing things in an organization reflected in regular activities of its members and the various things that symbolize those activities” (Mills, A & Mills, J, 2007: 423). Schein (2010) argues that culture influences all aspects of how an organization deals with tasks, environments and internal operations. He also acknowledges that culture is hard to change as it involves unconscious part of a group. Each organization has a distinct culture with which it is identified with and which distinguishes it from the rest. It also provides the context in which personality is observed as it gives meanings to behaviour. According to Daft (2009: 381), culture should reinforce the strategy and structural design that the organization needs to be effective within its environment. National Culture Various countries have different cultures which impact on the operations and management of organizations. If a company wants to invest in another country, it should be aware of the national culture of the country as well as of the surrounding communities to avoid conflict and failure (Bratton, 2010). Some countries like US are individualistic hence emphasize on the individual while others are collectivist hence emphasize on cooperation and teamwork. Other cultures focus on uncertainty avoidance hence need for security while others do not mind about uncertainties. The national culture plays a role in determining management practices in a country. For example, personal autonomy is encouraged in individualistic countries and this also affects personality of an individual. Healthy Culture A healthy culture is vital to organization to increase productivity, growth, efficiency and reduce turnover. The culture thus appreciates and accepts diversity as is the case with Biogenta. The organization also should treat employees fairly and empower them to contribute to decision making. The culture also exhibits strong communication skills with all employees on policy issues. The organizations with a healthy culture have strong leaders with a strong sense of direction and purpose. The company should be able to compete effectively in customer service and innovations and invest in learning, training and development. If the employees fit well with the culture, then high performance is likely to be achieved (Epstein, 1998). Biogenta has a very strong and healthy culture with a mission statement and values embedded in it. These values direct the behaviour of people in the organization and that’s how the cross-functional group was able to create fun amidst tension. The organization also empowers employees, has a learning culture, team work, innovation and creativity are also encouraged. A culture of motivation by rewarding good performance is also in existence. Corporate social responsibility is also embedded in the organization culture where individuals engage in community development. Outback has a very weak culture and as a result experiences a lot of problems. The company has no vision; communication is hindered by bureaucratic structures and autocratic leadership hence workers cannot give their views. Team work is discouraged and no learning takes place in the company. Furthermore, the company is run by family members, who are not competent enough to manage the company. There is no culture of rewarding and recognizing performance hence low morale, and high turnover. 6. Conclusion Different organizations differ in the way they are operated and managed depending on individual factors and the environment. The two organizations differ in the way they are structured and designed. Although both organizations have traditional functional structures which are vertical, Biogenta has been able to add a horizontal dimension by use of teamwork, information technology, virtual teams, minimization of hierarchies and employee empowerment through communication. The organization also utilizes project teams for product development hence has a matrix form of structure which incorporates functional and product divisions. The two organizations also differ in the use of team work to enhance performance. Outback does not make use of team work hence individuals concentrate on their functional departments thus hindering innovation and learning. Their approach to leadership and management is also different. Outback uses autocratic style of leadership, does not listen to workers needs, does not offer training and development opportunities, and no rewards to motivate employees. The organization culture of Biogenta encourages innovation, has a mission and values, is concerned about corporate social responsibility, encourages learning, team work, and motivation thus it is a healthy culture. Outback has a very bad culture which does not recognize employee efforts, does not offer learning opportunities, has no mission or values, employees are not empowered and innovation is discouraged. 7. Recommendations There are many problems being experienced at Outback Inc due to poor operation and management. The management thus needs to initiate some changes and transform the organization so that it can be able to adapt to changes in the environment. The outback management should redesign its organization structure to allow flexibility and effective communication. Instead of relying on a functional structure, it should find ways of incorporating the horizontal dimension by use of project teams, cross-functional teams, abolishing some hierarchies thus allowing smooth communication and empower the employees. It can use a hybrid structure to incorporate vertical and horizontal dimensions. The leadership should change its attitude towards employees, listen to them and solve their problems. This will enhance trust and commitment. It can also make use of performance and reward systems to motivate employees and enhance learning and development .The leadership should have a vision that will steer the company forward and always clarify roles and expectations. It should also have a healthy culture where employees are valued, corporate social responsibility to be enhanced, and have values that will guide individuals in their daily tasks. Biogenta is operated and managed effectively but requires some few changes to be effective. It should abandon the functional structures and since it is a global organization, adopt a networking structure based on core values. It should also improve on its performance and reward systems to include total rewards and not just training and development. 8. References Belbin, R. 2010. Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail. 3 edn. 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Jones, G & George, J (1998). ‘The Experience and Evolution of Trust: Implications for Cooperation and Teamwork’. Academy of Management Review, Vol 23 (3): 531-566. Mills, A., Mills, J., Bratton, J., Garshaw, C 2007. Organizational Behavior in a Global Context. New York: Broadview Press. Mullins, L. 2010. Management and Organisational Behaviour. 9 edn. Harlow: Pearson/FT Prentice Hall. Northouse, P. 2010. Leadership: Theory and Practice. 5 edn. London: Sage. Rollinson, D. 2008. Organisational Behaviour and Analysis: An Integrated Approach. 4 edn. Harlow: Pearson/FT Prentice Hall. Schein, E 2010. Organizational Culture and Leadership. 4 edn. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Singh, K. 2010. Organizational Behaviour: Texts and Cases. India: Dorling Kindersley. Watson, T. 2006. Organising and Managing work: Organizational, Managerial and Strategic Behaviour in Theory and Practice. 2 edn. Harlow: Pearson/FT Prentice Hall. 9.Appendix Exhibit 1.1 Matrix Structure for Biogenta Plc Read More