Case Study of Organization Behavior

The thesis was designed to conduct an efficient review of the principle of organizational behavior, with a primary case study of Unilever Canada. According to the report, the concept of organizational behavior may be defined, as well as the method or practice used by businesses to accomplish their aims, missions, and goals.
The study for Unilever Canada was focused on an influential feature of organizational action known as inspiration. According to the report, the importance of inspiration in achieving viability for a business enterprise cannot be overstated. Motivation is responsible for ensuring that a firm's employees are active when it comes to excellent service delivery to the company’s client, hence providing the continued profitability of the business. To back up the importance of motivation and how it could be efficiently attained in organizations, the study discussed some theories including the acquired need theory, and also considered the organizational behavior theory of motivation.

The study discovered that a prominent feature of the high performance attained by Unilever Canada was based on the practical effort put in place in terms of the motivation strategies used for its employees and other stakeholders such as the customer sand the society. For employees, the firm rewards and encourages good performance, customers are provided with healthy products, and the company is also socially responsible to the society. In the end, the study points out that the level of success attained by Unilever is based on the implementation of it motivation strategies, however, the study also offers valid recommendations for the continued market leadership and profitability of the firm.

Introduction

Motivation as an organizational objective refers to the manner in which businesses encourage employees to quality service delivery to the clients. Well-motivated employees are driven by a need to attain organizational objectives; hence they offer valuable services directed towards the attainment of organizational goal and objectives. The above action has been used successfully by Unilever Canada; hence the company ranks among the top 100 best employers in the country. Motivation seeks to improve organizational performance while keeping its employees and other stakeholders satisfied. This strategy spurs worker’s productivity which in turn translates to the increased overall performance of the firm. This study, therefore, aims at illustrating the concepts, theories, and approaches to motivation. The research will review its importance and mode of the application at Unilever Canada. Thus, this paper will be based on an in-depth analysis of motivation as an aspect of organizational behavior based on the discussion of various theories and their applications to Unilever Canada.

OB Theory to Be Analyzed

Employee motivation can be considered as a level of commitment, energy, and creativity that workers within an organization bring to the job. Irrespective of the economic situation of a company, motivation is always the top priority of management based on the notion that an active workforce will increase the performance of any organization; hence the need to the attainment of an optimum level of motivation. Business organizations have varied of employees consequently they respond differently to various motivational strategies. Some employees could be inspired by financial rewards while others will perform at an optimum level if their actions are merely acknowledged by management. Hence organization leaders have the responsibility to determine the most suitable motivational strategy for each employee. Two central concepts define the relevance of motivation in organizations. These ideas are either intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is intangible, less physical but highly effective because it is a factor that spurs increased performance by an employee. This form of motivation is driven by a person’s interest in a specific tasks or an affiliation with the manner in which activities are carried out in an organization. Intrinsic motivation has nothing to do with the pressure from the external environment; it is usually associated with educational achievement and the desired show an in-depth understanding of organizational activities, (Alonso and Lewis 377). Fritz Heider’s theory and Deci and Ryan cognitive evaluation theories were developed by scholars who have explained the concept of intrinsic motivation. Workers are said to be intrinsically motivated if they feel relevant to achieving the goals of the company and when they show a higher level of commitment to their work. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is related to the external environment, it is physical, and in most cases affiliated to the attainment of gifts and rewards, the extrinsic factors in most cases include money, coercion, punishment, and threats (Bright 150). Competition has also been termed as a general form of extrinsic motivation because it encourages the business to work towards an improved performance beyond that of its competitors. However, according to social studies, it is evident that extrinsic motivation in most cases leads to overjustification which subsequently reduces the intrinsic aspect (Clerkin and Coggburn 211). The self-determination theory points out that extrinsic motivation is easily understood by someone if whatever they are tasked responsibilities that fit their beliefs and values.

Once motivation undergoes self-control, then it becomes a subset of emotional intelligence (Forest). There is need also to point out that deficiencies are factors that could also increase the level of motivation of an individual. The need to cater for payments such a medical bills may be a primary drive motivating someone to work hard at workplaces (Delfgaauw and Robert 180). Contrastingly extrinsic rewards and stimuli are prominent features of situations the staff is given money as tips to lure them into carrying out more activities for their employers or making them work extra hours beyond the regular schedule. The persistence of the above action creates a permanent orientation in the minds of employees which ensures that they will continue to work diligently even when the initial incentives are removed.

Theory of Motivation; Acquired Need Theory

Some motivation theories guide Unilever Canada, and their implementation can be effectively associated with the level of success attained by the company. Hence the company ranks among the top best employers of 2017, (“Top Employer: Unilever Canada Inc.”). David McClelland developed the acquired needs theory, the theory has attained a famous status in the world of academic and research, and hence it has been adopted and utilized by most business in recent times. According to the theory, three types of needs are acquired by individuals as a result of life experiences. They include the need for power, affiliation, and achievement. Many people have a combination of these desires and the most dominant of the three drives their behavior (Avolio et al. 430). Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is adopted as a means of assessing the most dominant need of an individual in a bid to determine the primary drivers of their behavior. Hence the TAT is used as an effective measure of an employee’s desire for achievement. Workers with high needs for achievement always have a firm desire for the attainment of success. Someone may be praised for their diligence and this action, in the end, such recognition forms the foundation for being persistent. When a worker’s act of intelligence is renowned and acknowledges by the employer, such employee is motivated, and his level performance increases considerably. Hence there is need to note that recognition in most cases has positive effects on employees performance.

The clarity of goals and especially the challenging ones is important in the determination of the level motivation of an employee. The choice of goal importance is determined by the review of influences that are personal and situational. The acquired need theory focuses on specific goals that offers values to organizations and defines the efficient rewards system for employees that help in the accomplishment of organizational goals, (Delfgaauw and Robert 180). The development of precise goals and efficient reward system has as helped Unilever Canada to achieve tremendous success. The company is aware of the fact that employees with a keen interest for achievements work best as managers; For instance, an employee who succeeds while working at lower levels by offering solid contributions to the organization will eventually get promoted to higher positions.

Goal setting is a crucial aspect of acquired need theory because it helps to determine relevant actions that will inspire the success of such organization. Hence, the company can distinguish between employees focusing more on personal achievements without carrying out activities such as delegating and communication which is needed for the attainment of the organizational objective. (Kim et al. 2). Once management identifies these employees, they are provided with proper orientation in a bid to redirect their actions toward the accomplishment of organizational objectives. The adoption of the dictates of this theory as mentioned above instills the quality of diligence and thus explains the level business success experienced at Unilever Canada. The company indirectly motivates its employees to work towards the attainment company's success without feeling oppressed by the top management team. The company recognizes the fact that workers with the high need for affiliation always look forward to being liked and accepted by others; hence they maintain constant interactions with like-minded fellows. Such attitudes make it easier for the attainment of teamwork within the organization as such employees often emphasize the need for harmonious interpersonal relationships, which becomes advantageous at workplaces where interpersonal interactions are frequently required (Forest 330).

Anyone with a high need for power will always use their influence on others as a means of getting work done in the organization. Such people are driven by a desire to motivate others and control the environment in which they function. The use of power for personal motives leads to a destructive end by changing the manner in which things are done and leading to an unfavorable working environment (Bright 150). Unilever Canada is aware of the possibilities of the above tendencies; hence the company focuses on the success of its employee and derives motivational results from the positive use of power. In conclusion, the acquired need theory, therefore, describes a motivated behavior as efforts put in place by an individual in a bid to meet specific needs. The theory states that the role of managers includes the identification of employee’s needs and putting factors in place to meet such requirements (Baldoni 25).

Reinforcement theory was coined by Ivan Pavlov, according to Ivan Pavlov behavior in most cases is related to desired outcomes. For instance, employees may stay late at work to draft a report even when there were not asked to do so. In the event of making such sacrifices, the manager gets to find out and takes the person for lunch as a form of appreciation (Alonso and Lewis 377). Alternatively, if the manager decides to do nothing about the sacrifices made by employees and all their efforts get ignored, such employees are likely to refrain from such positive actions in the future. People learn through reinforcement starting from infant age. However, when employees do more than it is required in an organization, they get criticized for their actions with no recognition. At times, managers may fail to punish a worker who has disruptive habits as result of the fear of however such employees may react. This step may lead to a wrongful reward for problematic employees. Such workers are transferred to other places because their bosses cannot confront them, and hence they end up being a problem to the new employer (Staw et al. 60).

The above irregularity has been termed as the folly of rewarding where genuine contributions are criticized, and adverse behaviors are rewarded. A company may focus on the quality of service delivery but again announce the rewards they have for faster shipment of equipment. The member of staff will participate in such casework towards ensuring more rapid delivery of goods with no much focus on the quality of what is being delivered but to get the associated incentives or awards. Interventions in such situations can only be made by managers if they choose to examine the consequences of specific worker’s action over an extended period. The theory describes some responses in a bid to modify employee’s behavior. Such measures include methods in which the frequencies of desired behaviors are increased and reduction of the undesired actions, (Perry 688). Positive reinforcement leads to an increased level of desirable behaviors which can be achieved by ensuring that positive actions are being rewarded.

Alternatively, negative reinforcement can still be used to increase desirable behaviors. In this situation, the unpleasant outcomes are removed the moment one demonstrates the desired behavior. For example, excessive pressure mounted on an employee to ensure the completion of reports is a form of negative reinforcement. However, the above action is required in the environment where adverse actions are present till a positive behavior is demonstrated, (Re'em 20).

Extinction is used as a medium of decreasing the frequency at which adverse behaviors occur within an organization. An individual may demonstrate negative mannerism based on the rewards derived from it. Anytime people get awarded for unethical activities they end up repeating such adverse behaviors in future. The frequency of future negative behaviors tend to reduce once the rewards for such actions are refuted (Steijn 21). For example, an employee that enjoys sending unofficial emails to colleagues will stop such actions if completely ignored.

Punishment can also be used to reduce undesirable actions within an organization. In this situation, negative consequences are presented and associated with the unwanted activities of employees. For example, in an official setting, an employee could be reprimanded for coming late to work. Such actions could be considered as a form of punishment to such employee and a means of preventing similar activities from coworkers. The reinforcement theory has many schedules with the famous one being a continuous process in some situations the users of this theory follow all the instances that lead to positive behavior (Liu et al. 690)

When reinforcement is applied randomly, it is then referred to as variable ratio schedule. It includes making random praises to the employee without their predetermined expectations. Behavioral change is more temporal in continuous schedules because the person is likely to stop performing well the moment the reward is withdrawn (Ryan and Edward 59). Variable ratios have been shown to give the best results with little evidence of continuous schedules yielding higher performance. Under this system, a manager is at times forced to punish an employee for wrongdoings to ensure that unwanted behavior is eliminated. This action can be effective using some of the below tips;

The manager should first consider whether using reprimand will be more effective in ensuring that the behavior of the employee is modified. A manager should consider praising team members when they do something right. Leaders must also ensure that every punishment is equal to the nature of the offense committed. When a leader administers a penalty that is too hostile to an individual, the person being punished may consider such actions as unfair. In most cases, the discriminatory punishment does not change the unwanted behavior (Dobbs et al. 209).

The employer should exercise consistency while treating employees with the use of disciplinary procedures. It becomes unfair if a specific rule applies to certain individuals and leave out others. The evidence for particular actions should be documented in advance to ensure the manager does not just act on hearsays (Parsons and Broadbridge 129). The kind of disciplinary measures should be administered on a timely basis to ensure whoever committed the offense relates well to whatever happened or the mistake they make. Organization behavior modification is the significant way in which the reinforcement theory is used. This application is used in the alteration of the activities of workers, and its application is divided into five stages. It starts with the identification of the kind of behavior that requires modification. The first step is practical and highly recommended when management seeks to reduce absenteeism among its staff, the second step will be a measurement of the baseline for the absenteeism. For instance, the number of times a particular employee does not come to work within a specific period (Clerkin and Coggburn 211). In the third step, the antecedents and consequences of such behavior are determined. The management seeks to find out why the person is missing from duty and importantly what happens when the employee is absent. Once the behavior is believed to be unintentional, the employee gets paid on the days they are not at work. However If such action is intentional then negative consequences need to be used to reinforce the absenteeism. For the management to reduce the absenteeism, they have to think of incentives that are either financial or social to be used for the positive and negative behaviors. This step is then followed by an intervention which needs to be implemented. To deal with the situation, removal of the positive consequences of the adverse actions is the only efficient way (Boardman and Sundquist 520). Punishments can then be used in persistent situations. In the final step, there is measuring the behavior in a periodic way ensuring maintenance is achieved. This theory, therefore, uses the mental processes of employees to understand their motivation. It argues that mode of conducts is a function of the consequences that come with it. When the reward is properly tied to positive actions, the frequency of desired behaviors can be increased this theory is therefore useful when the company decides to design a system for rewarding its employees.

Company Introduction

Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch Company with it a co-headquarters in the London and Rotterdam. The company specializes in the production of consumer items such as food, personal care, and cleaning agent products. It is the one of the oldest corporations in the world and the world’s largest consumer goods manufacturer. Unilever has its presence and base of operation in about 190 countries of the world including Canada which is the basis of the discussion for this study. Unilever Canada has been in existence since the year 1885. It has an employee capacity of 1362 with an average age of 44 years. The company’s vision is one that has a clear purpose which is to make sustainable living a commonplace. The company believes that the dictates of its vision proposes a primary medium by with the company can attain long-term growth and sustainability.

The company’s believes its vision can be realized using a distinct purpose together with operational expertise which works towards accelerating its growth and at the same time reducing the environmental footprints while increasing the social impact that needs to be positive.. Unilever Canada uses a combination of the expertise derived from its multinational experience gained over time as a means of meeting the needs of its consumers, (“Top Employer: Unilever Canada Inc.”).The company constantly develops healthy relationships in emerging markets which also results in an increased profitability and the possibility of significant future growth. The company believes it can make enormous impacts that are positive in the world by leveraging its global reach and inspiring people into taking small actions on a daily basis. The business also makes positive and explicit contributions to the world and by assisting in solving the world's challenges. The company’s sustainable plan is, therefore, a blueprint for growth that is attainable. The main priorities for Unilever include the creation of a better future for their children, a healthier and certain future for everyone and a better future for the planet and farmers.

Unilever Canada values

Better future for children; children are encouraged to brush their teeth daily using the company’s oral care products such as close up and signal. The adoption and use of these products ensures that dental health is upheld. They partner with FDI World Dental Federation in their support for oral health programs. Other brands like Omo and Persil assist parents to believe in the idea of ‘dirt is good.' Children get to learn through playing out with others and they, therefore, need not worry about dirt because with the use of their products such stains can be eradicated, (“Top Employer: Unilever Canada Inc.”). The company’s partnership with world food program led to the development of a variety of products to provide nourishment for children living in the most impoverished countries of the world. Healthier future is a brand of floral margarine which has been proven to contain a considerably low level of cholesterol. The launch of the foundation for its Vaseline skin care product has provided a good number of studies of various adverse skin infections and provides support for affected people.

This year lifebuoy together with Gavi which is a vaccine alliance partnered to launch a program which protects children under the age of five years from premature deaths and illnesses. This idea has been achieved through promotion of hand washing activities which is a most cost-effective child survival intervention. The company also has some campaigns targeted at real women and not just models, such campaigns include the confident future and the dove's campaign. The primary aim of these sensitizations is to stimulate the right attitudes from young ladies and inspire them also. The sun skin hair brand has formed the partnership with top hair specialists in a bid to develop formulas that are used in treating hair conditions like a limp lock and hair fall (“Top Employer: Unilever Canada Inc.”).The close-up toothpaste has been used for a long time and offers oral care that is affordable to their clients.

Better future for the planet- the company aims at growing the business with the focus on reducing the environmental footprint and ensuring all the brand chains do the same. The company’s brands which include Omo, comfort, and Persil have developed cleaner planet initiatives based on the need to encourage consumers to attain proper laundry lifestyle and decrease the consumption of energy and water. The Lipton tea brand has been seen backing the sustainable management of forests in Africa.

Better future for the farmers and farming activities-many of Unilever brands which are made up of ingredients that are ethnically and sustainably sourced and have independent certification. They include but not limited to Lipton tea backed by rainforest alliance and Ben and Jerry ice cream that includes almonds and vanilla as their flavors.

Analysis; How the Company Has Used OB Theory to Its Success

The reason as to why Unilever Canada, as one of the top best employers in 2017 is based mainly on the way it handles and motivates its staff. All these activities are in line with the need-based theory principles where the requirements of the clients were well satisfied by different means; Unilever Canada offers some financial benefits to its employees, and they include a share purchase plan that it is for all its employees. There is also signing and year-end bonuses for the staff plus bonuses for the referral to all the employees that succeeded in referring new candidates. Unilever provides maternity leave top-up payment to all mothers working with the company (Unilever Canada,). This leave and bonuses apply to first-time mothers only, and it includes 100% of salary for 15 weeks. Adoptive parents are also supported using a subsidy that is generous to cover the adoption costs which often sum up to $ 10,000 for every child.

Apart from supporting local, national and international initiatives for charity works, the company has consistently encouraged the employees to at least give back to their communities. Such employees are provided with three paid days off to go and do voluntary work. The above action is in addition to the general matching of the dollar-to-dollar employee donations which amounts to $ 10,000. By providing the above justification, the company is achieving the goals of the dictates of the theory in which states that need of those who a company offer services to should be given top priority and ultimately the company's success is attained through the satisfaction and comfort that their staff gets.

The future leaders' program has been created by Unilever to accelerate the rate at which new graduates for new roles in management are achieved. The program runs for three years and includes job rotations for 5-7 with both online and formal classrooms being carried out combined with mentoring and coaching by those in senior positions where potential international assignments are given. Unilever manages an extensive international internship with unique training and developmental opportunities such as business case and the Hellman’s innovative challenge. In this drills, the interns have to design market and sell their varied products of Hellmann (“Top Employer: Unilever Canada Inc.”).In the course of the activities as mentioned above, a speaker series who is an executive with corporation tours the production plans of the company and many other volunteer opportunities. Based on the notion of the initiatives, it is evident that the theory takes center stage in which needs are being met satisfactorily and the end, the results are also acknowledged by the world at large. Unilever interns have always performed well and appeared to do their duties with a lot of success.

Apart from being among the best employer, its contribution to the green economy has also made it be ranked among the best. The sustainable living plan that was first established in 2010 it has become the blueprint for the business in the recent years. The scale of this plan is quite ambitious, and it operates on three goals, i.e., improvement of health and the well-being of close to one billion people, reduction of environmental impacts of the company’s operations by close to half and ultimately enhancing livelihoods of many millions of people by the year 2020. As one of leading world manufacturer of consumer products in the world, the company’s formal commitment is to ensure growth is sustained and thus become an inspiring example to both small and large businesses globally. The company is currently halfway in achieving its plan’s goals. This result is a clear proof that with sustainability, business success can be driven easily, waste and costs can be reduced and new product innovation achieved with ideas for the next generation being outlined. Some unique actions are organized by Unilever employees to create environmental awareness. Such initiative includes meatless Monday lunch campaign which is meant to enhance education concerning the meat industry and the contribution it has on the emission of greenhouse gases plus the impacts on human health. The “herb gardens@unilever” is a campaign in which the Unilever employees also get involved with the aim of learning how to plant and harvest their herbs (“Top Employer: Unilever Canada Inc.”).

All these activities carried out by Unilever, are in line with the three needs of the theory and based on the desires for achievement; it is evident that the activities and especially the many unique brands that they launch and the fascinating programs are all aimed at the urge to achieve its goals. The need for affiliation which aims at being liked by others is also expressed in the uniqueness quality brands which has set the company aside and outstanding among its competitors. The need for power has been achieved by the company taking the front seat in coming up with good ideas in which their competitors can only try to imitate but not beat them regarding attracting clients and great collaborations, (Kim et al. 2).

Alternative Theory That Can Be Used Effectively the Company for Its Success

Equity theory is used for employee motivation because it focuses on the motivation of people through the logic of fairness as they interact with their bosses. This form of fairness results from the social comparisons that people make. Employees are fond of comparing their inputs and outcomes with their colleagues, and the moment they sense any form of unfair treatment they tend to get demoralized. Fairness is perceived as the belief that their input to outcome ratios they are bringing into the company is similar to what their colleagues are doing. Unilever Canada can make use of this theory by ensuring good deeds of the employees are rewarded and on equal grounds (Doyle 330). Any perceptions of inequity are most likely to create tension among the staff, and they may be driven into actions that reduce the perceived inequality. The theory may assist the company to react to the different inequities by ensuring that it does not interfere with its operations. In distorting perceptions, Unilever can focus on changing the thinking of an individual to ensure they believe that the referent is more skilled compared to the previous perceptions, i.e., Increasing of the referent inputs by encouraging them to work harder and increasing of the outcomes through negotiations in a bid to attain better performance. Openness in term of the reasons behind payment difference among employees is important as it helps in ensuring that there is coexistence among the employees and no one feels unequally paid. Distributive justice can be used by Unilever Canada to ensure all the outcomes from their business are fair. If someone truly deserves promotion at their workplaces, they will feel the distributive justice is fairly done and will thus take up the responsibilities without any fear ("Why Your Employees Are Losing Motivation."). This process ensures that the employees can perceive the presence of the notion fairness in all the activities of the company and thus a creation of a conducive working environment unlike if something is done without out a cogent reason and the rest of the staff are left wondering the basis on which the decision was attained. In such situations, the company can make use of procedural justice of the equity theory to ensure decision-making procedures that are fair are followed to the end.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Undoubtedly, Unilever Canada deserves the top ranking in being among the best employer in 2017, this notion is based on it accomplishment both financially and it enormous contributions to societal development. The company understands what it takes to motivate its employees and it does this through the creation of a good environment for working. Since Unilever Canada is a global company; the acquired needs theory can be applied to most of its operations to ensure that increased organizational success are part their operations. The various ways in which this theory can be used include; in the share purchase plan, the employees should be assessed regarding their social status so that those with pressing needs are offered better plans and not just operating with a flat rate plan which cuts across all the employees. Having carried out a detailed analysis of the company, this study therefore recommends the adopted of the following steps for improved performance and maintenance of its market leadership. First, the maternity leaves top-ups should cover all the mothers and not just first-time mothers, because mothers who join the company after having their first kids may be locked out of these top-up payments once they leave for maternity leave. No childbirth comes with lesser needs, and therefore the cover should be for all mothers. The three paid day offs for the employees to engage in community service should reviewed, in such a way that more workers are encouraged to participate by free will. When employees rely solely on company’s incentive