Sample BE4867AU Organisational Behaviour and HRM Assignment

BE4867AU Organisational Behaviour and HRM Assignment Sample

Assignment Brief:

1. Recognise and evaluate the factors that shape organisational behaviour and the management of human resources.

2. Recognise and understand the motivations and priorities of different stakeholders.

3. Critically evaluate the forces underlying expectations and behaviour at work.

4. Reflect critically on HRM practices with regard to various contemporary contexts.

The assignment should not exceed 2,500 words in length, not including the references. It should be word-processed, double spaced, and written in an appropriate academic style.The assignment should have a clear introduction and a conclusion. You should ensure that you have fully acknowledged the work of others in the body of the text.

Coursework will be processed with plagiarism detection software.

The assignment should include a full list of references for all articles, books and other sources (e.g. Internet sites) that have been cited in the assignment.

Instruction:

This 10-week module is delivered through 3 contact-hours per week, structured as a three hour session with a variety of different elements. Part of the session will be focused on introducing the core concepts and theories outlined in the syllabus.
Moreover, you will be invited to contribute with your views and questions about each topic. Other elements of the session will be devoted to group discussion of pre-set work and require prior preparation of materials. It is your responsibility to be prepared for each session as detailed in the module handbook and/or in the appropriate section of the Moodle page for this module. To do well, you should participate actively in the sessions, as well as read widely on organisational and people management issues.

Lecture topics and essential readings

1. Organisational behaviour: common themes

As this is a module that is taught in at advanced level, in this lecture we will examine the field of organisational behaviour and examine common topics that are studied under this heading. We at why it is important to have psychological insight into how organisational features and policies interact with people as individuals. This means examining organisational design and technology, organisational culture and the motivation of employees, among other things.

2. Rhetoric and realities of the employment relationship

In this session, we look in more depth at what it means to work in an organisation, and to be managed in this capacity. We will look at how we can understand the behaviour of people in organisation through the concept of the employment relationship, a contractual and social agreement between employee and employer. Management can be seen as a way of making people’s behaviour measurable and observable, through strategies of organisational control. There are different types of control in organisations, that can range from very directly observable to very subtle and hidden.

3. Opening up the individual: how management shapes and influences people

In this lecture, we will look at how the management of people in organisation influences them on a psychological and behavioural level. In management research and practice, there exists a wide range of approaches that look at shaping elements that relate to people’s thoughts and feelings. Examples of this are the management of organisational culture, motivation, group and team-based management, and many more. In this session, we will look at how such thinking emerged in relationship to people management, and how we can think about the effects it has on individuals, groups and organisations.

4. The management of performance

In this lecture, we will continue on with the material from the previous sessions, which

1) outlined some of the major topics that concern the psychology of people in organisations, 2) showed how the employment relationship is a meeting point of contradictions that puts control at the centre, and 3) highlighted the many different ways in which management practices shape people at an individual, group and organisational level. We now look at how people are actually, in direct and indirect ways, being managed in their jobs.

5. Self-management

In this fifth and final lecture of the OB part of this module, we will look at some of the more recent trends that are emerging in terms of people management. We will have a chance to look at how people are managed in unusual lines of work or sectors, and how this has impacted the rhetoric and realities of people management more widely.

Ross, A. (2003), ‘Refugees from Utopia’, New Labor Forum 12(2): 97–103.

Petersen, A.H. (2018), ‘How Millennials Became The Burn Out Generation’, Buzzfeed.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annehelenpetersen/millennials-burnout-generation-debt-work

Cederstrom, C. and P. Fleming (2012), Dead Man Working, New York: Zero.
Cederstrom, C. (2019), The Happiness Fantasy, London: Polity.

6. Introduction to HRM and the employment relationship

In this introductory lecture, we will examine key HRM activities, trends and theoretical approaches, with a particular focus on the employment relationship.

7. Strategic HRM

In this lecture, we will have a close look at the rise of HRM strategies in contemporary contexts. Special emphasis is placed upon a better understanding of the relationship between strategic HRM and organisational performance from both employers and employees’ perspectives.

8. HRM and employee performance

In this session, we examine the performance management process and the key activities, such as setting performance goals, performance appraisal and review, reward system, learning and development. We will also analyse the changing trends in this process over recent years.

9. Learning and Development

In this session, we analyse Learning and Development under different perspectives. In particular, we will examine the process of designing and managing a training programme, from the identification of relevant needs to the learning evaluation.

10. Recap of HRM and Q&A on CW2

In this last session of the module we summarize the key topics of HRM with a particular focus on the second assignment.

Solution

1. Introduction

The assignment examines managing self-identity in the workplace. Employees must create a proper working environment where they can feel valued for their significant differences and contribute to the organization's success. When most individuals need to embrace their individual identities, whether in everyday life or work, they become much more confident. It is observed that individuals having bicultural identities are mainly more creative and enjoy more true professional success. It helps people get a lot of exposure to different attitudes, values, and cultures in the workplace.

The topic helps in providing a clear idea of the relationship between identity and different types of organizational controls that are used in most organizations. The readers will have a brief idea of the importance of identity, which plays an integral role in a better workplace. It will help to understand various types of approaches to properly conceptualize identity. The mentioned topic will provide a clear overview of the importance of identity in the workplace and its various assumptions. There will be a brief discussion on the different types of organizational examples in managing people for assignment help.

2. Key concepts

The employment relationship

The employment relationship is defined as the legal link between both employees and employers. When most employees get a lot of respect from their employers for their enormous role in the success of organisations, they mainly tend to this respect with both loyalty and hard work towards the company (McCann et al.,2015). Good workplace relations help the employees to give their best and perform better towards accomplishing their goals. Firm employment relations lead to better productivity and boost the morale of workers. It helps in maintaining a good environment in the workplace which is highly significant for a company's success.

Organizational control

Direct

The mentioned organizational control states that managers rely more on their rank for exerting control. The concerned authority provides instruction to its subordinates on how to do their duties. A lot of managers monitor the behaviour of workers and analyze their performance.

Technical

The concerned control states that higher authority is no longer vested in the person of the manager but also present in the physical structure of the company, like information technology and machinery (Hoedemaekers and Keegan, 2010). By implementing technical and organizational control, a lot of managerial issues were solved from personal to the main structural control.

Bureaucratic

It is mainly based on a lot of efficiency problems for two of the prime reasons, which are discussed as follows. Firstly, the work process involves a lot of uncertainty and a need for major swift changes, which hampers the workplace (van der Kolk et al.,2019). Secondly, the concept of bureaucracy is dependent more on predictions and average normalization rather than focus on outstanding performances.

Normative

Definition of identity

Identity in an organizational context is defined as specific statements where the members of the company must be distinctive, central, and highly enduring. It is highly influential to managerial and employee behaviour in various aspects within a corporate workplace. A more complete and coherent identity mainly consists of three main elements that are value, culture, and purpose (Webb, 2004). The most optimum way to enhance one's identity is mainly to prepare for promotion. A lot of employees mainly create a lot of opportunities for advancement in their careers and a lot of advancements at reaching their potential.

How identity has been used in organization studies

Identity in terms of a company's background has been highly vital as it affects the interpretation, action, and decision-making of most of the organizational management and members. It helps the employees to prepare for promotion within the organization (Webb, 2004). It acts as a strategic tool for accomplishing vision and objectives. Most workplaces state that identity has an overall impact on the changes in organizational change procedures. The identity, mainly from an organizational perspective, helps in making a more high-performing organization which is mainly associated with the key respect by individual members.

2. Different approaches to conceptualize identity

This report has identified two different approaches to conceptualise identities as Identity and social groups and identity as self-presentation. As per the study of van Bezouw et al. (2020), the social identity approach or the identity and social groups allow the workforce to strive to have a positive sense of their group self. In this way, the hierarchy of the organisation can keep them always motivated as a group so that they can evaluate their own group's positivity. By following this particular approach, each member of a social group can experience social identity in those cases when they define themselves to be a part of the group. They often are found to feel good to be a part of the group and define themselves as it is. On the other hand, Webb, (2004) has shed light on the self-presentation approach which has been elaborated to be any behaviour or action that is made having the intention to influence as well as change the way of other people can observe you. It is more an act of self-presentation that allows individuals to present themselves individually to others so that others can consider themselves a certain way. The individual presents themselves as favourably as possible in this case.

Identity impact on organisational practices

As per the study of Walker et al., (2019), workplace identity is a relatively new field in sociological research as it has much to do with the employment relationship. This study has defined the workspace identity as an individual identity of the employees with the respect to their job positions at the workspace. Such identity can noticeably impact the employment relationship as those directly impact the workspace culture to some major extent. Upon having a desired identity at the workspace, the employees can contribute to the establishment of a successful work culture. Thus, the interrelationships between the different levels of the workforce can be improved and so the employment relationship eventually can encourage the workforce to ensure a high quality of work. Workspace identity also can provide emotional support to the other employees that ensure healthy and positive relationships among the workforce. On the other hand, Skinner et al., (2021) have stated that workspace identity can noticeably impact the internal actions, interpretation, and decision-making of the employees, and hence, internal collaboration is very much improved by the workspace identity. Thus, this can encourage the employees to contribute their best in fetching organisational success in both the long and short term. This becomes possible as identities can improve internal management to keep the employees always motivated, and thus, workspace identity can positively impact organisational control.

Identity impact on the management of individuals

According to the study of Liu et al., (2021), workspace identity can noticeably impact the internal management of an organisation as this is highly associated with the efficiency and productivity of the workforce. With the help of workspace identity, the senior managers can easily identify each employee involved in fetching the common organisational goals and allocate tasks depending on their individual performance and capability. It also becomes easy for the managers to identify each employee at the workspace with the help of workspace identity to divide the workforce into small groups according to their current positions at the organisation, and thus, each task can be completed within the deadline period more efficiently.

Identity impact on employees

Workplace identity has a positive impact on employees. There are some of the main attributes which are highly connected to one's workplace, which is mainly the type of work environment and the category of the role that is connected to the individual and employee skills. The mentioned elements depict that workplace identity is not at all dependent on employees but is also highly affected by different types of external factors like the workplace. An individual with a positive workplace identity tends to be much more productive and will provide good-quality work. These are mainly interconnected with each other, which will help the individuals to work efficiently in the organization.

3. Analysis and discussion

How identity may play a part in how people are managed

According to the study by Li et al., (2019), workspace identity can play a major role in directing the workforce in the right direction to meet common organisational goals and objectives. The senior managers of the organisation can easily identify the capabilities of each employee performing their daily job roles and responsibilities in their work environment, and thus, allocate the right tasks to each of them so that they can efficiently perform those and contribute to meeting the common organisational goals within the deadline period. Workspace identity also allows the senior managers to divide the whole workforce into small teams in order to allocate the most suitable tasks according to their skill sets. Hence, the company can complete each of the responsibilities with much efficiency which eventually helps the organisation to complete the whole project within the deadline period. Apart from this, there are other benefits of workspace identity that an organisation can consider to manage its workforce more effectively which are elaborated on in the following part of the assignment .

Adequate Support

Workspace identity can enable the senior managers to provide adequate support to all the employees as the managers can easily spot the right or eligible employees currently involved in the project. Each employee's identity displays much regarding their previous performance as well as specialisation; those can be evaluated by the senior managers to determine the tasks for the employees. The such division eventually reflects through the overall performance of the workforce in meeting both the long and short-term goals of the organisation (Haslam et al., 2019). Apart from this, the senior managers also can support the employees to some major extent while they have adequate information regarding the past experiences of the employees. It also enables the managers to provide flexibility to the employees so that they also can put their individual opinion on the overall development of the organisation as well as the current functions that have been followed.

Allocating Resources

Workspace identity also allows the senior managers to identify the right candidates suitable for performing each function and thus, they can only allocate jobs to the right ones. As identity can shed light on the previous experiences of the employees, the hierarchies of the company can easily identify the eligible ones for promotions by evaluating their past contributions to the business. It also enables managers to appoint team leaders as they can easily judge their previous individual contributions in meeting the common objectives (Anshari, 2020). Thus, the overall efficiency can be improved to some noticeable margin while workforce identity is prioritised by the senior managers.

Improving work culture

Workforce identity also can contribute much to improving the work culture so the managers can easily handle the employees to keep them always motivated. The senior managers can provide adequate support to each of the employees when they possess detailed information regarding the identity of each employee (Lee and Kim, 2020). Thus, the hierarchy of the company can introduce flexibility to the workspace so that each of them feels free to contribute their best in achieving common organisational success.

Assumptions on identity used in context to individual and organizations

According to the study of Kopp et al., (2019), assumptions on individual identity incorporate the individual personality, and ability whereas social identification focuses more on the capability of working in a group as well as connecting with coworkers. The individual identity says a lot regarding the personal background of an individual who has been involved with the company and so the senior managers can perform a background check individually. On the other hand, it also deals with the individual capability of performing the daily job responsibilities that allow the senior managers to properly determine their positions in the organisation. In the case of social identity, the capabilities of the individuals to collaborate with the teams are evaluated and in this case, their cooperative skills are judged closely. Thus, identity allows the senior managers to determine the best approaches for each of the employees and such assumptions can be evaluated for each of them which eventually helps the decision-makers to improve the efficiency of the workforce as a whole.

Organisational Examples of the use of identity in the management of people

Facebook has shown an efficient use of the identity of its employees and in this case, the hierarchies of the company deal with the identity of each employee to perform a wide range of actions. As per the study by Bartels et al. (2019), the employees of Facebook use their own social media platforms to identify their colleagues. Such a method of identification has allowed them to determine which employee belongs to which department, and thus they can easily connect with them using the social media platform in case of any query or need. The hierarchies of the company also use the social media platform to identify the positions of each employee in the organisation and thus, they can allocate the relevant tasks to them without any hassle. In this case, the hierarchies of the company have been found to mostly use departmental identification to reach the right or eligible employees and allocate tasks to them. They also can ensure the quality of the employees so that they can easily trust them in providing crucial tasks. Such a workforce identification method has displayed an additional feature of highlighting the background of the users which also has helped the managers to determine the right candidates in some cases.

4. Conclusion

This assignment is mainly connected with the importance of managing self-identity in the workplace. There are discussions of healthy employment relationships that will highly motivate the staff in the organization. There are four main types of organizational controls which are mainly direct, technical, bureaucratic, and normative which are used in the company. Identity in an organizational context creates a lot of opportunities for the career development of individuals. Various types of different approaches are discussed properly to conceptualize identity. Two main approaches like identity in social groups and identity as a self-presentation. The discussions are done on the implications of identity on organizational practices and on different employees.

The study will help everyone to understand the use of identity in the management of people and different individuals. It will help readers to assess the different approaches to mainly conceptualizing identity. A brief idea will be created to understand the types of organisational controls which need to be used in the workplace to boost business productivity. The study will help the management of the company to understand the employment relations in the organization. The motivation of all employees will be enhanced after getting recognition and rewards in the workplace.

References