Organizational Behavior (Essay Sample)

Organizations and Behaviour
Name
Institution
Table of Contents
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Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc371435144 \h
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Management styles at British Airways  PAGEREF _Toc371435145 \h
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Motivation at British Airways  PAGEREF _Toc371435146 \h
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Motivation and performance at British Airways  PAGEREF _Toc371435147 \h
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Effective leadership at British Airways  PAGEREF _Toc371435148 \h
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Contingency theory  PAGEREF _Toc371435149 \h
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Behavioural theories  PAGEREF _Toc371435150 \h
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Participative theories  PAGEREF _Toc371435151 \h
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Nature of Groups and Teamwork at British Airways  PAGEREF _Toc371435152 \h
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Recommendations  PAGEREF _Toc371435153 \h
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Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc371435154 \h
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References  PAGEREF _Toc371435155 \h
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Introduction
Organizational behaviour refers to the actions of individuals and groups within an organization (Wagner and Hollenbeck 2010, Mullins 2013).). Behaviour in the organization has a significant impact on a company’s performance. In managing the workforce, managers use several motivation strategies to boost employee productivity (Mullins 2013). For a company to achieve its stated goals, people must work in teams or through groups. This paper will review organizational behaviour within the British Airways Company. Specifically, the styles of management, motivation theories, and group formation as a way of realising organizational goals will be analyzed. Based on the discussion, a set of recommendation will be advanced to aid the management in steering the company in the future.
Management styles at British Airways
British Airways is a leading player in the aviation industry (British airways 2012). However, to continue experiencing growth in the competitive market, the company has to undertake a leadership and management style that motivates and inspires employees. A management style is the way those high in authority carry out their duties (Nelson and Quick 2008). It also deals with how managers lead the people in executing their mandate to achieve the set goals (Nelson and Quick 2008).
Managers can adopt either of the fooling styles in the performance of their duties (Nelson and Quick 2008).
Autocratic leadership – this is leadership where one has complete control over his or her subjects. The subordinates do not have a say in the making of decisions. This usually happens in monarchies or monopolies.
Democratic leadership – in this type of leadership those below the manager are allowed to take part in decision-making. The majority always win in this case. This may occur where an organisation needs to make a decision that is complex and involves specialists in the organisations.
Laissez faire – this is where the members manage their own activities and the manager becomes an advisor or a mentor (Duprey 2009).
From the investigations in the communication behaviour at the British Airways Company, it is evident that the managers pursue a democratic style of governance (Robbins 2005). There is communication between managers and employees before decisions are made. By pursuing a democratic and participatory approach, the company has been able to overcome resistance to changes and the decision-making process within the company has been enhanced (Nelson and Quick 2008).
Motivation at British Airways
British Airways motivates it work using a variant of motivational techniques. Indeed, the key pillar employed by the company is to motivate its workers to be dedicated in their jobs. British Airways uses the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Vroom’s expectancy theory, and Herzberg’s two-factor theory to keep its workforce dedicated. Maslow theory arranges the human needs in various categories, including physiological, safety, social, self-esteem and self-actualization needs (Duprey 2009). A person fulfils the urgent needs first, and then moves to the higher ones according to Maslow.
Self-Actualization: This is achieved by giving workers challenging duties together with the necessary sills to enhance their performance. (Wagner and Hollenbeck 2010). Social Needs: Teamwork is used to fulfil social needs of the workers (Mathibe 2011).
Safety needs: British Airways has various pension schemes, bonus schemes, and medical centres
Physiological needs: The Company provides employees with safe working environment and pays them well (Nelson and Quick 2008).
Motivation and employee dissatisfaction can be explained by looking at the Expectancy Theory advocated by Vroom Victor (Mathibe 2011). The theory assumes that conscious options are made among preferences whose goal is it to increase pleasure and decrease pain. Vroom identified three elements in his model;
Valance: This is the relationship between the performance and effort
Expectancy: This is what one expects for his or her effort
Instrumentality: This underscores the relationship between rewards and performance (Miner 2005). Dissatisfaction at the British Airways can be found in the company’s centralized decision-making process. When the input of employees is not taken into account, they might feel undervalued, thus leading to low level of morale (Schermerhorn 2011). According to Miner (2005), when employees set their goals, they are satisfied, and they will put more effort to se that organizational goals are also realised.
Herzberg’s two-factor theory is built on two opposing factors that cause satisfaction or dissatisfaction to the employees (Mullins 2013). The factors that cause dissatisfaction as noted by Fredrick Herzberg are critical in deciphering the issues affecting British Airways (Robbins 2005). For instance, the firm puts emphasis on rules and procedures, which confirms Herzberg’s assumption that company policies were the major causes of discontent among employees (Nelson and Quick, 2008). On the other hand, the democratic space used by the firm contributes to the satisfaction among the employees. Indeed, the team spirit within the organization enhances employee satisfaction (Miner 2005).
Motivation and performance at British Airways
Financial motivation involves the use of money in motivating workers. Workers may be encouraged to work overtime and be paid or they are paid allowance to increase their motivation (Nelson and Quick 2008). Workers are not only motivated by money but also by a good and amicable working environment. Non-financial motivation does not involve money but involves the time and keenness the supervisor or manager takes with the employees in encouraging them and providing a good working environment with flexible terms that are to the advantage of the employee (Mathibe 2011). This includes offs to be with their spouses in case of emergencies like paternal leave, maternal leave and even incentives such as rewards that don’t involve cash (Sorrentino and Yamaguchi, 2008).
Effective leadership at British Airways
Leadership is a process through which the leader enlists the help of others to accomplish a given task. There are various theories dealing with the leadership task at British Airways.
Contingency theory: This approach is argues that every situation is unique and therefore, no leadership style is best for all situations (Schermerhorn 2011). British Airways managers attempt to use different approaches depending on the circumstances at hand.
Behavioural theories
Behavioural theories are based on the idea that people do not obtain leadership by birth but are moulded into leadership position by the environment. This is the essence of training and skills development at the British Airways (Miner 2005, Mullins 2013).The Company believes that employees can emulate those who are in leadership positions. The company therefore put emphasis on teamwork as a learning option, or skills development through in-house training.
Participative theories
This theory suggests that accepted leadership is one, which takes into account the contribution of others (Schermerhorn 2011). Members have a feeling of ownership in the decision process (Hoffmann, 2007). This is achieved by taking into consideration the views of the workers within the company before any changes are instituted.
Nature of Groups and Teamwork at British Airways
Teams encompass group so they are larger but not all groups are teams. Teams work towards a common goal, while members in a group might pursue individual goals (Wagner and Hollenbeck 2010). Teams lead to high productivity and also minimize workload and improve relationships at work. Groups have three levels, which are dependent, independent, and interdependent.
Effective teams are teams with set goals and are aimed at meeting those goals (Miner 2005). The team leaders together with the team members might set the goals of the team. Ineffective teams are careless with no focus in their mandate. The team is not cohesive and everybody pursues his or her own agenda. The Tuckman’s model is used to design and develop an effective team to achieve organizational goals (Nelson and Quick, 2008). The model consists of several stages development. The first stage is forming, where individuals strive to know each other. This is critical in reducing any form of conflict or bias. The achievements are usually minimal during this stage as members organise meetings to discuss the way forward (Miner 2005). The second step is storming, where people get to da...