Inroduction to Companies Etisalat Lanka Business Essay

As a consultant of leading management consultancy I am going to do a brief research on the organizations and behavior section. To do this assignment I have selected two companies in the telecommunication industry. One is Etisalat Lanka PVT LTD which is based in Abu Dhabi and operating in 18 countries including Sri Lanka and second company is Lanka Bell Services PVT LTD which is operated only in Sri Lanka. So in this assignment I am going to discuss briefly in their organizations structure and culture areas, and also I am going to discuss about the current leadership styles of the companies.

INRODUCTION TO COMPANIES

Etisalat Lanka (PVT)(LTD)

Sri Lanka's first Cellular networks, then called Celltel inaugurated its operations in 1989. A brand name change was done on the 25th of January 2007 and thereafter named "Tigo" and this was transformed with Milicom disposing its Asian operations. They are now a company fully owned and operated by the giant Emirates Telecommunication Corporation in UAE. It has extended operations to Asian markets such as India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia and now Sri Lanka, recording over 100 million subscribers across 18 countries offering opportunities for synergy with their other operations in the region. Etisalat officially commenced its operations in Sri Lanka on the 25th of February 2010.

Lanka bell limited

Lanka Bell is a telecommunication operator that provides full range of telecommunication service to business and residential customers in Sri Lanka. With the recent introduction revolutionary low cost CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technology, Lanka Bell continues to expand its robust modern digital network that currently specializes in internet, data and voice services. Lanka Bell was formed in 1997 as the single largest BOI Company in Sri Lanka. It was subsequently acquired by the privately held diversified conglomerate Milford Holdings (Private) Limited in 2005. Lanka Bell remains firmly rooted in Sri Lanka as a telecommunications giant that continues to challenge the industry through its unparalleled portfolio of services.

Etisalat and Lanka bell both are running in the telecommunication industry so most of the factors in the culture and structure are same. They both are using functional organizational structure

Organization structure of Lanka Bell Services (PVT) (LTD)

GM Technical Operation Assistant manager Senior manager General Manager -HR Marketing manager Business Analysis Manager - HR Manager- Revenue Assurance DGM control /MIS Area Sales Managers Sales Executives HR Assistants Billing staff Director Internal accountant Director Manager- credit control Director Senior service executives Director Trainer GM IT teams Associates clerical Supervisors Director Customer care Executives Director Internal accountant Director Billing staff Director

Organization's culture at Lanka bell and Etisalat

There are many definitions for organizational culture but a popular and simple way of defining culture is 'how things are done around here' A more detailed definition is : The collection of traditions, values, policies, beliefs, and attitudes that constitute a pervasive context for everything we do and think in an organization (Atkinson) There are four g types of culture such as: Power culture, Role culture, Task culture and person culture. As both companies are in the telecommunication industry and also both companies are larger companies in Sri Lanka they are following the Role culture.

What is Role Culture?

Role culture stereotyped as a bureaucracy and works by logic and rationality. Role culture rests on the strength of strong organizational 'pillars' - the functions of specialists in, for e.g.; finance, purchasing and production. The work of, and interaction between the pillars is controlled by procedures and rules and coordinated by the pediment of senior managers. Role or job description is more important than the individual and position is the main source of power. (Laurie J. Mullins 8th edition) So role culture is Common in most organizations today. In a role culture, organizations are split into various functions and each individual within the function is assigned a particular role. The role culture has the benefit of specialization. Employees focus on their particular role as assigned to them by their job description and this should increase productivity for the company. This culture is quite logical to organize in a large organization.

Different dimensions of organizations culture in Etisalat and Lanka Bell

Profit Orientation

In Etisalat and Lanka Bell profit orientation is law because their main target is to give a best service to their customers, they are concerning highly on customer satisfaction and delight

People Orientation

People orientation is high in Etisalat because they are paying high salary to their staffs and they are also paying special incentives according to their performance, their working environment is very pleasant, they are organizing get to gather parties and motivational programs for their employees but in Lanka Bell People orientation is Law.

Team Orientation

Team Orientation is high in Etisalat because its employees prefer to work in groups rather in individuals to achieve their sales targets. So team orientation will lead the company to increase their sales. But in Lanka Bell team orientation is Low where their employees are prefer to work as individuals

Innovation

Innovation is high in Etisalat they are coming with new products quickly, they starts with prepaid connection, after that came with postpaid, launched 3G, broadband and they are going to launch Etisalat TV. But in Lanka Bell it is very low they are rely only in CDMA connection

There many approaches used by the both companies those are : Human relations approach Systems approach Contingency approach

The main emphasis of the classical writers was on structure and the formal organization, but during the 1920,s the years of the great depression, greater attention began to be paid to the social factors at work and to the behavior of employees within an organization - that is, to human relations. Human relations approach Emphasized importance of human attitudes, values and relationships for the efficient and effective functioning of work organizations.

The classical approach emphasized the technical requirement of the organizations and its needs-'organizations without people' the human relations approaches emphasized the psychological and social aspects, and the consideration of human- needs- 'people without organizations' Attention is focus on the total work organization and the inter relationships of structure and behavior. Productivity is viewed as a function of the interplay among people, structure, and the environment. The organization is a complex social and technical open system that requires human, financial, and material resources.

The contingency approach to organization developed as a reaction to the idea that there are 'universal principles' for designing organizations, motivating staff etc. newer research suggested that different forms of organizational structure could be equally successful. (Class Notes) The contingency approach, which can be seen as an extension of the systems approach, highlights possible means of differentiating among alternative forms of the organization structures and systems of management. (Laurie J. Mullins 8th edition) The organization's structure must be matched to its environment to enhance performance. The optimal form of an organization is contingent on the circumstances faced by that organization including patients, third-party payers, regulators, and personnel.

Different leadership styles that Etisalat and Lanka Bell are following:

Leadership style is the way in which the functions of leadership are carried out, the way in which typically behaves towards members of the group. Both companies are using the Democratic style, and Laissez- faire (Genuine) style because of marketing growth and due to the size of the company, for which the autocratic style is not suitable to follow in the telecommunication industry. Democratic style is where the focus is more with the group as a whole, and there is greater interaction within the group. The leader ship functions are shared with the members of the group and the manager is more part of a team. Laissez- faire (Genuine) style is where the manager observes that members of the group are working well on their own. The manager consciously makes a decision to pass the focus of power to members, to allow them freedom of action 'to do as they think best,' and not to interfere but is readily available if help is needed. There is often confusion over the style of leadership behavior.

The democratic leader works with the group to help members to come to their own decisions, the Laissez- faire leader leaves the group alone to do whatever it wants. Both styles are good for both the companies, because there are number of teams, and departments, in both companies. Therefore the democratic style will suite certain departments and teams, when there is a situation where the team members are unable to make a good decision, compared to the Laissez- faire style which will be applicable to departments and teams who are able to make effective decisions rather than relying on the manager's decisions.

Risk is low. Managers have experience in making effective decisions; therefore this reduces the risk of making bad or wrong choices. If the ideas are going to be open for everyone, then everyone needs to feel comfortable enough to put their ideas on the table. So there are lots of ideas will generated It takes advantage of the knowledge and expertise of individuals in different areas, for high quality, flexible decision making. Keeps staff informed about everything that affects their work and shares decision making and problem solving responsibilities. Staff likes the trust they receive and respond with cooperation, team spirit, and high morale increasing. Develops plans to help staff evaluate their own performance. Allows staff to establish goals Encourages staff to grow on the job and be promoted

The manager provides little or no direction and gives staff as much freedom as possible so it motivates employees. In the telecommunication sector there are lots of sales team so, those teams can do their own works to achieve their own goals, this will increase the sales All authority or power given to the staff and they determine goals, make decisions, and resolve problems on their own. Employees are involved in decisions. This encourages motivation through greater interest and involvement so new ideas are generated. The free reign approach can prove an effective type of leadership when the team has achieved identity and cohesion, resulting in motivated and resourceful team members. In such situations, the sharing of authority and minimal direction empowers team members.

When there is a technological breakthrough that has taken place last week affecting the companies, and the industry as whole, a democratic style leader could consider the following actions to motivate the employees: Introducing the main goal of the given project Encourage team members to communicate openly, honestly and continuously Members should be made aware of the company's economical structure and growth to help them think and produce ideas that are more applicable to the company. Arranging a brainstorming session to collect new ideas to compete with the breakthrough. The ideas collected through the brainstorming session have to go through the new product development process in order to face the new technological breakthrough. Increasing the working hours, and pay the employees more for working overtime. Should produce special incentives according to their performance

 DIFFERENT MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES FOR LANKA BELL

A useful starting point is the work of Maslow and his theory of individual development and motivation published originally in 1943. Maslow's basic preposition is that people wanting beings. They always want more, and what they want depends on what they already have. He suggests that human needs are arranged in a series of levels, a hierarchy of importance. (Mullins, pg 257, 8th Ed. 2007). In this motivation theory Maslow has identified the human needs in five main levels. From at the lowest level physiological needs, through safety needs, love needs and esteem needs, to the need for self-actualization. 450px-Maslow's_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg.png Image 01. Maslow's hierarchy of need model

The Two-factor theory (also known asA Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theoryA andA Dual-Factor Theory) states that there are certain factors in theA workplaceA that causeA job satisfaction, while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction. Herzberg's original study consisted of interviews with 203 accounts and engineers, chosen because of their growing importance in the business world from different industries in the Pittsburgh area of America. He used the critical incident method. Subjects were asked to relate times when they felt exceptionally good or exceptionally bad about their present job or any previous jobs, they were asked to give reasons and a description of the sequence of events giving rise to that feeling. Responses to the interviews were generally consistent and revealed that there were two different sets of factors affecting motivation and work. This led to the two-factor theory of motivation and job satisfaction. (Mullins, pg 261, 8th Ed. 2007). images.jpg

The model of motivation of Vroom's expectancy theory, particularly as it was extended by Porter and Lawler and supplemented by several other theories. Expectancy theory is a broad theory of motivation that attempts to explain the determinants of workplace attitudes and behaviors. The three major concepts underline expectancy theory are those of Valence, Instrumentality and Expectancy, which form VIE theory.

Valance is a measure of the attraction a given outcome holds for an individual, or the satisfaction the person anticipates receiving from a particular outcome.

Instrumentality is a person's belief about the relationship between performing an action and experiencing an outcome. Determining people's instrumentalities is important because their desire to perform a particular action is likely to be strong only when both valance and instrumentality are perceived as acceptably high.

Expectancies are beliefs regarding the link between making an effort and actually performing well whereas knowledge about valances and instrumentalities tells us what an individual wants to do. We cannot know what the individual will try to do without knowing the person's expectancies.

Conclusion

Expectancy theory thus defines motivation in terms of desire and effort whereby the achievement of desired outcomes results from the interaction of valances, instrumentalities, and expectancies. Desire comes about only when both valance and instrumentality are high, and effort comes about only when all three are high. 4. "Theory X and Theory Y" of Douglas McGregor: McGregor, in his book "The Human side of Enterprise" states that people inside the organization can be managed in two ways. The first is basically negative, which falls under the category X and the other is basically positive, which falls under the category Y. After viewing the way in which the manager dealt with employees, McGregor concluded that a manager's view of the nature of human beings is based Under the assumptions of theory X: Employees inherently do not like work and whenever possible, will attempt to avoid it. Because employees dislike work, they have to be forced, coerced or threatened with punishment to achieve goals. Employees avoid responsibilities and do not work fill formal directions are issued. Most workers place a greater importance on security over all other factors and display little ambition.

In contrast under the assumptions of theory Y: Physical and mental effort at work is as natural as rest or play. People do exercise self-control and self-direction and if they are committed to those goals. Average human beings are willing to take responsibility and exercise imagination, ingenuity and creativity in solving the problems of the organization. That the way the things are organized, the average human being's brainpower is only partly used. On analysis of the assumptions it can be detected that theory X assumes that lower-order needs dominate individuals and theory Y assumes that higher-order needs dominate individuals. An organization that is run on Theory X lines tends to be authoritarian in nature, the word "authoritarian" suggests such ideas as the "power to enforce obedience" and the "right to command." In contrast Theory Y organizations can be described as "participative", where the aims of the organization and of the individuals in it are integrated; individuals can achieve their own goals best by directing their efforts towards the success of the organization. However, this theory has been criticized widely for generalization of work and human behavior.

 

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