Organisational Behaviour Definition

Management and leadership are two key elements that are required for any type of organisation to be able to compete and perform well within the marketplace. Without these two elements performing smoothly together, the organisation will suffer and could fail. There is no one simple definition of management but many people perceive it as, the exercise of formal authority over the activities and performances of others, Mullins suggests that

“It is the responsibility of managers to manage, & to achieve results through the utilisation of their human resources & the efforts of other people. The way in which managers exercise their responsibilities is important. Consideration must be given to the effective management of people. Managers are only likely to be successful if they adopt certain basic managerial philosophies and an appropriate style of behaviour.” (Mullins. 2005: 236)

Again, there is no one simple definition of leadership, but is mainly associated with inspiration, and inspiring others, “It is a relationship through which one person influences the behaviour and actions of other people” (Mullins, 2005: 28) Within “The Edge” there seems to be a problem with the way the caf� is operating and managed. If this trend continues and certain areas are not corrected then it could lead the business to a possible collapse. The main part of the problem seems to be employee motivation. Some of the employees are not getting job satisfaction and are therefore unhappy within their role. Before we can create a new strategy we need to look at each employee and find the problem they are having within the organization. The next step would be to correct that problem and create a good working atmosphere where “The Edge” caf� is once again successful.

The Staff

Penny Phillips is a senior waitress who seems to have worked hard to better herself in order to attain an interesting job and to travel the world, her main ambition. Instead of this, she has found herself working for her brother, almost managing the caf� as Simon and Karen are away most of the time, and not gaining the recognition she feels she deserves. For Penny to feel more satisfied it would be sensible to find a new senior waitress, which would allow her to take a gap year to go traveling and obtain a job she desires. While searching for a new senior waitress, Penny could be given a new position, where she has increased pay and the actual authority to run the caf. Both suggestions would fulfil Penny’s needs, which from her background suggests, according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943) she wants to reach self-actualisation,

“Self actualisation needs, which are realized when the individual can experience a sense of personal growth, and achievement, of satisfaction and self-fulfilment through doing.” (Montana 2000:239) She can reach this stage by either achieving her original goal of traveling and then becoming a translator, or, by being given the recognition she deserves as manager of “the Edge” cafï

Sharon Freeman, like Penny, has taken the job as a temporary measure until she reaches her dreams of becoming an air hostess. This has led to similar problems, such as the need for self-actualisation, although with Sharon there is the added problem of the fact that she is often not looked upon, and feels responsibility is always passed onto Penny, due to the fact that she is the sister of the boss even though they have the same job title and role. This has led to a major problem of hostility between staff during working hours which leads to a bad atmosphere in the caf�. This could then explain the recent lack of customers and bad media reports preventing the business from moving forward.

A suggestion I made earlier about promoting Penny to a managerial position could then lead to more hostility and the possibility of Sharon resigning, so the best decision could be to employ a new senior waitress, let Penny follow her ambitions of traveling and give equal rights between Sharon and the new senior waitress when employed. Sharon seems to fit well into theory Y (McGregor 1960), in that she wants more from work than just money, and thrives on responsibility and achievement. This suggests she wants to be given a job she deserves and not get treated as second best or ignored.

Jayne Pitman is one of the most promising members of staff at the caf� as she is hardworking, eager to learn and even puts her job before her other commitments including her education. With her bubbly attitude she may also help to reduce hostilities and generally improve the atmosphere of the caf Jayne also seems to fit into theory Y of motivation as she does not seem to work primarily for money, but she also enjoys the challenges thrown at her and the experience she gains from work.

She seems very confident in her existing role having achieved her physiological needs through making money, (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 1960) and is working towards her self-actualisation stage by working towards a university degree. This however could change as she is continually choosing work over education which could lead to her failing her degree, and she could start resenting “The Edge.” This could easily be solved by employing another member of staff.

Sangita Patel is another member of staff who also fits theory Y, as she is grateful for the money she is earning, but unhappy due to having to give up a better job elsewhere. As she was a front of house manager at her old job she feels she should have more responsibility and freedom. Sangita needs to be given more responsibility before she becomes unhappier within her role, therefore due to her experience could be given a role within management. She could possibly take Penny’s role allowing her to leave, and work side-by-side Sharon sharing responsibilities. Wolfram Kline is very creative and was to start with highly motivated, he has many ideas due to his vast experience which could be explored and put to use. His lack of responsibility and input into new menus has caused his motivation to decline and he feels he is no longer happy within his role. This is shown by the amount of sick days he has recently had.