Organizational Behaviour Issues in Brownloaf MacTaggart case
After a careful study of the case in question, the following Organisational Behaviour issues could be identified, they include: Cultural Integration, Leadership and Management, Motivation/ Career Advancement.
Cultural Integration
Edgar Schein (1985) defined an organization's culture as a pattern of basic assumptions-invented, discovered or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with problems of external adaptation and internal integration-that has worked well enough to be considered valuable and, therefore to be taught to new members as correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.
According to Luthans (2011), culture can be seen as acquired knowledge that people use to interpret experience and generate social behavior. Hofstede & Bond (1988), also states that culture is the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one category of people from those of another.
Watkins and Brownloaf MacTaggart did not share the same organisational culture (in terms of vision and mission) which was a critical issue the partners of Brownloaf MacTaggart failed to take into consideration before the merger. Watkins is large multi-national management consultancy firm with staff strength of 700 in the UK alone and about 70,000 employees worldwide; in contrast to Brownloaf MacTaggart which was just a small but successful engineering company with staff strength of just 20 employees. As a result of this gap in structure, the drastic transition from a warm and familiar culture characterised with Brownloaf MacTaggart to an impersonal, increasingly automated and tightly regulated environment obtainable in Watkins was done in a manner that did not allow for employee participation.
The introduction of new quality management systems which was reviewed five times in as many months, only left consultants confused as this system was seen as a part of a reward and punishment system.
In terms of educational qualifications, Brownloaf MacTaggart was different from Watkins as Brownloaf MacTaggart consultants less qualified compared to their Watkins counterpart who mostly had higher degrees and professional qualifications. This has increased the tension of intellectual know-how amongst the consultants.
The culture of working all hours in the office, flattery of partners and taking on personal marketing designed to bring in new projects as well as under-budgeting were seen as the criteria to career success at Watkins as against technical engineering skills.
Leadership and Management
The success or failure of any business organisation lies in the leadership/management style adopted by the firm; as such leadership plays a big role overall process of an organisation. The leadership problem for Brownloaf MacTaggart started when even after the merger with Watkins, the partners of Brownloaf MacTaggart continued to run the company as an independent one. It should be noted that during the merger acquisition, the partners of Brownloaf MacTaggart did not take into consideration the effect or consequences of this merger on the employees. It can be said that employees were seen as mere tools rather than resources (Luthan 2011).
Also the leadership structure at Watkins is very hierarchical and a power based system where there was an informal reward and punishment system, with a sink or swim mentality. The idea of over-working employees and the perceived hierarchy of jobs allocation led to a fiercely competitive environment where there was no trust among employees
Motivation/ Career Advancement
Luthans (2011) defined Motivation as a process that starts with a physiological or psychological deficiency or need that activates a behaviour or a drive that is aimed at a goal or incentive. In essence motivation consists of Needs, Drives and Incentives which interact together.
In Brownloaf MacTaggart, welfare of consultants was
