What Is the Best Motivational Package for Philadelphia Co. to Enhance Employee Productivity - Research Paper Example

?Research question: What is the best motivational package for Philadelphia Co. to enhance employee productivity? Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Abstract 3 Introduction 3 Research Question 4 Procedure and Methodology 4 Main Results and Findings 6 Analysis and Discussion 8 Conclusion and Recommendations 9 References 11 Appendix 12 Annexure 1: Questionnaire for Staff Members 12 Annexure 2: Interview with Customers 12 Annexure 3: Interview with Managers 12 Abstract In the age of increased competition it is very necessary for an organization to deliver the best possible service in order to ensure the sustainability of the firm in the market. The present study would analyze the case of Philadelphia Company with regards t addressing the issue of lack of motivation among the employees of the organization. The study would mainly be based on a primary research that would try to collect primary data from the customers, employee as well as the managers of the organization in order to understand the underlying reasons behind the lack of motivation among the employees of the organization. The results of the survey would be used to suggest plausible recommendations for the organization. Implication of strategies like a 360 degree appraisal and initiating free and fair appraisal apart from career development programs like training and development can help in restoring and enhancing the motivation levels of the employees of the organization. Introduction The age of competition has necessitated an urgent need for business organizations to go beyond analyzing the sales figures and business strategies but also ensure organization excellence. In this regard the role of human resource management becomes utmost important as human resources are the most valuable assets for any organization. It has also been stated in numerous researches that an efficient human resource base should be essentially motivated so as to ensure job satisfaction (Latham, 2007, p.93). These aspects involve considerable importance as de-motivated and unsatisfied employees’ leads to high turnover rates and also lead to inefficiencies in the organization. In order to ensure greater productivity it is necessary to ensure that workers and employees are consistently rewarded. It is also very necessary to ensure that there is career development of the employees. The present study would analyze the reasons behind the de-motivation of the employees of Philadelphia Co that is a housekeeping company and has a small employee base of which most of the workers are from other nations like Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Philippines. The study would try to analyze the reasons behind their de-motivation and would also suggest plausible recommendations in order to ensure better productivity and increased motivation among the workers. Research Question The research question for the present study is stated below: To analyze the effects of motivation of workers on organization’s productivity To analyze the reasons behind the de motivation of workers at Philadelphia Co To find possible solutions towards ensuring motivation of employees at Philadelphia Co The three research questions would try to first analyze the effects of employee motivation on the levels of productivity of the employees. It would also try to analyze the possible reasons for the de-motivation of the employees by conducting an in depth analysis of the research question and finally the research would also try to find possible solutions for imparting greater motivation among the employees of the organization so as to help generate competitive advantage. Procedure and Methodology The research methodology would be a mix of primary and secondary research techniques that would help in analyzing the research questions and also enable in the formulation of plausible recommendations that would help in ensuring organizational excellence. The secondary research would try to analyze the research question as to the effects of employee de-motivation on the job satisfaction levels and the impact on the overall productivity of the organization. The data for secondary research would be based on the information available through various research reports as well as text books published by reputed authors. All the other research questions would be analyzed using the primary research methodology. A probability based simple random sampling would be carried out to select the respondents for the study. This would imply that every individual has an equal opportunity for getting selected for the study (Babbie, 2010, p.211). For the present study a sample size of 3 individuals would be selected as the chosen set of respondents. The sample size for the customers would be fixed at 10 while the interview with the management would be conducted with the CEO of the organization. The data collection techniques would consist of a questionnaire as an instrument to collect data from the respondents. The questions would essentially be open ended in nature so as to help in conducting an in-depth analysis of the research question. Open ended questions would not limit the respondent with regards to the information to be provided for analyzing the research question (Kumar, 2010, p.153). The data collection technique would be based on a personal interview technique under which the researcher would interview the respondent personally with regards to the views of a particular respondent pertaining to the research question. The data collected from the survey would be analyzed qualitatively using a qualitative research technique. This would help in conducting an in depth analysis of the research question (Fox & Bayat, 2008). It would also enable the researcher to undertake a cause and effect analysis of the research question. This would help in identifying the underlying reasons behind the aspect of the issue prevailing at Philadelphia Co and help generate solutions that can help generate competitive advantage for the organization. Use of a qualitative research would help in analyzing open ended questions more conveniently and would help uncover the underlying dimension of the organization and the issue of motivation being faced by the organization. The research study would be conducted with utmost care however, certain errors may creep in unintentionally that are beyond the control of the researcher. This includes respondent errors that may arise as a result of respondents giving out wrong information on the questions. Main Results and Findings The respondents for the study were asked certain questions and their responses revealed that most of the employees were dissatisfied with the current job at Philadelphia and most of them stated that they were largely de-motivated by the current job profile that has led to dissatisfaction further leading to drop in productivity levels. One of the main reasons behind the large scale de-motivation of the workers was particularly traced to the attitude of the management towards the workers. The top management according to the employees was not transparent and had biased policies towards employees that have resulted in a severe lack of confidence among the workers. Workers stated that the attitude of the management had resulted in high levels of turnover in the organization that had severely paralyzed the motivation level of the existing employees. Employees also stated that the company had a very poor appraisal policy with no clear policy on the aspects on which the employees would be apprised. The managers were also not transparent and employees stated complete biasness of the top management in apprising employees that had led to a situation where the employees felt that performance at the work was not being weighted by the top management. This has led to a lackadaisical attitude among the employees whose performance has badly dipped in the past few months. Most of the employees reported that they had lost all faith in the organization as they did not have a mechanism for being in touch with the top management owning to a flat organizational structure that limited the scope of the individuals to discuss issues and report any grievances to the top management. The respondents during the course of the interview also stated that the compensation policy was also not appealing as there had been a very low increment. The interview with the customers also reveals that the employees serving the customers had not performed according to the level of expectations. The customers stated that employees were initially very active however since some time the employees have been very callous about their performance at the organization. The employees have become ill mannered and get frustrated at the slightest behest. They are also not providing value additions to the service delivered as they initially did. The customers were unanimous in their response towards the fact that employees were largely depressed and often started complaining about petty aspects. This had resulted in severe gaps in the level of service being delivered by the workers to the organization. The interview with the managers revealed that there was a dip in the levels of productivity of the employees recently. The manager during the course of the interview also stated that he was now aware of the lack of motivation among the workers. Some of the reasons pointed out by the manager revealed that aspects like unfair appraisal as well as a communication gap between the employees and the management was largely responsible for the issue. The manager also stated that there was an urgent need to check attrition and restore the faith and confidence of the employees. It was also stated that there was an urgent need to have a fair appraisal policy and also to ensure that there is a smooth flow of communication. The manager also went about to state that the company was proposing training programs that would help in increasing the knowledge curve of the employees and also improve to promote career development of the employees in order to ensure that the employees gain the confidence levels and provide their best shot at the organization in order to generate organizational excellence. Analysis and Discussion The responses following from the questionnaire are briefed and summarized to assess the motivation level of employees in the organization. The analysis thus arrived at is compared with the theories of motivation provided by Elton Mayo, Abraham Maslow and Herzberg. Interviews with the staff members reveal that employee grievance, complaints or accusations are not promptly addressed by the management of the company. This leaves their problems to exist and unsolved. This could serve as a predominant factor for low level of motivation of employees since communication between managers and staffs were found minimum. As founded by Mayo, communication between managers and workers plays a key role in enhancing motivation level of employees. A manager’s involvement in the day to day work activities of the company also stimulates workers’ participation in the process and progression. The Hawthorne studies have also revealed that a manager’s involvement in the interests of the employees in the organization plays a positive force behind their motivation which seems to be absent in the case of Philadelphia Co (Mackay, 2007, p.41). Poor compensation structures coupled with inadequate system of performance appraisals are also some of the factors which keeps employees from performing to the best of their abilities. This can be compared to the theory of motivation as presented by Abraham Maslow in his hierarchical structure of motivation. The fact that employees lack the sense of belongingness in the organization arising out of inadequate intervention of the management and top staffs in the organization is a major cause why the social needs of employees remain unsatisfied. The social need of employees which creates a sense of belongingness for them in the organization motivates them to perform better as per the findings of Maslow. Poor system of performance appraisal has been the predominant cause for poor recognition and identification of employee’s performance and contributions towards the organization. Lack of a 360 degrees performance appraisal system keeps employees from making progression in their careers and this consequently keeps them from attaining their self esteem needs which is one of the highest order needs of employees according to Maslow. Work recognition and rewards serves to fulfill their self esteem and consequently motivates them to enhance performances in the organization. Moreover, poor compensation structures in the company have also been identified as a hygiene factor which de-motivates employees further in their performance. According to Herzberg, improvement of the nature and content of jobs have been identified as some of the factors which businesses must incorporate for attaining greater motivation and involvement of employees in the organization (Mackay, 2007, p.42). Conclusion and Recommendations The analysis of the organizational aspects of Philadelphia Company reveals that there is an urgent need to ensure motivation and bring back the confidence levels of the individuals so as to help in ensuring organizational excellence in service delivery. Some of the possible steps that the organization can undertake in this regard include formulation of a free and fair appraisal policy. A 360 degree appraisal system would largely helping in ensuring this goal of the organization. In addition to this there is also a need to bring about a change in the organization structure from a tall to a flat hierarchy. This would help facilitate smooth flow of communication and would also ensure that the appraisal policy is free from bias. Philadelphia Company must also ensure that the compensation policy is in tune with the industry standards so as to ensure proper confidence to the workers. There should also be a whistleblower policy in which the employees can freely share their grievances about the policies of the organization. Regular feedbacks and good amount of training must be given to the employees so that they are able to improve upon their skill sets and also help promote career development of the employees. Incorporation of these steps along with good planning can help in generating motivation among the employees that would help generate sustainable competitive edge for the organization. References Babbie, E.R. (2010). The Practice of Social Research. Cengage Learning. Fox, W. & Bayat, M.S. (2008). A Guide to Managing Research. Juta and Company Ltd. Kumar, R. (2010). Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. SAGE Publications Ltd. Latham, G.P. (2007). Work motivation: history, theory, research, and practice. SAGE. Mackay, A. (2007). Motivation, Ability and Confidence Building in People. Taylor & Francis. Appendix Annexure 1: Questionnaire for Staff Members Name: Gender: No. of Years in Service: 1. Comment on the level of the satisfaction with your job 2. Can you give reasons for your satisfaction or dissatisfaction from the present job at Philadelphia Co 3. Do you feel the top management is pro active to address the needs of the employees 4. Comment on the performance appraisal system of the company 5. Comment on the compensation structure of the company Annexure 2: Interview with Customers Name: 1. Do you notice any significant change in the service delivered by Philadelphia Co 2. Can you possibly state any reasons for the possible drop in levels of service quality 3. Do you feel that the enthusiasm levels of the workers serving you have changed from the past Annexure 3: Interview with Managers 1. What are the reasons according to you may have led to drop in levels of productivity 2. Comment on the strategies that can be implemented to help restore the confidence level of workers Read More