Organizations and Behaviour - Assignment Example

Organizations and Behaviour Answer 1 The decentralization of the rules and the procedures in Bosco Plastics is aimed at improving the productivity and efficiency of all the departments in the company. The centralized rules and policies in Bosco Plastics had created a stringent control on the workers and employees which was resented by the employees. The strict and centralized formal guidelines were expected to create a more controlled and ordered environment within the company. However, it was evident from the reactions and responses of the employees, especially the research and development team of the company, that these types of rules and procedures were doing more harm than good to the efficiency and productivity of the company. The centralization of the rules acted as a resistive force to the creative ideas of the people and instead of motivating and boosting the employees, these rules led to de motivated and uninspired workforce in the company1. Therefore, the decentralization process is likely to enforce freedom of work in every department and inspire productivity without losing control on the employees. The decentralization process can be made effective by maintaining a proper balance between the level of control and empowerment for the employees2. A review of the performance level in individual departments before and after the implementation of the decentralization policies to understand the degree of effectiveness of the new system can measure the utility of this process. Answer 1.2 The formal rules and procedures in the individual departments should include the timings, performance monitoring and the general ethical and work codes. A relaxation on the time to go out of the workplace for breaks is likely to refresh the minds of the employees and lead to increased performance level among the employees and the departments. This is expected to add up to the performance of the whole organization. The department managers should put in suitable rules for timings of work, punching times, break durations, attendance, productivity levels etc. The rules should also encompass performance evaluation and performance appraisal on a periodic basis. This would help to review, monitor as well as control the activities of the employees in individual departments. The research and development departments and the production departments should be more formalized. The employees in the research and development department seem to be very much de motivated and behave in a casual and informal manner. To increase the level of motivation and performance of these employees, it is necessary to apply suitable formal procedures and guidelines in their work environment. Answer 1.3 Different procedures pertaining to different departments may lead to discrepancies in the organizational processes as well as among the employees. The questions of biased and judgmental approach in the monitoring and control of the departments may arise. The senior management of the company may face the issues of discriminatory policies when they incorporate different policies for different individuals. The decentralization process would lead to an organic structure in the organization as compared to the mechanistic structure which currently exists in the company. The work processes and outcomes may become unpredictable as in the case of an organic structure. However, the employees in the individual departments are likely to work on a collective basis and would gain certain amount of flexibility in their work due to the new rules and policies. In the organizational structure, more focus would be given on the team work and on departments which will follow a complex hierarchical system. This is in contrast to the simple hierarchical system of authority followed in the mechanistic structure of an organization. The flexibility and customization of formal rules and procedures tailored by evaluating the different performance criteria and the issues in different departments are likely to improve the overall performance, efficiency and productivity of the departments3. Answer 2.1 Greenscape is an organization which is run in a flexible and worker welfare oriented manner. The company is small with a limited number of employees. Therefore, the owner keeps in mind the welfare and benefits of the workers more than the benefits of the organization. This has fostered the growth of a dedicated employee base. This can be identified when at the time of a business crisis; the workers of Greenscape refuse to leave Greenscape in spite of the company being unable to pay them and in spite of other employment opportunities being widely available in the region. Answer 2.2 The organization follows a collaborative organizational culture in which flexibility and care for the workers and colleagues are observed4. The organization provides an amiable and congenial environment for its employees. The owner of Greenscape provides the employees with flexibility and individual care and often adjusts the work schedules to fit the personal responsibilities of the workers. This creates a supportive and positive work environment. The culture of the organization is cooperative which leads to higher engagement and participation by the employees. The welfare of the employees is kept in the forefront of the priorities of the organization. This makes the employees of Greenscape more personally involved in the benefits and improvement of the organization. This is observed when the company goes almost bankrupt all the employees decide to support the organization by compromising on their end. The maintenance of employee interest lead to more motivated and collaborative workforce in the organization and creates a positive work culture5. Answer 2.3 Greenscape is a small company in which it is easier to look into the details of the interest of each of the employees. However, in a big company with a huge number of workers, it is difficult to maintain an in depth and updated record of each of the employees. It will also become much difficult to cater to the needs of the individual employees. It would also be almost impossible to adjust the work schedules to fit the timings of the employee so that they can perform their personal responsibilities. The deadlines and level of responsibility in a big organization would be more stringent and as such maintaining an informal work environment may lead to disadvantages for the profitability and performance of the organization. It is difficult to shift from a collaborative environment to a hierarchical and autocratic environment6. However, Greenscape must make changes step by step in case the organization grows and the number of employees increases. Answer 3.1 The method of control exercised on the employees of Fancy Footwear was stringent. But the employees were working under these set rules since years which made them used to these rules and procedures. Any changes in the procedures and control led to an increased level of discomfort and resistance by the employees. Hogan should have been alerted by the initial reluctance of the senior employees to form new groups in the organization. This hesitance of the employees to change the way of their work was a strong signal of the coming problems in the company regarding the workers. Also, the inability of the workers to participate constructively and actively in the managerial aspects of the groups was indicative of the resistance of the employees towards a metamorphosis of the procedures followed in the organization. Answer 3.2 Hogan could have introduced the changes slowly by taking suitable feedbacks and by evaluating the acceptance level of the employees. Hogan should have started with one management group and reviewed and monitored the performances of the group as well as the group members to understand how resistive the employees were towards the implementation of new procedures. The resistance of the employees towards changes should also have been taken into consideration by Hogan while implementing new managerial procedures7. Answer 4.1 Team building is important for an organization because it helps to improve the performances and productivity of the organization in the long term8. The positive aspects of team building are that it leads to collective work, inspires idea generation and also improves the competency and skills of workers by learning scopes in the teams. Team building and proper training activities lead to a motivated workforce and helps the organization to extract the best performance from the workers and reduce the internal conflicts among the employees. The training given by Gibson to the workers team increased the motivation of the workers which was clearly reflected in the increasing productivity and employee turnover rates in the company. Also, the workers become more knowledgeable, skilful and confident which was identified by more workers applying for the position of supervisors in the company9. Answer 4.2 One of the negative impacts of team dynamics on an organization is the emergence of unproductive conflicts within the employees. The teams in Britannia Home which were engaged in training under Gibson were imparted with more knowledge and skills as a result of which the productivity and efficiency of these workers increased. This also boosted some of the workers to apply for the position of supervisors in Britannia Home Manufacturers which was a rare occurrence in the company. The growth of the teams which were getting trained was undoubtedly more than that of the employee teams which were not taking any training. This had resulted in the creation of conflict among the workers. The groups of workers were differentiated on two teams- one which underwent the training and another which was not taking any training. The insecurities regarding the advancement of one team lead to conflicts in the company10. Answer 4.3 The positive aspects of technology in a workplace are that technology creates unified communication, plays a major role in education and learning and facilitates closer collaboration among employees. The negative aspect of technology is that the level of privacy of individual workers and departments can be easily compromised. The use of proper technology in training and educating the employees may act as a supporting factor in the training process in Britannia Home. The use of latest technology in the training medium would enhance the learning processes as well as help to review the progress of the individual employees. The use of visual media, audio and other innovative aspects may increase the quality and the efficiency of the training sessions. References Allen, L. Management and Organization. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1999. Glinow, S. Organizational Behaviour. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 2001. Hellriegel, D. & Woodman, J. Organizational behaviour. Mason: Thomson South-Western. 2006. Ivancevich, K. & Matteson, I. Organizational behaviour and management. Stamford: Cengage. 2006. Luthans, F. Organizational Behaviour. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2006. Maanen, V. People Processing: Strategies of Organizational Socialization. Organizational Dynamics. Vol. 14(1).1999. Mullins, L. J. Management and Organizational Behaviour. New Jersey: Pitman. 2000. Newstorm, J. W. Organizational behaviour-Human behaviour at work. New Jersey: McGraw-Hill. 2001. Robbins, S. P., Judge, T. A. & Sanghi, S. Organizational Behaviour, 12th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 2010. Robbinson, J. Organizational Behaviour. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall India. 2002. Read More