Effectiveness of Employee Motivation in Google - Coursework Example

Effectiveness of Employee Motivation in Google Introduction Motivation as explained by Burrus et al, (2009) is a multifaceted dynamic of forces, desires, drives, and other mechanisms within an individual that establish and uphold voluntary effort directed toward the accomplishment of a particular task or objective (p 7). Drawing reference from this definition, employee motivation can be termed as the psychological forces directed at an employee’s behavior in an organization so as to influence their level of effort and diligence in the duties assigned to them. Employers who take the initiative of motivating their employees are in a better position to acquire better organizational productivity, better employee participation and teamwork, and a better average turnover Brief overview of Google Google is an American conglomerate, which specializes in providing internet-based services such as: search engine service, cloud computing, manufacture and sale of software, as well as online marketing services. Most of Google’s profits come from AdWords. Its hasty growth since incorporation has elicited a series of merchandises, acquisitions, and mergers. As a result, Google is one of the corporations with the largest employee base in the world of around 37,000 in 40 countries. Effectiveness of Employee Motivation in Google Contemporary conglomerates are relentlessly coming up with new methods and techniques to acquire top talent, keep hold of that top talent, and come up with imaginative ways to keep them motivates for paramount productivity. This essay investigates how Google Inc uses motivation techniques to motivate its employees to become top-producing individuals who can formulate preeminent ideas and products. The essay will explore how Google Inc has structured its management so as to endow its employees with the best environment and how it motivates its them with intrinsic and extrinsic techniques. The essay will also investigate on how effective the motivation techniques adopted by Google Inc have been in streamlining the employees’ effort in the direction of realizing the corporation’s objectives. Before exploring the motivation techniques adopted by Google Inc, it is important to understand some of the theories of motivation so as to get acquainted with the theory Google Inc favours most. Theories of Motivation Companies have to come up with intrinsic and extrinsic methods of motivation to acquire and maintain top talent. Studies have revealed established valuable theories that are of the essence in the developing strategies of motivation. Below are the four major theories that have been established. Frederick Taylor’s financial motivation theory Offering financial incentives is the most traditional method of motivating an employee. Taylor’s financial motivation theory of stipulates that financial impetus has the ability to motivate workers by boosting their morale. Hall et al (2008) construes that Taylor theory advocates for the establishment salary incentives so as to stimulate employees to better productivity, loyalty, and ultimately satisfaction. Sinclair, et al. (2005, 1285) reckons that money has the power to influence job choice and job retention. He explicates further that money can attract, maintain, and stimulate individuals to perform better thus yielding better productivity higher Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Maslow’s theory postulates that a person should be motivated on the basis of the hierarchy of need they are in. For instance, a destitute street family will not be motivated by social incentives, but by food and shelter incentives. Maslow’s theory implies that employees will not be completely motivated if their basic needs are not fulfilled. Consequently, different people have different needs and the best way of motivating them is finding ways that best suit their endevours of fulfilling their different needs (Ivancevich and Matteson, 1996). As a result, employers who wish to motivate their employees should fashion their motivation strategies to take every employees needs into account. Herzberg’s Two Factor/hygiene Theory Herzberg’s theory incorporates a few elements from Maslow’s theory. This theory tries to explain what really motivates an individual. Herzberg’s theory asserts that the factors that have the ability to really motivate an employee include the basic salary plus financial incentives, the work environment, and the company’s regulations. According to Herzberg’s theory, motivational factors of employees are inherent and a good motivation strategy should include accomplishment rewards for the employees and promotion (Ivancevich and Matteson, 1996). Herzberg’s theory implies that administrators should endow employees with hygiene factors to circumvent cases of employee dissatisfaction (Ivancevich and Matteson, 1996). The theory postulates that administrators can avert poor performance, low yields, and low morale by incorporating both hygiene factors and motivators in their motivational strategies Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne theory The assertions in Mayo’s theory are based on his research on the employees at the Hawthorne plant, Chicago in the early 1930’s. As a result, the theory came to be known as the Hawthorne theory. Elton Mayo, proposed that motivation in the workplace is usually influenced by factors such as: better communication, excellent teamwork, taking interest in other employees activities, including the employees in the decision making process, guaranteeing the well-being of the employees, ensuring work is not monotonous. He postulated that boredom and monotony of the duties assigned to employees led to low motivation. He asserted that motivation can be enhanced by making the workers know that they are prestigious assets of the company, giving them some freedom to make decisions pertaining the company’s activities and catering to their social needs. Financial rewards Financial rewards are motivators given to employees that require the employer to spend money to acquire the reward. Financial rewards are intended to inspire fidelity among the employees and augment productivity in the organisation. There are several of motivating employees financially with the most popular being salary raises and bonuses Google Inc has taken financial rewards to a whole new level. One of the methods Google uses to ensure employee motivation is offering the unsurpassed perquisites and rewards (Culture, 2009). Some of the financial rewards given to Google employees include free health services, flex expenditure accounts, insurance, and holiday packages. According to Strickland (2013), The thing that makes Google Inc.’s financial rewards unique are the specialised financial benefits such as 18 weeks maternity leaves and 100% pay of maternity services, free meals from gourmet chefs as well as snacks to help refresh employees in between meals, on-site vehicle services, on-site dry cleaning services, free massage therapy, among others. These financial services makes the employees feel at home while at the workplace, perhaps even better than home and this leads to employee loyalty and better services hence better productivity. Non-Financial rewards Non-financial motivators are more are designed to suit every employee as per their interests and needs. This means that a company can give different non-financial rewards to different employees some of the non-financial rewards by Google include letting employees to spend 20% worktime to work on their own individual projects, independence and no bureaucratic channels to communicate problems or ideas (Crystal, 2005). The key to Google, Inc.’s non-financial reward packages is offering simplicity in the work process. There are no real hierarchies, and tiny work groups. Google, Inc. does not advocate for massive groups or complex chains of command. They try to keep their structure flat so as to exploit the creativity of employees. There lack of official channels, reduces bureaucracy hence easing the flow of ideas among the employees. Effectiveness of Google methods Google Inc.’s innovative and unique employee motivation techniques have reaped the company monumental benefits. For example, employee productivity in Google is immense; almost half of Google's new product launches (e.g.Gmail, Google News, AdSense, etc.) can trace their origins from the 20% off given to Google Inc.’s employees. In matters pertaining Labour turnover, Google Inc. has also reaped a fallen short of success. This success can be attributed to its ability to attract high quality staff, meticulous hiring motivational strategies, and a fun and resourceful working environment. Google’s search engine continues to gain market share and this can be attributed to productivity of the company which is brought about by the favorable motivational strategies adopted by Google. Due to the success and accomplishemnts that have been realized by Google Inc. has been one of the best places to work all over the world. For example, in 2009 Fortune magazine reckoned that Google Inc. has the most preeminent working conditions in the U.S. and UK. Another zenith reached by Google Inc. being the most visited and liked Web site. The name Google has even been accepted as verb in the English dictionary. Google Inc.’s recruitment is better in many ways when it is compared to Microsoft. This is because Google Inc. attracts top-notch employees than Microsoft and has recruitment process that is less informal than that of Microsoft, which makes the employees feel accepted and appreciated. The only flaw I see in Google Inc.’s employee motivation strategies is the lack of hierarchy because it can make the more experienced employees feel as if their experience is not being noticed and appreciated. The motivational strategy that Google should introduce is to allow their employees to work as freelancers in other companies. This would open them to other business environment and may provide insight for innovative ideas and it would also alleviate employee monotony. Conclusion Francesco (2005, 127) reckoned that the process of internationalisation of an organization makes the task of coming up with motivation systems that fit the standards and preferences of employees in the different cultures worldwide become more challenging. Indisputably, the process in Google Inc. has been intricate and demanding but the innovative and visionary motivational strategies it has adopted have proven successful. If companies want to be able to retain top-notch employees and to truimph in the next decade they should take notes from Google Inc. then chane their administration structure, work environment, and the manner in which they handle their employees. 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Journal of Applied Psychology 90 (6), 1280-1287. Strickland, J. (2013). How the Googleplex works. http://computer.howstuffworks.com/googleplex3.htm (accessed 29th March 2014) Read More