SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT (weight: 100%)
DEADLINE: 18 January 2021
Assignment title and further details
Based on the core thematic areas using relevant scientific articles and books around Organizational Behaviour, are required to prepare an individual essay of 3,000 words (excluding bibliography) on the following scenario
Scenario
‘Micro power’ is a U.K small firm that produces software programs for business organizations. It is run by a very enthusiastic and experienced owner, who takes all the key managerial decisions (e.g. creates corporate-level strategy). The company further employs a general director (i.e. he monitors the implementation of the chosen business strategy), 15 full-time software design engineers (i.e. they design the programs) and 5 full-time IT consultants (i.e. they sell the programs to the end users, they train them on how to use the programs and they offer after-sales support). All employees (both design engineers and consultants) have a strong educational background and expertise in software engineering and they are classified as highly-skilled personnel.
Work organization and business climate
The firm owner has adopted a very strict supervisory style in order to monitor closely all staff and business processes with the help of the general director. Employee participation in decision-making is essentially non-existent. All employees work from 9-5, Monday to Friday with overtime being a rather usual business practice. Althouth there is an extra bonus for overtime work, yet this causes several work-life balance problems. Employees work mainly in isolation at their own offices, which are fully equipped with all the required facilities and the most advanced technological equipment. Internal communication takes place predominantly in a formal way through scheduled personal meetings and e-mails. All internal communication is made available to the owner of the company as part of the quality monitoring process. As for the informal communication among staff members, this is generally discouraged in the company. Communication mostly goes ‘up the chain’ and ‘down the chain’ (to and from the owner) and there isn’t much horizontal communication across the business, resulting in lack of collaboration and unresolved conflicts.
Performance appraisal, training and rewards
Performance appraisal is conducted once a year by the owner of the company and the general director based on a list of pre-determined quantitative criteria (e.g. number of sales, number of programs developed). Each year, the best software designer (according to performance evaluation) is given the opportunity to get promoted to a consultant role (i.e. to earn a higher salary), whereas the best consultant gets a holiday package and a generous bonus. The compensation package in the company further includes a generous monthly salary (i.e. above the market average) with consultants getting a higher wage than software design engineers. In terms of staff training, there are frequent formal training seminars for both consultants and designers in order to develop further their job-related skills.
Key corporate values
The company has developed through years some core values and taken-for-granted assumptions (according to the owner’s beliefs), which are expected to be followed by all staff members. These are the following:
-The company should develop high-quality products for the end user.
-Continuous innovation is the key to business success.
-The ‘boss’ knows everything!
-In case of poor performance, shape up or you’ll get fired!
Problem
During the last year, designers’ productivity has declined significantly and this has caused serious problems to the firm in terms of competitiveness (e.g. lack of product innovation). This may also be a signal for future high staff turnover.
Your task is to write a 3,000 word essay (excluding bibliography) that critically analyses the roles of leadership, motivation, communication and culture at ‘Micro power’ using Organisational Behaviour theory, as well as provide specific suggestions on how problems could be resolved.
More specifically, you need to:
• Introduce the essay. In the foreword of your work, you may discuss the importance of Organizational Behaviour for organizations and outline the key aims of your essay. (200 words)
• Critically evaluate the trait-based theory of leadership, contingency theory and charismatic leadership (using relevant academic evidence). Then, identify the leadership style (s) that the owner uses at ‘Micro power’, and offer a critical analysis on whether this approach to leadership is effective. (650 words).
• Discuss what ‘Micro power’ could do to increase the level of work motivation among the workforce. Use motivation theory and evidence to support your points (650 words).
• Analyse how effective internal communication is at ‘Micro power’, and discuss how it can be improved using relevant theory (650 words).
• Discuss the key elements of Micro power’s culture and explain how they may help the Organization sustain its competitive advantage and how they may hinder its future development with reference to theories of Corporate Culture (650 words).
• Conclude the essay. Please note a good conclusion is not only a summary of the points made, but an opportunity to provide deeper insight into what has been said overall. (200 words).
