Case Study - Abbey College

Table of Contents

Executive Summary........................................................................................................................ 2

Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 2

Relationship Between Organizational Culture and Structure and Its Impact on Business Performance (LO 1.2)......................................................................................................................................................... 2

Factors Affecting the Individual Behavior  (LO 1.3).................................................................... 3

Leadership Styles and Effectiveness (LO2.1).............................................................................. 4

Recommendation........................................................................................................................ 5

Approaches to Management with Examples (LO 2.3).................................................................. 6

Recommendation to Mr. Wakefield.......................................................................................... 7

Motivational Theories (LO 3.1, 3.2 3.3)........................................................................................ 7

Recommendation to Mr. Wakefield.......................................................................................... 9

Nature of Group Behavior and Factors Impacting the Group Behavior (LO 4.1, 4,2)............. 10

Impact of the Technology for the Organization (LO 4.3)........................................................... 11

Conclusion..................................................................................................................................... 11

 

Executive Summary

The scenario explains that City College is acquiring Abby College and it will be merged with the City College in terms of management and operations. The management of the City College is in need of consultation about merging operations of City College and Abby College. This report considers various aspects including the organizational culture, motivation, group behavior, organizational structure, factors influencing the individual behavior and implications of the technology on Abby College. The main aim of this report is to assist the management of City College in merging the two organizations while allowing them to understand the organizational behavior at Abby College.  There are various recommendations provided to City College on how to manage the transition period considering various aspects of the organizational behavior. It is highly recommended for City College to abide by the recommendations that are made in the report.

Introduction

City College is acquiring Abby College and it will be merged with the City College in terms of management and operations. However, there are various factors in the organization that impact the performance of Abby College and this report aims to analyze such factors in detail. The main aim of this report is to assist the management of City College in merging the two organizations while allowing them to understand the organizational behavior at Abby College

Relationship Between Organizational Culture and Structure and Its Impact on Business Performance (LO 1.2)

The organizational structure refers to the way in which the elements in the organization are organized. (Robbins and Mathews, 2009) In other words it defines the way in which the elements such as power, authority and the responsibility are organized within the organization. Therefore, the organizational structure is considered to be the foundation by which the company operates and it defines the relationship between parties within the organization. There are various types of organizational structures with unique features in each of those structures, which make them different from one to another.

The organizational culture is a system of shared meaning held by the members of the organization that distinguishes them from the other organizations.  (Schein, 1985 cited in Dwivedi, 1995) In other words, it defines what is common among the members of the organization, which makes them unique from other organizations. This could include the special features of the company including the power structure to reporting system to the way in which employees treat each other. The organizational culture is identified to be a broad concept where it includes almost all the meanings held by the members of the organization in terms of differentiating the company from other organizations.

Sometimes the terms organizational culture and the organizational structure are often considered to be the same which is misleading. There is a significant difference between organizational culture and the organizational structure. However, there is a relationship between these two elements in the organization. The organizational structure defines the way in which elements are organized in the organization. Therefore, it defines the first point in which how things operate within an organization and the organizational culture is based on the shared meanings that are held by the organization. Therefore, it is apparent that the organization structure is the starting point of the organization culture. Hence, there is a relationship identified and with the organizations getting matured and structures getting formalized, the organizational culture reflects the reactions of the organization structure as elements of shared values within the organization.

Factors Affecting the Individual Behavior  (LO 1.3)

There are various factors that influence the individual behavior at work and these factors can be discussed as follows: There is a significant change that is occurring within Abby College where the whole management is just about to change. When there is a change occurring in an organization, there is a natural tendency within the organization to resist the change which is seen as a part of the human behavior. Since there is a significant change, the employees might resist the change in terms of the structure, the management and new processes and such resistance to change could result in negative behavior at work which could ultimately bring down the overall performance of the company.

Apart from the resistance to change, the level of motivation within the staff also impacts the individual behavior of the staff member. When there is a high level of motivation, the staff tends to act highly positive delivering high level of performance. However, when there is low level of motivation, the staff tends to behave in a negative manner, which ultimately leads to low level of performance. Therefore, it is essential to have the right level of motivation within the staff, in order to ensure that they display the right behavior resulting in the right level of performance.

The individual behavior at work is also impacted by the behavior of others at work where the reactions/behaviors of the peers tend to have an influence on the individual behavior. In other words, when the peer behavior is positive, there is a high tendency that the individual behavior also could be positive and similarly, vice versa can occur in the reverse situation. Apart from these factors, the individual behavior at work is also impacted by the situational factors such as the work related stress and other work related matter where the employee could be reacting to some of the negative/positive situational factors accordingly. Similarly, other factors such as the personal values and attitudes also shape the way in which an individual behaves at work as they would react to a situation based on their values and the thinking patterns. Therefore, it can be concluded that the individual behavior at work is a complicated phenomenon that is impacted by various factors, hence, making it essential for the management of City College to understand such factors in managing individuals from Abby College.

Leadership Styles and Effectiveness (LO2.1)

There are various styles of leaderships that can be adapted in leading an organization and some of those styles are identified in the analysis below:

The transactional leadership – This is a leadership style which was adapted when the human resources were considered to be just another input/slaves to the production process. Under this leadership style, the leader is short terms oriented where his/her ambition is to get the task completed by the subordinates and it also assumes that leader has the right to punish the subordinate in a situation of failure to deliver the promised standards.

Autocratic Leadership – Autocratic leadership is where the decisions are purely made by the leader and there is no input from the subordinates. This approach is seen as the highest level application of the transactional leadership where the leader is given the complete control over the subordinates which allow him/her to treat subordinates as machines. These type of leadership styles are appropriate when the subordinates have a low intellectual capacity to make decisions on their own.

Charismatic Leadership – The charismatic leadership is the leadership that is driven by the personality of the leader where s/he is able to get the full support of the subordinates through motivating them through speech and actions. In other words, the charisma of the leader drives the change among the subordinates and such charisma also motivates the subordinates to perform well in the group. In order for this leadership to be executed, there should be a high level of charisma within the leader and such leaders are very rare to be found.

Participative Style of Leadership – This is where the leader engages his subordinates in the decision making process and subordinates are empowered to make their decisions. The role of the leader here is limited mostly to overlooking the task that is carried out by the empowered subordinates. This leadership style is seen as the exact opposite of the autocratic leadership style and it is also mostly suited for occasions where the subordinates are of high level of intellectual capacity who can make their decisions to support the leader.

Recommendation

Considering the leadership styles discussed above, it can be stated that the participatory leadership styles is the most suitable leadership style for City College to be adapted at Abby College as the staff of Abby College is consisted of highly intellectual lecturers/teachers who can be supportive to the leader in terms of making decisions. Further, other leadership styles such as transactional leadership or autocratic leadership would not fit Abby College as a large proportion of worker are knowledge workers who should be treated with respect and due recognition in the decision making process. Hence, it is recommended for City College management to adapt a participatory style of leadership in managing the staff of Abby College.

Approaches to Management with Examples (LO 2.3)

There are various organizational theories that are aimed at providing various approaches to managing people within the organization. The analysis below identifies the approaches that can be used for management within an organization.

Scientific Approach to Management –This is a classical approach to the management which was adapted in the early ears of management where the standardization is seen to be the core of this approach. In this strategy, the scientific methods are developed for the production and they are considered to be the standards and this also gave rise to the standard costing within organizations. For example, this approach is used by most of the garment manufacturers in the third world countries where the labour and the raw materials are added to the process based on standards and actual results are compared against standards to evaluate the performance. This approach is suitable only when human resources are not placed importance in the production process.

Administrative Theory of Management – This approach was introduced by Henry Fayol who is considered to be the father of management where he stated that management should be carried out through executing planning, organizing, commanding, coordinating and controlled approach. However, with the dynamic environment this approach is no longer considered to be effective, as the planning does not work in the modern businesses. Nevertheless, government organizations and not for profit charity organizations still execute this strategy as they still believe in planning.

Bureaucratic Approach To management – Max Weiber who believed that strict controls resulting in high rec tape facilitated effective management initiated this approach. – This approach to the management. This approach was heavily centralized and the decisions made in the top level were implemented in the bottom level through various processes that were designed. This approach to the management was heavily process driven and rejected by many organizations as employees fail to stick to such processes. Further, res tape also caused drags in the decision making process and therefore, companies were failing to respond to the environment changes in a fast and efficient manner resulting in loss of competitive advantage. Nevertheless, certain companies such as automobile manufacturers still stick to this process driven management styles initiated by Max Weiber.

Human Relationship Theory –

This approach to the management is seen as a neoclassical approach to management and it was introduced by Elton Mayo through a study that was conducted in a manufacturing plant. In this study, he identified that when the human resources are given due recognition and importance, the performance level of the company tend to increase by means of increased productivity. He identified that the improved working conditions results in better productivity among the employees and from these findings he derived at human relations theory. The core idea here is to recognize human resources as a resource in the production process rather than considering them as just another input to the process. This strategy leads to a situation where, positively treated human resources deliver high level of performance and vice versa. Many companies such as Walmart, Tesco and large conglomerates in UK adapt this practice and achieve improved level of performance in the workforce. This approach is applied wide across many industries irrespective of whether it involves knowledge workers or mechanical workers.

Recommendation to Mr. Wakefield

The analysis above identified various approach to management that can be used to manage organizations. Since a college involves large number of knowledge workers, it is recommended to adapt a human relation theory where by due recognition is provided to teachers and the rest of the staff in the production process while being overlooked by the top management at City College.

Motivational Theories (LO 3.1, 3.2 3.3)

There are various motivational theories that are used by various scholars and some of the motivational theories can be explained as follows:

Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs assumes that the people are motivated to climb up in the hierarchy through achieving various dimensions in the life.

Source : Brown, (2013)

This approach also assumes that a need satisfied not longer is considered to be a need where the person tries to move to the next level in the hierarchy. This approach is commonly used by many scholars to explain motivation because of the simple nature of the process. However, this approach does not specify further aspirations upon achieving the self-actualization, which is not the case in the normal day-to-day lives of people.  Further, this approach gives confusions in terms of categorizing types of needs, for example, situational factors could make a basic need satisfied to appear again making it a need which is not covered in terms of the hierarchy produced.

Theory X and Theory Y

 Theory X and Theory Y identify two types of people where they are motivated for two different purposes.  Theory X people are identified to be lazy and not achievers where they need high level of supervision to get the work done. These type of people are motivated by financial rewards where the Theory Y people tend to be achiever, go-getters and highly motivated to prove themselves. Therefore, they tend to be motivated for non-financial benefits such as recognition and promotions in the career and financial factors do not act as motivators for this segment.

Two Factor Theory

The two-factor theory was introduced to identify what factors motivate the employees to perform well in the organization and there are two types factors identified in working environment namely hygiene factors and motivators. Hygiene factors do not result in motivation where they tend to avid any demotivation. In other words, hygiene factors are the basic requirements in a working environment and absence of which causes demotivation. Motivators are factors that cause motivation within the employee as they are seen to be something more than the basic requirement. Examples of hygiene factors include the basic salary and security where as examples of motivators includes factors such as promotions, bonuses and additional benefits. However, there is also an issue identified where hygiene factors for some employees could be motivators for some employees making it difficult to distinguish between elements.

Recommendation to Mr. Wakefield

Since Abby College has a high level of knowledge worker who belong to the Theory Y category,  it is recommended to define non financial rewarding system for the academic staff. Further, it is highly recommended to understand the hygiene factors and make them available in order to avoid any demotivation. However, the support staff of Abby College belongs to the theory X and therefore, it is recommended to implement proper financial rewarding system for those employees while imposing strict supervisions.

Nature of Group Behavior and Factors Impacting the Group Behavior (LO 4.1, 4,2)

There are various factors that impact the group behavior within a team and positive and negative contributors to the team behavior can be identified as follows:

Leadership – Leadership plays a significant role in modifying the group behavior where a powerful leader has the ability to motivate the team to achieve the objectives of the group. In-group dynamics, the most effective leaders are the charismatic leaders as they are able to motivate their team members through the pleasing personality As positive leadership contributes to a positive group behavior, a weak leadership in the team also could lead to negative performance as there is no person to guide the team in the right direction leading to various conflicts.

Atmosphere – Atmosphere also plays an important role in determining the group behavior, as the atmosphere is a basic requirement for the effective execution of tasks. For example,  a positive atmosphere give comfort to the group member and thereby they are motivated to execute tasks. This positive atmosphere results in positive group behavior in many instances. Similarly, a negative atmosphere would lead to negative group behavior as the hygiene factor; atmosphere is not supportive to the execution of tasks. Therefore, it can be stated that the negative and the positive aspect of atmosphere result different group behaviors.

Objectives of the Team –  The objectives of the team also plays a role in terms of managing the group behavior. When there is an objective for the team, the team members are motivated to achieve those objectives and this creates the cohesive behavior that is essential for the successful groups. Therefore, setting objectives for the group results in positive group behavior and not having objectives also result in messy situations leading to negative group behavior.

Goal Congruence- The goal congruence indicates that the all members in the group share a common objective that is beneficial for all the members in the group. This approach is essential to create the collectivism in a group where it would the members in the group to strive towards achieving the same. When there is no goal congruence, there is suboptimal state displaying negative group behaviors where each member in the group are focused on their own personal agendas rather than achieving the overall goal of the group.

Impact of the Technology for the Organization (LO 4.3)

In the modern world, the technology keeps changing at a rapid pace and there are many organizations that use technology to generate competitive advantage for the company. In this context, Abby College also can use technology to maximize its positive impact that would result in competitive advantage for the company. The technology together with Internet changes the way in which marketing activities are conducted in the modern world, and therefore, Abby College can use Internet to market their course to the target student population. The automation is also taking place in many organizations and such automation is possible for some extent in Abby College where the manual registration of students can be automated which would yield better results in terms of storing and dissemination of information. Similarly, the teaching methodologies also change with the changes in the technology where Abby college is compelled to change the learning methods to technology based methods such as videos, online study material sharing portals and visual aids through Microsoft PowerPoint and so on.

Conclusion

The analysis above identified various methodologies in which the City College can take over the management of Abby College without interrupting the current level of performance within the company. There are various recommendations made to improve the performance of Abby College as well as best practices in terms of merging which will be highly effective in application. Therefore, it can be stated that by strictly adhering to the recommendations provided, the City College should be able to maximize the performance of Abby College while ensuring a smooth merger.

References

Dwivedi R K (1995). Organizational Culture And Performance . New Delhi: M D Publications .

Robbins S P and Mathews M (2009). Organization Theory: Structure, Design, And Applications. 3rd ed. USA : Pearson Prentice Hall