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Assignment Front Sheet

Qualification Unit Number and Title

Pearson BTEC Level 4 HND Diploma in Business Unit 3: Organisations and Behaviour

Student Name Student No.

Assessor name Nadine Gibson

Date of Issue Completion date Submitted on

18th April 2014 

30TH May 2014

Assignment title Organisation and Behaviour:

Learning

Outcome

Learning

outcome

Assessment

criteria

In this assessment you will

have the opportunity to

present evidence that shows

you are able to

Task

No.

Evidence

(Page no)

LO1 Understandtherelationshipbetweenorganisationalstructure andculture

1.1 Compare and contrastdifferent organisationalstructures and cultures

1

1.2 Explain how the relationshipbetween an organisation’sstructure and culture canimpact on the performance

1

1.3 Discuss the factors whichinfluence individual behaviour

at work

1

LO2 Understanddifferentapproaches tomanagementandleadership.

2.1 Compare the effectiveness ofdifferent leadership styles indifferent organisations

2

2.2 Explain how organisationaltheory underpins the practiceof management

2

2.3 Evaluate the differentapproaches to managementby different organisations

2

LO3 Understandways of usingmotivationaltheories in

3.1 Discuss the impact thatdifferent leadership stylesmay have on motivation inorganisations in periods of

3

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organisations change3.2 Compare the application of

different motivational theorieswithin the workplace

3

3.3 Evaluate the usefulness of amotivation theory formanagers

3

LO4 Understandmechanismsfor developingeffectiveteamwork inorganisations

4.1 Explain the nature of groupsand group behaviour withinorganisations

4

4.2 Discuss factors that maypromote or inhibit thedevelopment of effectiveteamwork in organisations

4

4.3 Evaluate the impact oftechnology on teamfunctioning within a givenorganisation

4

Learner declaration

I certify that the work submitted for this assignment is my own and research sources are fully

acknowledged.

Student Signature: Date: 

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In addition to the above PASS criteria, this assignment gives you the opportunity to submit evidence in order to achieve the followingMERIT and DISTINCTION grades.

Grade Descriptor Indicative characteristic/s Contextualisation

M1 Identify and apply strategies tofind appropriate solutions

Effective judgements havebeen made

 An effective approach tostudy and research has beenapplied 

To achieve M1, you will make effective judgments about the organisationalstructure and culture that is most suitable to Zappos.(Task 1)

M2 Select/Design and applyappropriate methods/techniques

Relevant theories andtechniques have beenapplied 

To achieve M2, you will have used relevant management theories to underpinand justify your arguments, particularly in terms of establishing the linkbetween management/leadership style and motivation as well as exploring theapproaches to motivation used by Zappos ( Task 2 & 3) 

M3 Present and communicateappropriate findings

The appropriate structure andapproach have been used

 A range of sources ofinformation has been used 

To achieve M3, your work will be presented in the appropriate formats andpresentation. Evidence of wider reading and research. (Task 1,2,3 &4) 

D1 Use critical reflection to evaluateown work and justify valid conclusions

Conclusions have beenarrived at through synthesisof ideas and have been

 justified 

To achieve D1, you will have drawn conclusions which underscore the linksbetween motivation, leadership, organisational structure and employeeperformance.( Task 1 &3)

D2 Take responsibility for managingand organising activities

 Autonomy/ independencehas been demonstrated

To achieve D2, you will have displayed an effective approach to independentresearch. work is referenced appropriately using the Harvard system (Task

1,2,3 and 4) 

D3 Demonstrate convergent/lateraland creative thinking

Effective thinking has takenplace in unfamiliar context

To achieve D3, you will need to demonstrate critical thinking and analysis. Youshould be able to link theory to practice. ( Task 1,2,3 & 4) 

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Assignment Brief

Unit Number and title Unit 3: Organisations and Behaviour

Qualification Pearson BTEC Level 4 HND Diploma in Business

Start Date 18th April 2014

Deadline 30th May 2014

Assessor Nadine Gibson

Assignment title

Purpose of this assignment

This assignment explores the impact of individual and group behaviour within

organisations. It focuses on exploring the link between organisational structure and

culture and their impact on individual and group behaviour. Structure and culture are

influenced by the organisation’s size, the approach to leadership and management.

The structure and culture of an organisation are key factors contributing to the

motivation of the workforce at all level in the organisation. In addition, the assignment

will explore the links between structure and culture and effective team working.

De-layering, team-working, multi-skilling, integrated job descriptions and empowerment

are all features of modern organisations. All of which is centred on the need for more

flexible organisation and management in the face of continuous change.

Organisations have devolved from traditional hierarchical structures with rigid cultures,

to flatter structures with adaptive cultures and participative styles of management.

While most organisation evolution is often continuous, incorporating modern

management practice overtime, some organisations, such as Zappos, are taking a

more radical approach to organisational re-structuring.

Zappos, was founded in 1999 by Nick Swinmurn and has since become one of the

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largest online shoe stores. In 2009, Zappos was purchased by Amazon.

Zappos is known for its unconventional corporate culture. The company’s Q4 “All

Hands” meeting in November 2013 was aptly-themed “Gone Wild”: one female

employee voluntarily climbed into a case filled with tarantulas to win a $250 gift

card. The event opened with a Lion King   performance put on by employees at the

Smith Center in downtown Las Vegas and closed with an after party at the museum

next door. Focusing on company culture and customer service is how CEO Tony Hsieh

built Zappos into a billion-dollar online retailer. While he’s not getting rid of those

priorities, Hsieh is laying the groundwork for a major reorganisation.

Zappos’  recently announced that its traditional organisational structure is being

replaced with Holacracy, a radical “self -governing” operating system where there are

no job titles and no managers. The term Holacracy is derived from the Greek

word holon, which means a whole that’s part of a greater whole. Instead of a top-down

hierarchy, there’s a flatter “holarchy” that distributes power more evenly. The company

will be made up of different circles—there will be around 400 circles at Zappos once

the rollout is complete in December 2014—and employees can have any number of

roles within those circles. This way, there’s no hiding under titles; radical transparency

is the goal. 

CEOs who sign on to Holacracy agree to relinquish some level of power. The

advantage is that they get to view their company through an entirely different lens. But

it’s an adjustment for both leaders and employees. Zappos, which has 1,500

employees, will be the largest company to date to implement Holacracy.

“We’re classically trained to think of ‘work’ in the traditional paradigm,” says John

Bunch, who, along with Alexis Gonzales-Black, is leading the transition to Holacracy at

Zappos. “One of the core principles is people taking personal accountability for their

work. It’s not leaderless. There are certainly people who hold a bigger scope of

purpose for the organisation than others. What it does do is distribute leadership into

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each role. Everybody is expected to lead and be an entrepreneur in their own roles,

and Holacracy empowers them to do so.” 

In its highest-functioning form, he says, the system is “politics-free, quickly evolving to

define and operate the purpose of the organization, responding to market and real-

world conditions in real time. It’s creating a structure in which people have flexibility to

pursue what they’re passionate about.” 

Twitter Co-Founder Ev Williams is one of the system’s early adopters; he uses

Holacracy to run his publishing platform Medium, which has around 50 employees.

Jason Stirman, whose roles include head of people operations and product designer at

Medium, says that one of the best things about Holacracy is that it facilitates

autonomy. “Ev isn’t the CEO of Medium to have another title for his Twitter bio graphy.

He wants the company to operate at the highest level possible, and he recognizes that

all the power consolidated at top is great for people who are hungry but it can be a total

bottleneck. There are decisions he wants to make and the rest can be absorbed in

other areas of the organization.” 

Still, Holacracy can feel unnatural, especially at first. Meetings are designed to rapidly

process tensions. The focus is on the work, not the people. “It’s not a very human -

centric model for things,” says Stirman. “For example, if you’re a junior designer,

Holacracy says that you should bring up everything in this forum, but it can be difficult

to ask for feedback or mentorship, especially when you’re new.” 

Robertson says that Holacracy is meant to address structural issues, and that leaders

will respond to the human element in different ways. Medium has created mentorship

circles, and Zappos has similar plans. Williams and Hsieh both “have a high capacity to

see the complex systems at play in their organizations,” says Robertson. “It’s not linear

or a matter of just following the logical argument; it’s seeing the cloud of

interconnections and influences, beyond just cause and effect thinking.” 

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 At the Zappos “All Hands” meeting Hsieh said that at most companies, “there’s  the

organisation chart on paper, and then the one that is exactly how the company

operates for real, and then there’s the organisation chart that it would like to have in

order to operate more efficiently. … [With Holacracy] the idea is to process tensions so

that the three organisational charts are pretty close together.” 

Hsieh’s plans for Zappos are part of an even more ambitious undertaking. He’s

currently investing $350 million of his own fortune to transform downtown Las Vegas,

where Zappos’ is now headquartered, into an improved holarchical system. For Hsieh,

work, play and everything else are already a series of overlapping circles. (Source:

www.qz.com) 

Task 1 (LO1: 1.1,1.2,1.3 and

(a) Discuss the advantages and disadvantages to Zappos (i) if they maintain a

traditional hierarchical structure, and (ii) if they adopt a flatter structure.

(b) Explain how the new organisational structure and culture may impact on bothemployee and organisational performance.

Task 2 (LO2: 2.1,2.2,2.3 and

Compare and contrast the leadership and management styles of Zappos with its

parent company Amazon. Use appropriate management and leadership theories to

underpin and justify your answer.

Task 3 (LO3: 3.1,3.2,3.3 and

(a) Examine how Zappos leadership style may affect the motivation of their

employees during the organisational re-structuring.

(b) Clearly defined job titles, responsibilities and authority have traditionally

been used as a means of motiving employees. Under the new organisation

structure there are no job titles or managers. Critically discuss the alternative

http://www.qz.com/http://www.qz.com/http://www.qz.com/

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approaches Zappos can use to motivate their staff.

(c) Evaluate the benefits of motivation to both Zappos and its employees.

Task 4 (LO4: 4.1,4.2,4.3 and

Zappos’s flatter organisational structure will be made of ‘circles’ or groups.

(a) Explain the behaviours and dynamics of groups, including the factors that may

inhibit effective group formation and teamwork.

(b) Discuss the strategies that Zappos can use to develop and promote effective

teamwork. Examine the impact of technology on teamwork.

Evidence

Checklist

Summary of evidence Evidence presented

Task 1 Essay (word count 750 max ) Task 2 Essay (word count 900 max)Task 3 Essay (word count 1100 max)Task 4 Essay (word count 750 max)  AdditionalInformation

References ( Harvard referencing system)

Important 

  Plagiarism, collusion and non-compliance with assessment regulations are offences underthe awarding body regulations and where suspected will be thoroughly investigated underoff icial procedures.

  Penalties may be imposed depending on the severity of the offence, as per the awardingbody guidance.

  Appropriate citations of source documents are essential when presentingwritten/word processed work and it is crucial that you quote the books, journals,websites etc. that you used whilst you carried out desk research.

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Achievement Summary

Qualification Pearson BTEC Level 4 HNDBusiness

AssessorName

Nadine Gibson

Unit Numberand title

Unit 3: Organisations and Behaviour

Student Name Student No.

CriteriaReference

To achieve the criteria the evidence must show that thestudent is able to:

Achieved?(tick)

LO1

1.1 Compare and contrast different organisational structures and

culture1.2 Explain how the relationship between an organisation’sstructure and culture can impact on the performance if thebusiness

1.3 Discuss the factors which influence individual behaviour atwork

LO2

2.1 Compare the effectiveness of different leadership styles indifferent organisations

2.2 Explain how organisational theory underpins the practice ofmanagement

2.3 Evaluate the different approaches to management used bydifferent organisations

LO3

3.1 Discuss the impact that different leadership styles may haveon motivation in organisations in periods of change.

3.2 Compare the application of different motivational theorieswithin the workplace.

3.3 Evaluate the usefulness of a motivation theory for mangers

LO4

4.1 Explain the nature of groups and group behaviour withinorganisations4.2 Discuss the factors that my promote or inhibit the

development of effective teamwork in organisations4.3 Evaluate the impact of technology on team functioning within

a given organisation

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Grade Descriptor Achieved?(tick)

Grade descriptor Achieved?(tick)

M1 Indentify and applystrategies to find appropriatesolutions

D1 Use critical reflection toevaluate own work and justifyvalid conclusions 

M2 Select/Design and applyappropriatemethods/techniques

D2 Take responsibility formanaging and organisingactivities 

M3 Present andcommunicate appropriatefindings

D3 Demonstrateconvergent/lateral andcreative thinking 

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Assignment Feedback

Formative Feedback: Assessor to Student

Action Plan

Summative feedback

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Feedback: Student to Assessor

Assessor

Signature

Date

Student

Signature

Date