Employee Motivation - Case Study Example

Literature review Introduction Employee motivation just as the suggests refers to a series of actions an organization employsin changing the attitudes and behaviors of the employees thereby enhancing their productivity. Such is a vital function of human resource management and influences the profitability of an organization. In changing employees’ behavior and attitudes, the human resource management strives to improve the level of effort that employees put in their work thus enhancing their productivity even in difficult times. Employee Motivation is a psychological undertaking that requires the managers to identify and utilize appropriate psychological forces to manipulate the employees’ attitudes (Cook, 2004). A decline in the productivity of the employees is always the most common indicator of a demoralized workforce. As such, the management of the organization must carry out extensive research in order to determine the most appropriate way of motivating the employees thereby enhancing their productivity. As a psychological concept, human resource managers can always use a variety of techniques to make their employees feel appreciated thereby enhance their productivity at the company. Remuneration is among the most common method managers use to motivate their employees. While employees deserve commensurate remuneration, pay is an insignificant factor of motivation. Various motivational theorists have studied human behavior thereby proving that even poorly paying organization can motivate their employees thereby growing their profitability by improving the productivity of the employees (Fargus, 2000). The design of a job is among the most basic factors of motivation. Human resource managers must design jobs that challenge the employees but still interest them. Abraham Maslow analyzed the human needs thereby coming up with the Maslow hierarchy of needs that is a vital tool used by managers in motivating their employees. The theory suggests that human needs are hierarchical and requires a systematic satisfaction beginning with the satisfaction of the basic needs until one actualizes (Loh, Schapper, Wrathall & Monash University, 2000). As such, employers must treat their employees as humans with such hierarchical needs. Basic physiological needs, which are the first in the hierarchy, include shelter, food and clothing among others. The minimum wage in the country is adequate in making any employee meet such needs. However, after meeting such employees will always want to advance in life by meeting needs in successive stages. Security needs are at the second level, and social affiliation is in the third. Effective managers should provide the employees with an enabling environment and pay that enables the employees to advance in life until they self-actualize. Through the progressive satisfaction of the human needs, employees remain satisfied. As such, they do not aspire to better the working conditions in other places. As such, the management retains its most productive employees who are more likely to advance their technical know-how as they satisfy their successive needs. Bruce & Pepitone (1999), explain that managers can approach job design in four different ways including job enlargement, job simplification, job rotation and job enrichment. The four categories provide employees with varying experiences and can, therefore, motivate their productivity. Job simplification is an approach where managers specialize and standardize tasks at the organization. Specialization enhances the process of employee development thereby providing employees with some freedom of thought and authority. Job enlargement, on the other hand, provides the employees with a variety of work by combining tasks. This increases the employees’ responsibility thus improving their motivation. Job rotation increases the employees’ knowledge and skills based since they work in various stations. This breaks the monotony at the place of work. The work environment is yet another fundamental factor that motivates an employee. As explained earlier, employees require a competitive yet friendly working environment. As such, the management must create an appropriate by creating an accommodative organizational culture (Müller, 2010). Diversity at the place of work is a key cultural factor that enhances the productivity of the employees. Additionally, employees work better in organizations with the open door policy (Heneman, 1992). Such is a policy of management that encourages interactions between the employees and the management. Through such effective interactions, the employees express their views to the management who in turn acts on them thereby enhancing the efficiency of operations at an organization. Some of the leading global companies like Google have succeeded in developing ideal organizational cultures and working environments that enhance the productivity of the employees. Besides commensurate remuneration, such companies provide their employees with a number of benefits including recreational facilities, meals, health insurance and paid leaves among others. Such factors make the employees appreciate their jobs. The companies prove the functionality of rewards in motivating employees (Frey, 2002). However, using rewards require effective considerations of the uniqueness of the employees with the view to enhancing the potential in every employee. Key among the factors responsible for such companies is the effectiveness of their utilization of quality-of-work programs. Work life balance refers to the perception that employees in a company have about the organization helps them balance their work, family care and personal time. The management must create an effective system where the balance experiences minimal conflicts. This enhances the employees’ mental stability thereby increasing their ability to concentrate on their works thereby enhancing their productivity and that of the company. Such programs as workplace wellness, family time and flextime are essential in creating a systematic balance by providing the employee with adequate time to plan his or her life. The employer must appreciate the fact that the employees have families and create appropriate time for them to stay with their families. Workplace wellness would include such facilities and services as a gym, recreational facility, and changing room. Such services enhance the productivity of the employees since they enable them to rest and maintain appropriate health. Furthermore, with an ambulance an organization enhances the efficiency of operations thereby minimizing the time wasted in case of emergencies. Merit pay is among the most common form of reward used by managers to motivate their employees. Merit pay refers to a system of performance-based pay where an organization provides commensurate bonuses to specific employees who show increased productivity within a period (Milkovich & Wigdor, 1991). Such is an effective system that enhances the competitive nature of the work environment. Implementing merit pay requires effective understanding of both the employees and the organization. Additionally, it requires a stringent organizational culture known as “tough love.” Just as the name suggests, the policy requires the management to create concise goals for the merit pay and create a culture that infuses effective communication between the management and the employees (Katz & Docherty, 1994). The “tough love” policy is appropriate for the implementation of merit pay since the performance-based culture may enhance the creation of a culture of individualism and jealousy. This would in turn discourage productivity since the organization will not function as a cohesive unit with similar objectives. Employee participation is yet another effective way of improving performance of the organization. Employees want to feel appreciated and acknowledged by their employers. The best way of doing these in most cases is to involve employees by seeking their participation in decision-making processes. Drischel (2003), assert that implementing quality control circles is the surest way of involving employees in the process of decision-making. The technique requires the creation of teams of employees and mandating every team with the resolving of employees related problems. In groups of fives or tens depending on the size of the company, the employees brainstorm and analyzes the facts in every case. Such intense participation makes employees feel valued since they contribute to the process of solving vital and real life issues affecting the operations of the company. Furthermore, the programs enhance the cohesiveness of the workplace as the employees work together in solving problems affecting their welfare. This way, the organization benefits from the diversity of the workplace since each of the employees make vital contributions based on the uniqueness of their understanding and approach to the issues. The level of unproductivity of the employees of ASDA, Isle of Dogs portrays their lack of motivation and the inability by their employer to use appropriate techniques in enhancing their productivity. Productive employees uphold the values of the organization. They would, therefore, strive to enhance customer satisfaction, which in turn enhances the profitability of the organization. Such is not the case at the company, as the employees remain clumsy even as they attend to the customers. The structure of the company is not any unique. As such, the company’s management can use the above techniques discussed above to enhance the productivity of their employees. The company should provide appropriate remuneration for the employees and develop appropriate employee quality control circles that would help enhance the coordination among the employees as they better their working environment. In retrospect, employee motivation is a vital role that human resource managers must always carry out. The process begins with the creation of job description way before the recruitment of any individual into the company. While describing a job, the manager must ensure that the job opportunity is enticing to the prospective employees this would include appropriate remuneration coupled with a number of benefits that would increase the productivity of the employees (Doyle, 2005). After recruiting employees, the human resource managers must continue supervising the employees with the view to determining the nature of the job and the level of their motivations. This way, the human resource management would, therefore, employ successive techniques in enhancing the motivation of the employees into the posterity of the company. This lacks at ASDA, Isle of Dogs, as the management shows no interests in the welfares of the employees. This creates extremely demoralized employees who do not show interest in enhancing the profitability of the business. References Bruce, A., & Pepitone, J. S. (1999). Motivating employees. New York: McGraw-Hill. Cook, M. (2004). How to be a great coach: 24 lessons for turning on the productivity of every employee. New York: McGraw-Hill. Doyle, S. (2005). The managers pocket guide to motivating employees. Amherst, MA: HRD Press. Drischel, J. (2003). Participative Budgeting and its Effects on Employee Motivation. Munich: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Fargus, P. (2000). Measuring and improving employee motivation. London: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Frey, B. S. (2002). Successful management by motivation: Balancing intrinsic and extrinsic incentives : with 11 tables. Berlin [u.a.: Springer. Heneman, R. L. (1992). Merit pay: Linking pay increases to performance ratings. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co. Katz, B., & Docherty, J. (1994). Enhancing employee performance. Didcot, Oxfordshire: Management Books 2000. Lauby, S. J. (2005). Motivating employees. Alexandria, Va: ASTD Press. Loh, D., Schapper, J., Wrathall, J., & Monash University. (2000). The Maslow revival: Maslows hierarchy of needs as a motivational theory. Caulfield, Vic: Monash University, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Management. McAfee, R. B., & Poffenberger, W. (1982). Productivity strategies: Enhancing employee job performance. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall. Milkovich, G. T., & Wigdor, A. K. (1991). Pay for performance: Evaluating performance appraisal and merit pay. Washington, D.C: National Academy Press. Müller, C. (2010). Employee motivation an incentives at Apple: Do incentives really help to motivate employees?. Norderstedt: GRIN Verlag. Read More