The Social Psychology of Motivation - Research Paper Example

Job Satisfaction Contents Contents 2 Sales Staff’s Job Satisfaction: A Case Study of BJC Health Care Company by Sudthanom Pankasemsuk 3 Background Information 3 Main Issues Identified In the Case Study 4 Analysis of the Issues 6 How the Issues Were Handled In the Case Study 7 Recommendations and Criticism 8 Conclusion 9 References 11 Sales Staff’s Job Satisfaction: A Case Study of BJC Health Care Company by Sudthanom Pankasemsuk The discussion represents a case study analysis of job satisfaction. The discussion relates to the study’s inclusion of motivator and hygiene factors in relation to Herzberg theory of job satisfaction. These factors will then be related to Maslow’s hierarchical need theory with respect to employee job satisfaction in BJC Health Care Company. The motivator factors identified are responsibility, recognition, promotion, intrinsic aspect of the job and achievement. Hygiene factors include salary, supervision, security and relationships with colleagues. In comparison to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, the self actualization needs are similar to Herzberg’s two factor theory (Werner & DeSimone, 2009). This is because they can be satisfied by challenging, stimulating and absorbing work. The hygiene factors in the Herzberg’s two factor theory correlate with safety, physiological and belonging needs. They postulate that the deficiency and hygiene needs should be satisfied before an employee is motivated by higher needs. Therefore, the hygiene factors represent the needs to avoid physical harm or pain while motivator needs represent the needs for self actualization. The research questions posed in the study relate to issues such as the variety of tasks, promotional opportunities, the coworkers and rate of pay among others. Background Information Employees cannot deliver as expected if they are not satisfied with the work they are undertaking. Job satisfaction entails all the positive and negative feelings towards a job that results from various factors that influence an individual’s life. Job satisfaction describes the level of content of an employee to their job. Satisfied employees perform better than unsatisfied ones (Heller, Judge, & Watson, 2002). Lack of job satisfaction is the most prominent factor that determines the performance of an employee. Some of the job design methods used to promote job satisfaction and performance are job rotation, enlargement and enrichment (Plaks, 2011). According to the law of nature, as employees get more, they yearn for more. Therefore, the level of satisfaction remains less. Other factors that influence job satisfaction include management style and culture, and employee empowerment and involvement. The most common method of job satisfaction entails the use of rating scales whereby the employees present their feelings and attitudes regarding their job. Job satisfaction is a significant indicator of how employees feel about their job and predicts work behaviors such as absenteeism, turnover and citizenship. Satisfaction at work can mediate the disparity that may arise between personality differences and deviant work tendencies. Job satisfaction is related to life satisfaction whereby those employees that are satisfied with life are contented with their job titles. Main Issues Identified In the Case Study The case study identified and analyzed the satisfaction levels of the employees in the health care company and the factors that cause the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of the sales staff. According to study, the overall mean score in relation to the motivator factor is 3.70 (indicating they are somewhat satisfied). The employees were somewhat satisfied with the factors about responsibility (4.17) followed by achievement (3.89), intrinsic aspects of the job (3.63) and recognition (3.45) respectively. They were however, indifferent about the promotional aspect. The study confirmed that they did not feel either satisfied of dissatisfied with the other factors. This means that the employees are somewhat self actualized. The overall satisfaction level of employees with respect to hygiene factors was 3.55 (somewhat satisfied). The employees are somewhat satisfied with all the hygiene factors that include work environment, personal life and job security (3.69), supervision (3.61), company policies and administration (3.48 and relationships with colleagues (3.41). The company scored high in the responsibility aspect of employee satisfaction. The employees alluded that they were given satisfactory responsibility and freedom to carry out their duties and assignments without interruptions (Pankasemsuk, 2010). In relation to Maslow, the deficiency needs are somewhat satisfied. The study confirmed that the participants were of a positive opinion towards their relationship with other workmates. This is due to the development of a sense of responsible friendship and team work. With respect to the achievement factor, the participants agreed that the job was challenging: it gave them a sense of yearning for personal accomplishment. The main factors affecting the level of job satisfaction are the company’s policy and administration whereby most participants felt that they were not conversant with the personal responsibilities and organizational structure of the company (Badran & Kafafy, 2008). Most of the delays in the administration were blamed to the complicated and time consuming organizational structures. In respect of remuneration, most of the respondents claimed that the indirect income such as commissions and travelling allowances were not adequate for the job they did. They also claimed that most allowances were never accounted for due to the complicated processes involved in obtaining them. Most participants maintained a negative opinion towards their supervisors. According to study, the employees did not receive fair performance appraisal and they were not granted enough recognition. Analysis of the Issues According to the case study, the general factors that influence job satisfaction in BJC Health Care Company are personal factors such as sex, number of dependants, age, time of job and education. Other factors are inherent in the job and include type of work, the skills required in the job, occupation status and size of the organization. Factors that can be controlled by the management include pay, opportunity for advancement, supervision, working conditions and co workers. The perception that promotion is the least significant in terms of job satisfaction by the employees is related to the employees’ notion that career development is the most crucial aspect of life prosperity (Tubré, Arthur, & Bennett, 2006). Without promotion, most of the employees would feel neglected and unrecognized. Their high expectation towards career achievement explains the reason why most of them are no satisfied with the promotion factor. They argued that their efforts contributed paramount step towards the current success of the company and thus they should be rewarded accordingly. Although, the factors that ranked poorly in terms of job satisfaction (company policy and administration, salary and remuneration and relationship with colleagues) do not directly cause satisfaction, their improvement can reduce the possibility of job dissatisfaction. Therefore, the management has an obligation of adjusting and improving their management systems to promote the work environment of the employees. The fourth and fifth ranked factor, that is recognition and promotion, affects the employee satisfaction directly. The strength of achievement and responsibility factors indicates that the company is capable of changing promotion and recognition attitudes towards its employees. How the Issues Were Handled In the Case Study According to the study, BJC Health Care Company should maintain the employees at a high level through offering them cost effective and tangible benefits, employing a culture of open communication across all ranks and calibers, assigning them flexible and fair assignments, educating them on the available benefits and applying all the measures necessary to motivate them and make them feel contented with their work (Pankasemsuk, 2010). The managers and supervisors can contribute through activities such as announcing the employee of the month. They should be aware of individual talents to avoid the risk of losing these talents. They should maintain the motivating culture of the employees, providing them with fair promotion chances, showing them the prospects for career development in the company and setting credible standards for succession. Employees should be motivated to apply their all in establishment of a dedicated and motivated workforce. The management should encourage competitive culture; seniority-based promotions and rewards should be abolished. The time lifespan for the promotion of competent employees from one rank to another should be verified to promote competency. The management should introduce performance based package to maintain the job satisfaction among the workforce. Other methods of motivation, in addition to financial rewards, should be introduced. The management should ensure that the preexisting trade unions are efficient and cater for the welfare of the employees. They should be disbanded in case of misconduct. Employee transfers should be verified as frequent transfers create job interruptions making an employee to feel unsatisfied (Samad, 2011). Recommendations and Criticism The company ranked high in satisfaction of growth needs compared to deficiency needs because they did not apply the hierarchical model proposed by Maslow. They should ensure that the physiological and safety needs have been met before embarking on satisfying the self-esteem and self-actualization needs. The company should also invest more in intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic motivation (Gostick & Elton, 2007). Intrinsic rewards enable employees to develop the passion towards the job which enables them to overcome all the job challenges they encounter to achieve personal satisfaction out of the job. Managers should offer intrinsic rewards like sincere praise to all employees and ethically solve any problems related to employee conduct to enhance their morale. Others intrinsic rewarding mechanism includes training opportunities, maintaining dialogues with respect to performance improvements and promoting internal promotions. Extrinsic rewards include the ones outlined by the study. However, extrinsic rewarding may not succeed as a long job satisfaction tool. This is because employees who are used to plump remunerations and benefits will decrease their morale and productivity in the event of decreased salary and benefits. It is eminent for the management to apply Maslow’s need hierarchy theory. According to Maslow, issues related to job satisfaction should be solved in a hierarchical pattern. The higher level need should not be handled until a lower level need is satisfied. The five needs with reference to their hierarchical importance are self actualization needs (development of one’s potential), self esteem (recognition), social needs (relationships with colleagues), and security (safety and freedom) and psychological needs that includes food, warmth and protection among others. Application of the Maslow’s concept in ensuring of job satisfaction for employees in BJC Health Care Company implies that the physiological needs of the employees should be considered as the first priority. Awarding fair remuneration packages is the most eminent aspect of catering for physiological needs. The remuneration should be sufficient enough to cater for the employee primary needs such as food and shelter. Physical fitness facilities and exercise programs are eminent physiological needs. Hungry or ill employees contribute minimally to the success of the company (Heller et al., 2002). A secure working environment attracts workforce and motivates them to develop a satisfactory attitude towards their assignments. They should also be provided with risk allowances and insurance. The study also confirms that the company scored unsatisfactorily in the maintenance of social needs for the employees. The company should encourage employees to participate in social events such as New Year parties and sports to promote their social needs and give them a chance to socialize and strengthen interpersonal relationships. After satisfying deficiency needs, the company should embark on improvement of growth needs which entail self esteem and self actualization. According to the case study, the employees of the company exhibited high potential of self actualization thus becoming valuable assets to the company including contributing to the current success of the company. Conclusion The Herzberg theory of job satisfaction is similar to Maslow’s theory of hierarchical need theory although the strategy of need satisfaction as proposed by Maslow can result in the long term job satisfaction benefits. The intrinsic rewards have a more credible positive impact on job satisfaction as compared to the extrinsic factors. The extrinsic factors should be modified to ensure a sense of intrinsic motivation if they have to remain efficient. To maintain employee satisfaction, it is eminent for the management of the company to consider the significance of both motivator and hygiene factors and devise strategies aimed at improving them. They will be required to regularly and consistently analyze the factors and make sure that the workforce possesses a positive drive towards work. References Badran, M. A., & Kafafy, J. H. (2008). The effect of job redesign on job satisfaction, resilience, commitment and flexibility: The case of an Egyptian public sector bank. International Journal of Business Research, 8(3), 27. Gostick, A. R., & Elton, C. (2007). The carrot principle: How the best managers use recognition to engage their people, retain talent, and accelerate performance. New York: Free Press. Heller, D., Judge, T. A., & Watson, D. (2002). The confounding role of personality and trait affectivity in the relationship between job and life satisfaction. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 815–835. Pankasemsuk, S. (2010). Sales staff’s job satisfaction: A case study of BJC Health Care Company Limited. Masters project, M.A. (Business English for International Communication). Bangkok: Graduate School, Srinakhariwirot University. Plaks, J. (2011). The social psychology of motivation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Samad, S. (2011). The effects of job satisfaction on organizational commitment and job performance relationship: A case of managers in Malaysia’s manufacturing companies. European Journal of Social Sciences, 18(4), 602. 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