Organization Behaviour - Tesco Vs Siemens AG

Organization Behavior Syed Zafir Momin

REPORT

TITLE

ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR

SIEMENS AG AND TESCO PLC

PROGRAM

TITLE

MQP – JAN 2014

WRITTEN BY SYED ZAFIR MOMINWORD COUNT 6424

DATE 5th June, 2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTINTRODUCTION.............................................................3LO1 – 1.1 – ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE AND CULTURE...........................4LO1 – 1.2 – IMPACT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF A BUSINESS......................7LO1 – 1.3 – FACTORS INFLUENCE INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR AT WORK...............8LO2 – 2.1 – THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP STYLES IN SIEMENS AG AND TESCO PLC:..........................................................10LO2 – 2.2 – HOW ORGANIZATION THEORY UNDERPINS THE PRACTICE OF MANAGEMENT WITHIN SIEMENS AG.......................................................11LO2 – 2.3 – EVALUATION OF THE MAIN APPROACHES TO MANAGEMENT THEORY......12LO3 – 3.1 – THE IMPACT THAT DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP STYLES MAY HAVE ON MOTIVATION IN ORGANIZATIONS IN PERIODS OF CHANGE........................12LO3 – 3.2 – THE APPLICATION OF DIFFERENT MOTIVATION THEORIES WITHIN THE WORKPLACE...............................................................14LO3 – 3.3 – THE USEFULNESS OF MOTIVATION THEORIES FOR MANAGERS IN SIEMENS AG......................................................................15LO4 – 4.1 – MECHANISMS FOR DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK WITHIN SIEMENS AG........................................................................16

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LO4 – 4.2 – FACTORS THAT MAY PROMOTE OR INHIBIT THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK IN SIEMENS AG........................................17LO4 – 4.3 – EVALUATION THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON TEAM FUNCTIONING WITHIN SIEMENS AG..............................................................19CONCLUSION..............................................................20REFERENCING.............................................................21

INTRODUCTION

What is Organization Behavior and Culture?

Organization behavior is the study of specific or group behavior and

arranging them precisely in the organization structure to progress in

organizational performance and effectiveness.

“Organization behavior is concerned with the study of the behavior of people within an

organizational setting. It involves the understanding, prediction, and control of human behavior”

(Mullins, 2010)

Organization Culture is a concept that has developed from anthropology. In

simple words by Atkinson (2006) “How things are done around here”. It is based on3


traditions, values, polices, beliefs and attitude along with development of

the individual for everything we do and think in an organization. Atkinson

(1990p6-10)

This report will compare Siemens AG and Tesco PLC in contrast to their

organizational structure and culture. It will highlight the difference

between the tall and flat structure. We will also throw light upon the

different culture these companies have adopted in according to their

structure. It will also discuss the possible changes the organization can

adopt to enhance their performance and efficiency.

Siemens AG is a group founded in 1847 in Berlin. Its founder was Werner von

Siemens. The Headquarters are in Munich and Berlin, Germany. Mr. Gerhard

Cromme is the President & CEO of the conglomerate. The group operates in 4

major sectors: Healthcare, Energy, Industry and Infrastructure & Cities. It

generates annual revenue of 75.88 Billion Euro and total assets of 101.93

Billion Euros. Mr. Gerhard is also a chairman of the supervisory board of

Siemens AG. There are 20 members in the supervisory board. As per the

German Codetermination Act the board consist of half of the company

shareholder and the other half company employee. Siemens AG presently has

362,000 employees working around the globe in different division.

Tesco PLC was founded in 1919 in Burnt Oak, Middlesex. Its founder was Jack

Cohen The Company has diversified its business in Grocery, Books, Clothing,

Electronics, Furniture, Petrol, Financial services and Telecom. The board

consist of Sir Richard Broadbent who is the chairman with 2 executive

directors and nine independent non-executive directors of the

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organization .Its revenue is 70.89 Billion with assets 50.12 billion pounds

(2013/14).

LO1 – 1.1 – ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE AND CULTURE

Organizations structure is the hierarchical arrangement of lines of power,

rights, duties of an organization and communications. Organizational

structure determines how the roles, power and responsibilities are

allocated, controlled and coordinated. It also describes the flows between

the different levels of management. Organizations have two kind of

structure tall and flat structure as given in diagram 0-1. Tall structure

organizations have many levels of hierarchy with narrow span of control in

which the managers have very few staff under them and there supervision is

very control being tall structure the line of communication is long, making

the firm unresponsive to change. Flat structure organizations have few

levels of hierarchy and line of communication is short making it more

responsive to change. The span of control is wide as the tasks must be

vicarious and managers can feel overloaded. In tall organization the

majority of decisions are taken by senior managers and then passed down the

organization hierarchy, but in flat organization the authority is down the

chain of command thus reducing the speed of decision-making.

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Diagram 0-1

The organization cultures are four types as reviewed by Mullins (2002) the

power culture, role culture, task culture and person culture. Mullins (2002)

reviews Handy’s (1993) development on Harrison’s (1972) ideas and identifies four main types of

organisational cultures:

1. Power Culture – It concentrates power to very high level or a small group and its controlled

like a web. It needs few rules and little bureaucracy.

2. Role Culture – It is more based on the power of the person who delegates within a highly

defined structure.

3. Task Culture – In this the power is derived from a certain team with the expertise to execute

against task. This culture is confined to small team where people are skilled and specialized in

there own area of expertise. This is often used in Matrix Structure.

4. Person Culture – It is formed when an individual believes he believes himself superior to the

organization. Since the concept of the organization suggest that a group of like-minded

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individual pursue organizational goals. Some professional partnerships operate well as person

culture, because each partner brings a particular client or expertise to the firm.

Siemens AG is a conglomerate (It is combination of two or

more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under

one corporate group), which operates as a flat structure with little mid

level management in the hierarchy. It believes in skilled workers being

more productive when they are directly involved in the process of decision-

making process. It operates in wide span of control with low level of

hierarchy. It has been following this structure to promote its employee

through a decentralized decision making process. As eliminating the mid

level management promotes comments and feedback of the baseline staff by

reaching higher management to be acknowledged. This exhibits that Siemens

AG follows a Task and Personal culture across the organization with its

high performance team. The issues in flat structure are have so many

different division in same location that the culture varies, as in tall

structure we have seen the culture is very similar as they all are under

same roof.

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(Siemens AG – Flat Organization Structure)

Tesco PLC is a public listed company thriving on a tall organization

structure. In the company all employees are closely supervised, as the span

of control is narrow and each manager is responsible for a small number of

employees. As given in 1.1 its structure, it is remote to change and is

more internalized. In Tesco management structure and responsibilities of

each manager are clear and defined. It also demonstrates power and role

culture across its tall structure organization. As in tall organization

success of every employee and manager is clear therefore, tall organization

structure has clear promotional ladder and reward. As we are aware Tesco

PLC has lost its market share due to its tall structure and according to

Harrison (1972) its power and role culture unable to adapt the market

trends. As we can see in the diagram below the employee are closely

monitored and number of people reporting to one manager are very less

compared to Siemens AG.

(Tesco – Store - Tall Structure)

LO1 – 1.2 – IMPACT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF A BUSINESS

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Siemens AG being a flat structure organization thus have a strong culture

and with less middle level managers. The employee communicates directly to

the managers. The ideas with the help of the managers are acted upon

promptly. They support new innovation and spend a lot in research and

development to provide innovative products. The employees and managers have

full control of every task that is to be accomplished. As both of them stay

close and therefore respond quickly to the change in demands and

requirements of the customers. It also empowers their staff for effective

delegation. The culture is more democratic, providing flexible working

environment and dress code. Staff’s loyalty is also very high as they enjoy

working. The company is known for deploying matrix projects. As they have

highly skilled professionals, it helps them to pull their best resources as

per the project requirement. Being a flat structure organization it follows

a person culture around the organization.

In Tesco PLC being a tall structure organization they have weak culture.

The company has narrow span of control with more empowered employee. As the

manager have very few staff to manage and employees are given rules and

regulations they need to comply upon. They also relay on the instructions

given by their manager in charge. Their decisions take place at top

management. The company has task culture and as they are subject to certain

task and command there is low level of motivation. The company is slow in

adapting a change. Due to its tall structure it deploys matrix team across

its levels. These projects consist of specialist team that specializes in

their core field as given in diagram 0-2. Matrix structure supports tall

structure acting flatter with task orientated project teams. Tall structure

being internally focused and maybe missing market opportunities whilst

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flatter structures have motivated workers who support more external focus

and seek market opportunities.

(Diagram 0-2)

LO1 – 1.3 – FACTORS INFLUENCE INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR AT WORK

The factors that influence persons behavior at work is because when his Job

roles and responsibilities conflicts with his behavior, decision making,

taking initiatives, acting upon responsibilities, and delegation. Siemens

AG follows “Peoples Excellence” one of the most important strategy based on

Responsibility + Being trusted = Engagement, commitment and high

performance. Focused on real motivation comes from within an individual,

valuing their efforts. Siemens AG believes their people are a source of

competitive advantage. This kind of strategy shows that it recruits right

people for right job that will eventually develop both the organization and

individual. Chief Executive Officer of Siemens, Mr.Klaus Kleinfeld said in a Lecture in

Wharton University “In today’s world, knowledge travels faster than ever before, so if you are talking about a

sustainable competitive advantage, probably the only one is the quality of the people you have and the way they

interact as a team,” This indicates that perception of the management of Siemens

AG believes empowering their employees with ability to take decision brings

positive and productive results. Siemens AG has taken stress as a factor

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that destroys individual’s performance and health. They provide challenging

activity like in Great Britain they are “High performance Partner” of

Rowing Team. This activity keep people positive and also motivates them to

take new challenges. They also provide Private health care program to make

sure they are at their best health. Siemens AG employees are highly

motivated. As being able to work under less supervision and being well

acknowledged. As defined by Chartered Management Institute “Motivation is the

creation of stimuli, incentive and working environments that enable people to perform to the best of

their ability. The heart of motivation is to give people what they really want most from work. In return

manager should expect more in the form of productivity, quality and service”. Different

Motivational theory is explained in contrast to the organizations in LO3-

3.2. In an article by Telegraph it stated that Siemens emotional

intelligence is interconnected with leaders whose revenue and growth

figures were strong and these leaders put a premium on collaboration and

teamwork. Emotional intelligence is the ability to motivate oneself and

persist in the face of frustration. It is a concept that has been

identified as a key aspect of managing people efficiently. (Coulson-Thomas, C.

1998). That shows that Siemens provides great benefits and bonus to there

team who are able to demonstrate different skills. The employees in the

organization are more Extroverts. Extroversion meaning in dictionary is

“the act, state, or habit of being predominantly concerned with and

obtaining gratification from what is outside the self”. A person having

falling under these abilities is called Extrovert. Extroverts are humans

that tend to enjoy human interaction they tend to be enthusiastic,

talkative and assertive. They also have strong self-confidence with a

charisma. They can be at times controlling but have a very sharp in

interpersonal skill. They are the kind of people prefer to work in Sales,

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Marketing or Business Development they are not good in back office jobs. As

they have the flexibility to work in less supervision. As given in McGregor

Theory (explained in LO3-3.2), It clearly implies that Siemens AG

management follows theory Y. As theory Y states that employee with self-

direction and self control in service of their objectives that they are

committed. It also implies motivation occurs at the relationship, honour

and self-actualization level as at the psychological and security level.

In contrast to Tesco PLC believes “Everyone welcome” and believes if a

person is passionate, striving, driven, committed, willing, determined,

motivated, adaptable, flexible and devoted can work with Tesco PLC. They

believe that their training and development program after graduation can

help any individual to work with them. On the other hand the employee at

Tesco PLC are more Introverted due to its task culture. Introversion

meaning in dictionary is “the state of or tendency toward being wholly or

predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life”. A

person falling under these qualities is called Introvert. Introverts are

shy people that are less inclined to teamwork. Their actions and decisions

are very insular. The perception of the management in the Tesco PLC

believes that all employees are obliged to their task under their norm and

all innovative ideas are share and discussed in the top management. The

company’s approach is Theory X of McGregor believing that average person is

lazy and has an inherent dislike of work. It also says that average person

avoids responsibility, prefers to be directed and lacks ambition and

values. Tesco PLC has different approach toward their employees’ loyalty.

After completion of 6 months it provides a privilege card that provides 10%

discount and club points. It also provides a package with health care,

Pension and a program called supporting your life style. Tesco PLC has been

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focusing on international business in China and America. Due to lack of

concentration on its cash cow Great Britain it’s recorded that it has

fallen 1% in the past 20 years. Lack of support to employee has made them

less motivated at work, which has made the consumers to move to

competitors. Stress is a complex and dynamic concept; it is caused by

various factors individual difference, types of personality if a person in

introvert or extrovert, nature of job and occupation. Stress is mainly

caused when a wrong person is assigned to a wrong job. If an introverted

person is assigned to extrovert environment as he will be unable to

entertain his job due to his personal traits. It has been a challenge as

these employees are supervised very closely and are not given any room to

take decision on their behalf. The organizations culture is the main factor

that influences the stress among the individual. Understanding the employee

and assigning to his job can create a positive change. Also implementing

Kaizen a Japanese principal “Continues improvement” can help individual to

lower the stress level and be more productive, As this process is more of

on job learning and can improvise along with the span of time.

LO2 – 2.1 – THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP STYLES IN SIEMENS AG AND TESCO PLC:

Leadership styles can be recognized by how authority is used, how a leader

relates to others, employees minds and efforts are used and how a leader

communicates. Leadership and Management are often interrelated as

management is used for employee being given certain roles and targets with

a team to accomplish it, on the other hand leadership is a part of a job

where an individual is able to demonstrate willingness and enthusiastic

behavior for its follower. An effective leader has the ability to manage

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and communicate his team to capture his vision as there vision. Leadership

is evaluated on how supporting or directing is his style.

Kurt Lewin and colleagues did leadership decision experiments in 1939 and

identified three different styles of leadership, in particular around

decision-making. The three kinds of leadership style are Autocratic,

Democratic and Laissez-faire. Autocratic style is more of directing the

employee it is one-way communication. It is based on strict instructions in

authoritarian way of giving instruction to the employee. The employee is

obliged to certain rules and is confined to complete their task, as they

are not highly skilled. Democratic style is more liberal toward monitoring

their employee and believes they are able to demonstrate quality of work if

they are given direction. They are highly skilled. Siemens AG being a flat

structure organization with a task and personal culture has a democratic

leadership style as the focus of the power is more with in the group a

whole and there is greater interaction within the group. The Leadership

functions are shared among the members of the group; Manager is more part

of the team then some one more superior. In the organization the decision-

making and implementing of the system is worked in collaboration. As the

company is more involved in creative thinking and new ideas are support

with possibility of failure. It believes that without certain degree of

risk the leverage to develop new ideas is not possible. As the teamwork

independently on the share in accordance to the group task are shared based

on individual specialization. This democratic style has enabled the team to

adapt to change and new innovative technology. “Siemens Leadership

Excellence” is development program for leaders to achieve even higher

expectation than Siemens. It is designed to prepare leaders for challenges

ahead. This program is designed to provide time to reflect on leadership

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roles. It also focuses on higher-order leadership skills away from day to

day business. It believes that people are like its technology and

innovation and are a source of competitive advantage. To make the most of

the advantage, Siemens makes sure that its employee work on company’s

heritage of innovation. Tesco PLC is a tall structure organization with a

power and role culture it runs a very autocratic style. It has adapted its

style because its business is supply driven. Their major employees are

confined to their task and role. The levels of people employed are not

developed and require sense of direction. Their risks are very high as it

is dealing directly with end user a minor factor can make people move to

different suppliers. Its culture is long embedded and is very difficult to

change. Major issues with this leadership are even after seeing a threat it

is unable to react to the change making it at risk. As we have seen Tesco

PLC has failed to grow in China and America. It has also recorded 1%

downfall in profits in the U.K, Which has been a cash cow for them. In

comparison Siemens AG has worked on flat structure so the risk is very

minimal as they are more compliant to change. Also, Siemens AG always

deploys matrix project as to minimize the risk of failure in any possible

segment.

LO2 – 2.2 – HOW ORGANIZATION THEORY UNDERPINS THE PRACTICE OF MANAGEMENT WITHIN SIEMENS AG

There are different framework to analyze the kind of approach the

organization takes the basic are the classical (Scientific management and

bureaucracy), Human relations, systems and contingency. In accordance to

classic management theory it emphasized issues such as the unity of

commands, organizational specialization, span of control and the

application of scientific management as this factors relates to McGregor X 15


Theory. In Systems approach it sees and organization as a whole and a part

of larger organization. The idea is that any part of an organization’s

activities affects all other parts. On the other hand Human relation

emphasizes that the needs of workers should be satisfied in order for them

to be more productive in the organization. Contingency takes the view that

the best style of leadership depends upon the factors active in the

specific situation. However, We cannot use classical management approach in

Siemens AG as this approach is good in tall structure organization with

McGregor’s X. As Siemens AG adopts Human Relations as it relates to

McGregor’s Y theory, but we have also seen contingency in Siemens AG in

International offices. As the group structure remains the same the culture

varies due to the situation and the urbanity. Siemens believes that if

needs of the individual are not satisfied it demotivates them to perform

there task effectively. It uses talent management to match the talent with

the task to produce competitive advantage. Talent management helps them to

enable job enrichment and job enlargement. Their employees are provided

with the guidance and support to achieve their full potential. Therefore

productivity will be effective and efficient. This approach persuades the

management into adopting a more positive job in leadership. It also

contributes to key improvement in physical working environment for the

workers. (Mullins, L.2013)

LO2 – 2.3 – EVALUATION OF THE MAIN APPROACHES TO MANAGEMENT THEORY

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As we have seen scientific management, that is also called Taylorism.

Taylorism as the first form of scientific management, which was followed by

new iterations; thus in today's management theory, Taylorism is sometimes

called Classical. Scientific management’s application was contingent on a

high level of managerial control over employee work practices. This

necessitated a higher ratio of managerial workers to labourers. The trouble

in this management was there was no differentiating of intelligent, detail-

oriented management this misguided micromanagement caused interpersonal

conflict between workers and managers. As we have seen in LO1-1.3 the

different factors that are responsible for human behaviour at work. As we

are aware all individual are different from each other the most efficient

way of working for one person may be inefficient for another. Also the

economic interest of workers and management are hardly identical. Example:

Some people are motivated with monetary and some are with appreciation and

added benefits. So the application of Scientific Management in Siemens AG

can create resentment and sabotage the workforce as we have seen in LO2-

2.2. Considering Siemens AG management process shapes its managers to

understand their people’s human behaviour, as their perception is theory Y

of McGregor. They also emphasise on good human relation as it increases

productivity by motivation. They promote motivation, leadership, two way

communication and group dynamics. As these are the factors are the core of

Human Relation. In Tesco PLC the management is classical as there

perception is theory X of McGregor, Scientific Management approach is more

relevant as there is strong control of management on the employee. As the

employee is more tasks oriented they are not motivated to bring new ideas

or innovation, as they are not high skill labour.

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LO3 – 3.1 – THE IMPACT THAT DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP STYLES MAY HAVE ON MOTIVATION IN ORGANIZATIONS IN PERIODS OF CHANGE

Leadership is the process of social inspiration in that a person can

procure the assistance and support of others in the accomplishment of a

common task. Management styles are divided in the main categories of

autocratic, paternalistic, and democratic. Robert Tannenbaum and Warren H.

Schmidt (1958, 1973) argued that style of leadership is dependent upon the

prevailing circumstance; therefore leaders should exercise a range of

management styles and should deploy them as appropriate. As in Blake Mouton

Managerial Grid it focuses on two kind of leadership people oriented

leadership and task oriented leadership, as we have seen in the diagram 0-3

below. Task oriented leader will take all the project and mark the time

frame and appoint the job to the concerned, but a people oriented leader

will discuss the project with the team to find the know-how of the person

then make the time frame. If you prefer to lead by setting and enforcing

tight schedules, you tend to be more or task-oriented. If you make people

your priority and try to accommodate their needs, then you’re more people-

oriented.

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Diagram 0-3

As we know that Siemens AG follows a democratic leadership style with its

high performance culture and it’s employee are highly motivated. As in

Blake Mouton Managerial grid the style of leadership can have impact on

staff motivation, Siemens leadership is high in people and production

oriented. As the organization takes people as there competitive advantage

like their technology and innovation. In a period of change if Siemens AG

implements a dictatorial styles that is an authoritarian leadership style

can affect the employees in various ways. As this style follows a one-way

communication the high skilled employee will not be able to demonstrate

their view, as there will be no room for discussion. As the employee will

be subjected to set rules and will be rewarded on individual output, there

will be conflicts in teamwork. As all these factors will de-motivate the

employee it will drive them to look for different opportunities. If

transformational leadership is applied it will generate great awareness of

the importance of the purpose of the organization to understand the change

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to give outcomes. It will encourage them to excel their own self- interests

for the sake of the organization and its team. As transformational

leadership is compromised of idealized influences, inspirational

motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration. As all

these factors favors the organization behavior of Siemens AG it will be the

most idealistic approach to motivate its staff in a period of change.

LO3 – 3.2 – THE APPLICATION OF DIFFERENT MOTIVATION THEORIES WITHIN THE WORKPLACE

As chartered management institute has explained motivation as given in LO1-

1.3. It is the driving force within a person that persuades them to achieve

some goals in order to fulfill some need or expectation. The basic

motivation model explain that Performance = functions (ability X

motivation). There are two kinds of motivation: Extrinsic motivation that

relates for rewards that are tangible like a salary raise, the work

atmosphere and condition at work. Intrinsic motivation is more related to

‘psychological’ rewards things that are intangible such as opportunity to

use once talent, sense of challenge and attainment and being treated in a

caring manner.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs:

Maslow suggested that human needs are arranged in levels of importance. He

suggested that people have wants and these wants will increase based on

what they have attained and fulfilled. It starts with physiological needs,

safety, Love, Esteem and Self-Actualization. It means that first human

looks for basic need like hunger and thirst, sleep, sensory pleasure and

sex. Then it’s the safety of being protected from all danger and any

threat. Thirst level is the Love or social need is friendship, affection it20


is giving and receiving love. After that, is Esteem it is like ego the

desire for strength, confidence and freedom. The highest level is Self-

Actualization, when lower level needs are no more motivator. Next level is

demand satisfaction. As all organization provide basic salary with living

allowance, Housing allowance and Health care. The Basic salary + living

allowance is for physiological need. Housing + Heath care is for safety

need. The social need is given with the team or peers and management.

Esteem is mainly fulfilled with the respect and attention is given in an

organization. Self-Actualization is when a person is able to self-motivate

he has efficient perception of reality. It is when a person is stronger and

calmer then ever. (Maslow, 1968,1970)

Hertzberg two factor theory:

Frederick Herzberg (1966,1987) theory is a one step further of Maslow’s

Theory. His theory proposed that there were two factors: Hygiene factor, In

this he focused that absence of interpersonal relations, supervisor,

company policy, working condition and job security can promote

dissatisfaction. It was also referred as context of work. Motivation

Factor, It makes up a range leading from no satisfaction-to-satisfaction.

These motivators are the job being inspiring, achievement, identification,

and accomplishment. As in Siemens AG both the factors are given great

importance as talent management along with leadership style of management

are key aspect to motivate.

McGregor Theory X and Y:

Theory X and Theory Y are based on motivation in human behavior. This

theory is based on two extreme possible behaviors. Theory X organization

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the workers are lazy, unmotivated and will avoid work at all possible ways.

They are inherently dislike work thus close supervision is required for

productivity. A narrow span of control is needed in every level of the

hierarchical structure. Theory X manager tend to end in blaming someone.

Their only motivation is money. These people lack ambition, dislike

accountability and preferred to be led. These people are desire security.

McGregor recognized that X Type workers are in fact usually in small number

and yet in mass organizations such as large-scale production they are

unskilled workers. Theory Y organization the workers are self-motivated and

thrive on responsibility. The Management style is more participative and

they involve employee in decision-making. Y Type workers are encouraged to

develop expertise and make suggestion. The appraisal is frequent and

encouraged to uplift their motivation. Y Type of worker is skilled and

their approach is well developed. This kind of worker is mostly found in

flat structure organization that believes that they are creative and able

to manage their skills to benefit the organization.

(McGregor, D. 1960).

As in Siemens AG we have seen that all Maslow’s level of hierarchy and

Herzberg Theory is more relevant. They have more of Y type employee, as it

has narrow span of control. They are self-motivated and are skilled

workers. The managers in Siemens AG are more a part of the team then a

dictator. The organization uses different approaches for appraisal of its

workers.

LO3 – 3.3 – THE USEFULNESS OF MOTIVATION THEORIES FOR MANAGERS IN SIEMENS AG

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Mangers in Siemens AG uses Herzberg theory as this theory covers all the

factors of Maslow’s theory and adds more to the context of job. Hygiene

Factors, Managers can adopt to improvise policy to provide job security.

They can develop vibrant work condition that is more suited to their

employees’ comfort. Managers can organize challenging activities that are

teamwork oriented, as it will develop trust between their peers and

supervisors. As these factors don’t satisfy the employee but lack of these

factors can create job dissatisfaction. As for the motivational factors

management can make there task more challenging. They should provide room

for achievement and gain their recognition in the organization. As we have

seen in 3.2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs in contrast to managers at Siemens

AG are using there human resource development (HRD) strategy that focus on

employee training courses and if the employee is interested in different

kind of work. The HRD strategy uses different methodology to make their

employee life better and balanced. In Maslow’s Hierarchy it is the self-

actualization state, they believe if a person is in this state he will be

able to self-motivate and grow with organization. In conclusion, as these

factors can develop an individual but every employee has different things

that motivate a common ground cannot be used. They need to focus on

individual person and understand his driving force. As in Siemens AG

employees are type Y, high skill labors and require more than just basic

necessities.

LO4 – 4.1 – MECHANISMS FOR DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK WITHIN SIEMENS AG

To understand effective teamwork, we need to know the difference between

team and group. Group in the workplace usually comprises three or more

employee who recognize themselves as a distinct unit or department, but who

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actually work individualistically of each other to achieve their

organizational goals. Team comprises of three or more employee who may come

from different departments within a business, but they collaborate together

over time to achieve some set purpose or project. Duchanan and Huczynski

said “team is a small group of people with complementary skills, who work together as a unit

to achieve a common purpose for which they hold themselves collectively accountable”

(Duchanan and Huczynski, 2013). Group consists of two types formal and

informal teams. Formal group is made by an organization to serve a task or

a project but informal team is to satisfy personal or psychological needs

of an individual. Meredith Belbin is a British researcher and management

theorist best known for his work on management teams. Belbin focuses on the

relationship between personality, ability and the effectiveness of

management teams. Belbin defines a team role as “tendency to behave, contribute and

interrelate with others in a particular way” He describes “Team-Role” a pattern of

behavior characteristics of the way in which one team member interacts with

another team member, where their performance facilitates the progress of

the team as a whole. In his book Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail,

Belbin asserts that only eight useful team-role types could be identified.

Later, however, a ninth team-role, that of Specialist, has been added to

his taxonomy (Team-Roles). Belbin team role are clustered according to

there orientation. Action oriented roles – Shaper, Implementer and

completer or finisher. People oriented roles – Coordinator, Team worker and

Resource Investigator. The whole idea of Belbin’s was by understanding your

role within a particular team you can develop your strengths and manage

your weakness as a team member and so improve how you contribute to the

team. Team leaders often use the Belbin model to help create more balanced

teams. Teams can become unbalanced if all team members have similar styles

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of team roles or behavior. If team members have similar weakness, the team

as a while may tend to have that weakness or if they have similar teamwork

strength they may tend to compete for the team task rather than co-operate.

As we have seen in Siemens AG it is a Team oriented organization, where

every project is executed through teams or groups as it enhances

productivity as all team member represent a different expertise to the

project. Effective teamwork can be accomplished using Belbin’s team role

model. Analyzing the team membership using Belbin team roles as checks for

potential strengths and weakness within Siemens AG. Individual members of

the team need to be observed to see their behavior, contribution and also

their behavior within the team. Manager needs to write the team member’s

strengths and characteristics or weakness as observed. Strength and

weakness of each member of the team has to be linked to the most accurately

described among the Belbin description of team roles. Then it is possible

to analyze where the team’s strength is or its lack in certain ability.

Example: Many Shapers can weaken a team if each Shaper wants to pull the

team in a different direction. Also, Siemens AG follows a task culture as

we have seen in L01-1.1. They believe is the employees are truly involved

in the business and are a part of the success it will motivate. Siemens AG

under its people excellence it is believed that trust drives its high

performance culture. Team member’s in Siemens AG work on a shared goal as a

group. They have a sense of shared responsibility for the shared goal to

achieve their objectives. This is all possible to the strategy of Siemens

AG to make the most use of their employee’s talent.

LO4 – 4.2 – FACTORS THAT MAY PROMOTE OR INHIBIT THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK IN SIEMENS AG

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Teamwork is about galvanizing a group of people towards a shared objective.

It is also about bringing the best out of each individual in the pursuit of

a collective goal thought worthy of being realized. According to Jon R.

Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith ‘a team is a small number of people with complementary

skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which

they hold themselves mutually accountable.' (Harvard Business review, July 2005)

The success of an effective teamwork is a vital part of Siemens AG, as it

wants to prosper in the global community. In order for Siemens AG to

achieve its vision, mission and goals it needs to understand the impact and

importance of effective teamwork. There are many potential distractions,

obstacles and other detriments that can lead to failure, but it will

require deftly avoiding these in favor of beneficial traits instead in

order to overcome the job at hand. Recognizing these factors may help

contributors be more planned in their objectives. Siemens AG operations

based on teamwork culture as quoted by the Chief Executive Officer Mr. Kaus

Kleinfeld of it “Many times in my life I have seen how one individual can make a big

difference, particularly when working in a great team. The quality of our people and of our teams is

our most valuable recourse, particularly in today’s world where knowledge flows round the globe

with lightning speed and is easily available”.

As most of the factors that can enhance the teamwork can be a barrier or

demotivate their team. Communication is basic crux for the team member as

without it they will not be able to convey their direction and share

information. Employees in Siemens AG need to emerge as leaders to promote

productivity as the team member provides ideas others need to interpret its

complex concepts, as Siemens is known for its innovation. Positive

attitude, It the team member believe that the goal or project was doomed to

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fail they will not put a sincere effort. In addition if the teammate have

opinion concerning between each other can affect their success, as having a

negative opinion can shelter antagonistic working environment. Planting

seeds of conflict or showing unwillingness to the among team members will

effect there communication. In its place the team members should enter the

group with full intention on completing there given task with out negative

complaints or comments. Trust is one of the essential factors that promote

effective teamwork because team members towards task completion are

rendered impossible or altogether unavailable without it. Team member do

not share as much information with each other, as they tend to shoulder

more of the load than they can sincerely handle. It is impossible to take

risk even if it’s wisely calculated if there is no trust. Siemens AG trust

its employee as they work on project that have risk factors they understand

that in doing something innovative there are risk involved.

Leadership is another factor that promotes and inhibits the team

performance. If the organization’s style is Democratic and its managerial

style as we have seen in LO-3.1 Blake Moutons managerial grid is high is

people and production oriented like in Siemens AG he will be a “Team

leader”. As he will be able to support by coordinating among their team

members to make sure all the task are completed effective and efficiently.

If in a situation where one member is lacking or having issues it will

guide and support them. As in the case if their approach is more directives

and production oriented it will affect the process, as the team member will

lack support. Motivation is also an important factor in the leadership as

it drives the team members to achieve and use there shared potential in

accomplishing the project. Human resource development is one the key factor

to encourage the employee as in Siemens AG, if a workers needs to attend a

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training that can enhance his or her skill to have a better career it is

appreciated and consider. As this factor can affect the efficiency of an

individual so as team. Siemens AG believes that organization is nothing

without its people; it has one of the worlds most efficient and motivated

workforce. If Siemens AG analyzes their individual employee strengths and

weaknesses can give good opportunities to utilize their skills entirely to

their growth. That will enhance them to make effective and efficient teams.

LO4 – 4.3 – EVALUATION THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON TEAM FUNCTIONING WITHIN SIEMENS AG

Workplaces are adapting new technology at an exponentially increasing rate

over the last few decades. Organizations see technology as a competitive

advantage to increase their profits. Organization use technologies like

Blackberry, Personal desktop assistant, tablets and live conferencing

applications for steady communication in their organization. As technology

has its merits also has its drawback and demerits. Virtual teamwork has

been incorporated by most of the companies today including Siemens AG. As

they function virtual teamwork they have flexibility. Organization is able

to alter team based on the challenges that they face time-to-time. The

teams are built using the best possible members available; it is

particularly helpful when they require a specialist. Virtual team doesn’t

have issues like geographical, time zone or organization constraints faced

by actual teams. As they work around the clock depending on the region they

have an added benefits. The efficiency saving is made as there is no travel

or relocation costs involved. As social, political and economic aspects

associated with human beings are ignored it causes Alienation “Work

performed under conditions in which the worker is estranged from his or her own activity on the act

of production, through the sale of labour power and subordination of skills and knowledge to the

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capitalist, or other external social forces” (Thompson, 1989:p.xiii). In an assertion

made by Blauner (1964) it makes the worker feel powerless, Meaningless,

Isolation and Self-estrangement. As Alienation is an aspect of work heavily

impacted by organizational technology. Siemens AG deploys numerous projects

around the world with the support of there virtual teams. As these

individual function from their stationed office and with the help of there

project leader are able to provide there input virtually. They use VOIP

(Voice over internet protocol) to communicate and Video-conferencing tools

like Microsoft Lync and Skype to have there meeting’s with there virtual

teams.

CONCLUSION

Siemens AG uses a flat structure as it supports them with hierarchical

arrangement of the line of power, right and communication. The authority in

the organization is down the chain of command that speeds the decision-

making. There task and role culture makes there flat structure more de-

centralized. The demerits are that they are unable to standardize this

culture as they are widely spread. The strong culture of the Siemen AG with

their “Peoples Excellence” makes them a High performance Culture. As they

take there employee as there competitive advantage. Siemens emotional

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intelligence is interconnected with leaders whore revenue and growth

figures were strong and these leaders put a premium on collaboration and

teamwork. The democratic leadership style used in Siemens AG as the focus

of the power is more with in the group a whole and there is greater

interaction within the groups. In the period of change Siemens AG can use

transformational leadership as it is compromised of idealized influences,

inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual

consideration. As this approach will be more idealistic to motivate its

staff in the period of change. In motivational factors Herzberg theory can

be applied in the talent management as it can help them understand their

individual employee. As in Siemens AG leaders may think that getting their

organizations to learn is only a matter of enunciating a clear vision

giving employee the right incentives and providing a lots of training. This

assumption is not wrong but is very risky as the competition is getting

intensified, technologies are changing and customer preference is shifting.

As Siemens AG needs to learn more than ever to confront these forces; they

must become a learning organization. Peter M. Senges’s flourished this

concept in the 90’s The Fifth Discipline. This approach can help Siemens AG

employees to cultivate tolerance, foster open discussion and think

holistically and systemically. As it will help Siemens to act upon the

unpredictable quickly then its competitors.

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