Kaluyu Memorial Hospital’s Employee Motivation

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Table of Contents

Major Demotivational Factors at Kaluyu Memorial Hospital
Potential Negative Impacts
Herzberg’s Model of Motivation
Communication System for Situation Improvement
Conclusion
References

An investigation into the for-profit Kaluyu Memorial Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, demonstrates that there are noticeable demotivational factors at work for its employees. The current paper is devoted to examining those factors, determining an appropriate motivation model, and discussing the development of a suitable communication system at the hospital.

Major Demotivational Factors at Kaluyu Memorial Hospital

Several major demotivational factors have been discovered at the Kaluyu Memorial Hospital. First of all, the nurses perceive their work to be unacknowledged and unrewarded, which is a strong demotivational factor for them. The problem exacerbates apparent communication problems between employees of various levels and their superiors.

Given these communication issues, the environment at the workplace is neither friendly nor inclusive, which is another major demotivational factor. Apart from that, the separation of people with families from the rest of the workers might indicate problems related to employee work-life balance, which is crucial for employee satisfaction and quality of life (Shah, Zaidi, Ahmed, & Rehman, 2016; Nayak, Sahoo, Mohanty, & Sundaray, 2016). Finally, the lack of profitability that the hospital faces is a demotivational factor for all involved.

All of these difficulties point to one core demotivational factor at the hospital: ineffective leadership. For example, the fact that employees feel scared to approach superiors and seem inactive during meetings implies that they are rarely encouraged to participate in dialogue; similarly, unhealthy workplace relationships are likely to result from a lack of appropriate management and personnel control (Hartung & Miller, 2013).

The issue of work-life balance indicates that no steps are being taken to help the employees in this respect, and the problem of the refrigerators used to store breast milk for working mothers’ infants illustrates the general lack of management interest in employees’ needs.

Potential Negative Impacts

These demotivational factors have led to low motivation in workers who strive to go home as soon as possible, take excessive sick leave, and are often late for work. Because these outcomes of low motivation directly impact the quality and efficiency of service, the issue might contribute to the hospital’s lack of profitability (Shah et al., 2016). From the case study, it appears that nurses and young mothers are most likely to be negatively affected, which will, in turn, affect the hospital’s performance in the areas where they work.

Apart from that, the fact that hospital leaders do not take into account the interests or needs of employees is already lowering organizational transparency and trust; in the future, the problem is likely to lead to increased staff turnover. Similarly, the environment issue and lack of work-life balance are negatively affecting the quality of employees’ work-life, which will also lead to turnover (Nayak et al., 2016).

As a result, the hospital will experience an outflow of talent, and the remaining employees will be demotivated and uninvested. Unless the issues are addressed, the hospital will remain unprofitable, which threatens its continued existence. To sum up, the current practices have negatively impacted individual employees and their productivity, the communication between employees and management, and the profitability of the hospital in general.

Herzberg’s Model of Motivation

Herzberg’s model of motivation (HMM) appears to be most applicable to this case due to its focus on positive and negative factors at the workplace. HMM suggests defining the factors that are capable of contributing to job satisfaction (termed “motivation factors”) and those that are likely to result in dissatisfaction (“hygiene factors”) (Miner, 2015, p. 61).

In these terms, the workplace hygiene of the hospital is very low and needs to be improved; moreover, the case study indicates that there are insufficient motivation factors for several employees, especially nurses and young mothers. It may be suggested that the doctors have enhanced motivation factors, but this disparity results in a decrease in overall workplace hygiene, making the value of such motivation largely meaningless.

Because the HMM framework incorporates the problem of insufficient motivation and factors that reduce motivation, it is especially applicable to the Kaluyu Memorial Hospital case study. The framework allows for systematizing the challenges that the hospital faces and thus is capable of informing the managerial choice of interventions.

HMM’s method of intervention is orthodox job enrichment, which involves a whole array of customizable activities (e.g., feedback improvement, meaningful learning, schedule changes, leadership sharing). This intervention strategy might be of interest to the hospital’s director of health, but it is too extensive to discuss in this paper (Miner, 2015, p. 66).

Communication System for Situation Improvement

The hospital workplace needs extensive change, which in turn demands change management. As a result, the current communication problems will become a greater challenge that needs to be addressed. Because resolving the communication problem will directly contribute to an improvement of the work environment and employee empowerment (Hartung & Miller, 2013), it is both a goal and a tool in this situation.

Given the complexity of the issues, it seems logical to introduce a whole system of communication interventions. Possible communication systems include digital ones (e.g. intranets, websites, various messengers, e-mail) and traditional methods (e.g., posters, letters, meetings). Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages. For example, the introduction of a new intranet would require investment and training. In this respect, non-digital systems are likely to require fewer direct expenses and less effort.

At the same time, modern communication technologies offer much more functionality, especially for long-distance communication. It is also noteworthy that face-to-face communication is often perceived to be superior and to allow for maximum understanding (Hartung & Miller, 2013, p. 268). However, such communication is not always available, and in this case, the hospital is plagued with significant issues to address before it can become a dominant channel.

Given the diversity of possible solutions, management should investigate the opportunities of the hospital and the needs of employees before making a decision. For example, if the employees of a particular ward do not express enthusiasm when working with electronic networks, they might use meetings more extensively. Involving employees in the process of resolving communication issues will help produce customized solutions. Moreover, such an approach will communicate a change in the stance of management and a willingness to listen to employees. Finally, this approach will provide employees with the opportunity and experience of making suggestions and decisions and sharing leadership, which will likely contribute their overall empowerment.

Conclusion

The situation at the Kaluyu Memorial Hospital involves multiple and complex motivational issues that should be approached through equally complex interventions and customized solutions. In this respect, HMM is a suitable motivation model since it includes a framework for formulating and problematizing workplace hygiene issues and finding the best means of addressing them.

References

Hartung, S. & Miller, M. (2013). Communication and the Healthy Work Environment. The Journal Of Nursing Administration, 43(5), 266-273. DOI:10.1097/nna.0b013e31828eeb3c

Miner, J. (2015). Organizational Behavior. New York, NY: Routledge.

Nayak, T., Sahoo, C., Mohanty, P., & Sundaray, B. (2016). HR interventions and quality of work life of healthcare employees: an investigation. Industrial And Commercial Training,48(5), 234-240. DOI:10.1108/ict-02-2015-0019

Shah, S., Zaidi, S., Ahmed, J., & Rehman, S. (2016). Motivation and retention of physicians in primary healthcare facilities: A qualitative study from Abbottabad, Pakistan. International Journal Of Health Policy And Management, 5(8), 467-475. DOI:10.15171/ijhpm.2016.38.

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