Effective Motivation In The Workplace Is About Satisfying
Introduction
Billionaire founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma said that people should not compete with artificial intelligence, instead focus on developing unique human intelligence. Furthermore he says, “in the future it is not about the competition of knowledge, it is the competition of creativity, it is the competition of imagination, it is the competition of learning and it is the competition of independent thinking. If people think like a machine, a problem will arise. In the past 20 years people were like machines, in next 20 years machines will look like people. Therefore in the future it is not the knowledge driven, it is wisdom driven, and it is experience driven. In the past it was knowledge driven, manufacture driven and in the future it is creativity driven. The new technology is going to change every aspect of the world. The world should be focusing on not only intelligence quotient, emotional quotient but also focusing on the quotient of love. Because only the way you care about others, more successful things you have”. Creativity, imagination and independent thinking are based on human mind. Therefore it will generate more favorable situations for organizations, if the organizations consider more about their human resource. Prosperity is what all organization want to hold even the environment is dynamic or highly competitive. Hence, companies strive to possess highly skilled employees, because they effect on organizational effectiveness. To retain the employees within the companies it is essential a strong positive relationship among each and every person of the organization. To achieve organization’s goals and objectives, to develop strategies, to face dynamic environment and to increase performance of the organization, human capital can be identified as the main asset. If the organization is not capable to manage them properly, if the employees are not satisfied or not motivated to achieve organization’s goals and objectives, then the organization is at a risk of failure. Employees have lots of needs that continuously competing one with another.
People have different kind of skills and needs. While some people are driven by tasks, others are focusing on job security. Managers should have the ability to understand the behavior of the employees, and then they are capable to predict what people need from the job they involve in. Managers should understand without any assuming what are the motivators that a particular employee needs. Hence, managers can increase their effectiveness by getting a better understanding on the real needs of the employees.
Usually most of people wake up in the morning and involve in their own daily tasks hardly because, these behavior patterns are motivated by particular thing. ( Samson & Daft, 2000, p. 478 ). Therefore, people in the organization should motivated by something they need. One of continuing challenge that managers are faced is how to motivate the employees in the organization. Lower level of motivation leads to low-quality, insincere effort, high absenteeism and tardiness. ( DuBrin, 1994, p. 298 ).
From this essay, the author discuss about the effective motivation, how motivation satisfy employees and how to ensure high work performance by using motivation in the organization.
Motivation
The concept of motivation is defined differently by different people. To achieve organization’s goals and objectives as expect or get the expect results is the ultimate purpose of motivating the employees in an organization. To achieve results, motivation can be identified as the expenditure of effort. The effort results from one a force to perform that stems from one or more of the three sources: the individual, the manager or the group (DuBrin, 1994, p. 298). Motivation refers to the forces either within or external to a person that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain cause of action (Samson & Daft, 2000, p. 478).
Because of the two reasons, the concept of “motivation” cannot define easily. First, motivation is a hypothetical phenomenon that cannot be observed directly. Second, the process of motivating people is common. But what motivate the employee is different from each person. It is unique factor. Therefore, motivation can be defined as those psychological processes that cause the arousal, direction, intensity and persistence of goal-directed, voluntary action (Davidson & Griffin, 1996, p. 522). The degree to which a person wants and chooses to behave in certain way is the more practical definition of motivation (Davidson & Griffin, 1996, p. 522).
Motivation, Productivity and performance
Motivation can be identified as one significant contributor to productivity and performance. Other right requirement skills, technology, knowledge and abilities are essential to get higher productivity and performance. Therefore organizations should apply effective motivation which is suitable for the person and the situation. Managers have the responsibility to implement right motivation method at right time. The methods of effective motivation are not common for all the organization. Those methods vary according to the situation of the organization. Therefore, practically there is no certain definition for effective motivation. Implement of effective motivation leads to employee satisfaction and through the employee satisfaction it generates high performance then it leads to higher performance of the organization and increase the organizational effectiveness.
A study was done to examine the relationship of organizational effectiveness and employee performance and motivation in the telecommunication and banking sector of Pakistan. A sample of 103 respondents was taken and Pearson correlation was applied. The results showed that there exists significant positive correlation (0.287) between employee motivation and organizational effectiveness (Muhammad, 2011). The autocratic leadership styles, mechanistic design of organization and authoritarian rules as practiced in African organizations, are all where decision making is concerned only to top management and employees are just given orders to achieve different tasks. In these types of organizational environment the employees may limit innovativeness and their motivation hinders which has a direct negative effect on organizational performance, growth and effectiveness (Constant, 2001).
Theories Regarding to Motivation
Maslow’s Need Hierarchy
Satisfy needs is the commonly believed motivation practice. A need is unique to each person and people are motivated by accomplish needs that are not presently satisfied. To imply the need-satisfaction approach, managers should observe the employees. It is better if the manager get to know about the employees’ personal life, education, career goal and work history. If not managers can directly ask from employees about the needs.
Maslow’s need hierarchy is the most widely used theory to explain human motivation. According to the hierarchy people have an internal need that pushes them toward self-realization and personal superiority (DuBrin, 1994, p. 300). The hierarchy satisfied the lower level needs and then higher level needs are activated. The hierarchy delivered beneficial insights for managers as the practical application. One of the advices was for managers to find ways of motivating employees by devising programs or practices aimed at satisfying emerging or unmet needs. Another implication was for organizations to implement support programs and focus groups to help employees deal with stress, especially during more challenging times and taking the time to understand the needs of the respective employees (Kreitner, 1998). When the need hierarchy concept is applied to work organizations, the implications for managerial actions become obvious. “Managers have the responsibility to create a proper climate in which employees can develop to their fullest potential. Failure to provide such a climate would theoretically increase employee frustration and this could result in poorer performance, lower job satisfaction, and increased withdrawal from the organization” (Steers & Porter, 1983, p.32).
Maslow has explained why it is hard to satisfy people. As one need satisfied, people want to satisfy other needs or the same need in different form. The concept of Maslow’s Need Hierarchy does not appropriate all the time. Everybody does not satisfy their need in a stepwise. Some people try to achieve esteem before satisfying their social needs while some try to satisfy more than one simultaneously.
Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
Herzberg carried out his survey of 200 accountants and engineers from which he derived the initial framework for his theory of motivation. The theory, as well as the supporting data was first published in 1959 (Herzberg, 1959) and was subsequently amplified and developed in a later book (Herzberg, 1966), as cited in (Ramall, 2004). Based on his survey, Herzberg revealed that employees tended to define satisfying experiences in terms of factors that were intrinsic to the content of the job itself. These factors were called “motivators” and included such variables as achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement, and growth. On the other hand, dissatisfying experiences, called “hygiene” factors, mostly resulted from extrinsic, non-jobrelated factors, such as company policies, salary, coworker relations, and supervisory styles (Steers, 1983), as cited in (Ramall, 2004). Herzberg argued, based on these results that excluding the causes of dissatisfaction would not result in a state of satisfaction. Instead, it would result in a neutral state. The opposite of satisfaction is no satisfaction, not dissatisfaction. In other way, the opposite of dissatisfaction is no dissatisfaction, not satisfaction.
As mangers, they can motivate people by offering them the opportunity to do interesting work or to be promoted. Herzberg also discovered that some job elements are more relevant to lower-level needs than upper level needs. A dissatisfier is a job element that, when present, prevents dissatisfaction. It does not however create satisfaction. Just because hygiene factors are present, employee will not be satisfied about their jobs (DuBrin, 1994, p. 306). The same motivation pattern does not suit for everyone. Therefore managers are the persons who can decide what the effective motivation methods according to the people are.
Equity Theory
Equity theory recognizes that individuals are concerned not only with the absolute amount of rewards they receive for their efforts, but also with the relationship of this amount to what others receive. Based on one’s inputs, such as effort, experience, education, and competence, one can compare outcomes such as salary levels, increases, recognition and other factors. When people perceive an imbalance in their outcome-input ratio relative to others, tension is created. This tension provides the basis for motivation, as people strive for what they perceive as equity and fairness (Robbins, 1993), as cited in (Ramlall, 2004).
Feelings of inequitable action lean towards to occur when “people believe they are not receiving fair returns for their efforts and other contributions.” The challenge therefore for organizations is to implement reward systems that are supposed to be fair and equitable and distributing the reward in accordance with employee beliefs about their own value to the organization (Pinder, 1984), as cited in (Ramlall, 2004).
Reinforcement Theory
Reinforcement theory explains the relationship between behavior and its consequences. The theory defines behavior or modifying the employees’ on the job behavior through the suitable use of immediate rewards and punishments. Positive reinforcement, avoidance, punishment and extinction are the four types of reinforcement. Studies have revealed that positive reinforcement does help to advance organizational performance. In addition, non-financial rewards, such as positive feedback, are often as effective as financial incentives (Luthans & Stajkovic, 1997), as cited in (Samson & Daft, 2000, p. 494). Indeed, most of the people consider factors other than money to be more important. Nelson Motivation Inc. conducted a survey of 750 employees through several industries to evaluate the value they placed on various rewards. Cash and other monetary awards came in last. The most valued rewards involved praise and manager support and involvement (Garvey, 2004), as cited in (Samson & Daft, 2000, p.494).
Job Design Approach
Job design is the application of motivational theories to the structure of work for enhancing productivity and satisfaction. Managers must to know what features of a job provide motivation as well as how to compensate for routine task that has little inherent satisfaction. Methods of job design are usually classified as job simplification, job rotation, job enlargement and job enrichment. Workers with low skills can perform the organization achieves a high level of efficiency. Because of they need low training or skill and exercise, workers are interchangeable. As a motivational technique, however job simplification has failed. People don’t like routine and boring jobs, and reacts in a number of negative ways (Samson & Daft, 2000, p. 499). Companies such as Toyota in its Altona plant in Melbourne and Motorola have built on the notion of job rotation to train a flexible workforce. As organization break away from ossified job categories, worker can perform several jobs, thereby reducing labour costs. Depending on the situation employee might move among the jobs. While some of companies refused the concept, many have accepted it. This helps to be more competitive (Alster, 1989), as cited in (Samson & Daft, 2000, p. 499). Job enrichment leads high level motivation into the work, including job responsibility, recognition and opportunities for growth, learning and achievement. In an enrich job, employees have control over the resources necessary for performing it, make decisions on how to do the work.
Rewards on Motivation
An employee is likely to make an extra effort if he or she knows that performance will be measured, evaluated and rewarded. Rewards that inform employees that they are performing well on a particular task enhance selfefficacy for that task. The process of reward distribution and reward itself influence justice perception.
Conclusion
Human resource is the most valuable and powerful resource within an organization. With creativity, imagination and independent thinking can generate incredible solutions and innovations to the organization. Therefor as they value to the company, the company should treat them. To acquire right skills from the employees, company should have a proper system of motivation. Motivation refers to one contributor to productivity and performance. Others can be identified as abilities, skills and technology. However motivation contributes organization’s performance and job satisfaction in a positive way.
From all the theories such as Maslow’s need hierarchy, Two factor theory, Reinforcement tools and job design methods, they showed ways to implement motivation. Those ways can enhance the organization’s performance and job satisfaction of the employees. But no one can certainly advise that this is the most effective motivation methods and company should use it because, situation is not same for each and every organization. Therefore mangers are the responsible people to implement effective motivation practices according to the situation.
Organization needs both employee satisfaction and high work performance to ensure the motivation method is effective. Once the organization achieves employee satisfaction but lower work performance, it is an unfavorable situation to the organization, the cost of the organization will increase. Once the company achieves higher work performance but lower employee satisfaction, it will cause to high absenteeism of the employees. Managers should have the ability to balance the situation and establish effective motivation.
References
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