1

The Organisation (Written Report)

2

Contents and Appendices

Executive Summary 3

Scientific Management in its Historical Context 5

The Human Relations (Neo-Human Relations) in its Historical Context 6

Motivation in its Historical Context 7

Scientific Management & Morrisons 9

Motivation & Morrisons 11

Appendix 1 : A Number of Approaches 14

Appendix 2 : Basic Model of Motivation 15

Appendix 3 : Hertzberg’s Two-Factor Theory 16

Appendix 4 : Hertzberg’s Two-Factor Theory 17

Appendix 5 : F.W. Taylors Scientific Management Model 18

Appendix 6 : Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 19

Appendix 7 : Motivating Knowledge Workers 19

References 20

(3197)

3

Managing Organisations

Executive Summary

Learning Outcomes

Identify to the extent as to which models/.concepts/ideas relate to your

organisation.

Analyse the effect of using such ideas in the management of change.

Understand the key theoretical approaches in the organisational behaviour and

their application

Understand the role of organisational behaviour and its historical context

Skills of critical thinking and analysis in the evaluation of concepts and theory in

organisation behaviour.

Scope: This assignment focus on the ideas, roles, and concepts of organisational

behaviour, in their historical context as well as their application into today’s working

society. The organisation concerned in this report will focus on the UK based retailer,

Wm Morrisons Supermarkets PLC and examines how these organisational

behavioural concepts are applied to the retailer in their operational practices. There

are three levels of analysis, which are the influences of organisation behaviour; these

are individual level, group level and organisational level. This report will look at the

Individual level and the Organisation level, more specifically motivation and

management respectively.

Limitations: there will be limitations with regard to obtaining primary source of

information as to how Morrisons managed the change when they took over Safeway’s

so where necessary; will make some assumptions on some areas of the analysis.

Findings: The study of motivation is why people do what they do. Motivation,

according to Mullins, 2007) is a personal trait of organisational behaviour and may

variables influence the motivation of an individual through attaining personal goal,

weather its recognition and status, or impersonal goals such as pay and company

perks. Many models have demonstrated, in picture, form what motivation is created

by many academics and physiologists which look at the basic human instinctual needs

4

right through what is known as self-actualisation (Maslow, 1959) where the individual

has achieved everything there is to be achieved. Scientific management also comes

into play within the general operations of the business. Because of the legal and

regulatory ‘red-tape’ which restricts their operational movements, this needs to be

communicated down to the workers who are the ‘face’ of the business and who have

the power to trade illegally of desired (i.e. illegal merchandising and price

discrepancies). Gray (1975) believed that there was a component of motivation of

people known as introverts, who were not only motivated by rewards, but were also

motivated to avoid punishment. To apply this theory to the real world, Morrisons have

a disciplinary and gravened procedure for employees who evidence against them for

gross misconduct. However, scientific management is also used to apply

standardisation to job roles within their stores and to ensure all operands are uniform

with company expectations. These types of can be seen in Insert 1: A number of

approaches, creating a hybrid model, where organisational behaviour, structure,

technology, and decision-making approached can be incorporated.

Management (Organisational Level)

This section will focus on the approaches of management in the organisation. We will

look at scientific management as well as the human relations approach, and on the

individual level, the motivational theories and concepts and how they are applied to

the retailer as well.

Scientific Management in its Historical Context (Insert 1: Scientific Management

Model)

The idea of Scientific Management was founded F.W Taylor (1857-1917) and,

according to Cossette (2002), Taylors works have generated the most interest among

professionals and academics out of all management sciences . He was known as the

‘Father of Scientific Management’ and was concerned with increasing output within

the workplace by monetary incentives and through formal organisational structure. He

was writing at a time of the industrial revolution where there was a large-scale

industrial reorganisation with new forms of technology being implemented into new

working environments. Taylor was concerned with improving the worker-manager

relationship with the larger aim of improved industrial proficiency (Mullins, 2007).

5

The form of management is also known as the machine theory model because Taylor

regarded the workers as viewed as isolated components of the manufacturing process,

not as human beings, and purely motivated by monetary reward (Mullins, 2007).

Taylor used scientific management practices to derrive 'one best way' to do a job, with

no room for deviation from that process. He also came up with five principals of

Scientific Management:

• A clear diviision of tasks and responsibilities between managers and workers.

• The use of Scientific methods to determine 'one best way' to do a job.

• A Scientifice selection of a person to do a new job/task.

• The training of the selected worker for a specific job.

• Survelince of workers throuth hircachy and close supervision.

Taylor (1907) stated that Taylorism had little concern for worker psychology. Nyland

(1995) stated that scientific managers had little room for worker psychology; a

transcript of F.W.Taylor, (Journal of Management, 2008) states that ‘We do not want

their imitative. All we want of them is to obey the orders we give them, do what we

say, and do it quick’. He also further states that ‘We do not let them think, we do the

thinking, we do not ask our men to think’ and ‘we will not let them think n the

opposition to what we say’. The widest known example of Taylor’s work applied to

the real world is to the Bethlehem Steel Company in the United States, where he was

concerned with establishing principals within this line of work to maximise the load

of Pig Iron the workers employed by the steel company could carry, at the optimum

wage. (Taylor, 2008, pp. 214). Taylor’s scientific practices also go beyond focusing

on the workers in the workplace and goes on to the selections of workers to do a

specific job. Referring back to the Bethlehem Steel Company, Taylor (1907) states

that, after selecting a man who can handle 47 tons a day, whereby previously they

were only moving 12 and a half tons per day, it requires an ‘art to make those men

carry that 47 tons and be content, and not kick, not have a strike, and not have labour

issues’. He goes further to state that the way in which he approaches a man to

convince him to do double the tonnage he is currently moving of Pig Iron, goes back

to not asking for a man’s initiative. Asking for that man's initiative, he will tell you

what he feel he can carry and a debate will begin between the manager and the

6

worker. Instead, linking the theory that all men are motivated my monetary incentives

along, Taylor asks a man if he is a ‘high-price man’ ( the definition of a ‘high-price

man’ us one who does just as he is told and is the differentiator between these and a

man who is paid $1.15 to a day) who he can pay $1.85 a day to, he then get that man

to prove that he can move 47 and a half tones of Pig Iron through a trial period for

that man, if he does not have the strength to carry that load, he cannot stay with the

firm. This method, they do not even discuss the tonnage that man is required to carry

(Taylor, 2008).

In summary, Taylors style of management concerns increasing the output of a firms

production through ‘streamlined’ and standardized work practices, which are timed to

the minute, and are not to be deviated from. Taylor believed that each worker was

motivated by economic incentives alone. He asks from every man is to do as he is told

and does not ask for his initiative or any suggestion to do a particular job in a ‘better’

way. (Taylor, 2008: Nyland, 1995: Mullins, 27). Scientific management is also linked

to the beaurcracy of an organisation, which concerns rigid structures, set procedures

and the dividing or authority.

The Human Relations (Neo Human Relations) Approach in its Historical

Context

The Human Relations Approach can be seen as an opposite to the Scientific

Management Approach (or Classical Management Approach) in that, whilst Classical

Management is implemented to increase productivity through an extremely

impersonal approach to their workers, the human relations approach takes into

consideration the workers’ physiological and social needs of the informal

organisation, as well as improving the managerial process. One major contributor to

the neo-human relations approach was Maslow. Maslow developed a theoretical

framework of individual motivations and individual personal developments. Other

contributors to the neo-human relations approach where Hertzberg and McGregor

who derived two factors that were linked to work content among individuals, these

were hygiene factors and the motivators. These are explained in the ‘Motivation’

section of this work

7

Motivation (Individual Level) in its Historical Context

The study of motivation concerns why people behave in a certain way (Mullins,

2007). It concerns why people choose a course of action in preference to another, and

why people continue to use that course of action. ‘Motivation’ as a term can be seen

as an internal state making way for a desire of feeling of personal onus to act

(Westwood, 1992, pp. 288) whereas satisfaction, according to Warr (2002, pp. 1) is

the extent to which people are satisfied with the work they do. This is usually a study

over a long period of time and in conjunction with facing certain difficulties and

problems (Mullins, 2007) (Insert 2: Basic Model of Motivation).

Mitchell (1982) identifies the four main underlying values of the theory of motivation.

These are that motivation is seen as an individual phenomenon, it is assumed to be

under the workers control, the two factors of importance are (i) what the ‘arousal’

factor is, and (ii) the direction of behavioural choice, and the force of an individual to

engage in a desired behavioural characteristic. Motivation is multi-faced.

Furthermore, motivational theories are used to predict behavioural characteristics of

individuals and do not concern the behaviour itself, nor the performance of the

worker. It is used to assess the internal and external factors, which give inspiration to

a person’s choice of behavioural action. Mitchell (1982) further summarises

motivation as the degree to which an individual wants and chooses to engage in

certain specified behaviours’

The concept of motivation is a certain personal driving force within individuals to

which to attempt a personal need or goal and is illustrated in Mullins (2007, p 251).

Looking at the needs and expectations of work, Farren (1989) states that there are 12

human needs in society, these are home/shelter, learning, economic, work/career,

well-being, social relationships, spirituality, environment/safety, community, leisure

and mobility. The needs and expectations of work can be divided up in number of

ways, such as physiological and social, intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors.

Focusing on the former, extrinsic are focused on monetary rewards or other tangible

rewards. Intrinsic motivations are related to psychological rewards, such as a sense of

achievement, positive recognition, being treated fairly and equally and receiving

appreciation.

8

F.W. Taylor, the father of Scientific Management, which was based on economic-

needs motivation, dissected the rational-economic concept of motivation. He believed

that workers were motivated by receiving the highest waged through working the

most efficient way. This is especially the case for people who are in occupations

where there is little enjoyment and little opportunity for career advancement, such as

the hospitality industry in jobs such as dishwashers, according to Mullins (2007) it

seems that these people are motivated primarily by money. Money as a sole motivator

to work depends on to what extent other personal circumstances and other

satisfactions they get from working (Mullins, 2007). However, there are many other

factors that contribute to motivation, such as the feeling of being recognised and

valued by other individuals. There are many theories to explain the nature of

motivation within the workplace.

Maslow’s (Insert 6: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) work in individual development

and motivation is primarily based on human beings always wanting more, and what

they desire to want is determined by what they currently have. Therefore, Maslow

developed a hierarchy of eight total ‘needs’ of the human being. Looking at Figure

7.5, these needs depicted need to be satisfied before the next need becomes the

motivator with only unsatisfied needs become the motivating needs.

Hertzberg and McGregor’s Two-Factor Theory (Insert 3 & 4 Hertzberg's Two-

Factor Theory) suggests that, upon interviewing both engineers and 203 business

accountants (these were selected to be interviewed because they played a dominant

role in the business world), the analysis carried out by Hertzberg depicted two major

factors which played an important role on motivation and work. Hertzberg at al

(1959) stated that satisfaction and dissatisfaction where not opposite extremes but two

separate factors caused by very difference ‘facets’ of work. This was known as the

two-factor theory on motivation and job satisfaction. The factors which are related to

the context of the job itself, its environment, policies, salary and relations with other

co-workers and which if were absent would cause dissatisfaction to everyone

concerned, and are classed as extrinsic to the job are called Hygiene Factors. The

other set of factors, which serve to motivate everybody within that work environment,

are known as motivators, which are intrinsic to the job and include recognition,

9

development, achievement, and responsibility. It is important to note that these set of

factors, depending in the strength, will achieve satisfaction or not satisfaction, but not

dissatisfaction. To summarise, hygiene factors are present to serve the absence of

dissatisfaction, whilst motivators are present to motivate the individual to improve job

performance and may achieve satisfaction but not necessarily dissatisfaction.

(Mullins, 2007 : Eracelous & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2009)

However, these studies were only directed towards professionals and not to ‘blue

collar workers’ according to provenmodels.com (2009)

Scientific Management and Morrisons

The second section will look at how each type of organisational behaviour, that is,

scientific management and motivation, is applied to the UK-based retailer Morrisons.

More specifically, the report will focus on their Market Street Seafood Preparation

Department as well as their Health and Safety Training each employee receives

during their induction period upon joining the Company.

With Morrison’s being an open-food retailer, there are many strict guidelines

concerning hygiene and Health and Safety in the workplace. Workers are handling

raw food on a daily basis; therefore, there are many legal obligations, which the

worker has to meet in order to be able to work on such departments. Furthermore,

there are also company procedures which have to be met regarding counter

merchandising and food preparation and, because Morrisons pack most of their fresh

products in-store, fresh food personnel have to adhere to strict packing methods using

a step-by-step guide which goes beyond the health and safety and regularity

requirements to the packaging of such foods, such as presentation of the food product,

the layout and labelling systems in order to achieve standardisation of such

presentation and mechanising factors. However, even still there are some legal and

regulatory requirements which merge in with such company policies in order to be

able to adhere to them and ensure that the retailer are performing to within the legal

framework. However, looking at the macro-environmental factors, which affect such

matters, is outside the scope of this report.

10

Hand Washing Procedure

The company have set out a standardised ‘hand washing procedure’, where there are

posters displayed at every hand wash basin, complete with pictures, a step-by-step

guide and at each stage of the process, displays a time on long each process should

take. However, many employees ignore this because employees have been washing

their hands competently and unaided from quite a young age, this can be seen as

slightly patronising and that few people will actually take it seriously. People would

have developed their own style of hand washing and would tend to ignore the hand

washing procedure set by the company.

Counter Merchandising Procedures

The company have set out a standardised layout of the merchandising counter which

each store must adhere to, whereby this ensures that the most expensive product lines

are within the customers direct eye line whereas the cheaper lines are to the sides of

what they call the ‘main crown’ which contains the ‘core range’ of seafood and this is

set in the middle of the counter.

Special/Additional Merchandising Procedures

All live shellfish have their own merchandising procedure where by preserving them

and that they are sold live. Each step is outlines below:

Place a gastro-norm tray buried in the ice-bed

Fill it halfway with ice

Place one layer of deli-wrap over the ice

Place the Oysters/Mussels cup-side down

Spray regularly

Food Preparation

Each fish must be cut and prepared in a specific way, which is referred to as the

‘Morrison's way’. The manual conducts a scientific approach over how each step

should be taken in order to achieve the finished product, whether it is a fillet, a steak,

a gutted, skinned, or a scaled fish. This scientific approach is taken in order to

11

maximize the amount of fish the worker sells and minimizes the waste of the fish left

on the cartilage. There are many ways to fillet or gut a whole fish, and workers will

find a way to prepare their stock in their own style. As a result, as it’s not ‘policed’ on

whether the worker prepares the food the ‘Morrison's Way’ or not, the standard

procedure does tend to be overlooked.

Packaging Procedures

As well as serving fresh seafood over the counter, there is also an express service

whereby customers do not have to wait to be served over the counter if there are large

queues. Workers can pack fresh fish to a set packaging specification whereby they

select the correct tray size, lay the fish out in the tray in the correct position, and place

the parsley in the correct position with the seafood. They then have to label this once

wrapped, placing the labels in the correct position on the packaging and, with their

manual, setting clear instructions through weekly bulletins as the promotions change,

on where any promotional labels should go as well.

Motivation & Morrisons

Motivation will concern looking at the firm as a whole about how motivation of their

employees applies to Morrisons.

In their ‘Values in Action’ section of the Annual and Financial Statements 2009

(2009), they state that ‘Our aim is to attract, motivate, and develop skilled people to

ensure that Morrisons becomes the food specialist for everyone’ Morrisons have

undergone a major transformation in their training programmes. Previously,

Morrisons have only provided in-house on-the-job training, which is still used today,

however, they now have introduced NVQ qualifications (The Grocer, 2009) in

hygiene and food preparation as well as their Fresh Food Academy which aims to

strengthen their position within the food industry as being the ‘food specialise for

everyone’ (Morrisons Annual and Financial Reports, 2009). This can be classed as a

Motivator component of Hertzberg two factor theory that concerns power,

recognition, and status of the employee. Another imitative which contributes to the

motivator factor are their ‘Leading the Way’ Programme which aims to develop

12

people internally to develop and promote opportunities for senior, management and

leadership careers within the business Furthermore, Morrisons also address the

hygiene factors through employee engagement practices and surveys which ask the

employee what could be improved about their working environment, company

policies and anything that are seen that could be improved and therefore, remove the

dissatisfaction for working in the current environment. According to Hertzberg, this

will not necessarily motivate the employee but just remove the dissatisfaction.

However, there has been a debate between academics as to whether hygiene factors

really contribute to job satisfaction (Furnham et al, 1999: Warr 1987). Maslow’s work

can also be applied to motivation through the employee achieving the different levels

of the hierarchy, accumulating to self-actualisation. According to a research paper

carried out by Eracelous and Chamorro-Premuzic (2008) hygiene factors can also be

interpreted to be associated to power and recognition. They also go on to states that

research suggests that people in lower positions, such as graduate level or non-

managerial level, are more concerned about their working environment than people in

higher positions. They suggested one reason for this was because people in higher

positions, who have achieve a higher level in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, take pay,

and working conditions for granted. (Warr, 1987). Tampoe’s theory on the motivation

of knowledge workers is those that apply their knowledge to a specific area in

practical terms to obtain a commercial or personal goal. He also stated that creativity

and innovation should be encouraged but restricted to realistic commercial

constraints. To apply this to the Morrisons, these is seen through their training

programmes and their Visions and Values, which are the components toe company

operate to and which encourage employees to find new ways of carrying out their

day-to-day operations and being creative (Insert 7: Motivating Knowledge

Workers)

Conclusion

The study of motivation is why people do what they do. Motivation, according to

Mullins, 2007) is a personal trait of organisational behaviour and may variables

influence the motivation of an individual through attaining personal goal, weather its

recognition and status, or impersonal goals such as pay and company perks. Many

models have demonstrated, in picture, form what motivation is created by many

academics and physiologists which look at the basic human instinctual needs right

13

through what is known as self-actualisation (Maslow, 1959) where the individual has

achieved everything there is to be achieved. Scientific management also comes into

play within the general operations of the business. Because of the legal and regulatory

‘red-tape’ which restricts their operational movements, this needs to be communicated

down to the workers who are the ‘face’ of the business and who have the power to

trade illegally of desired (i.e. illegal merchandising and price discrepancies). Gray

(1975) believed that there was a component of motivation of people known as

introverts, who were not only motivated by rewards, but were also motivated to avoid

punishment. To apply this theory to the real world, Morrisons have a disciplinary and

gravened procedure for employees who evidence against them for gross misconduct.

However, scientific management is also used to apply standardisation to job roles

within their stores and to ensure all operands are uniform with company expectations.

These types of can be seen in Insert 1: A number of approaches, creating a hybrid

model, where organisational behaviour, structure, technology, and decision-making

approached can be incorporated.

14

1 A Number of Approaches (Mullins, 2007)

15

2 Basic Model for Motivation

16

3 Hertzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

17

4 Hertzberg's Two-Factor Theory

18

5 F.W Taylor's Scientific Management Model

19

6 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Figure 7 Motivating 'Knowledge' Workers

20

References

Mullins, L.,2007. Management and Organisational Behaviour. 8th

ed. Harlow:

Pearson Education Ltd.

Wm Morrison’s Supermarkets Plc, 2009, Annual and Financial Statements 2009.

[Online] Available at http://www.morrisons.co.uk/

[Accessed 16th

September 2009]

Warr, P.B., Cook, J. And Wall, T.D, 1979. Journal of Occupational Psychology.

Scales for the measurement of some work attitudes and aspects of physiological well-

being, 24 (8), pp. 765-779

Westwood, R. Organisational Behaviour. South East Asian Perspective. Longman,

Hong Kong

Hertzberg, F., Mauser, B. And Snyderman, B.B., 1959. The Motivation to Work, 2nd

ed. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY

Furnham, A., 1992. Personality at Work; the Role if Individual Differences in the

Workplace, Routledge, London

Mitchell, T.R., 1982. ‘Motivation: New Directions for Theory, Research and Practice.

Academy of Management Review, 7 (1), pp. 80-8

Gray, J., 1975. Elements of a two-process Theory of Learning, Academic Press,

London

Furnham et al., 2008. Personality, motivation, and job satisfaction: Hertzberg meets

the big five. Journal of Management Psychology, 24 (8), pp. 765-79

21

Nyland, C., 1995. Taylorism and hours of work. Journal of Management History,

[Online]. 1 (2). Available at: http://www.emraldinsight.com/

(Accessed 5th

January 2010)

Taylor, F.W., 2008. Report of a lecture by and questions put forward to Mr F.W.

Taylor: a transcript. Journal of Management History, [Online]. 14 (3),

Available at http://www.emraldinsight.com/1751-1348.htm

Accessed 5th

January 2010)

Cossette, P., Audet, M (1992), "Mapping of an idiosyncratic schema", Journal of

Management Studies, Vol. 29 No.3, pp.325-47