Employee Motivation in an Organization - Essay Example

Employee motivation is very important for every business. Motivation is a study to identify why people behave in certain manners and what influences their performance. The theory of motivation focuses on the factors that pull and push individuals throughout the processes. An excellent example here can be that of a person studying for exams. Motivational researchers focus on what the person does and also the behavioural choice of the person and the latency of behaviour in the individual. The intensity of the behaviour and the persistency of the individuals also play a major role in the overall study. Numerous factors influence the needs of a person and that impact satisfaction levels thereby impacting the behaviour of the individual (Brooks). The drive to satisfy one's needs is what arouses or energizes behaviour. Habits, in turn, provide a direction for behaviour. Habits are stimulus-response bonds that are built up over time as a result of prior learning.

Two main components explain behavior, one, is the motivation component and the second is the learning component. The motivation component deals with the drive those energies to the behaviour while the learning component is the habit that provides direction or indicates what particular behaviour will be initiated (Mullins). The drive theory is one of the many theories that impact the level of motivation of the employees in the training sessions and this helps realize the factors that act as satisfiers and dissatisfiers for the employees. The impact of drives as an organizing construct therefore waned. Furthermore, it became accepted that organisms are always active and the field of motivation shifted from the study of what turns organisms "on" and "off" to an interest in the direction of behaviour, including choice and persistence.

The cognition and interest in this led to the development of the expectancy-value theory which involves some of the most common sense aspects that lead to motivated behavior. It is also important to note that behavioural choices also determine to a great extent provide a clear image of what the goal is of the person and the focus and dedication that the person has to achieve the same (Tracey). Hence all these factors impact the level of motivation of employees in organizational training.

The main need for motivated and well-focused employees is for the survival of the company. A workplace tends to be very effective if the employees are motivated as these employees tend to be more productive and effective. The manager must be able to identify what motivates the employees and what does not to keep a clear context of the performance. Of all the functions a manager performs, motivating employees is arguably the most complex. This is due, in part, to the fact that what motivates employees changes constantly (JD and Mazin). For example, research suggests that as employees' income increases, money becomes less of a motivator. Also, as employees get older, interesting work becomes more of a motivator.

The main aim of the training program is to ensure that the employees have a better idea of working within diverse workforces and how to deal with the various cultures within the workforce (Tracey). Here it is clear that the company has taken all attempts to ensure that the environment and style of imparting the training is different and is also interesting. However, if the levels of motivation are still low this is a major issue. The mission is to facilitate individual and organization awareness and provide assistance in preparing and accessing the diversity program. Cognitive theorists do not assume that beliefs are based entirely on previous experiences with contingencies (e.g., reward and punishment) to one's behaviour (JD and Mazin).

A few of the possible solutions here to improve the overall performance include, providing an incentive to employees who participate and perform well. Also, the use of the cognitive motivation theory here will help understand the influencing factors which lead to the desired behaviour. To provide the employees with a push to work on the diversity programs effectively, the employers must consider introducing reward systems or also a few recognitions to employees. This will not only help the employees be more motivated but will also allow more focused attention. Also, since diversity training is very vast and uninteresting to several people, making the training more interactive and more fun. Making the training more interactive will permit a sense of interest and thereby lead to bettered performance.