Management Theory and Motivation - Assignment Example

Management has been defined as the “mental and physical effort to coordinate diverse activities to achieve desired results” (Eric, n.d Leadership on the other hand has been defined as “natural and learned ability, skill and personal characteristics to conduct interpersonal relations, which influence people to take desired actions. You lead people but you manage things, is how Pejza differentiates (cited by Eric). Thus effective leadership requires accomplishment and influencing. Influencing can be done through motivation and not through control. Leadership requires trust and commitment of others, which they can achieve through their own behavior and integrity. To be an effective manager, leadership qualities are essential. A manager is in a position to motivate the team only when he is motivated himself. Therefore, an effective manager is one who can motivate himself and the team. My present assignment is very challenging as I am a part of the executive team of a renowned bakery in the city. I have always been proactive and strived to learn and master new skills. Not only do I apply my talents responsibly, my endeavour has always been to help people reach their full potential. The self-determination theory (SDT) is an approach to human motivation. Motivation has been of great concern to me as a manager because in words of Ryan and Deci (2000), “motivation produces”. According to SDT intrinsic motivation is the tendency to seek out novelty and challenges. Intrinsic motivation requires supportive conditions to maintain and enhance these tendencies. Intrinsic motivation requires a sense of autonomy which I have amply been granted by my seniors. Being a part of the executive team, I report directly to the managing director. I not only discuss my plans with him but he even encourages me to venture into new projects and recipes. Fortunately I do not have to work under deadlines and pressures to formulate a new recipe. A controlled approach would have reduced my initiative because my work requires creative processing. These are the esteem needs as specified by Maslow and I am provided with opportunity for self-direction which is a great motivator. My feelings of self-worth, accomplishment and pleasure from using and developing my skills provide me with “intrinsic rewards” (Gallagher & Einhorn, 1976) which I consider superior to any material reward. I have the confidence and self-control over setting my own goals as well as determine the paths to attain them. Apart from developing new products and recipes, I also have the responsibility to manage people. We have about 300 workers in the production line and this being a perishable product timely delivery is critical. My experience has taught me that getting people to work requires a great deal of tact and motivation is one such tact. Even though the workers cannot be given autonomy on the shop floor I try to inculcate in them a sense of motivation. The motivation has to come from within and cannot be enforced. To deal with people is to deal with people’s mind according to Kanji (1995) and it is important to motivate their mind. People are moved to act by different types of factors. They can be motivated because they value an activity or because there is a strong external coercion. It could also be from a fear of being surveilled or from a sense of personal commitment (Ryan & Deci). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs suggests that the basic physiological needs have to be met first before a person can look ahead. Only when the basic needs are satisfied he clamors for safety needs, need for love, self-esteem or self-actualization. As one need is somewhat fulfilled, the other needs become important and this motivates or influences his behavior (Gallagher & Einhorn, 1976). This corroborates with Herzberg who proposed that an employee’s motivation is understood when his attitude is understood (Tietjen & Myers, 1998). Herzberg determined that happy feelings or a positive attitude was always task-related while the bad attitude or unpleasant feelings depend upon the surroundings. These are the motivators and include recognition, achievement, career advancement and the work itself. These motivators cause positive job attitudes because they satisfy the need for self-actualization, which is the last in the hierarchy of needs of Maslow. At our bakery, I have found that the level of satisfaction differs across different workers. Job satisfaction has been defined as an attitudinal state which reflects all the affective feelings that a person has about the job, cite Biggs and Swailes (2006). This includes growth, pay, co-workers and supervisors that contribute towards satisfaction in varying degrees. The basic physiological needs described by Maslow have all been met at our bakery but there is no growth. While workers have been compensated adequately it has been observed that there is no desire for growth. There are three areas according to me where the motivation level of the workers could be enhanced, which include role clarity, lack of commitment by the employees and rewards. Job satisfaction has been related to role clarity. It relates to the kind of work they do and the nature of their job. Employees who are clear about what is expected of them are more satisfied with their jobs than those who are not clear as to how and what they should perform (Mukherjee & Malhotra, 2006). At our bakery the line managers need to be motivated so that instructions are clearly laid out and the workers know what is expected of them. Enhanced sustained job quality and thereby satisfaction does not result from the work environment but it relies on the organizational commitment of the employee, role clarity or the basic duty assigned, and all those intrinsic feelings that produce positive attitude about the duty. Work brings fulfilment and the attainment of the higher order of needs as specified by Maslow (cited by Tietjen & Myers, 1998). These factors can have a lasting impression on worker’s attitude, satisfaction and thus work. It ahs been observed in certain cases that the workers’ performance has been steadily declining. According to Herzberg two factors act upon the motivation of employees – the hygiene factors and the motivators. Hygienes are the entrinsic entities or dissatisfiers while motivators are satisfiers (Kanji, 1995). Some people are dissatisfied by low pay, noisy working conditions or other similar reason and if the environment is conducive they would be satisfied. To eliminate dissatisfaction, these needs can be provided but this does not guarantee motivation to work with full commitment. According to Herzberg motivators cause positive job attitudes because they satisfy the workers need for self-actualization, which according to Maslow too is an individual’s ultimate goal. These motivators have the potential to give job satisfaction but the absence of these motivators does not result in dissatisfaction. It therefore becomes essential to give it due importance because it is not due to the lack of facilities or enforcement of rules by the management but the job role and expectations should be clearly laid out. Since the line managers have direct contact with the workers, it is first important to motivate the line managers and clarify their roles and responsibilities. Secondly, it has been observed that there is a lack of commitment from the workers especially when unexpected orders come through which require urgent attention. Allen and Meyer identify that an employee’s commitment to the organization can either be affective, normative or continuance commitment (cited by Malhotra & Mukherjee, 2004). An employee can either have an emotional attachment with the company or feel obliged to carry on working or is concerned with the costs involved if he leaves the company (Malhotra & Mukherjee, 2004). Each of these commitments will have a different outcome and affect the job performance and behaviour of the employee. Committed employees deliver better than non-committed employees. Research evidences that only affective commitment induces employees to support organizational goals and attains job satisfaction. This makes it important that Fifers Bakery takes steps to make the employees feel committed to the organization through different programs. The third area which needs changes in our bakery is the system of monetary rewards and threats of punishment. As Ryan and Deci have clarified that different factors motivate different people, rewards too have a role to play in motivation. Gallagher and Einhorn contend that extrinsic rewards of money and threats of punishment decrease intrinsic motivation while verbal praise and similar positive external reinforcement increase intrinsic reward. Money and control should not become the reason for behaviour as attention is diverted to the rewards. Verbal praise augments an internal motivation as it reinforces the competence and self-determination reactions that arise after the work is completed. It has also been my personal experience that managers normally praise in private but rebuke or point out failures and mistakes publicly. It should be the other way round because when a subordinate is praised in public it boosts his self-esteem and personal worth as state Gallagher and Einhorn. Maslow too agrees that internal reward system results in less anxiety thereby being more conducive to mental health than external reward system. Yet another theory states that if difficult but achievable goals are set by the manager, many become motivated to achieve it because the risks involved are high and so are the outcomes (McClelland, 2006). There are some who are contented with low gains and prefer to take no risks while the gamblers are those who take a reasonable amount of risk for moderate benefits. These are the achievement-motivated people who feel their efforts and abilities will influence the outcome. They are more concerned with the personal achievement than with the reward of success. To help the subordinates achieve their full potential, it is imperative that their self-worth is enhanced. This requires that the job should be such designed that the job provides sufficient variety and challenge, say Gallagher and Einhorn. When the job is challenging and the employee feels he has performed well, he can reward himself. At Fifers therefore, the workers should be encouraged to feel responsible for their work. Their accomplishments should be linked to the degree of individual effort devoted to a task. There has to be team-coordination and planning and it has been perceived that in low autonomy the responsibility is passed on to the supervisors. At the level of the line managers autonomy can be granted who would then be responsible for their team or workers. According to McGregor (1960) jobs should be delegated and people should be given a degree of freedom to assume responsibility in helping to achieve organizational goals (cited by Amaratunga & Baldry, 2002). People at all levels should be encouraged to participate in developing solutions to the problems. This would increase the commitment level that is lacking amongst the workers at the moment. The workers should also be engaged in setting their own goals that should be in alignment with the organizational objectives. Thus, as far as my own motivation is concerned, I believe in self-control and have been fortunate enough to have been granted the autonomy for setting my own goals. I do not need to work under pressures or achieve targets set by others. Team work is essential in any organization and at Fifers, efforts are on to ensure that line managers take responsibility for their own teams. It is essential that workers at all levels feel a sense of commitment to the organization. In effect, it is a commitment that they have to make to themselves to achieve to their full potential. With certain changes, like in the system for external rewards, big challenges in the organization could be overcome. The employees need to feel a sense of pride in their own achievement and then the monetary rewards would hold little value. The workers need to be praised in public while their faults should be dealt privately. Autonomy at all levels is essential and people should be encouraged to participate in finding solution to the problems faced by the company. Unless they have a sense of belongingness, they will always remain and work with a detached attitude. The self-actualization needs have to be evoked to sustain motivation in each worker. References: Amaratunga, D., & Baldry, D., (2002), Performanace management in facilities management and its relationship with management theory and motivation, Facilities, Vol. 20 No. 10, pp. 327-336 Biggs, D. & Swailes, S. (2006), Relations, commitment and satisfaction in agency workers and permanent workers, Employee Relations, Vol. 28 No. 2, 2006pp. 130-143 Eric (n.d.), Leadership for Excellence, 08 July 2007 Gallagher, W. E., & Einhorn, H. J., (1976), Motivation Theory and Job Design, The Journal of Business, Vol. 49, No. 3. (Jul., 1976), pp. 358-373. Kanji, G. K., (1995), Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 6:4, 427 - 434 Malhotra, N. & Mukherjee, A. (2004), The relative influence of organisational commitment and job satisfaction on service quality of customer contact employees in banking call centres, Journal of Services Marketing Volume 18 • McClelland, D. (2006), Human Relations Contributors, Achievement Motivation, ACCEL Team, [Accessed 18 Sept 2007] Mukherjee, A. & Malhotra, N. (2006), Does role clarity explain employee-perceived service quality? International Journal of Service Industry Management Vol. 17 No. 5, 2006 pp. 444-473 Ryan, R. M., & Deci. E. L., (2000), Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being, American Psychological Association, Vol. 55, No. 1, 68-78 Tietjen, M. A. & Myers, R. M. (1998), Motivation and job satisfaction, Management Decision 36/4 [1998] 226–231 Read More