Synthesis paper - Essay Example

Thus, it is offering adequate training to the managers on how to motivate employees, that forms the core of establishing a culture of employee motivation (Musselwhite, 2011). This article simply focuses on the role of managers as the ultimate siource of employee motivation within a firm. Similarly, A Dose of Positive Reinforcement Can Go a Long Way by Nelson; is another article that focus on the fundamentals of employee motivation, but from a different approach of applying praise and recognition as the main tools for realizing employee motivation.

However, while praise and recognition are powerful tools used for employee motivation, the essential elements that must be applied to reinforce these tools include sincerity, specification and personalization of praise, so that the tools become fully effective in inspiring the employees (Nelson, 2013). Nevertheless, the effective tools of employee motivation cannot deliver any results, whenever the management team does not have sufficient skills to motivate the employees. Therefore, the management should always operate on the basis of the principle that; “you get what you reward” (Nelson, 2013) p41. . The application of this rule entails complementing the employees for all the good things that they have done for several times, before suggesting some improvement or even offering positive criticism, and most fundamentally, ensuring that both praise and criticism are not done in a single session.

However, the most important thing is to realize that giving praise should be done as soon as the achievement has been made, or immediately “the desired behavior is displayed” (Nelson, 2013) p42. The application of positive reinforcement should always be treated as a matter of urgency, even necessitating the interruption of a meeting to give a complement where it is due, while reserving the discussion in great length, of the positive behavior or the achievement made, for a later date (Nelson, 2013).

Another fundamental aspect of motivating employees through giving praise, is ensuring that the manager talks in specifics and addresses the accomplished employee directly, instead of applying generalities, while also drawing references on how the accomplishment or the positive behavior can help others (Musselwhite, 2011). Specifics give credibility to the praise given by the manager, while also going to great lengths to state, “exactly what was good about an employee’s behavior or achievement” (Nelson, 2013) p42.

Humanizing and personalizing the complement is an essential step towards ensuring that the praise and recognition is received positively, while ensuring that it works towards boosting the morale of the employee involved. Considering that different employees respond differently to complements and praise, it is essential for the manager to take time to analyze the