Exploring Employee Motivation at Bureau Veritas - Dissertation Example

These studies were carried out over a period of nine years (i.e., from 1924 to 1932) by Elton Mayo (Dickson, 1973). The Hawthorne studies found that monetary benefits are not the only factor to motivate employees working in an organization. In fact, employees are also in search of other attributes related to their jobs which in turn shape their behavior and develop an attitude towards work. In addition to this, the Hawthorne studies also initiated the examination of the relationship between employees and management by way of developing a human relations approach to management. In this particular regard, the studies explained how the needs and motivational factors for employees are regarded as the major focus for the management of an organization (Bedeian, 1993).
After the conduct of the Hawthorne studies and since the results of the studies were made public, several researchers focused on developing understanding as to what motivates employees and how their motivation levels can be evaluated (Terpstra, 1979). In this regard, there were many theoretical models developed amongst which major works included Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory, Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory, Adam’s Equity Theory, and Skinner’s Reinforcement Theory (Lindner, 1998).
While defining motivation, several contemporary authors have given their explanation of the concept. Following are the definitions of motivation given by different authors:
- The psychological process that gives behavior purpose and direction (Kreitner, 1995);
- A predisposition to behave in a purposive manner to achieve specific, unmet needs (Buford, Bedeian, and Lindner, 1995);
- An internal drive to satisfy an unsatisfied need and the will to achieve (Higgins, 1994; Bedeian, 1993).
Employee motivation is deemed to be important for the survival of the whole organization (Smith, 1994). In the modern business world of today, where the requirements of the organizations, consumers, and employers change continuously, employees must be motivated enough to cope up and follow these changes in the surrounding environment. Apart from the fact that motivation is important in making employees be adaptable to changes and work towards the survival of the organization, it also helps in improving the productivity of employees. In this regard, it is very a matter of extreme significance that the management of an organization understands the factors which are responsible for improving motivational levels among employees. The importance of knowing motivational factors for employees for managers is also required to be considered because of all the responsibilities and duties of management, motivating employees is placed among the top priority tasks and is also regarded as a complicated and tough task for managers; as motivation levels for employees are prone to consistent changes (Bowen, and Radhakrishna, 1991).