Organisational behaviour individual case study assignment

Organisational behaviour individual case study - Assignment Example The purchase of Costwise by Orton therefore presents possibilities for synergy in that Costwise stores presently existing, and the strong turnover figures it has been registering, would provide an added capacity for Orton and shall extend its reach to markets it does not currently serve. While the two companies cater to the retail merchandising industry, they have markedly different strategic thrusts. Orton caters to a homogeneous market, Costwise caters to varied markets in different locations. The management styles were also different, a matter which is to be expected because of the different markets they cater to. Orton’s management style is centralized and more-or-less autocratic, because all decisions and plans emanate from the center, including matters involving pricing, product offerings, salaries, new hires, promotions, and so forth. On the other hand, Costwise, when it was operating as an independent concern, devolved many managerial decision-making functions to the s tores. The stores were therefore able to establish store practices and devise market strategies that were particularly effective in the localities they operated in. This accounted for the loyal patronage and strong turnovers generated by this store from the local communities the individual stores operated in. While Costwise employees had a running quarrel with management about the When the acquisition pulled through, Orton, as the dominant entity, imposed its own methods, processes and policies on Costwise. Aside from the organizational structure and culture, management style, and market strategy, the employees were aware of a general sense of being ignored and disregarded by management, and therefore no longer performed at the same level they used to, which was reflected in the noticeable drop in revenues. This, coupled with higher costs related to the merger activities and the change in image of the emergent firm, has resulted in a drop in profit or even potential losses if the tr end continues. II. The likely motivational state of Costwise employees When speaking of motivation, it is best to view the Orton case through the framework of Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory. According to this theory, there are two factors that influence the attitude and behaviour of individuals towards their work – the hygiene or maintenance factors, and the motivators (Mukherjee, 2009, p. 152). The two types of factors both work to influence the behaviour and attitudes of workers, but in different ways. 1. The hygiene factors The maintenance or hygiene factors are those factors which, if absent, cause dissatisfaction, but even if present, do not necessarily create a positive attitude towards work. Thus, hygiene factors must be present to prevent dissatisfaction. They are mostly related to the environmental or extrinsic factors, rather than the context of the job (Davies & Hertig, 2007, p. 81). In the David Orton case, one might say that the hygiene factors that were determinative of the attitudes of the Costwise employees are their pay, the need to be informed about matters that bear upon their working conditions, and security at their jobs. In this case, the employees had been expecting a ‘levelling up’ of their salaries, a natural expectation in light of the higher salaries enjoyed by their counterparts