Motivation Refers to the Forces Either within or External to a Person - Essay Example

Personal Journal: Organisational Behaviour In studying organisational behaviour, a range of s have been covered. For all of these s, I have been able to apply the theory to issues and situations occurring within the organisation. This has allowed me to gain insight into the behaviour of employees. Via this analysis and consideration, I have been able to consider how I can apply what I have learned to real situations. In turn, this has allowed me to determine actions I can take to be an effective manager. There are four subjects that have been covered that have allowed me to gain especially important insights. These four subjects are motivation, leadership, conflict management, and teamwork. I will now describe each of these four areas in turn by showing what I have learned, how I have applied what I have learned to real situations, and how the insight gained has influenced how I will manage employees. Employee Motivation One of the important topics covered in the course was motivation. Motivation has been described saying, “Motivation refers to the forces either within or external to a person that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action” (Daft, 1997, p. 526). As a manager, an important part of my duties will be to ensure that employees are motivated. For this reason, I have considering how motivation applies within the organisation so that I can gain insight into methods I can use to motivate employees. The organisational behaviour approach to motivation includes considering how the organisation impacts on the motivation of employees and how employees can be motivated. This includes recognising that the characteristics that result in a person being motivated are not often simple or obvious. An approach to the issue that does not look at the behavioural aspects but only looks at the problem on the surface may see employees as being rewarded financially and assume that they should be motivated by this financial reward. The behavioural aspect goes a lot deeper than this and considers the complex issues that contribute to motivation. This approach may recognise that while financial rewards are received, employees do not receive adequate recognition or praise for their efforts. This approach may also recognise that employees feel pressured in the workplace and that this stress causes a decline in motivation. By focusing on the behaviour of employees, the many aspects that contribute to motivation are noted. I think this is important because it will allow me to take positive actions to motivate employees. I will be able to create an environment where employees are motivated to their maximum level. I have already applied what I have learned in the course to what I have observed in the organisation. This has included assessing motivation levels in the organisation based on the theories that have been described. I have applied Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and used it to assess where different individuals are on the hierarchy. Based on this analysis, I can understand that if I can provide for the employees needs based on where they are in the hierarchy, I can help them to move up the hierarchy to a new motivation level. For example, for some employees I have noticed that they are willing to work long hours, but do not seem motivated to achieve while at work. This can be explained by noting that they are operating based on their physiological or safety needs, where their main focus is on working to earn money and working hard so they keep their jobs. As a manager, I could help these employees become more motivated by ensuring that their physiological and safety needs are met. I have also noted that most employees do not appear to have their belongingness needs met. This has been observed by the way that many employees seem to focus more on creating positive working relationships than actually achieving work goals. With an understanding of Maslow’s theory, I can see that it is not appropriate to consider that employees should just ignore their needs for belongingness and social connection. Instead, this is a natural need of people. As a manager, I can help the organisation by finding a way for employees to achieve their belongingness needs, but in a way that also allows organisational needs to be met. For example, I could introduce changes in the department so that employees work together more. I could also introduce more work teams. Finally, I could link employees together more by focusing on how each individual contributes to the team overall. With these changes, I think employees would have their belongingness needs met. They could then move to a higher level of motivation where they focus on achieving. Another theory I have applied is Herzberg’s two-factor theory. This theory states that there are two types of factors in an organisation: hygiene factors and motivators. Hygiene factors are the factors that do not actually lead to motivation, but do lead to dissatisfaction if they are not present. Motivators are the factors that actually lead to motivation. One of the most important arguments that Herzberg makes is that motivators are not effective if hygiene factors have not first been provided for. By applying this theory to the organisation, I have been able to understand why employees are not as motivated as they should be in theory. Employees are offered many incentives that should lead to their motivation including salary incentives, recognition, opportunities for advancement, and the ability to contribute and develop. Based on this, I would have expected all employees to be highly motivated. This is not what is observed and this theory has allowed me to understand why. I can see that while the motivators are all present, some important hygiene factors are missing. Most importantly, employees may not perceive that they have job security. This occurs because high expectations and pressures are placed on employees. Before learning about motivation, I thought that this was a reason that employees should be motivated, since the pressure to perform should keep them working hard. With a better understanding of motivation, I can see that this is based on trying to force employees to work out of fear. This is not the same as motivating, since a motivated employee is one who wants to work hard and achieve, not one who feels like they have no choice. I think the absence of the job security hygiene factor is having an impact on employees and explains why the motivators present are not as effective as might be expected. As a manager, I can change the situation by ensuring that employees understand that they are valued and develop a greater sense of job security. With this change, I believe that employees will become more motivated. Overall, I have been able to apply the theories of motivation I have learned to the workplace. This has allowed me to understand better why employees are motivated and what is limiting the motivation of employees. As a manager, this understanding and insight will allow me to manage employees more effectively and make changes so that employees are as motivated as possible. Leading Employees Learning about organisational behaviour has also taught me a lot about leading. As a manager, I believe that the ability to lead employees is a key skill. I have learned that leading employees is not as simple as I first expected. It is not about just directing employees because I have the position of manager. Instead, I will have to take action to be accepted by the employees as a leader. Leadership has been defined as “the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of goals” (Robbins 2001, p. 314). This definition is very similar to the definition of motivation, which was based on arousing the enthusiasm of employees toward the accomplishment of organisational goals. Leadership takes a broader view and focuses more on how employees can be influenced, rather than just focusing on how enthusiasm can be created. This approach to leadership recognises that leadership is a people-based process. The behavioural approach considers two major aspects of leadership, the first based on how a leader contributes and the second is based on how the organisation contributes. The first aspect considers what makes a leader, how a leader motivates individuals, and what impact the leader has on employees. It must also be noted that leadership and management are not the same thing. A manager is not necessarily a leader. The manager may have the authority to lead employees based on their position or role, but this does not mean that they are a leader. Similarly, an individual can be a leader without being a manager. Organisational behaviour considers these aspects by looking at how leaders obtain power. This can be obtained by legitimate power because of a position held, reward or coercive power based on the individual’s ability to give rewards and to give punishment. This can also be obtained by personal power, which refers to personal characteristics of the individual. This could be in the form of having specialist knowledge, or it could be in the form of having a charismatic personality. This behavioural approach recognising that leadership comes from a variety of sources is especially important so that the organisation can effectively lead employees toward organisational goals. It is noted that an employee can have power, even if the organisation has not given it to them. If this is not managed, this power can be used to direct employees away from attaining organisational objectives. For example, an employee with a charismatic personality may lead employees into working toward goals that they see as important. I have observed this happening in the organisation, where one employee has a lot of influence over others. This employee often uses this influence to focus on their own goals rather than the goals of the organisation. For example, this employee has effectively campaigned for more flexible working hours and changes to working conditions. Before studying organisational; behaviour, I did not understand how this person managed to be so influential without having any formal authority. I can now see that the ability to influence others and get them on side is a form or personal power. This personal power can be even more influential than formal authority. As a manager, this analysis has made me aware of the importance of influential employees. I consider that the individuals with personal power represent a threat to effective control. For this reason, I will focus on recognising the employees who have power. I will also ensure that I do not assume that only the employees with a high position have power. I believe my ability to manage can be improved by making use of the personal power that individual have. For example, I have noted that when changes occur, the employees with strong personal power play a large role in how everyone responds. If the employee accepts the changes, other employees tend to follow. In contrast, if the employee rejects the changes, other employees tend to do the same. In cases where I have to implement a change that may not be well-received, I will be able to make the change process proceed more smoothly by focusing on their part in the process. For example, I could implement change via a team and appoint an employee with high personal power as team leader. By doing this, I would be able to use their personal power to achieve positive results. In describing this, one of the beliefs I have is that I will not be able to reduce the employee’s personal power. In short, personal power exists because of the individual’s own characteristics and not because of any power the organisation has assigned. For this reason, I think it will be important to recognise who has personal power, accept their level of power, and use their power as a tool to influence all employees. In regards to my own leadership ability, I do not believe that I will be able to lead effectively based only on formal authority. I believe that if I assume I can lead because I have been given the authority to do so, I will fail. To prevent this failure, I will focus on my own leadership skills. I will consider what leadership traits I have and how I can use them most effectively. I will also consider what style of leadership is suited both to my own personality traits and to the leadership situation. By doing so, I will be able to become an effective leader within the organisation. I have considered what kind of leader I want to be and how I can become an effective leader by critiquing other managers and leaders in the organisation. I have seen that there are some managers who rely on their position power, and lead based on their ability to assign rewards or offer punishments. In considering these leaders, I have noted that they are least effective. In most cases, their actions do result in the work being completed. However, they also create a negative work environment where the employees only do what they have to do. Other managers I have observed have a more open approach to leadership, where they seem to respect employees. They remain in charge, but they also act as if they recognise the importance of employees and respect what they have to offer. These managers tend to create positive work environments and tend to develop strong working relationships with employees. I have observed that the employees are more motivated, more hard-working, and achieve better results. This consideration has made me see the importance of leading effectively and fairly, rather than leading only by authority. This is an approach that I will apply as a manager and I believe it will help me to produce an efficient and effective workforce. Conflict Management The next area of organisational behaviour that will be considered is conflict. There are two important things to recognise about conflict. Firstly, conflict is unavoidable within an organisation. In an organisation, it is a reality that conflicts will occur within the workplace. These conflicts occur because of personality clashes, goal differences, breakdowns in communication, and because of the many parties within an organisation fighting over scarce resources. I believe is it necessary to accept conflict as a natural occurrence and to expect that it can be eliminated completely. The second important point I accept is that conflict is not necessarily a bad thing but can be a good thing if managed effectively. One author notes that “too much conflict can be destructive, tear relationships apart, and interfere with the healthy exchange of ideas and information” (Daft, 1997, p. 608). This is one possible result of conflict in the workplace and one reason why it is important to manage conflict. It must also be noted though, that there is an advantage to the organisation if it can manage conflict by making use of it. Looked at in this way, conflict can be seen as a benefit to the organisation, capable of making the organisation aware of problems and allowing the organisation the opportunity to fix the problems. I believe that an organisation must manage conflict so that it does not grow and become a major barrier to effective functioning. However, I also think this means managing conflict well, not eliminating it all together. I believe the best approach to conflict occurs when an organisation sees conflict not as a bad thing, but as a normal part of the organisation and one that can be used to advantage. This approach not only ensures that conflict does not become destructive, but it also makes the most use of this conflict by seeing it as an opportunity for growth. In this way, conflict can be seen as a way that the organisation can develop and evolve. I have applied these ideas to situations I have observed in the organisation. I have noted that conflict of some type is constantly occurring. This is generally based on work issues, such as two employees arguing about how to complete a certain process. The thing that I have noted by observing conflict situations closely is that they tend to resolve themselves in a way that represents an improvement. For example, the two employees arguing about how to complete a process were doing so because they both had different ideas on how to complete the same task. This was creating problems when one employee took over from the other. This conflict was resolved after each employee explained their reasoning for why they completed the task their way. As it turned out, both employees had benefits to offer in their approach. The end result of the conflict was that both employees agreed to complete the task in the same way. The way that was decided on was one that combined the benefits of their individual ways. This shows how a simple conflict situation is a means of improving. This analysis has allowed me to see that conflict is not a bad thing. I can see that if conflict is able to be resolved effectively, it is really a sign of constant progress. As a manager, I will apply this understanding by accepting conflict as normal and beneficial. I will also promote this view and promote the beneficial effects of conflict by helping all employees to develop effective conflict management skills. Teams and Teamwork One of the situations where I have observed conflict is in teams. Before studying organisational behaviour, I considered that conflict in the team was a sign that the team was not performing well. Now that I have studied organisational behaviour, I consider that conflict in the team is actually a sign that the team is performing. This takes into account the idea that a team is formed to allow for diverse individuals to contribute and work together. As long as diverse individuals are trying to work together, conflict is almost certain to arise. As discussed in the conflict section, I accept that conflict is normal and beneficial. For this reason, I no longer accept that conflict in a team is a sign that it is not achieving. At the same time, organisational behaviour has helped me to see some of the complex issues associated with teamwork. It has allowed me to see that teams develop through stages. Based on this, I have observed one important team in the workplace and determined that it is stuck in the storming stage. Employees that make up the team continually fight for power and control, while others fight over established roles. In addition, there is no agreement on the purpose of the team. This has resulted in a team that lacks cohesiveness. In considering the conflict in this team, I can see that it is a barrier to effectiveness. Buchanan and Huczynski (2004) note that a team is made up of people who take on various member roles. In considering the team, it seems that the members are too similar in the roles they want to take, despite being diverse in other ways. This creates a team that is not able to be effective because members become consumed by conflict. This analysis has allowed me to distinguish between useful conflict and damaging conflict. It has also allowed me to identify the reasons that the team is not performing well. With this analysis completed, I would be able to take action to improve the team and help it to progress through the storming stage and reach the performing stage. References Buchanan, D. and Huczynski, A. (2004) Organisational behaviour. Prentice Hall: London. Daft, R.L. (1997) Management. Fort Worth, TX: The Dryden Press. Robbins, S.P. (2001) Organisational behaviour. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Read More