Management Question

The submission format is in the form of an academic poster. The academic poster should be written in a concise style using an appropriate template. You are required to make use of headings, paragraphs, and subsections as appropriate, and all work must be supported with research and referenced using the Harvard referencing system (or alternative system).

Please also provide a bibliography using the Harvard referencing system (or alternative system). Inaccurate use of referencing may lead to issues of plagiarism if not applied correctly.

The recommended word limit is 1,500 2,000 words, although you will not be penalised for going under or exceeding the total word limit.

Unit Learning Outcomes

LO4 Examine how power, politics and culture can be used to influence employee behaviour and accomplish organisational goals.

Transferable skills and competencies developed
  • Conceptual and critical thinking, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation
  • Research skills for evidence-based decision making.
  • Ability to be open, approachable, and authentic, and able to build trust with others.
  • Ability to seek the views of others and value diversity.
  • Ability to operate according to organisational values.

Vocational scenario

Role:

In your position as Graduate Trainee Store Manager, central office has raised concerns with you that organisational power and politics are negatively influencing the culture of the business. This is preventing some stores from achieving set business goals. As a Graduate Trainee Store Manager running an operation, you must be commercially aware and be responsible for delivering on-sales targets while delighting your customer at every interaction.

You have been asked to investigate how power, politics and culture influence employee behaviour and impact customer satisfaction and sales. Your investigation will be presented as an academic poster in your next Master Class training session and will focus on driving performance and productivity.

Assignment activity and guidance

You are to evaluate a variety of different organisational examples of how organisational, power, politics and culture affect employee behaviour.

You should make recommendations on how organisational power, politics and culture could be used to encourage and guide employee behaviour to help achieve sales and target goals, improve interaction with customers, and with visual merchandising and stock presentation.

You should consider:

  • different perspectives of power
  • the occurrence of organisational politics
  • levels of culture and how national culture can influence management and employee behaviour.
  • the combined effect of power, politics and culture on behaviour and the accomplishment of organisational goals.

Recommended resources.

Please note this is not a definitive list of resources but it will help you to start your research by acting as a starting point of reference.

Weblinks

Business News Daily. Are Workplace Politics Destroying Your Business? Available at: https://

Hofstede Insights. National Culture. Available at: https://hi.hofstede-insights.com/national- culture

MindTools: 7 Ways to Use Office Politics Positively. Available at:

https:/pages/article/newCDV_85.htm

HN Global

HN Global (2021) Reading Lists. Available at: https://hnglobal.highernationals.com/learning- zone/reading-lists

HN Global (2021) Student Resource Library. Available at: https://hnglobal.highernationals. com/subjects/resource-libraries

HN Global (2021) Textbooks. Available at:

Journal articles

Giovanni Di Stefano, Maria Gaudiino. (2019) Workaholism and work engagement: how are they similar? How are they different? A systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 28:3, pages 329-347.

Anthony M. Grant (2017) The third generation of workplace coaching: creating a culture of quality conversations, Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 10:1, 37-53, DOI: 10.1080/17521882.2016.1266005

Morgan J. Tear, Tom W. Reader, Steven Shorrock, Barry Kirwan, Safety culture and power:

Interactions between perceptions of safety culture, organisational hierarchy, and national culture, Safety Science, Volume 121, 2020, Pages 550-561,

Zawadzki, M. (2018). Dignity in the Workplace. The Perspective of Humanistic Management.

Central European Management Journal, 26(1), 171-188.

Textbooks:

Buchanan, D. and Huczynski, A. (2019) Organizational Behaviour. 10th Ed. Harlow: Pearson

Mullins, L. J. (2019) Organisational Behaviour in the Workplace. 12th Ed. Harlow: Pearson