Pluto Telecommunications Essay Example

satisfaction. He identifies two distinct types of factors that influence organizational behavior. These factors can be grouped into "hygiene factors," which include pay policy, job security, working conditions, and management style. While these factors can generate job satisfaction or dissatisfaction, they do not directly affect motivation and performance (Herzberg, 1987).

Herzberg's "job enrichment" model suggests that job satisfaction, motivation level, and performance are influenced by factors such as achievement, recognition, responsibility, growth, and advancement. These factors lead to intrinsic rewards like feelings of accomplishment, competence, and self-esteem which individuals have control over. In contrast, extrinsic rewards such as recognition, promotions, pay raises and status are dependent on others for their distribution.

In light of the aforementioned theories and when examining Pluto Telecommunications, it can be deduced that the level of task definition and specialization varies among departments. The Sales department possesses clearly outlined goals and performance-related incentives, whereas other departments lack a clear incentive program or even explicit objectives. Based on the information provided in the case study, it seems that the only motivating factor for these departments may be the hygiene factors.

There is limited information available regarding the impact of motivator factors on motivation and performance. Nonetheless, it is generally recognized that these factors are assessed in various ways. The Sales staff actively pursues additional sales opportunities due to the direct influence of individual performance on their success, sense of fulfillment, and substantial financial incentives. In contrast, Marketing lacks a similar feeling of accomplishment or a distinct bonus system as its outcomes rely on the overall company performance rather than individual achievements.

The factors that contribute to job satisfaction

at Pluto Telecommunications, such as pay policy, supervision style, social status, and working conditions, have a significant influence. These factors are particularly influential within the Sales department where employees receive high salaries, have more autonomy in decision-making, experience improved self-esteem and are aware of their social status. It is worth noting that these factors do not hold the same level of importance in the Marketing department. Therefore, it is essential to comprehend individual motivations and how they impact job satisfaction.

The job design and motivation are not enough to increase productivity; they require an organizational structure to coordinate activities. The organizational structure, through its chain of command, coordinates, motivates, and monitors employees. According to Buchanan and Huczynski (2010), the organizational structure performs three functions: 1. Defining the reporting formation, span of control, and hierarchy layers; 2. Arranging employees into departments; 3.

The text states that proper communication flow and further integration among departments are enabled through the management of employees in an organization. This management is done by creating formal groups, led by managers, who work towards achieving the organization's goals. Additionally, employees also create informal groups based on their psychological and social needs. The managers enforce authority to manage the formal groups, and according to Max Weber (1947), legitimate authority can only be applied in bureaucratic organizational form.

The bureaucracy was once seen as an effective way to direct employee efforts. However, its rigidity and formalization have had negative effects on motivation and performance. It also hinders collaboration across functions and stifles innovation and improvement within the organization. The case study of Pluto Telecommunications suggests that the firm

has a relatively flat organizational structure with further functional departmentalization.

The structure of Pluto is defined by a lack of collaboration between departments. The departments prioritize their own objectives over the organization's objectives (Child, 2005), resulting in each department becoming self-sufficient and independent. Each department has a unique structure: the Marketing team operates as a team, Sales is organized by customer divisions without a formal chain of command, and Customer Service follows strict bureaucratic principles in providing services.

The behavior and performance of an organization are significantly influenced by its organizational culture. Buchanan and Huczynski (2010) define this as including customs, values, beliefs, norms, and traditions that impact the thoughts, emotions, and actions of individuals. Ann Cunliffe (2008) emphasizes four reasons for prioritizing the importance of organizational culture.

1. Organizational culture helps the public to create opinion about the organization;
2. Organizational culture has impact on the overall performance.
3. There is a believe that the alignment of the organizational strategy and the organizational culture influences performance;
4. Organizational culture gives directions where the company should go;

According to Burman and Evans (2008), the management plays a vital role in establishing and nurturing organizational culture, which is essential for attracting and retaining skilled employees. By leveraging this culture, leaders can motivate employees to work more productively and efficiently towards achieving organizational objectives.

The leaders need to evaluate the current organizational culture and its influence on the firm's success. According to Martin (1992), the culture can be classified as integrated, different, or fragmented. An integrated

culture refers to a shared set of values throughout the entire organization. However, in complex organizations, it is more typical to have various groups or individuals with their own unique norms and values. In such cases, these groups tend to act in ways that support their specific goals and objectives.

The culture's fragmented perspective leads to conflict among groups because of their diverse interests and constantly changing loosely defined norms and values. This fragmentation is evident within Pluto's organization, where each department has its own subculture, reflecting a differentiation perspective of culture. Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service all pursue their individual interests and departmental objectives without aligning with the overall goals or strategy of the organization. Consequently, this lack of alignment resulted in lost orders, increased complaints, and a loss of customers.

Despite the Managing Director's aspiration for a harmonized culture at Pluto, she was unable to attain it. In addition, the senior leadership has discouraged mid-level managers from engaging in discussions regarding creative and effective business strategies. Given these circumstances, implementing and managing organizational change across all areas of Pluto Telecommunication's operations appears to be a possible alternative approach.

The advocates of organizational change propose that incremental organizational change should occur in a participative and collaborative environment. The significant amount of conflicts observed in Pluto Telecommunications may indicate that the company is expanding and therefore progressing through different lifecycles, necessitating a transition from one stage or mode of conducting business to another.

According to Leavitt's argument, crises are inevitable and can ultimately lead to improvement. Overcoming resistance to change is a crucial aspect of this process. Kurt Lewin (1951) further

explains that organizations have two types of forces that maintain their balance. The first set of forces keeps things as they are (restraining forces), while the second set promotes change (driving forces). By effectively combining these forces, organizations can go through three stages of change: unfreezing, changing behavior, and refreezing (Lewin, 1951).

The text highlights the driving and restraining forces within Pluto's organization. The driving forces include changing values towards work, social transformation, increased competition, and changing markets. Conversely, the restraining forces that need to be diminished include loss of status, inertia, and rigidity of culture. By considering Lewin's three-phase change model and the mix of driving and restraining forces, the following plan is recommended: During the unfreezing stage, senior management must create an atmosphere conducive to change.

The employees at any level are to promote the subsequent change. The intention is to reinforce the ever changing market conditions and raise awareness that the survival of the organization ultimately relies on everyone's collaboration. The foundation for participation and innovation of processes and procedures is to be created by the cooperative business environment. Changing organizational behavior is a multi-step process. Firstly, Pluto is to consider restructuring the organization and replacing bureaucratic control with a humanistic approach (Mayo, 1933).

The humanistic approach encourages the formation of effective working groups that achieve both their own goals and the organizational goals. It is important to implement this approach in all departments to prevent any structural disparities that may lead to dissatisfaction. It is advised that Pluto’s establish departmental objectives that are in line with the overall organizational objectives. Furthermore, efforts should be made to align the

various subcultures and discourage significant discrepancies in behavior by ensuring equal and integrated treatment for all departments, regardless of their hierarchical structure.

In the second phase of implementation, a well-established incentive program will be utilized to encourage and maintain the adoption of new behaviors by departments and individuals. This will involve empowering people and institutionalizing revised processes and procedures. Furthermore, similar criteria will be employed to incentivize departments throughout the organization. Although this phase will establish the new work culture, there remains space for ongoing improvement.

In conclusion, the analysis conducted provides a thorough evaluation of organizational behavior within Pluto Telecommunication by utilizing different theoretical concepts. The main focus was on gaining an understanding of the organization from within, without considering external factors. However, it is important to recognize that organizations are connected to their surroundings and are influenced by various environmental factors. Unfortunately, this information was not included in the case study.

The text discusses various aspects of organizational behavior in Pluto Telecommunication, including job design, motivation, organizational structure, work culture, and its change. It highlights areas where Pluto's leadership needs to align with the principles of three-phase organizational change according to Lewin. The implications of organizational behavior on performance are important and need to be addressed in a social, psychological, and contextual framework.