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Management Research Project

These are the broad topics that form part of organizational behavior in any organization. The selected topics will be discussed in relation to DHL Global Forwarding. Also how a manager can make use of these factors for the betterment of his abilities will also be discussed. DHL Global Forwarding: DHL is considered to be one of the leading transportation and logistics companies in the world with delivery destinations in more than 220 countries. DHL was formed in 1969 as an innovative concept in shuttling goods between San Francisco and Honolulu. The company was founded by Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn and the name DHL was taken by taking the first letters from Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn. There were no express delivery services like the one DHL offered and the company grew rapidly to its present top position of businesses in its class. The Company with more than 30,000 employees and 4000 offices worldwide is now a part of the Deutsche Post Group. The company has four main divisions namely DHL Express, Supply Chain Corporate Information Solutions, Mail and Global Forwarding. DHL Express: DHL Express is a global air and rail based courier and express delivery company. It offers its services to both organizations and private individuals. The company markets its services under three names namely Same Day, Time Definite and Day Definite. Services are offered in more than 220 countries and territories. Supply Chain Corporate Information Solutions: As the name indicates, this division is concerned with providing logistics and corporate information solutions to corporate clients and not to individuals. Solutions to customers are tailor made to their specifications and include such services as warehousing, transportation and value added services that cover the entire supply chain of its clients. Its clients include companies from diverse areas such as automobile, fast moving consumer

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goods, life sciences, retail, fashion and technology based industries. Services include digitizing, printing, storing, managing addresses, dispatching, and archiving of documents of its clients. Mail: The Company offers mail services to individual and corporate clients in more than 200 countries around the world. It also offers integrated mailing solutions to its corporate clients. Global Forwarding: This paper will focus on this particular division in applying three topics of organizational behavior. This division was formed mainly for air and sea transportation of goods and also includes overland services in its European markets. Goods can be transported at an agreed price and delivered to its destination at an agreed price and date. Services under this division also include logistics services and customs assistance in various ports. This business unit stands for flexible, individualized solutions: national and international full-container-load and less-than-container-load services - via road, rail or inter-modal transportation. In addition, our comprehensive customs brokerage services ensure smooth cross-border shipments. (Number one in Express and Logistics. 2008). This division has two subdivisions, one for airfreight and the other for goods transported by sea. They are called Access DHL Global Forwarding services (Air) and Access DHL Global Forwarding services (Ocean) respectively. The former offers a range of services bearing names like Air First, Airfreight Plus, Air Premium, Se Air and Air Value. It also offers value added services, specialized services, special handling and transportation facilities for industrial projects. Its ocean transport division offers partial container load facility, full container load facility, non-containerized loads, value-added services and transportation facilities for industrial projects. The division also offers customized supply chain management services.

It is proposed that out of the many diverse topics that come under the ambit of organizational

Management Research Project

behavior, three topics namely cross-cultural management, leadership and motivation be taken up for discussion. It will be seen how these topics can be useful to a manager in bettering his managerial abilities and providing maximum value to his employers and the workers employees who work under him. Cross cultural management: This topic is gaining momentum across organizations the world over because of increasing globalization and the proliferation of multi-national companies. Companies are in the process of expanding internationally due to the fact that many traditionally orthodox and closed markets have been opening up for investment opportunities. An example would be India and China which did not encourage presence of foreign goods and companies on its soil till the late 1970s and early 1980s. It is not unusual to find the top management positions being held by managers belonging to the home country. Moreover expatriates have been going abroad to more advanced economies for better prospects and finding employment in those markets. A person from an Asian country working in the western world or vice-versa would find a vast difference in cultures and belief of their respective countries. It is a fact that culture has an important role in beliefs and behavior and this will be reflected inside the workplace also. Cross-cultural organizational behavior can be defined as the study of individual behavior and team processes in which national cultural characteristics play a major role as independent or moderating variables. (Tsui, Nifadkar and Ou, 2007, ). Diversity in culture throws a host of problems and challenges for mangers who are in charge of multi-cultural employee group. One of the major challenges that may arise is the difference in language. Many Asian countries still have a majority of their population not being able to understand English.

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For a manager of DHL Global Forwarding in the Asia-Pacific Region will have to deal with people from nearly forty countries. Their training division is finding it a challenge to produce training materials in the myriad languages spoken in those countries. A training manual originally written in English cannot be literally translated to say Japanese or Chinese. Also it would be a challenge to find trainers who can speak more than one or two languages. All this entails additional costs and other resources for the company. A training session which incorporates employees from Japan and India cannot be done because both of them are unable to understand the language of the other country. There is no easy way out of this and due care and efforts have to be taken by the HR managers who are in charge of training to see that proper training in their respective languages is given to people in each country. Training materials also have to be developed likewise. Language also poses a problem of communication of lack of it such markets. The manager who is from the host country will have to see that he makes himself understood by at least learning the basics of the host country language. A similar problem will arise if the manager has people from many countries working under him. In such a situation he will have to see to it that the home country language is taught to the expatriate employees so that proper communication can take place. Another major challenge that a DHL manager may face is the difference in work culture. The manger will find that DHL offices in China may have a high employee turnover whereas those in Japan will not. Managers in the US are extremely performance oriented whereas Indian employees are more used to a lenient work culture. All this will be affected by the degree of influence the employee or employee groups have inside the organization. If the influence is high the manager might find it difficult to bring about a common organizational behavior among his employees.

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Hence, the DHL manger will have to be trained in studying the different cultures of the markets he may operate during his stint in foreign markets. Even then he will have to have a lot of patience and understanding to bring the corporate work culture into each market. An invaluable tool that the manager can use is the Hofstede Cultural Dimensions Model for having a broad understanding and comparison of the cultures of different countries. The model differentiates culture into five dimensions namely Power Distance (PDI), Individualism (IDV), Masculinity (MAS), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) and Long-term Orientation LTO). PDI refers to how the general population views the distribution of power in their country. Certain cultures will have unequal distribution with some people wielding large powers and a section with low power. Individualism refers to the tendency of people to stay alone or belong to groups in their daily lives. High individualism means people live independently (small families or living alone) and are able to look after themselves. Masculinity refers to the role and authority of women in society. High masculinity cultures will show men having the dominant role in most walks of life. Uncertainty Avoidance is the tendency to avoid ambiguity and uncertainty. High UAI cultures will tend to plan things meticulously. Long Term Orientation (And Short Term Orientation STO) is given as attributes that are peculiar to each category. LTO cultures will have persistence, a sense of order, thrift, having sense of shame etc. STO cultures will have personal steadiness, face saving attitude, respect of traditions, reciprocation (E.g. gifts, greetings) etc. (Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions).

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Leadership: Leadership quality is an essential factor for any successful manager irrespective of whether he is working at home or abroad. In fact leadership is important in all areas of human activity. Leadership can be defined by using the clich that it is a process by which one person
influences the thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors of others. (Mills 2005, P. 11). There are some common qualities that all leaders should have irrespective of the type of organization they lead.

They include having a vision, commitment to the organization and the people who belong to it, taking responsibility without hesitation, taking responsibilities for failure and accepting accolades for success. Leadership can be classified into different styles. There are autocratic leaders who hold absolute control in all aspects of work, He will not have participation of the employee in making decisions and his word will be law in the workplace. This type of leadership is not very visible today especially in a global environment where DHL Global Forwarding operates. Then there is the participative style of leadership where employee participation is sought in all aspects of the working of the organization. Employees are encouraged to give opinions and present new ideas for the betterment of the organization as well as the employees. This type of leadership would be ideal for a DHL manager because it will help in understanding cultural and social differences that may exist in the workplace. Constant interaction with the employees will help in bringing about a closer relationship with his multi-cultural employees. The third type is where the leader gives a free reign to his employees in the hope that they will be able to conduct their jobs best in that way. This style may be suitable in a situation where work culture is highly developed. But it will not be suitable for a multi-cultural organization like DHL Global Forwarding where different work cultures and attitudes mix.

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Mangers working there should take a not of this fact and should approach a more participative style coupled with the exercising of a certain among of control and authority. When DHL became a part of the Deutsche Post, a program called 360 Online Degree Feedback framework was adopted to integrate its diversity of operations and regions. The program was designed to achieve three aims: Performance management Talent Review Senior Leadership development Program

The program was an online one whereby its managers across the globe could participate in all the three areas mentioned above. The online nature of the system would provide a streamlined structure that could be applied cost-effectively throughout the new organizations massive network. (DHL 360 Online - Developing a Global Solution fro Leadership Development: DHL Identify need for Online Solution with Global Reach. 2005). All multi-national companies with global divisions such as Freight Forwarding face similar challenges and have to adapt and learn to be able to stay competent. For a manager in a division like DHL Global Forwarding, the 360 Degree Feedback Program which is an example of participatory management style, was useful in understanding the needs, aspirations and views of its many employees across the globe. They should continue to make use of such programs in future also to cope up with increased competition from other global and local competitors.

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Motivation: Like leadership, motivation is another important factor that affects productivity and job satisfaction among employers. Unless workers are motivated they will not be able to give their best towards the organization they work for. It is true some that people can be self-motivated and need no external motivation to perform. But in majority of the cases it is the organization that has to provide the factors that will motivate employees individually and as a group. It is the responsibility of the manager to influence these factors and get people motivated to give their best for their organization. Motivation is the set of processes that moves a person toward a goal. Thus, motivated behaviors are voluntary choices controlled by the individual employee. The supervisor (motivator) wants to influence the factors that motivate employees to higher levels of productivity. (Management Modern. 1998). In the case of a group of employees, there are certain factors that will motivate them collectively. They include characteristics of the job, policies and work practices of the organization and individual characteristics of the employee. Individually the factors that motivate people to work harder include personal needs, individual values, attitude of the employee and interests. Simply put the behavior of a person happens so that it can satisfy his needs and wants. So the primary reason that will motivate a person to work is live a secure life. But this is too simplistic to be applied to human beings especially in this day and age. This was the attitude among managers till modern theories of management began to recognize the fact that people are motivated by a host of things other than money and job security. So in the case of an international division like DHL Global Forwarding, it is up to the manager and the company to see that their employees are kept motivated. There are certain theories of motivation that such mangers can use for this purpose.

Management Research Project

a. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: This theory formulated by Abraham Maslow says that employees are motivated by five classes of needs. They are Physiological needs, Safety needs, Social needs, Esteem needs and Self-actualization needs. Physiological needs are basic like food, clothing and shelter. Safety refers to security for the worker and his family. Social needs are the need to have an affiliation with others, and include feelings of friendship and belonging. Esteem indicates a need for self-respect, recognition and respect from peers and superiors. Self-actualization is more sophisticated and indicates the need for developing to full potential which will give him a feeling of self-fulfillment. According to Maslow, the needs are arranged in priority with physiological needs coming on the strongest. The theory states that once each need is satisfied the employee will feel the need to satisfy the next need. Once physiological needs are met, the next need namely safety needs become important and so on. The DHL manager has to see that the unmet needs are satisfied to keep the employees under him motivated. In a company like DHL the physiological and safety needs would have already been met and the manager needs to concentrate on fulfillment of other needs only. A related theory is Alderfer's ERG theory where ERG stands for existence, relatedness and growth. Maslows Theory has been criticized because he does not consider the individuals personality differs, but considers that these motivators are common to all people. b. McClelland's Learned Needs: McClelland divides motivation into satisfaction of three needs namely achievement, power and affiliation. There is a classification according to individual characteristics and not hierarchical as in the case of Maslows Theory. The theory states that some people are achievement oriented and are motivated by attainment of goals. Some are motivated by the need to dominate others in all situations and circumstances and will be motivated if that happens.

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Outgoing personalities fall into the third category and are motivated to form or join informal and formal groups within an organization. c. Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory: This theory is more sophisticated than the earlier two given above. Herzberg was one of the pioneers in studying employee motivation. His observation was that satisfaction and dissatisfaction were not merely opposites in the work place. Satisfaction is derived from the characteristics of the work itself and was called motivators. Characteristics include achievement, satisfaction, responsibility, type of work etc. Dissatisfaction occurs due to factors like working environment, policies, relationship with colleagues and superiors, security, salary etc and were given the name hygiene factors. d. Theory X and Theory Y: This theory by Douglas McGregor has already been reviewed in the first section of this paper. It deals with contrasting perceptions of managers and workers regarding the latters attitude towards work. e. Vrooms Expectancy Theory: This theory states that people will behave in a particular way if it leads to fulfillment of their needs. They are also aware that certain activities can also lead to unpleasant situations. f. Contingency Theory: This theory formulated by Fred Luthans states that a particular type of management practices will work in a particular work environment. Applying the same practices in another situation may not work out to the benefit of everyone concerned. These are some of the major motivational theories that have been developed over a period of time.

Management Research Project

There are many websites that deal with the three topics selected due to its relative importance in organizational behavior. Several relevant sites are selected for discussion. Cross-cultural Management: Itim International: This website is about Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions. Web Address: http://www.geert-hofstede.com/ Date accessed: 17 Jul 2008 The site quotes Hofstede on the differences and the difficulties that arise due to cross-cultural differences. It also gives a short write up about the man. Hofstede also answers questions on the issue of cross-cultural differences and about the model he has developed. The most interesting and useful point about the site is the comparisons of actual Hofstede scores between nearly 56 countries. For example a person can check the score using the five attributes between USA and Germany. The score will be displayed in the form of a bar graph with the bars of the two countries shown side by side. The site also has sub-pages to works and books by the Hofstede and also to works by other authors on the topic. Another subsection shows links works on international marketing. A link to a book series titled culture smart about business etiquette of many countries is also included. Currently business etiquette information on 55 countries are available. Clicking on the link will take the user to Amazaon.com and he may purchase the book if he wishes. This is an extremely useful site for managers who work in different cultures.

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Global Dynamics Incorporated: Web address: http://www.global-dynamics.com/. Date accessed: 17 Jul 2008 This is a multi-national training organization in cross-cultural management and was founded in 1984 with its headquarters in the United States. The company provides a host of training services in this field. It includes knowledge management services, expatriate cross-cultural training, blended learning, custom interventions, international negotiations, international team building strategies, global project management etc. This site was selected to show that crosscultural training is a subject that is taken seriously across the world. They also have a Knowledge Resource Centre where clients can avail their expertise in a lot of related fields. It includes case studies, data available from other countries, information gathered on request from clients etc. In short the site is a practically covers almost all topics under cross-cultural training, but at a price. The company also has facilities for online consultation. A host of tools are available even for kids, but a free registration and login is necessary to access them. Resources are also available for mentors in the field of cross-cultural relationships. The site is useful for International Assignees, Seminar Participants, Corporate HR managers, Corporate Executives, Corporate Mentors, Consultants.

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Leadership: University of San Francisco College of Professional Studies: Website address: http://www.cps.usfca.edu/academics/obl/ Date accessed: 17 Jul 2008 The site is an introduction to the course named Organizational Behavior and Leadership which is being offered by the University. An academic site was chosen to show the importance of leadership in organizational behavior. It can be seen that there is a strong relation between the two as revealed by the course name. The site gives a course overview on the course home page which is a part of the University home page. It has also links to the complete course modules, syllabus, and faculty along with their bio-data. The program goals, objectives and learning outcomes are also clearly defined. The University conducts this course as a twenty three month program. Other links from the page include what one can expect from a site of this nature. There is also a link to the University home page and the College of Professional study home page. Links to university resources like library, book stores etc are also provided. Prospective students can download a PDF document containing details on how to apply along with an application form.

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Motivation: Work and Organizational Psychology Arena: Website Address: http://www.workpsychologyarena.com/books/Work-Motivation-inOrganizational-Behavior-2nd-Edition-isbn9780805856040 Date accessed: 18 July 2008 For variety a website that reviews a book on motivation and organizational behavior is selected. The book title is Work Motivation in Organizational Behavior and the name of the author is Craig C Pinder. The book is in its second edition and is published by the Psychology Press and is considered to be a bestseller in its class. The book provides a critical analysis of all relevant scientific theories and also integrates the leading theories, their roots and development over the years. The author has also given his views on motivation by saying that additional factors usually not found in theories are also responsible for organizational behavior. The site gives some examples like violence, power, love, and sex, etc. The site has also some reviews about the book by eminent academicians. The first is by Lyman Porter of the University of California. The reviewer says that this book is good enough for the University library. The book is well organized and gives a comprehensive coverage on the subject. The second review is by Timothy Judge of the University of Florida. He too gives a favorable review of the book and states that a book combining motivation and organizational behavior is rare. So this book is valuable for anyone interested in studying the relationship between organizational behavior and motivation. A table of contents is also provided. The site also gives a very brief write-up about the author also. The author is a professor of Organizational Behavior as is a faculty at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. The site also lists other books related to OB and leadership, this shows that the subject is being taken very seriously across the academic and business worlds.

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Organizational behavior and motivation: Psychological and sociological insights: Website address: http://www.helium.com/items/82955-organizational-behavior-andmotivation-psychological-and-sociological-insights?page=2 Date accessed: 18 July 2008 This is in fact an article on the topic by William Quisenbury. The article starts off by explaining and defining the aspects of motivation. The next section deals with different theories of motivation. They include Maslows Hierarchy of Needs theory, Vrooms Equity Theory and the Expectancy theory. The author explains the theories in some detail in the later sections. He also adds that the Equity Theory and the Expectancy theory and minor theories and hence labeled as process theories. The Equity Theory is very popular in American organizations according to the author. He adds that many organizations have successfully implemented many of these theories and have been able to motivate employees for better productivity. Nearing the end he cautions that each situation will be different and the employees will have to be evaluated carefully before implementing OB policies. He ends by saying that it is very important to see that employees are properly rewarded, their participation be encouraged and feedback be offered so that they will feel a sense of being valued by the company. This will also help to motivate them even more.

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Conclusion The manager in the DHL division would do well to be aware of these theories and put them into practice. What he should do is to take the relevant ideas from each theory and formulate practices of his own. People are also motivated by other factors which should also be incorporated. They include motivational quotes and stories, ice-breaking games, appreciation, empathy, workshops, physical activity (in an office environment) etc. The manager in the DHL Global Forwarding Division can also benefit from what is given about the three topics on organizational behavior. He should incorporate them and develop a style of his own that is best suited for the current environment that he is faced with.

Management Research Project

Bibliography

Stephen P.R & Timothy A.J, 2008.Essentials of Organizational Behavior, Pearson International edition: Prentice hall Chapter-1, Understanding Organizational Behaviour: Origins of Organizational Behaviour. UniversalTeacher.com. http://www.universalteacherpublications.com/mba/ebooks/ob/ch1/page2.htm 16 July 2008 DHL 360 Online - Developing a Global Solution fro Leadership Development: DHL Identify need for Online Solution with Global Reach. (2005). [online]. Cubiks. http://www.cubiks.com/aspx/document.aspx?documentid=458 18 Jul 2008 Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions. [online]. Clearly Cultural Making Sense of Cross Cultural Communication. http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/ 18 July 2008 Glossary: Organizational Behaviour. (1995-2004). [online]. Pearson Education. http://wps.pearsoned.co.uk/wps/media/objects/1513/1550326/glossary/glossary.html#O 14 July 2008 Management Modern. (1998). [online]. Supervision, http://ollie.dcccd.edu/mgmt1374/book_contents/4directing/motivatg/motivate.htm 14 Jul 2008
Mills, D Quinn. (2005). Chapter 1: The Importance of Leadership: Leadership How to Lead, How to Live. The Meaning of Leadership. [online]. D Quin Mills. P. 11. http://www.mindedgepress.com/PDFs/htlhtl.pdf 16 July 2008

Number one in Express and Logistics: Global Forwarding, Freight. (2008). [online]. DHL. http://www.dhl.com/publish/g0/en/about/divisions.high.html 18 July 2008 Organizational Behaviour. [online]. http://www.psychology.unp.ac.za/2006/101/101_Intro %20to%20O%20B%20web.pdf 14 July 2008 Tsui, Anne S., Nifadkar, Sushil S and Ou, Amy Yi. (2007). Cross-National Cross-Cultural Organizational Behavior Research: Advances, Gaps, and Recommendations. [online]. Journal of Management. P. 6. http://www.iacmr.org/newsletter_07_1_files/OB%20across%20cultures %20-%20JOM%20June%202007.pdf 18 July 2008 Wertheim, Edward G. Historical background of Organizational Behaviour: Scientific Management. [online]. http://web.cba.neu.edu/~ewertheim/introd/history.htm 14 July 2008

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