Blog Five: Conflict

Conflict at work

Conflict would usually occur between people or groups of people with different needs or goals, however it can often occur in organisations when people disagree on how to achieve the same goals. Conflict would then prevent these goals from being achieved until it has been resolved. Although conflict at work can cause stress for the people within the organisation, a small amount of controlled disagreement could also potentially be beneficial for the company because it may cause the organisation to review their method or strategy into achieving targets or goals.

According to Mullins (2010) conflict is now considered as the norm; an everyday occurrence as part of life in the 21st century, however this is in extreme contrast to how conflict was perceived in the 19th century, as something that should be avoided altogether. This change in acceptance of conflict at work and everyday life may have occurred due to other elements of life that have changed over time, including the economy, technology, society and labour market.

Personal experience with conflict

During Business A Level, part of the course involved planning, organising and staging an event to raise money for charity. A list of specific job roles were created for the group, including a Managing Director, Financial Planner and Advisor, the Promotional Team and Sales Team, to allocate people to each role, a volunteer system was put in place. One individual volunteered to take on the role of Managing Director, to oversee the work of others within the group, be available to support others throughout their tasks and ensure that deadlines are met. Everyone else within their group took on their job role and began to plan and organise the event, however it became increasingly difficult when the MD failed to support and guide other members in the group. I began to take on certain tasks and responsibility that should belong to the MD in order to ensure that everyone remained on task. After a group meeting, we decided to ask the MD if they wanted to step down from the role or needed some guidance, which they declined. This began to create tension within the group because others were getting frustrated with the lack of commitment, dedication and ability to carry out their role. Arguments broke out within the group because people felt that the MD wasn’t doing enough and therefore should forfeit the role, however others who didn’t want to get involved with the arguments simply stopped working, causing deadlines that had not been met to pass. With only 4 weeks until the event and changes that needed to be made, another group meeting was organised. I volunteered to take on the role of Managing Director if everyone else in the group voted yes. The decision was made, and everyone was now motivated to get back to work and ensure the event was a success.

Overall when working within a group, communication, both before during and after, is vital. If not everyone in the group is happy or pulling their weight, it will result in conflict that can be resolved only through further communication and agreement.

French and Raven (1959)

This theory has been developed on the basis that power within the work place can be linked with conflict. French and Raven believe that there are different types of power, and with that they have divided them into five sources of power.

Five sources of power:

Coercive

The aim of this kind of power is to create order within the work place. A controlling power, often including threatening or punishing behaviour, especially if an individual is not carrying out their job role. Alternatively this type of power can be used to reward individuals that do comply within the work place, for example offering promotional opportunities to those who work hard, whilst others get punished or threaten with disciplinary action.

Reward

Most people work for reward, with the main reward being money, however money is not the only reward that can be seen within a work place. Reward could also include recognition and opportunities. Individuals that are aware that meeting goals and objectives could lead to some kind of reward are more likely to work harder and conform within the work place. For example, if a manager offered an individual a cash bonus in return for reaching certain goals by a given deadline. This arrangement helps both parties get what they want.

Expert

Having expert knowledge in a specific field can come hand in hand with power. This is usually because people are likely to trust and follow people who have a large amount of knowledge on a topic, especially if it is information they require. For example when someone visits a doctor, who is an expert in that field, they would usually trust what the doctor tells them, because they do not know themselves.

Legitimate

This power is related to job role or title; it is the power and responsibility that comes with certain roles, for example a managerial role automatically creates a level of power over the individuals under that management. The power is linked to the position and not the individual within that position, and therefore if the person is to no longer carry out that job role, they would also loose that specific level or amount of power.

Referent

Certain characteristics within an individual can have this type of power, for example a strong personality can often be linked with power. Referent power is also seen when a person is idolised or followed by others who respect them, creating power for the individual being followed over the people following or wanting to be like them. For example a celebrity has the power to influence their fans fashion sense simply by wearing certain clothes.

Work related stress

An article within the Guardian has looked at how longer working hours is having a direct impact on long-term work related illness. Work related stress is likely to increase greatly, especially within the over 65 generation due to retirement age being withdrawn. Older people are likely to put themselves under more stress at work because they are now expected to work until they are older.

This will have a negative affect on workplaces, having staff taking time off to recover from work-related stress and illness can cost companies an extremely large sum of money each year. This figure will increase with the increase of working hours and workload.

Work related illness could be a vicious circle for some individuals, particularly if the individual has money worries. They may need to take time off work for stress, however whilst they are away from work they are becoming more stressed about nor earning money whilst they are not at work; this could lead to needing more time off work. 

With the cost of living so high, the lack of job opportunities, and low interest rates, the economy is not helping the situation. Both people and organisations are trying to survive, and for this reason everyone is working harder for anything they can get. But without having specific help, or plans in place for staff within organisations, the problem is only likely to get worse with the economy.

References

Crush, P. (2011) Is your work place making you unwell? [Online]. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worklifeuk/workplace-stress-unwell-related-illness?CMP=KNCMICTXT4764 {assessed: 01/12/11}

Mullins, L. (2010) Management & organisational behaviour, ninth edition, Essex: Pearson Education Limited.

Blog Four: Leadership

Leadership

Leadership and management are often perceived to be the same thing, however the roles of a manager and a leader can differ greatly. Although some characteristics and roles of managers and leaders can cross over, for example communication skills, there are also many separate qualities between the two roles.

A leader is someone who should inspire, motivate, and create enthusiasm within a team. A leader should also be passionate enough about what they do in order to create ideas and share visions with others in the group, because this will further help to motive the team they are leading. Someone who leads a team is not necessarily in charge or at the top of the hierarchy within the organisation, but holds the characteristics and skills required to drive a team.

On the other hand, a manager is likely to fit in a hierarchy, usually at the top, or near the top, depending on the organisation. The role of a manager would include being in-charge and control of a group of people lower down the hierarchal scale. A manager plans, delegates and enforces rules and procedures in order to reach goals and objectives and also achieve results required by the organisation. This is a clear difference between a manager and a leader because managers are results driven, whereas leaders are usually more passionate driven. (Forrest & Tolltree 1996)

Mullins (2007) suggests another clear difference between managers and leaders. He suggests that leaders are more personal and involved with the team they work with, whereas a manager is more impersonal and less involved emotionally.

Key Leader

I attended The Beaconsfield School for my entire secondary education, including A Levels. Throughout my time at the school I had a number of different year, and key-stage leaders, however only one of them left a positive lasting impression. She was the head of sixth form, and therefore was the leader for all sixth formers within the school.

As a leader she was very passionate about education and achieving, whilst also inspiring the people around her. Her determination and drive was always passed on to the students she taught and mentored, creating a positive environment throughout the sixth form.

She was also very hands-on and involved in sixth form life and her positive energy reflected on the rest of the sixth form.

Her ability to adapt, and change depending on what situation she was in and who she was working with made her a good leader. For example is she was working with students who struggled to concentrate or stay on task, she would find a way to motivate them and come up with a different way to approach and take on the task.

Fig 1: A diagram of Adair's Theory

I feel that this relates back to Adair’s theory of the contingency approach to leadership; he believes that a leader who is able to adapt and change depending on the task, the team and needs of the individuals is an effective leader.

Conclusion

Overall, I feel that a leader is more involved with a team, both emotionally and physically, whereas a manager will delegate, oversee and control and team.

After looking over the characteristics roles of a leader and manager, I have come to the conclusion that a leader is part of a team, and a manager is head of a team.

References:

·      Simpson, M. (2011) Leadership [PowerPoint]

·      Fig 1;

o   Google images – ‘Adair’s theory’ [online]. Available from: http://www.google.co.uk/search?pq=leadership&hl=en&sugexp=kjrmc&cp=25&gs_id=1k&xhr=t&q=leadership+and+management+advisory+service&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1277&bih=679&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi#um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=adair%27s+theory&pbx=1&oq=adair%27s+theory&aq=f&aqi=&aql=1&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=5625l8177l0l8504l10l7l0l0l0l0l585l585l5-1l1l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=f13d44a992964251&biw=1277&bih=635 [assessed: October 30^th 2011]

Blog Three: Organisational Culture

Visible Culture

The visible aspects of culture that can be seen within an organisation are the elements of it that can be seen by an, ‘outsider’, or someone who is not involved with the company, for example a customer.

Culture within an organisation could be described as an iceberg, where only a small portion of the culture is visible, whilst most of it remains hidden.

 Fig.1; Cultural Iceberg (thecrossculturalconnector.com)

French and Bell (1990) developed the ‘ice berg’ theory that outlines the fact that some elements that make up culture are visible, although there are many factors that are harder to identify. They believe that there are two contrasting factors, the visible being formal, identifiable and public, whereas the second is hidden, but has been created because of the visible formal structure, for example the values within a company or their leadership style.

The Waitrose and John Lewis Partnership have a number of visible aspects of culture that are well known by public. The dark green colour that is used within both partnerships is extremely recognisable to the public and therefore it makes up part of their visible aspects of culture. Using one colour between the Partnership creates and shows a proud link that they want to ‘show off’. 

Another visible characteristic within the organisation is the formal uniform worn by all ‘Partners’, otherwise known as staff. A uniform not only creates a team-like atmosphere but it also creates a level of professionalism within a company, clearly distinguishing customers and staff. ‘Partners’ are always presentable, professional and approachable and this reflects the company’s goal to provide customers with the best service.

The JLP also ensures that the goals, aims, targets and approaches within the organisation are assessable and visible to the public, by making them available online. By making these goals so visible it shows a level of confidence and determination within the organisation to achieve these goals. This generates a good image of the Partnership to ‘outsiders’.

Four types of Culture

Handy (1993) suggested that there are four different types of cultures that can be seen in different organisations, these include Power culture, Role culture, Task culture and Personal culture. He believes the way an organisation is managed and run has an effect on the culture within.

Power culture would usually be found in smaller businesses and organisations, where there is only one central person with the power to make the important decisions.

It is described as the power culture because the individual in the centre of the organisation has the ability and power to make fast, quick and significant decisions that will affect the company. An organisation with a power type culture is usually run with a large amount of authority, although there may lack systems because there is only one person in control who may not be interested in systems or rules.

Role culture is a type of culture seen in a large number of retail; there are a many different laws, regulations and rules when it comes to retail that must be followed. This type of culture suggests that work and tasks carried out are decided by the different rules and regulations that must be followed, for example abiding by Sunday trading regulations. Role culture can also be seen when power or responsibility is linked to different levels or job roles within a hierarchy, for example a sales assistant many not have the authority to give refunds, whereas a team leader may be able to due to being higher in the job role hierarchy. Individuals who work within this culture will usually work to their job description. Marks and Spencer’s would fall into the role culture category because they divide up roles into many different positions, within a level of hierarchy, for example a sales assistant is at the bottom of the hierarchy and they will work within their section, for example frozen food, there will then be a section co-ordinator who oversees all the work being carried out by sales assistants in their section. 

The underlying rule of role culture is that the role is more important than the person carrying out the role.

Task culture is usually seen in the building or construction sector, this is because it is usually found around project-based activities. Task culture involves working as part of a team, to complete the same task or project.

Individuals may not usually work together, but could come together, to achieve and complete the task in hand.

For example, building the Olympic Stadium, many different workers, with different and varied skills have come together in order to build, develop and complete the stadium in time for the Olympics. The culture found amongst the works would be the task type because the task is the key common factor within the team even if nothing else is.

Once the task has been complete the team may separate and continue with other tasks, this creates free and flexible atmosphere within the culture.

Person culture revolves around people as individuals, making them central. 

"...people are the main resource of any organisation. Without its members, an organisation is nothing" (Mullins, 2010, pp.3)

An organisation with this type of culture will usually have a main goal to serve the interests of the individuals within it. People who work within this type of culture have usually come together as part of a team in order to form an organisation, but will remain working individually and not together. There is no hierarchy within this kind of organisation because everyone is an equal part working individually. This can commonly be found in organisations such as Doctors.

Like most theories, this theory of only four different, specific, types of culture could be disputed. It may be difficult to place some organisations into just one type of culture, because it may cross between two or more of the types of culture Handy outlined. These four types of culture are very specific and therefore is it likely that some organisations will not be a simple or exact fit.

There is a very broad and varied spectrum of different organisations, and while many of these are likely to be covered by the four types of culture, there will be some that aren’t. This could be due to the management style of the organisation, rules and regulations surrounding it, or the people within it.

To conclude, there are four main types of culture within organisations, power, role, task and person. These are all made up of different specific elements outlining each culture and therefore creating an understanding of where it might be seen. However due to the specifics within the cultures, it could be difficult to place every organisation easily into one of the four categories. Therefore although the types of culture can be related to most kinds of organisations, there may be some that cannot be placed. This does not mean that these are not the main four types of culture, but it would suggest that more flexibility would be needed between the cultures.

Most theories have minor expectations and types of culture would appear to be the same. 

References:

• Mullins, L. (2010) Management & organisational behaviour, ninth edition, Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
• Simpson, M. (2011) Organisation culture (powerpoint) 
• Fig 1 sourced:
• Sall, A. (2010) The Cultural Iceberg [online]. available from: http://thecrossculturalconnector.com/?tag=the-cultural-iceberg [Assessed: 22/10/11] 

Blog Two: Improving Staff Performance

There are two types of motivational theories, Content and Process, the difference being that content theories focus on what motivates an individual, whereas process theories concentrate on how an individual is motivated.

‘Content’ is based around the theory that individuals have a natural drive to pursue certain ‘needs’, and as a result meeting those needs is motivating. Contrasting to the Content theory, the Process theory believes that an individual will set goals and will work out how to achieve those goals.

The relationship between an employer and their individual employees will have an impact on how employees feel and how motivated they are. If someone feels they are not able to reach their potential, goals have not been set, or they are being treated unfairly, this is usually down to the employer. In order to improve staff performance an employer should look at process theories to gain an understanding of how to motivate their employees.

An example of a Process theory is Adam’s Equity Theory. This theory is largely based around personal and therefore individual perception. Being equal would mean being fair to everyone within the company, however not everyone would perceive ‘fair’ as the same thing, causing the theory to differ for each person. The equality theory states that someone is likely to make a number of different comparisons in order to evaluate their position within the company. These comparisons may be made between a variety of different things including, social groups, financial position, past experiences or positions and colleagues. 
The theory also outlines how someone who feels inequity is present may deal with it, for example changing the input, output or changing their perception of themselves or others around them. 

(Fig 1: Input & Output balance; Dreamstime.com )

Easy Jet

Easy Jet are a budget airline, in a very competitive market. As a result they must ensure they motivate their staff in order to retain them and encourage potential employees to join their expanding company instead of a competitor. After carrying out some primary research on the company’s website, I discovered how they motivate their staff. 

“Our Values underpin this and form 5 core principles you can observe in everything we do:

Safety - Our number one priority, no compromises

Teamwork - We'll get there faster together

Pioneering - Breaking the mould to find new ways and new opportunities

Passionate - We're ambitious to be the best we can be

Integrity - We mean what we say and we do it! ” 


(easyjet.com)

According to a number of different theorists, including Maslow and Herzberg, ‘Safety’ is a vital element of motivation. This is Easy Jet’s first principle and they have stated that it is their ‘number one priority’ (easyjet.com). This is a basic element within many motivation theories and Easy Jet have seen this and met this.

Easy Jet have also focused in on teamwork, another important element of motivation. Teamwork can make an individual feel valued, whilst also helping ensure that all employees are treated fairly. If an individual is working as part of a team they should feel equal and socially involved, relating back to both, Maslow’s need to be socially integrated within the work environment and Adam’s theory of individual’s desire to be treated equally.

In conclusion, it would appear that process theories could also be related to current organisations and how they motivate people.

The process theories look at personal goals; although the theories are generic they differ for each person because they can be largely down to personality, personal preference, and personal drive, setting goals, reaching targets and feeling motivated will depend on how an individual feels about themselves and the people around them.

I feel the process theories will have a more positive affect on an individual that is passionate, ambitious, and driven because I feel these are the people who will react if they are not being pushed to reach full potential, or feel as if they are not being treated fairly.

References:

• Simpson, M. (2011) Motivation [PowerPoint]
• (2010) Easy Jet Careers Culture, vision & values [online] Available from: http://www.easyjetcareers.com/life-on-board/ [Assessed: 14/10/11]
• Fig 1 sourced:
• [online] Available from: http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photography-equity-theory-business-diagram-image11849007 [Assessed: 14/10/11]

Blog One: Motivation

After studying three of the main content motivational theories, including Aldefer’s ERG theory, Herzberg’s two-factor theory, and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it was Maslow’s theory of a hierarchy that interested me and lead me to carry out some more personal research of my own, which further proved that I felt I could relate to this theory slightly more than the other two theories that I had looked at.

Maslow’s theory is based on a hierarchy of needs; he believes that a person must meet certain basic needs before they can move on and achieve other goals, such as being socially content and reaching self-actualisation. The hierarchy is made up of 5 sections, or stages.

Fig. 1: Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs (mbaknol.com)

These stages start with the most basic needs at the bottom, with more complex needs at the top of the hierarchy.

These include Physiological needs, Safety needs, Social needs, Esteem needs and Self-actualisation.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (2011) The basis of Maslow's theory of motivation is that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower needs need to be satisfied before higher needs can be addressed. 

The theory outlines that once the basic needs have been met, the individual will be motivated to move further up the theoretical hierarchy.

Physiological needs, according to Maslow’s theory, has one main element, basic pay. He believes that if an individual is not receiving a basic wage, they will not be motivated to achieve anything more and will therefore not move any further up the hierarchy.

Maslow’s theory also says that safety needs are a big factor in motivation, he argues that if an individual does not feel secure in their job, or feels literally unsafe they will not be motivated to do more than is absolutely required of them.

According to Maslow, once the first two stages of the hierarchy and the needs within them have been met, an individual will be motivated to get more socially involved at work which in turn should have a positive affect on their self-esteem.

The elements within the social needs include socialising with colleagues, social activities within the workforce, and other activities including ‘away days’, which should all make an individual within a company feel like a valued part of a team.

Meeting these social needs will have a positive impact on attitude and esteem, and therefore once the social needs have been met, an individual is already moving further up the hierarchy into esteem. Whilst social interaction will boost self-esteem, it is also important that an individual feels good about the job they are carrying out. Maslow says that the elements that should be met within the esteem section include praise from an employer, the job title and responsibility given to the individual.

Maslow’s theory states that once an individual is happy with their wage, environmental surroundings, job security, social status or involvement within the workforce and their role and responsibility, they will have the motivation to achieve self-actualisation and will therefore be at the top of the hierarchy.

I think Maslow’s theory is as relevant in today’s current economic climate as it has ever been. I feel that due to the recession and it’s impact on many organisations and companies, people are more and more concerned about job security, which fit into the safety needs section of Maslow’s hierarchy. I agree with Maslow’s theory that an individual will not be motivated to socially get involved until they feel secure and safe.

Although job roles and responsibilities differ, and it could be argued that Maslow’s theory does not fit everyone, for example someone who is working more for pleasure than stability or because they have to may not be worried about the security of their job but will still socially interact with others within the organisation of company, I feel it is a theory that is relevant to me in my place of work.

Within my place of work, in retail, I moved up the hierarchy stage by stage in an extremely similar way that Maslow’s theory outlines. Once I was comfortable with my pay, and felt safe within my place of work I began to socially get involved, which very quickly boosted my self-esteem and confidence. Once my confidence had developed further, the company saw the potential within me and provided me with training to provide me with an number of different responsibility within the company which further boosted my confidence and helped me realise my full potential, even if I haven’t yet achieved it.

I decided to do a degree in Business Management for a number of reasons, including interest in the business world, my passion for working as part of a team, but most of all due to the extreme self-esteem boost I received when my place of work trained me to carry out some very important tasks that carried great responsibility. This helped me realise my full potential and gave me the confidence to believe that I could gain a degree and get to where I want to go in life.

Like many other people studying for a degree, a large part of my motivation is to make my parents and family proud. Throughout my A – levels I had a great deal of support from my family and I am confident that that support will continue throughout my degree and will help motivate me to achieve good grades and gain my degree.

On a more personal level, I feel that getting my degree in order to get a good, highly paid job is also a strong motivator for me, which reflects back to Maslow’s theory that pay is a very important, and very strong motivator for most people.

De-motivation

I was fourteen when I experienced de-motivation at work. I had been working at the pub for 9 months when it got taken over by a large chain organisation, the pub closed down for a month for refurbishment and once it re-opened, all staff had to be re-interviewed to get their job role back. I got the job, however I was then told my pay was being decreased from £6.50ph to £3.35ph because I was so young. This de-motivated me greatly as I was still carrying out the same tasks as everyone else, and doing the same job as I had previously been doing but I was getting almost half the pay.

I had gone from a boosted ego and self-esteem, in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, all the way back to below physiological, with less than satisfactory pay and therefore I was no longer motivated within the company or job role.

Relative to Aldefer’s ERG theory, before the decrease in my pay I was balanced on the scale, maybe nearing the growth end, however as soon as I discovered by pay had been decreased, the change in circumstance tipped the scales back to existence needs.

Herzberg’s theory states that hygiene factors must be met before motivators can be achieved. All my hygiene factors were met, until my pay decreased significantly, which also affected how I felt about my status within the company and the relationships I had with people in company. I was no longer motivated to achieve or grow within the job because these hygiene factors had been taken away.

Once I had established there was nothing I could do, I decided to motivate myself to find a new job, with a respectable wage. My experience in the pub boosted my self-esteem and confidence, and therefore I felt extremely capable of finding a new job. I created a CV, handed out it out in a number of different places and found a new job within 10 days.

After relating the three content theories back to my experience of de-motivation, I feel that it is clear that the rules of the theories still work.

Although each of the theories are different, and the principles all work in altered ways, they all base on the fact that if basic needs or wants are not being met, an individual will not be motivated to do any more than is required of them.

References:

• Simpson, M. (2011) Motivation [PowerPoint]

• (2011) Maslow's hierarchy of needs [online] Available from: http://www.abraham-maslow.com/m_motivation/Hierarchy_of_Needs.asp [Assessed: October 2011]

• Fig 1 sourced: 
• Thoeries of motivation [online] Available from: http://www.mbaknol.com/management-concepts/theories-of-motivation-abraham-maslow%E2%80%99s-need-hierarchy-model [Assessed: October 2011]