Category: Employee Motivation

Employee union

Organizations with unions should not try to persuade workers to decertify their union since these unions are a critical part of employee welfare. Reflectively, the basic building blocks of labor unions are identified as the need for collective bargaining and increased negotiation power. Labor unions are responsible for overseeing and formulating the political ideology of the laborers, and if need be, mediate jurisdictional conflicts among members. Besides, they are entrusted with the mandate of negotiating collective bargain treaties, mobilizing workers in organized groups, and reaching out to the un-unionized workers, and encourage them to forge a common identity for expressing any dissatisfaction at work (York 275).

Since most labor unions operate in a flexible model, both the principal and the agent are allowed to balance their offers before striking a compromise deal. For instance, the union can lower the supply of labor, increase demand for labor, and negotiate an equilibrium wage bargain for its members. On the other hand, the principal (employer) has the option of controlling labor supply to operate within the Pareto efficiency brackets. Therefore, try to persuade workers to decertify their unions may be a recipe for go-slows and employee disloyalty, especially when the workers feel threatened by the approach used in persuading them (York 279).

Performance incentive plans

The need for incentive rewards as a form of promoting quality and productivity has made companies across the global village to adopt different incentive plans. Often, these plans are aimed at enticing the workforce to perform above the normal standards.

Performance incentive plans for all employees

Group incentive plans are aimed at giving rewards to a group or a team for outstanding achievement. Instead of concentrating on an individual, these plans attempt to promote quality through team encouragement. Often, based on the groups overall performance, many firms pay the same quantity of incentive to all members of the group. This type of incentive plan is best suited when quality is more important than quantity (York 332). The main examples of incentives under this category include the annual salary increment, annual employee handshake rewards, and the basic allowances such as health, education, and emergency rewards. This type of incentive plan is common in developed countries such as the US, Britain, and Germany among others.

To increase productive behavior for all employees, it is vital to create a healthy work environment and personal growth perspectives that apply to all situations, labor efficiency is a critical element in optimal performance in any organizational environment. Among the merits of group incentive plans include minimization of envy between employees, acquisition of different learning skills from several interacting teams, and collective responsibility in the execution of duty. Besides, members of these teams are likely to adopt healthy competition as group interest will override that of self-interest (York 332).

Performance incentive plan for selected employees

As the oldest form of the incentive plan, piecework is an incentive plan which employees receive for a certain rate for each unit produced (York 335). Generally, a piecework plans merit is that employees are paid based on their performances (York 341). Thus, it inspires those who underperform to improve on their service delivery upon witnessing top achievers receiving rewards. Examples of piecework incentive include an individual promotion, compensation for meeting individual targets, and rewards for accomplishing special assignments outside the employees scope of duties. This type of incentive plan is restricted to specific situations and may not present quantifiable results in the long term. This incentive plan is common in emerging economies such as Malaysia, and Singapore, where performance is measured through an individual output.

Works Cited

York, Kenneth. Applied human resource management: Strategic issues and experiential exercises, New York: SAGE Publications, 2009. Print.

Incentive plans

These are plans set up by the employer to motivate the employees in an effort to boost their production and performance. The incentive plans help make the employees feel as part and parcel of the business thus making them work hard. There are many types of incentive plans that are useful in making the employees attached to the company. The incentives come in different forms and can either be stock options or profit sharing.

Stock Options

The stock option incentive plans are plans that the employer makes to offer the employees with a chance to make investments in to the company stocks. The employees purchase part of the business stock, which acts as a motivator to work hard to make the company or business more productive, than when they are not part of the business. The stock offer gives the employees to hold a real stake of shares in the business.

The employees get the chance of sharing the benefits from his or her work as part of the shareholders. The employers set a performance target for the employees, and those who meet the set targets become part of the stakeholders. This plan is beneficial to both the business and employees as both get the chance to reap the benefits of their hard work, (University of Michigan, 1981).

Advantages of stock offer to the business

The company gets its dividends payment in accordance to its performance in the market in relation to other competing businesses. Therefore, an increase in performance of a business means that it will receive more dividends compared to one whose performance is low. The business gains more profits also, as the employees are willing to go further in their efforts to achieve the set targets.

The business owner is also sure that the employees will put in more efforts as they are a part of the business and their future depends on the success of the business. The stock offers also ensure that the employees stay in the company long enough, therefore, reduces the chances of having to constantly replace employees.

Disadvantages to the business

The company has to set aside money for giving the employees a stock option in the company. The company is at a risk if the employees do not work hard enough to achieve the target.

Advantages to the employees

The employees can gain a lot of money from the stocks if the market prices favor their company’s stocks. The employees also get a chance to get a share of their hard work, (Kracklauer, Mills, Dirk, 2004).

Disadvantages to the employees

The employees have to put in a lot of efforts to meet the target, and they have to wait for a long time to achieve this. This ties the employee with the company for a long time depriving him or her, the chance of moving to greener pastures.

Profit Sharing

This is an incentive plan for the businesses puts aside parts of the pre taxed profits and then share it out to the employees. The employee must meet the set conditions that will allow him or her to receive part of the profit. The common condition will be meeting target and having served in the business for a certain period, ( Fullerton, 2006).

The mode of payments differs from one company to the other, and some of them put the money into the employees’ retirement funds. The other form of payment is the calculation of the period one has been in the company, which helps in the calculation of the profits. The other form of payment is one that gives shares of the profits depending on the position held by the employee.

Advantages to the business

The company’s profits increase because the employees work hard to make more profits, which in turn will increase their shares of the profits. There is also a reduced risk of employees quitting to go work in other companies because they know that their efforts are the ones that will boost their earnings.

Disadvantages

However, most of this plans do not work because they companies spend lees amounts of money on investments. This leads to a reduction in the profits earned which later on leads to losses. The problem with the plan is that it will not keep the earnings of the company steady, because it will keep on fluctuating according to the performance of the employees. The company is at a risk of losing focus on their set objectives and targets. This is because the employees will work hard to achieve maximum profits, and not to meet the company’s targets.

Advantages to the employees

It unites the employees and employers as they work together to achieve their set goals. It also increases the levels of motivation, which in turn would increase the earnings of the employees making their lives comfortable. All this will lead to further improvement in performance as the employees are sure of a good salary. It also acts as a bridge between the employee and the employer, which makes the employer feel at ease with the company.

Disadvantages of profit sharing

The employees will not receive a consistent earning which makes planning for their personal expenses difficult. The employees will receive appreciation from the employer due the profits earned and not on their value as quality employees.

Bibliography

Fullerton, S. (2006). Sports Marketing. Pennsylvania: McGraw-Hill.

Kracklauer A. H., Mills, D. Q., & Dirk, S. (2004). Collaborative customer relationship management: taking CRM to the next level. California: Springer.

University of Michigan. (1981). Administrative management. New York: Geyer- McAllister Publications.

Introduction

To improve the performance and the productivity of employees, a firm needs to motivate its employees. Motivation stimulates employees’ desire to work harder and energizes them. Motivation factors can be external or internal.

How USAA motivates its employees

USAA has introduced employees’ training in a bid to motivate them and improve their performance. Additionally, the firm has increased their employees pay by 19% bonus from their previous year’s 13.5%. Moreover, after closing two call centers in 2009, USAA relocated 50% of its employees to other job locations. The firm also gives employees time to do their personal work.
Potential sources of intrinsic motivation to USAA employees

USAA is highly ranked by the Bloomberg’s Business Week magazine, in the last four years. This poses the employees with a challenge to work harder in order to stay at the top of the competitors. They are also faced with the challenge of maintaining their customer preservation rate of 97.5%, thus they improve their efficiency and productivity. Competition is also an intrinsic factor that motivates employees to work harder in order to beat its opponents.

Potential sources of Pro-social motivation

USAA’s performance acts as a driving force for employees to work even harder, since they see the fruits of their hard work. Furthermore, the firm’s growth acts as a motivational catalyst for the employees’ productivity. Most members of the USAA have family issues, since some never see their relatives for weeks. This acts as an inspiration to the employees, in a bid to help the society.

How USAA managers boost levels of expectancy

Training employees in USAA is a key factor in boosting their expectancy levels, since they become more efficient, resulting to high productivity. Additionally, since the employees have tasted the success of the firm, they are prompted to work even harder to see their full potential.

Conclusion

For maximum productivity, employees need motivation. Motivation can be intrinsic, extrinsic, or pro-social. Intrinsic and Pro-social motivations are the best, since they comes from within employees. USAA’s significant success is a consequence of proper management and employees’ motivation.