Organisational Behaviour

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THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY

MPB721/921 ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

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Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction and Structure        

2.0 Personality and Motivation Theories        

3.0 Personality and Motivation Analysis        

Figure 1.0 – Big Five Personality Test Results        

4.0 Analysis Results        

5.0 Managerial Actions to increase Marguerite’s Motivation        

6.0 Managerial Actions to decrease Marguerite’s Motivation        

7.0 Personal Experiences        

8.0 Appendices        

8.1 Big Five Personality Traits        

8.2 Personality Test and Score        

9.0 Bibliography        

1.0 Introduction and Structure

The purpose of this essay is to analyse Marguerite’s personality and how she is motivated within the film The Hundred-Foot Journey, 2014.

The study is interesting to read because, as the film evolves, it shows how people are motivated may not always bring out their full potential. In today’s global economy, a lot of emphasis is set on staged goals, yet the content and process of motivation is equally conducive to valid outcomes of motivation, which ties in with, why this character was chosen.

Marguerite is a white female, mid to late twenties and single. She lives in a quaint French village and since 12 years of age has been pursuing the skills of French traditional cooking. Marguerite works locally in the prestigious Le Saule Pleureur, under the strict management of Madam Mallory and Chef De Cuisine Jean-Pierre. Marguerite is a Sous-Chef, striving to become a Chef De Cuisine and win the second Michelin Star for the restaurant.

A relationship develops between with Marguerite and a cook named Hassan, who is the son of an Indian restaurateur family, which due to the breakdown of their van move into the same village.

The analysis has been based on personal assumptions, giving the reader an insight into Marguerite’s personality (section 3.0) and (section 4.0), what would increase her motivation (section 5.0) and decrease her motivation (section 6.0). The analysis of this report is drawn from a range of theoretical concepts and frameworks (section 2.0), against considered practical implications for managerial motivation purposes (section 7.0). To conclude, some general realisations based on personal experiences are explained (section 8.0).

The essay has identified that Marguerite has difficulties achieving professional goals, due to her agreeable personality in conjunction with the content and process of her initial motivation, within her working environment. Yet as the film develops, Marguerite unites in a business and romantic relationship with Hassan which may result in a fulfilled professional and private life.

2.0 Personality and Motivation Theories

To understand Marguerite’s personality, recognised personality and motivation theories have been applied. These theories are The Big Five, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Vroom’s Expectancy theory.

Marguerite’s personality, is the unique and relatively stable patterns of her behaviour and consistency in thinking that leads to actions (Roberts, Brent W. & DelVecchio, 2000) (McCrae & Costa Jr., 1997).

The Big Five theory categorises these consistent patterns into broad domains, classifying human personality. The five domains are Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. Each of these domains are broken down further. In Marguerite’s case, agreeableness shows traits of trust in other individuals, straight forward and honest communication, altruistic and cooperative behaviour, compliance rather than defiance, modesty and humility as well as tenderness and sympathy. Agreeableness is also a good predictor of Counterproductive Work Behaviours (CWBs) (Costa & McCrae, 1992).

The Big Five theory covers specific traits in personality without overlapping each other. These traits show consistency across interviews, self-descriptions and observations. Moreover, this theory is found across a broad range of participants of different ages and of different cultures (Kalliath, et al., 2014). Current developments within research indicate a 6th trait, being honesty and humility (Ashton & Kibeom, October 2005), yet for this essay the Big Five theory is applied.

Marguerite’s personality is linked with her rational behaviour towards unfilled needs as defined by Maslow’s theory; that unfulfilled needs create frustration if unsatisfied for a long time; and that for people to grow and develop, they will strive to climb the Needs hierarchy (Kalliath, et al., 2014).

Maslow’s theory (Maslow, 1943) identifies the following Five Needs hierarchy:

Level One: Biological and Physiological needs – Air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep.

Level Two: Safety needs – Protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom from fear.

Level Three: Love and Belongingness needs – Friendship, intimacy, affection and love, - from family, friends, and romantic relationships.

Level Four: Esteem needs – achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, self-respect, and respect from others.

Level Five: Self-Actualisation needs – Realising personal potential, self-fulfilment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

Maslow’s theory provides a framework to analyse the content which motivates Marguerite and equally ties in with Vroom’s Expectancy theory, indicating the process of her motivation.

Vroom’s Expectancy theory has three main factors, Expectancy, Instrumentality and Valence (Vroom, 1964). The expectancy results are made up of Marguerite’s belief that an increase in effort will result in an increased performance (E-P), the belief that increased performance will lead to certain outcomes (P-O) and the extent to which the outcomes are desirable (V) by herself. These results are surface-level or deep-level motivation factors which contribute to the extent of her personality being expressed or not (Kalliath, et al., 2014).