...ECM62EKM: Organisational Behaviour and HRM |Module size |15 Credits, Level M | |Total student study hours |150 | |Pre-requisites and co-requisites |None | |Excluded Combinations |None | Aims and Summary This module provides a thorough grounding in the theories of organisations, the processes of organisational designing, and the practice of human resource management. The first part of the module concentrates on the concepts of organisational structure and behaviour. The second part reviews the changing nature of the employment relationship and critically evaluates the contribution of HRM to organisational effectiveness and efficiency. Intended Module Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this module, the student will be able to: Demonstrate an understanding of theoretical concepts of organisation structure and behaviour, and the practice of organising. Critically discuss the relationship of HRM to the traditional practice of personnel management and industrial relations. Assess key areas of HR practice, such as strategic planning, resourcing, development...
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...Submitted on | 7th February 2014 | 17th April 2014 | | | Assignment title | Comparative study of Organisational Behaviour of two chosen organisations | LearningOutcome | Assessment Criteria | In this assessment you will have the opportunity to present evidence that shows you are able to: | Task no. | Evidence(page nos.) | LO1Understand the relationshipbetween organisationalstructure and culture | 1.1 | compare and contrast different organisational structures and culture | 1 | | | 1.2 | explain the relationship between an organisation’s structure and culture can impact on the performance of the business | 1 | | | 1.3 | discuss the factors that affect individual behaviour at work | 2 | | LO2 Understand differentapproaches to managementand leadership | 2.1 | compare the effectiveness of different leadership styles in different organisations | 3 | | | 2.2 | explain how organisational theory underpins the practice of management | 3 | | | 2.3 | evaluate the different approaches to management used by different organisations | 3 | | LO3 Understand ways of usingmotivational theories inorganisations | 3.1 | discuss the impact that different leadership styles may have on motivation in organisations in periods of change | 4 | | | 3.2 | compare the application of different motivational theories within the workplace | 4 | | | 3.3 | evaluate the usefulness of a motivation theory for managers | 4 | | LO4 Understand mechanisms fordeveloping effectiveteamwork in organisations...
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...critical analysis of the Queensland Health case study using related theories of organisational structure. This paper will also involve the use of critical thinking skills developed through the tutorial and lecture activities in MGB 200 (Leading Organisations. In further detail, organisational structure theories and research from the Queensland Health case study will be applied to identify and analyse the problem area discussed in the case study, and recommendations will be made for how to address this problem. The structure of this research paper will be expressed via reviewing the topic area of organisational structure (2.0 Literature Review), identifying/analysing the issues in the Queensland Health case study using the theoretical framework of organisational structure (3.0 Case Study), recommendations on how to improve the situation described in the case study (4.0 Recommendations) and finally a conclusion on the case study will be given (5.0 Conclusion). 2. Literature Review This section will provide a literary review on organisational structure. Four sections will be discussed in relation to the theories of organisational structure: (2.1) defining organisational structure, (2.2) types of structure, (2.3) the reasoning behind different structure types and (2.4) examples of different structures. 1. Defining Organisational Structure Organisational Structure: Key elements of organisational structure are as follows (Mintzberg, 1983): • Work specialisation ...
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...and/or manages HR related issues relating to an individual or a team. Has a clear understanding of the evaluation process and the solutions available. | | Band ThreeLeads a professional area acting as a consultant or partner, addresses key HR challenges at an organisational level for the medium and long-term. | | Band FourLeads and manages a professional area(s) and/or the organisation. Responsible for developing and delivering organisational and HR strategy. | | Professional Areas | The three areas of most interest and value to me are (for definition see over page): | I have this interest because… | I will develop my knowledge in this area in the following ways: | 1 | | | 2 | | | 3 | | | Professional Area | | MSc HRM Modules | 1 | Contemporary Issues in Human Resource ManagementThe aim of this module is to introduce the student to the theory and practice of human resource management and to critically examine contemporary local, national and international issues that impact on the changing role and function of human resource management. | 2 | Managing Change and Organisational LearningThe module aims to develop knowledge and skills with regard to organisational change and the design, delivery and evaluation of learning and development. | 3 | Recruiting and Retaining EmployeesThis module explores recruitment, selection and retention of employees. As such it explores policies, procedures and benefits that promote employee satisfaction and commitment...
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...Contingency theory is perceived by some scholars as a fragmentation of various ideals patched together into a theory of management accounting, nevertheless, it should be recognised that it provides a wealth of knowledge into contemporary management accounting practices. Contingency theory provides enhanced information to the individual which ultimately improves decision making and assists in achieving organisational objectives (Hamas and Lääts, 2002, p. 379). This theory has invaluably provided research evidence that are attributable to contemporary management accounting knowledge and designs. It has provided a profound method to adjust to ever changing external environments and the need for changes in internal factors (Otley, 1980, p. 413). Strengths of contingency theory style research Challenging the criticisms of contingency theory for being fragmentary and contradictory due to its methodological limitations, it is the failure of critiques in realising the many different forms of management accounting designs under the contingency approach and the relationships between those design which have perpetuated this idea (Gerdin and Greves, 2004, p.303). Attention should be shifted to the concepts under which contingency theory has been applied. Contingency theory in its simplest form highlights that an organisation’s structure is conditional upon contextual factors such as environment, strategy and size. One of its key strengths is a congruence approach that it represents...
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...your leadership competence In this assessment, you are required to undertake a critical analysis of your personal competence in leadership. You will do this by working through the four elements of this unit set out below. 1. Communicate organisational mission and goals 2. Influence groups and individuals 3. Build and support teams 4. Demonstrate personal and professional competence Your analysis needs to consider the range of theories and practices of leadership explored during the subject (ideally using a minimum of two theories and four chapters). Your work must strongly reflect the material covered in this subject - but our focus is on your view of its practical application. You may analyse leadership in your current or previous workplace, an experience of leadership you may have had in an organisation or, if this is not possible, your thoughts on effective organisational leadership. You need to ensure your analysis is critical: that is that it looks both at the strengths and weaknesses of leadership strategies and that evaluates the effectiveness of your own or other’s leadership approaches. Analysing organisational leadership Introduction In this task, we look at how we interpret and analyse organisational leadership. The task is specifically designed to help you in the development of your final assessment for Providing Leadership Across the Organisation. Before looking at some of the forms of analysis we might use, let us dissect the question...
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...A. Organization An organization is a consciously coordinated social entity with distinct boundaries which functions to achieve goals. It has an activity system linked to the external environment (it does not exist alone). An organization consists of people, things, knowledge and technologies. Modernists’ assumption of reality is objectivism and view organizations are real entities which exist in the objective world. Organizations are viewed as real entities driven by rationality to achieve efficiency and organizational objectives/goals. When organizations are well-managed, they are systems of decision and action driven by norms of rationality, efficiency and effectiveness for stated purposes. Similar to modernists, critical theorists’ ontology is also objectivism, and organizations are real entities which exist in the objective world. However, critical theorists view organizations as objects used by capitalists for the exploitation and alienation of workers and the environment. Symbolic interpretivists believe that reality is subjective, and only exists if we give meaning to it. As such, organizations are socially constructed realities which are constructed and reconstructed by their members through symbolically mediated interaction. Without its members giving meaning to it, an organization does not exist. Postmodernists suggest that reality is constructed through language and discourse. Organizations are ‘imagined’ entities whereby power and social arrangements are reinforced...
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...Introduction A manager must manage organisational behaviour. That means that he or she must have the capacity to • understand the behavioural patterns of individuals, groups and organisations, • predict the behavioural responses that will most probably follow managerial actions, and • use this understanding and these predictions to achieve control. The models or implicit theories that managers develop from everyday life to achieve the above mentioned results, are often inadequate because it depends on personal experience that may be narrow or static, and they vary in quality, sophistication and validity Therefore, a roadmap or guide for analysis and action is necessary. Any model influences the kinds of data we collect and the kinds we ignore; models guide our approach to analysing and interpreting the data we have; models help us to choose our course of action. We aim to present a model here that is build on the premise that for an organisation to be effective it subparts must be consistently managed to approach a state of congruence. It is an open systems model. A system is a set of interrelated elements and an open system is one that relates to its environment. It takes inputs from its environment, transforms them and produces outputs. General characteristics of systems As systems organisations display the following characteristics. Internal interdependence: Changes in one component of the organisation have repercussions for...
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...Essay Title: ‘Assess the state of the evidence in favour of HRM’s impact on organisational performance. Do the supporters of HRM’s strategic contribution have enough of a case?’ Word Count: 3,105 Abstract The evidence in favor of HRM’s impact on organizational performance is growing, however some doubt has cast on these studies. Thus, this essay suggests that the evidence of HRM-performance linkage is weak because theoretical and methodological issues remain among most of these studies. So, this essay will mainly analyze theories concerning on HRM and firm performance relationships and methodological problems in empirical studies. As there are flaws in both theories and the process of studying the relationships, this essay concludes that the evidence in favor of HRM’s impact on organisatioanl performance is weak. It seems that it is better to pay more attention to the HRM’s theories and methodologies in order to further the understanding the correlation between HRM and firm performance. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 4 2. Evidence of previous studies 5 3. Theoretical evidence 8 3.1 Categorizing theories 9 3.1.1 Strategic theories 9 3.1.2 Descriptive theories 11 3.1.3 Normative theories 11 3.2 Conceptual theories 13 4. Methodological issue 15 4.1 Measurement of HRM 16 4.2 Measurement of performance 17 5. Conclusion 18 1. Introduction Human resource managers have been worrying about the inability to prove their contribution...
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...SUMMARY “The structure of an organization consists of relatively fixed and stable relationships among jobs and groups of jobs. The primary purpose of organization structure is to influence the behaviour of individuals and groups to achieve effective performance.” Gibson, Ivancevich, Donnelly and Konopaske (2009:418). Organisational structure and job design are key determinants of employee job performance and satisfaction. The degree to which the employee fits into the designed job and structure will determine the quality of performance and job satisfaction of that employee. The small life insurance company has a functional organisation structure that is associated with high human cost, boring, insignificant and monotonous jobs. This type of structure has resulted in job dissatisfaction, high turnover and absenteeism. The researchers start the analysis of the case by studying the critical relationship between job performance, job design and organisational design, and contrast the views of Gibson et al. (2009), Colquitt et al. (2008), van Dyk (2005) and Autry (1996) amongst other authors. The analysis reveals that congruency between job design and organisational design ensures desirable job performance by matching the right employees with the right jobs. Quality of work life and job enrichment play a major role in employees’ job satisfaction and this makes them perform at their optimum best. The researchers go on to identify problems that the insurance company and employees face...
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...the changing environment and reducing conflicts. There is no one size fits all approach and the structure is decided by various factors such as the environment, resources available, competitive position etc. We have also learnt about the role of business environment in influencing strategy of the company. To what extent strategy depends on the environment and how strategy shapes the structure. We have analysed the McKinsey 7s model which is a tool that analyzes firm’s organisational design by looking at 7 key internal elements: strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff and skills, in order to identify if they are effectively aligned and allow organisation to achieve its objectives. We learnt about approaches to assess organisational effectiveness and the differences between effectiveness and efficiency. Efficient organisations are not necessarily effective. Change and complexity in the external environment have major implications for organisational design and management action. Organisational environment differs in terms of uncertainty and...
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...Critically evaluate the classical and human relations approaches of management theory. A central part of the study of organisation and management is the development of management thinking and management theory, applying theory can cause change in actual behaviour and managers reading the work of leading writers may see their ideas, attitudes and conclusions being influenced by management practise. The classical approach towards management theory was developed shortly after scientific management came into widespread use as a complementary set of ideas, as while scientific management initially focused on the micro level issue of job design, classical theory attempted to lay down guiding principles for the design and functioning of the whole organisation. The classical writers thought of the organisation in terms of its purpose and formal structure so emphasis was placed on the planning of work, the technical requirements of the organisation, principles of management and the assumption of rational and logical behaviour. This analysis is associated with the work by writers such as Taylor, Fayol, Mooney and Reiley, which will later be discussed in greater detail. The alternative approach known as human relations was developed during the 1920’s, the years of the great depression when greater attention began to be paid to the social factors at work and to the behaviour of employees within an organisation. The turning point in the development of the human relations movement came with...
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...of ECTS Credits: 15 7.5 Staff Member Responsible for the Module: Dr Yves Guillaume Work & Organisational Psychology Group Aston Business School, South Wing, Room 8017, Extension 3252 Email: y.r.f.guillaume@aston.ac.uk Dr Nicholas Theodorakopoulos Work & Organisational Psychology Group Aston Business School, South Wing, Room 8015, Extension 3472 Email: n.theodorakopoulos@aston.ac.uk Availability: See Blackboard or contact WOP Group Administrator Mrs Jenny Thomson, SW802, Extension 3257 Pre-requisites for the module: None. Mode of Attendance: On Campus Module Objectives and Learning Outcomes: Enhance understanding of different forms and levels of organisational change, using key concepts from organisational theory and practice. Introduce students to theoretical concepts and tools that can be used to manage effectively organisational change. To provide students with the most current, and best available scientific evidence on approaches of leadership effectiveness and development in organisations to enable students to critically evaluate the validity and usefulness of these approaches. To provide students with the knowledge and practical skills to enable them to work most effectively in organisations through leading and influencing At the end of the module students will be able to: Appreciate the organisational and environmental factors that drive organisational change. Understand different approaches and tools that can be used to implement change in organisations...
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... The advantages of differing views on organisational culture theory: the benefits of a multiparadigm approach The purpose of this essay is to outline the advantages and disadvantages of robust debate surrounding the field of organisational culture. To achieve this, this essay presents the benefits of robust debate which has led to multiple paradigms surrounding the field of organisational culture within organisational theory. It will then be demonstrated how the effect of multiple paradigms produces various, ever improving research approaches, and different research methods which contribute insights that refute, support or extend current knowledge (Lewis & Kelemen 2002). When examined, these techniques provide a context for change within management practice using a multiparadigm approach. It has been observed by many researchers that a single paradigm is inevitably limiting when attempting to uncover certain facets within organisations and can obscure others (Schultz and Hatch 1996). The apparent discourse within organisational culture theory has exemplified organisational theory to the extent that Mingers and Brocklesby (1997) praised organisational studies for exemplifying and encouraging multiparadigm interests within other fields of research (e.g. physics, biology). The benefits of a multiparadigm approach is argued to offer a midpoint between the extremes of academic theory; this has been achieved in organisational culture by constructing consistent representations...
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... The advantages of differing views on organisational culture theory: the benefits of a multiparadigm approach The purpose of this essay is to outline the advantages and disadvantages of robust debate surrounding the field of organisational culture. To achieve this, this essay presents the benefits of robust debate which has led to multiple paradigms surrounding the field of organisational culture within organisational theory. It will then be demonstrated how the effect of multiple paradigms produces various, ever improving research approaches, and different research methods which contribute insights that refute, support or extend current knowledge (Lewis & Kelemen 2002). When examined, these techniques provide a context for change within management practice using a multiparadigm approach. It has been observed by many researchers that a single paradigm is inevitably limiting when attempting to uncover certain facets within organisations and can obscure others (Schultz and Hatch 1996). The apparent discourse within organisational culture theory has exemplified organisational theory to the extent that Mingers and Brocklesby (1997) praised organisational studies for exemplifying and encouraging multiparadigm interests within other fields of research (e.g. physics, biology). The benefits of a multiparadigm approach is argued to offer a midpoint between the extremes of academic theory; this has been achieved in organisational culture by constructing consistent representations...
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