Sample MBA5006 Managing Organisational Behaviour Assignment

MBA5006 Managing Organisational Behaviour Assignment Sample

Assignment Brief

Case Study – individual level (30%). Approximately 1,500 (-/+10%) words aimed at testing student’s understanding at this level and their ability to critically reflect on organizational behaviour.
You must write a Case Study Report, discussing the organizational behavior characteristics of an organisation. This should draw on learning from modules A & B of this subject. Specifically, you should include at least two of the following: attributes, motivation, empowerment, learning and development. Furthermore, key terms and concepts should be defined wherever possible. Be analytical within your report and examine key terms and theoretical relationships in depth.

The Case Study Report should be written in appropriate business language so that your analysis and discussion have an objective tone. Your writing should be clear and concise and be in your own words. Use headings to guide the reader and include tables or diagrams that make the case clearer.

Examples:
• http://www.academia.edu/8516165/Organisational_Behaviour_A_case_study_of_Coca-Cola_Company
• https://www.scribd.com/doc/138053993/Organization- al-Behavior-A-Case-Analysis-of-Google

In a Case Study Report, include the following:

> Introduces the case, including the background and the scenario.

> Describes the purpose and the background of the study and the specific questions you are addressing.

> Describe what you found through your investigations, e.g. the main themes that came out in interviews, responses to questionnaires, significant observations.

> Explain the significance of the study and what can be learnt from it.

> Note that a case study is a study of a situation so you can’t generalize the results to all other situations. That means your report should focus on what can be learnt about that situation and the individuals involved.

> Recommendations provides proposals for future action to solve the problem or improve the situation.

How to present a high-quality scenario case study?

> Analyse the problem
> Provide solutions
> Reveal real business difficulties
> Include specific, quantifiable results
> Build suspense, have a satisfying conclusion
> Solve a business problem

Please take take note for your assignment:
a. Structure the written report: Background information is relevant, Issues are logically ordered, Recommendations clearly relate to the issues.

b. Identify main issues: Prioritise choices, justify and prioritise issues chosen rovide solution.

c. Analyse the issues: Each issue is discussed using relevant concepts and principles. Insight is shown in analyzing the information.

d. Discuss alternatives: Consider all viable short term and long-term alternatives to solve each issue. Examine the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative.

e. Explain resources: Individuals from the case, time frame and monitoring processes required for the recommendations to be put into practice build suspense, have a satisfying conclusion.
f. Write clearly and concisely: Arguments are explicit and succinct, appropriate headings are used, grammar and spelling are accurate.

Submission formatting style guide:

For all major assignments, both formative and summative, the preferred layout is in 12-point Calibri, with 1.5-line spacing, 2.5 centimeters left-hand margins and bold headings.

All assignments must be submitted with a completed and signed cover sheet. Whenever you use the ideas and arguments of other writers, you must make reference to the writers and their work. By acknowledging the work of others, you avoid plagiarism. The Harvard style requires a reference list at the end of your assignment. It is arranged in alphabetical order by author surname.

Solution

Introduction

Organizational behavior is related to the understanding, prediction, and controlling of human behavior associated with a particular organization. It can be considered as a study where it takes place among the groups and individuals in order to measure the activity and performance level within the organization. The study is concentric on the organizational behavior of Amazon Plc., and associated issues that have been identified in the process. It has been seen that organizational behavior depends upon two different characteristics and those are the nature of the individual and the nature of the organization. In this study, the main focus will concentrate on the identification of the issues that the organization faced and probable alternatives that can be used as an overcoming agent.

Background

Amazon Inc. is an American Multinational Technology Company that generally deals with e-commerce and cloud computing facilities. From the survey among the employees of Amazon and interviewing some of the experienced high-level staff, it has been seen that the company has faced some of the issues in the field of motivation and empowerment despite one of the leading brands across the globe (Hara et al., 2018). The main purpose of the study is to identify the organizational behavior of Amazon along with the characteristics that have created those challenges in the workplace. It has been witnessed from the responses that the company mainly faced issues due to the lack of motivation and ill-practice of empowerment. According to Mr. Ross man, the employees of Amazon in the United States have faced difficulties with the organization's behavior. From the testimony of the former and current employees, it has been seen that the intention of improved production has created the harsh condition for the employees diminishing the motivational levels. The study has based on some of the questions and those are the formative approach for the study. The questions are

- Which organizational characteristics are responsible for the organizational issues?

- What are the issues that the employees of Amazon have been faced?

- What are the attributes that are responsible for the issues?

- What are the probable alternatives that are essential for overcoming the issues?

Investigation

The researcher has constructed a survey among the current employees so that the present organizational scenario can be identified. Moreover, the interview process has also taken place among the former employees who have left amazon for a sudden reason (Cheung, Burns, Sinclair and Sliter, 2016). These approaches are made for the identification of the current issues and existing challenges related to organizational behavior. From the analysis of the results, it has been seen that the major problem areas are motivation and empowerment. From the information of the former employees, it has been seen that they have left due to the lack of motivation in the workplace, and on the other hand, the current employees mainly highlighted the issues regarding the empowerment crisis.

From the survey among the current employees, it has been seen that the company has lacking practice regarding empowerment and current leadership has restricted to allow employees to make their own decisions.

Table 1: Empowerment Issues in Amazon

Moreover, the information from the former employees has stated that the company workplace is full of de-motivational factors, and in most cases, employees do not feel motivated inside the company.
 

Table 2: Motivational Issues in Amazon

Significance

Identification of ongoing issues has a tremendous significance in understanding organizational behavior. From the analysis of the statements, it has been understood that the company is facing issues regarding empowerment and motivational factors. In the case of empowerment, it has been seen that the lack of ideal leadership has encouraged the scenario. The great man theory can be considered as an alternative process where it has stated that the ideal leaders are born and they cannot be created. In this case, the scenario is similar but has responded negatively. It has the advantage of dealing with the issues in a natural manner but Mr. Bezos has created the problematic options himself. On the other hand, Prentice, Jayawickreme and Fleeson, (2018) has stated that The Trait Theory can put the light on the crisis and works as a proper alternative for the scenario. It has stated that leaders must be adaptive in nature and should be innovative with time so that the workplace can gather harmony. It is helpful in sharpening the leadership role and it will helpful for the employees to find the right path. As the organization is considering high standards, the employees must be well trained and developed similar kinds of solutions so that results can be identical for similar issues. The entire process is wholly dependent upon the development of the leadership capability according to the environment (Matthews, 2017).

On the contrary, the workplace also faced motivational issues as the unhealthy competition and intensive management is the fueling agent behind it. In this case, the behavioral theory has indicated the path. According to the theory, leaders are developed with time and experience. Mr. Bezos has identified that workers must be hard, long, and smart working in nature. However, he has to understand that it is not possible to do all the aspects at the same time in the long run. Moreover, Herzberg's motivational theory of needs suggests that the workplace can remain motivated when the organization has taken care of the requirements of the employees (Mehrad, 2020). It can be done with the observation of the working pattern and identification of the comfortability of the situation for the employees. Although these practices can be lengthy and do not provide the immediate effect it is one of the most impactful strategies for the long run.

Recommendations

In order to make the solutions into practice, the organization has to put a positive involvement in reconstructing the traditional practices.

? It has been seen that the major problem is based on the leadership style as it is bureaucratic in nature. According to the Trait theory, the organization has to focus on developing the leadership style as the organization is concentric on high performance. It is essential to provide efficient training to the employees rather than instructing the works only. Leadership management is required in this case as it may take a long timeframe.

? The behavior of the employees is essential for the development and the organization should encourage the employee to take the decision of their own so that they can develop the problem-solving personality.

? Motivational factor is another big thing in organizational behavior. In order to develop a motivating workplace, the leaders must be co-operative and understanding in nature. Irrespective of putting pressure on the employees, leaders must identify the scenario and responses of the environment first and lead the employees according to their capabilities. It also a long time process and it can be expected that the result can get in the long run with positivity.

? On the other hand, the leaders must take a good step in fulfilling the needs of the employees so that they can be loyal to the organization by feeling safe with the career.

Conclusion

From the entire study and reports of interviews and surveys, it can be concluded that Amazon has faced issues in organizational behavior and the core reason for that is the improper leadership style. It has been seen that bureaucracy has created challenges in the workplace resulting lack of motivation and a less-empowered workplace. With the help of Trait theory and Herzberg's hierarchy of needs theory, the organization can produce amendments in the leadership style which can produce harmony in the workplace. As it is applicable in management, it is expected that it can be effective in the long run.

Reference List

Cheung, J., Burns, D., Sinclair, R. and Sliter, M., 2016. Amazon Mechanical Turk in Organizational Psychology: An Evaluation and Practical Recommendations. Journal of Business and Psychology, 32(4), pp.347-361.

Gagné, M., 2018. From Strategy to Action: Transforming Organizational Goals into Organizational Behavior. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20, pp.S83-S104.

Graham, K., Resick, C., Margolis, J., Shao, P., Hargis, M. and Kiker, J., 2019. Egoistic norms, organizational identification, and the perceived ethicality of unethical pro-organizational behavior: A moral maturation perspective. Human Relations, 73(9), pp.1249-1277.

Hara, K., Adams, A., Milland, K., Savage, S., Callison-Burch, C. and Bigham, J., 2018. A Data-Driven Analysis of Workers' Earnings on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems,.

Matthews, G., 2017. Cognitive-Adaptive Trait Theory: A Shift in Perspective on Personality. Journal of Personality, 86(1), pp.69-82.

Mehrad, A., 2020. Evaluation of Academic Staff Job Satisfaction at Malaysian Universities in the Context of Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory. JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH, 15, pp.157-166.

Prentice, M., Jayawickreme, E. and Fleeson, W., 2018. Integrating whole trait theory and self-determination theory. Journal of Personality, 87(1), pp.56-69.

Root, G., 2021. Challenges of Employee Empowerment. [online] Small Business - Chron.com. Available at: <https://smallbusiness.chron.com/challenges-employee-empowerment-705.html> [Accessed 23 March 2021].