Organisational Behaviour Essay Example for Free

Organisational Behaviour Essay Humans are always affected by their surroundings. Motivators try to overcome barriers, which stop people being motivated. Certain theories suggest people work harder under certain conditions. (Broadfield Rollinson 2002). One of the most adopted theories by managers, is Maslows Hierachy of Needs. Maslows theory assumes that: human needs are inexhaustible: as one set of needs is satisfied, another rises in its place, which means that needs are arranged in a hierarchy. (Maslow, 1954). Maslows Hierachy, includes: physiological, security, affiliation, esteem needs, and self-actualisation. Maslow believes that people start with security needs, and work their way up, until they reach self-actualisation. Maslows Theory suggests that the needs, which are satisfied no longer, have a motivational effect, which would relate to increasing pay. Satisfying an employee in the short term, but in the future, their needs will increase. (Maslow 1954). Critics have argued that Maslows theory is arrogant, meaning it is impossible to make generalisations about needs and strengths, because every individual is unique. Maslows use of armchair theorising resulted in often-contradicted evidence. His theory explains what motivates staff, but what does it motivate staff to do? Hopefully increase standard of work, output, human relations, resulting in completion of manager objectives. (Cullen, 1997). Herzbergs Radical, and widely used Two-Factor Theory, avoids using the term need, and divided the work environment in to two main groups: hygiene factors and motivators. The Hygiene Factors simply assume that these are needed, not for an employee to feel motivated, but to stop them from feeling dissatisfied. E.g. salary, job security, appealing working conditions, quality of supervision, administration and impersonal relations. Hygiene factors ensure that a state of no dissatisfaction exists without them, motivators cannot work. (Herzberg, 1959). Criticisms of Herzbergs theory note that Herzbergs methodology of research (critical incident technique) is flawed, because workers asked about experience of motivation often shift blame of bad experiences, on to their employers. As a result, the characterisation of hygiene, and motivator factors is flawed. Researcher biases could have occurred, and this technique generally makes things appear one sided without considering the individual. (Broadfield Rollinson 2002). Taylors theory of scientific management pro-pay to motivate, and was developed as he worked his way up from a labourer to a works manager. The concept behind his theory, has been constructed from his career experience, giving a certain element of bias. Taylor assumed that humans respond as individuals, not groups; man is a rational and economic animal concerned with maximising his economic gain; and People can be treated in a standardised fashion, like machines. (Taylor) Taylor decided managers would benefit from his theories, purely because if the member of staff did not work, then they would not receive a fair days pay. However, if they met the targets, which were seen as a motivator, then the employee would receive extra bonuses. (Taylor) Critics have argued that Taylors theory may work well with some, but it ignores the differences between people. Money may well motivate some, (extrinsic rewards which are tangible) however, things other than financial rewards might motivate others. For example, McClellands Theory of Learned Needs suggests that some people (depending on the societies values acquired) have a desire to achieve, far more than to earn money i.e. intrinsic rewards like using skills or social rewards. (McClelland, 1967). This implies that managers who employ staff with the desire to achieve, will not be influenced by pay. This theory is all so backed by Kohn who said: Incentives do not alter the attitude that underlie our behaviours. (Kohn A, 1993). If this is the case, then it would be very difficult for an employer to use other means to motivate, because of their society values. The British Journal of Industrial Relations performed a survey on the staff at the Inland Revenue. It was clear that a majority of the staff (57%) supported the principle of performance-related pay. However, when asked if PRP had raised their motivation at work, 12% yes, while 76% said no. It is clear therefore that the Inland Revenue, staff had little or no increase in motivation to change their output, or quality of work. The research conducted analysed staff views, rather than changes in output, a member of staff that believed they were less motivated, is very likely to be less motivated, purely because motivation is a state of mind. i.e. does the: person feel it appropriate to pursue a certain course of action, directed at achieving a specified outcome, and in which the person chooses to pursue those outcomes with a degree of vigour and persistence. (Broadfield Rollinson 2002). The study found that most staff were de-motivated at IR. This might have happened because some thought the whole principle unfair, because they felt they had been cheated out of an award to which they were entitled. This all so backs up Herzbergs Theory of Hygiene factors, suggesting that without e.g. appropriate salary, staff will feel de-motivated, and as a result, managers would be disappointed with the results. 55% of Inland Revenue staff felt that after PRP, their morale was undermined, and 25% disagreed, whilst others were uncertain. This shows that (although the evidence is uncertain in the Inland Revenue case), it would be easy to assume the motivational effect was actually negative. Conclusion In conclusion the research has shown that in the case of the Inland Revenue, the short-term workers were motivated by the scheme. Backing Maslows Theory of needs, that once an objective is achieved, a new one replaced it, as the older members of staff were not motivated by an increase in pay. Therefore, it could be said that managers would benefit from the increased staff pay to boost short term effects, but they will be dissatisfied with the results in the long term. The evidence suggests that Herzberg (1959) is right, in general in terms of his hygiene factors, but this system does not apply across the board. However, for most managers, the idea that adhering to the minimum working environment requirements, managers will not de-motivate staff, nor will it encourage people to remain in employment with the same company for many years. Word Count: 1096 The assignments aim, is to give a critical understanding of how managers relying on pay to motivate their employees to higher levels of job performance, may or may not be satisfied with the outcome. Humans are always affected by their surroundings. Motivators try to overcome barriers, which stop people being motivated. Certain theories suggest people work harder under certain conditions. (Broadfield Rollinson 2002). This involves researching theories of motivation, and then discussing what each say about pay as a motivator. I will then evaluate how worthwhile the information is, based on whether or not the theory is well regarded and supported by the researched literature.

The Contributions of the P-51 Mustang to the Victory of the Allies :: World War Two American History Essays

The Contributions of the P-51 Mustang to the Victory of the Allies This paper deals with the contributions of the P-51 Mustang to the eventual victory of the Allies in Europe during World War II. It describes the war scene in Europe before the P-51 was introduced, traces the development of the fighter, its advantages, and the abilities it was able to contribute to the Allies' arsenal. It concludes with the effect that the P-51 had on German air superiority, and how it led the destruction of the Luftwaffe. The thesis is that: it was not until the advent of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter, and all of the improvements, benefits, and side effects that it brought with it, that the Allies were able to achieve air superiority over the Germans. This paper was inspired largely by my grandfather, who flew the P-51 out of Leiston, England, during WW II and contributed to the eventual Allied success that is traced in this paper. He flew over seventy missions between February and August 1944, and scored three kills against German fighters. Table of Contents Introduction Reasons for the Pre-P-51 Air Situation The Pre-P-51 Situation The Allied Purpose in the Air War The Battle at Schweinfurt The Development of the P-51 The Installation of the Merlin Engines Features, Advantages, and Benefits of the P-51 The P-51's Battle Performance The Change in Policy on Escort Fighter Function P-51's Disrupt Luftwaffe Fighter Tactics P-51's Give Bombers Better Support Conclusion Works Cited Introduction On September 1, 1939, the German military forces invaded Poland to begin World War II. This invasion was very successful because of its use of a new military strategic theory -- blitzkrieg. Blitzkrieg, literally "lightning war," involved the fast and deadly coordination of two distinct forces, the Wermacht and the Luftwaffe. The Wermacht advanced on the ground, while the Luftwaffe destroyed the enemy air force, attacked enemy ground forces, and disrupted enemy communication and transportation systems. This setup was responsible for the successful invasions of Poland, Norway, Western Europe, the Balkans and the initial success of the Russian invasion. For many years after the first of September, the air war in Europe was dominated by the Luftwaffe. No other nation involved in the war had the experience, technology, or numbers to challenge the Luftwaffe's superiority. It was not until the United States joined the war effort that any great harm was done to Germany and even then, German air superiority remained unscathed. It was not until the advent of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter, and all of the improvements, benefits, and side effects that it brought with it, that the Allies were able to achieve air superiority over the Germans. Reasons for the Pre-P-51 Air Situation The continued domination of the European skies by the Luftwaffe was caused by two factors, the first of which was the difference in military theory

Importance of Management and Leadership for an Organization Essay

â€Å"Both management and leadership are needed to make teams and organisations successful. Trying to decide which is more important is like trying to decide whether the right or left wing is more important to an airplane’s flight. I’ll take both please!† (Clemmer, 2005, as cited in McLean, 2005, p.16). The aim of this essay is to answer the age old question as to whether management or leadership is more important to an organisation. Organisations, ranging from professional to social, have been in existence for centuries and the sole purpose of any of these organisations is to grow and succeed. Thus, it is without a doubt that any organisation would accomplish much without a source of management or leadership. Even though it is evident that both management and leadership are both fundamental to a successful organisation, a distinction between the two should be made; although they are both similar in definition and function they do differ in importance in and effe ct on organisations. It is contended that the implementation of good management has a greater benefit, and therefore has more importance, to an organisation than leadership because: leading is considered as an element of the management function; to manage an organisation is to sustain it whereas to lead is to direct it but if there is no management, there is no entity, which leaves nothing for leaders to lead; leadership is focused on the management of people but an organisation is made up of more than just people; and also the value of leadership depends deeply on the structure and size of the organisation in question. The term ‘good’ is often used to describe something of quality and skill; thus, good management simply means management that is of the highest quality and is effective in producing the greatest results for an organisation: â€Å"Excellent results stem from a combination of skilled management, strategic thought and a good dose of general common sense† (Honig, 1999, as c ited in Samson & Daft, 2009, p.14). Every workplace organisation, whether large or small, has a manager or person in charge; whether the appointed person is able to implement good management depends on their skill and capability. Management is the major task of any manager – it involves the use of authority to coordinate and supervise the activities of others and to ensure that tasks are being completed in an effective and efficient manner. More importantly, managers must implement the four key elements of management: planning, organising, leading and controlling in order to attain organisational goals (Bartol, Tein, Matthews & Sharma, 2008). Organisational goals, whether they are sales targets or technological developments, are put in place by managers to set out the purpose and scope of an entity. Without such goals an organisation would cease to exist as there would be no direction to grow or move forward. The process of setting goals and deciding how to achieve them is the planning aspect of the management f unction (Bartol et al., 2008). If effective management is employed, there is a greater likelihood of managers establishing better organisational goals and contingency plans to ensure the future and success of the organisation; because it will not only be goal directed but will also be prepared for unforeseen circumstances that may arise, enabling them to react effectively and efficiently (Samson & Daft, 2009). Good management also assists in the successful implementation of action plans to achieve such organisational goals by organising, allocating, arranging and regulating activities and resources within the workplace (Bartol et al., 2008). Leading and managing are terms often used interchangeably because leading is described as a core activity of any manager (McLean, 2005). Leadership involves managers using influence to motivate employees to engage in plans that work towards achieving organisational goals (Bartol et al., 2008; Samson & Daft, 2009). This suggests that leadership is intertwined within the task of management. So if good management practices are in place in an organisation, leadership is expected to follow in existence. However, the mistake should not be made to describe leadership and management as the same thing – â€Å"leadership is an element of management but is not the same thing† (Lyson cited in Robinson, 1999, p.20). To say that leading and managing is the same would be to ultimately say planning and managing is the same thing; nevertheless, planning is only a function of management, as is leading. Therefore, if an organisation were given a choice between employing either a good manager or a good leader, the good manager would be the safer bet because it would be expected that a good manager encompasses good leadership. Furthermore, the importance of and need for management in a workplace is supported by the idea that organisations are established to succeed and innovate and such is not possib le without the planning and setting of organisational goals and the attainment of these goals by organising, leading and controlling. Once good management is in practice, the four key functions, including leadership, are sure to be carried out effectively and efficiently. The profitability of an organisation is not a result of good management on its own; however, management is a major contributing factor. Every organisation is goal directed, and as ascribed earlier, management is the attainment of organisational goals with the use of planning, organising, leading and controlling (Bartol et al., 2008). The organisational goals act as an entity’s reason for existence, it strives to achieve these goals in order to grow and accomplish. Therefore it can be concluded that the focus of any organisation is to grow and move forward rather than to remain stationary and unproductive and thus there is an assumption that the life of the entity will be on going. The survival of an organisation depends on the ability of the manager to sustain it by utilizing the effective skills of good management. The manager is responsible for making informed decisions about the welfare of the organisation along with the collective resources owned. These decisions aim to not only achieve goals but to sustain and up hold the organisation to ensure its survival in today’s dynamic environment. Thus there is emphasis on an organisation to have good management in order for the entity to survive, which also acts to highlight the importance of effective management. On the other hand, leadership is implemented as the principle dynamic force to guide and motivate subordinates to attain organisational objectives (Burns, 1978, as cited in Shamas & Ofori, 2008) and ultimately bring change to an organisation as more goals are satisfied. If effective leadership is exercised within an organisation, innovation, change and transformation are easily attainable (Bartol et al., 2008). Alternatively, Slap (2010) asserts that although leadership profits and adds value to an organisation by way of innovation, it is not the purpose of introducing leadership. Rather, leadership is used as a tool to share and express important values and experiences to employees in an attempt to bring about an improved change in the workplace environment and in the attitudes held by employees. Leadership in this sense allows leaders to be more easily respected upon employees because they feel more connected with the leader, which also gives the leader greater influence to motivate and encourage hard work. Nevertheless, whichever way leadership is regarded the end result remains the same: innovation of an organisation by way of providing direction to accomplish objectives (Bass, 1990, as cited in Shamas & Ofori, 2008). â€Å"A leader innovates; a manager maintains† (Hollingsworth, as cited in Robinson, 1999, p.20); without effective management to keep the organisation alive it is likely to fail, and consequently leaders will be left taskless – there will be no goals left to achieve, no employees left to motivate and ultimately no organisation left to innovate. This strongly recognises the importance of good management and the added advantage it brings to an organisation; without good management, good leadership will be ineffective and futile. On the contrary, leadership is often considered as a much more pleasant concept in comparison to that of management: â€Å"leaders are seen as charismatic and often are admired and held in high esteem, managers frequently are thought of as the organization’s taskmasters with a whip in one hand and a bullhorn for screaming out orders in the other hand† (Kotterman, 2006, p. 13). Zaleznik (1977) and Burns (1978), as cited in Nienaber ( 2010), portray management as â€Å"mundane, uninspiring and tactical by nature† and in addition, asserting that management alone cannot guarantee the success of an organisation. Consequently, it has been argued that leadership should be favoured at the expense of management in a successful organisation (Spurgeon & Cragg, 2007, as cited in Nienaber, 2010). One of the most important aspects of leadership is the leaders’ followers (Bennis, 1989, as cited in Shamas & Ofori, 2008). Iscoe (2005, as cited in McLean, 2005) argues that people would rather follow a leader than a manger, if given the option; this is not surprising as leaders tend to focus more on the people rather than any other aspect of the organisation because in order for a leader to effectively influence and lead others they must work to gain the trust and respect of their followers. Thus, there are various positive reasons as to why leaders are commended over managers among the people, some of which are highlighted in Maccoby (2000), as cited in Shamas & Ofori (2008)., p.63: â€Å"hope of success, trust in the leader, excitement about a project or mission, or the opportunity to stretch on eself to the limit†. Unlike management, leadership is not an assigned role or title placed on someone. The task of managing a corporation is specific to the teams of managers who are formally appointed the position whereas leaders can stem from any sector of an organisation. Therefore, managers are associated with formal authority (McLean, 2005) which means people secondary to them in the organisational hierarchy may view managers as intimidating and unapproachable which further emphasises why leaders are more favourable in an organisation. Yet in reality, success isn’t easily achievable and so in order to attain it, compromise must occur. An organisation cannot survive on leadership alone, because although a leader may possess few managerial qualities, they are unable to satisfy all the tasks of a manager. Nevertheless, as every workplace organisation involves employees, it is evident that leadership is a fundamental aspect of any entity because leaders are responsible for managing the people. However, organisations are about more than just the workers, which illustrates the prevailing importance of managers to control all the remaining aspects of an organisation such as goals, plans, assets and resources. As previously mentioned, every organisation involves employees. The McDonalds restaurant is the largest fast food chain in the world, operating over 30,000 franchises in over 100 countries worldwide. It was revealed in the 2010 McDonalds annual report that the organisation employs over 1.7 million workers from all age groups across their stores. In enormous corporations such as McDonalds, with such a vast number of employees, it is expected that both leaders and managers are equally essential in running the organisation because there is an equally enormous number of duties to be satisfied. However, in contrast, a small, family-owned, local milk bar may only have, at most, three employees. Clearly leadership is not as important in an organisation of three people in comparison to that of one with over one million people, simply because such a minute organisation does not require such a deep extent of leadership. However, it is not to say that the manager of the milk bar should not possess leadership qualities because even though there are very few employees, motivation and communication of direction must still take place (Nienaber, 2010) in order for the business to thrive. Although both management and leadership are both important functions of an organisation, a number of moderating factors determine the effectiveness and importance of leadership including size of the organisation (Fiedler, 1967; Gardner et al., 2005, as cited in Shamas and Ofori, 2008) whereas, regardless of size or type, every organisation needs a person in charge. In other words, management is important and is needed in every organisation but the extent to which leadership is needed varies among different organisations. Conclusively, although leadership and management are functions that must be applied to any successful organisation, effective management has prevailing importance. Theoretically, management is defined as the attainment of organisational goals through planning, organising, leading and controlling (Bartol et al., 2008). Thus it is clear that leadership is encompassed in the task of management so if a manager can perform their task effectively, leadership is likely to follow. However the reverse is not true, as to lead is to influence, direct and motivate others to achieve goals, not to control so management is not a facet of leadership. Management is often considered as a control mechanism in an organisation which some tend to find intimidating and off putting which is why leadership is usually the preferred, softer option (Kotterman, 2006). However, the focus of leaders is often on the people but people are obviously just one aspect of an organisation which is why managers are more important because there are so many other features of an organisation to be controlled. By influencing people to complete tasks effectively and efficiently, leaders bring about change and innovation in an organisation. However, without management acting to sustain organisations in today’s turbulent environment, there is simply no place left for a leader (Hollingsworth, as cited in Robinson, 1999). Finally, the essentiality of leadership in an organisation depends greatly on the size and type of a corporation whereas management is equally important in any and all organisations. These points clearly demonstrate that good management is more important to a successfully running organisation than good leadership. All in all, if an organisation were given an ultimatum between a good manager and a good leader, the good manager is likely to prevail.

The Oldest International Agreement Of The Copyright For...

1886: Berne Convention: The oldest international agreement in the field of the copyright for the defense or protection of literary and artistic works is the main Berne Convention. Literary and artistic works are protected through a protection that is termed as copyright. The major area of the copyright is controlled or governed by the most important convention that is Berne Convention. This most important convention that governs copyright is an international copyright treaty to which India is also a member and it has also been signed by 143 countries on April, 1928. The principal treaty that defends or protects the authors from various variety of woks was last revised in 1971. Numerous rights that are enjoyed by the authors are provided under the Berne Convention, those rights are such as right to authorize, adaption of these woks or prohibit reproduction and public communication. This Berne convention provides some rights to the treaty countries so as to apply certain exceptions to protection. Photographic and cinematographic shall be protected through copyright for at least 50 years after the death of author but author’s are fee to provide their longer terms under the Berne Convention, as for matching the terms of copyright protection the European union did with 1993 directive.. World Intellectual Property organization that is in short WIPO, UN body based in Geneva, Switzerland, manages all the works and signatory countries of the Berne Convention, current 168Show MoreRelatedFrance Country Report5492 Words   |  22 Pagesbusiness center for the information and biotechnology industries. It s the most privileged destination for trade fairs and conventions. Toulouse is also known as an educational hub, with more than 120,000 students, studying in its university, also the oldest in Europe. * Nice - This city s major tourist attraction especially, for honeymooners, is the French Riviera. Nice’s flower market is known for its rare and exotic flower collection. Throughout the year, it has a Mediterranean climate. TheRead MoreUnited Arab of Emirates Country Notebook18844 Words   |  76 Pagescommercial arm of the HCT, the Centre of Excellence for Applied Research and Training, is allied with multinational companies to provide training courses and professional development. The American University in Dubai opened its doors in 1995. Several international universities followed this example and established their presence in the UAE including Tufts University and George Mason University in Ras Al Khaimah; Michigan State University and Rochester Institute of Technology in Dubai. For the first timeRead MoreUnited Arab of Emirates Country Notebook18844 Words   |  76 Pagescommercial arm of the HCT, the Centre of Excellence for Applied Research and Training, is allied with multinational companies to provide training courses and professional development. The American University in Dubai opened its doors in 1995. Several international universities followed this example and established their presence in the UAE including Tufts University and George Mason University in Ras Al Khaimah; Michigan State University and Rochester Institute of Technology in Dubai. For the first timeRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesborrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on appropriate page within text. Copyright  © 2011, 2007, 2005, 2002, 1998 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval systemRead MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pagesmanagement accounting field. Michael has also contributed in a number of different institutional arenas: the academic, of course, but also those of the profession and the wider public sphere. Ever helpful to regulators, the senior civil service, and international agencies, Michael Bromwich is respected for the ways in which he can combine conceptual understandings with pragmatic insights. He has been sought out to provide that extra element of conceptual clarity for the most complex of practical accounting