Motivation and Communication in Wall-Mart - Essay Example

Motivation, Stress and Communication Motivation, Stress and Communication Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is a company that was established in 1962 by Sam Walton, and it later became a large discount department store and a chain of warehouse stores (Kneer, 2009). This company has been developing strategies based on offering branded products to their customers at a low price. In fact, Wal-Mart acquires a market share of more than two million members and customers weekly. Moreover, they have revolutionized the home improvement industry by offering their products at discounted prices, which enables their customer to save money. Therefore, the company has acquired a substantial financial position, which makes them the world’s largest public corporation, private employer and grocery retailer in America. Job Description for an Accountant Within Wal-Mart I would like to work at Wal-Mart as an accountant, thereby taking all responsibilities and duties carried out by an accountant in his or her working period. In my point of view, I desire to engage in all duties that will facilitate meeting set objectives and goals by the company. Some of these duties include conducting analysis on business transactions in terms costs, revenue and financial commitment. I will also prepare and analyze financial statements and accounting records, and examine accounting records to assess competence and accuracy. I will also prepare tax returns and ensure the company’s compliance with payments and other significant things. However, there are other responsibilities involved in the field of accountancy, but what matters most is willingness to take full responsibility for all that is expected of me as an accountant. This includes other responsibilities such as giving relevant advice to managers pertaining to issues such as tax strategies, resource utilization and budget forecast in order to offer assistance in decision-making. Use of Goal Setting to Motivate Performance The goal-setting theory is applicable in the process of motivating my performance. In fact, this theory was established by Edwin Locke in the 1960s and deals with formulation of goals and objectives (Lunenburg, 2001). On the other hand, the theory explains particular challenges, objectives and a feedback system that are applicable in supporting improvement of performance. In this case, I will apply goals as guidance to determine efforts needed to achieve these objectives. Moreover, these objectives will increase my motivation to work, thus leading to increased productivity. However, there is the need for clarification of various issues that can be regarded as complex objectives and motivating factors in order to reduce chances of formulating vague or basic goals. Therefore, the clarification in objectives contributes to an increased performance, and these goals are coupled with deadlines for completion in order to avoid delays and misunderstanding. Nevertheless, I will focus on setting realistic and challenging objectives, which can promote a feeling of pride and triumph after these objectives have been met. Therefore, challenging goals are a crucial reward, and there is a passion associated with achieving them. Despite this, there will be the need for appropriate feedback, which will guide my behaviors and contribute to increased performance. Seeking clarification, regulation of difficulties and attaining reputation are the purposes of feedback, and these will motivate me to work in a way that facilitates job satisfaction. I will also focus on reinforcing performance by facilitating sustenance of desired behaviors. In this case, there is the need for borrowing ideas from the reinforcement theory of motivation that was proposed by Skinner and his associate. In fact, this theory contends that an individual’s behaviors are determined by consequences, and this is based on the law of effect whereby some behaviors with a positive consequence are repeated, while others have negative effects and they tend not to be repeated. Therefore, positive behaviors can make a substantial contribution to achievement of organizational and personal goals, while negative behaviors reduce the efforts towards achievement of these goals. I will focus on setting incentives that will reinforce my positive behaviors as a way of facilitating performance management. Moreover, this will entail positive response to other colleagues who portray positive behaviors that can contribute to achievement of set objectives. I can also acknowledge praises from managers as a commendation for my achievements, and focus on increasing the frequency of portraying these behaviors. In addition, I should take rewards as a positive reinforcement that can facilitate behaviors that lead to increased performance. On the other hand, I can focus on negative reinforcement applied for rewarding employees portraying negative behaviors, which result in hindrance of achievement of organizational objectives. Therefore, it is a way of decreasing undesirable behaviors by administering punishment through removal of positive consequences. For instance, in circumstances where employees violate rules of business, HRM can suspend them, though punishment can be equalized by a positive reinforcement from another source. The other option relates to extension, which implies absence of reinforcement through reduction of chances of undesired behaviors by removing reward for these behaviors. Therefore, I will avoid being involved in issues that can portray a negative image to the management and other colleagues. Analysis of Reactions to Stressful Situations and Steps to Manage the Stress Stress is a term that defines a condition based on behavioral and biological science whereby this condition is not controlled by organisms; instead, it can strain them beyond their powers of adaptability (Bourne & Yaroush, 2003). On the other hand, there are many responses related to stress and physical stressful stimuli. Ranges of responses are attributed to a substantial role that involves preparation of people for the process of coping with supposed internal and external stimuli that threaten people’s wellbeing. In fact, some situations are capable of establishing physiological responses that are diverse and complicated. In this case, human beings are stressed by psychological and psychosocial situations, which require a significant cognitive processing of their interpretation. In addition, there are common challenges in situations, which are encountered through these situations, and emotionally related issues associated with the substantial physiological stress response. My response to stressful conditions depends on the extent of effect caused by the stressor, which involves degradation of human performance. In some cases such as emergency, there are changes that determine surroundings in which various consequent decisions can be made based on the prior action. For example, complications during an emergency are stressors in the sense that variables are not directly associated to each other. Furthermore, emergencies are stressful due to the creation of psychological pressures on participants, and this creates acute conditions of stress, which subsides after the end of the emergency. The first steps of dealing with stress involve evaluation of changes in behavioral performance efficiency that is essential in portraying human response to stress. Therefore, seeking ways of ensuring error-free performance is a fundamental decisive factor of work efficiency in a technological system. The second step involves formulating strategies to avoid or control exposure to stressors after commencement of work performance efficiency; in fact, this can be implemented prior to attaining physiological limits, safety and a productive system. The last step involves an evaluation of behavioral performance that supersedes physiological evaluation or self-report concerning primary exposure criterion. Addressing Nonverbal and Cultural Barriers to Communication A significant predicament is allied with development of a supportive work environment through organizational culture alteration, especially in a condition where employees are not focusing on opinions. However, it is necessary to develop an environment that facilitates communication before a problem arises; different cultures have varying degrees of social acceptance and contradicting opinions from their employers. Nonetheless, employees can have a feeling of non-contradicting opinions from their management, or the management involved actively in the process of making opinions being heard, thus establishing difficulty of eliciting reduced performance of the employees. In this case, there is the need for a clear communication in writing or verbally between the employees and employers in order to eradicate challenges created by cultural barriers (Olynk & Widmar, 2004). Solving a problem related to a long-term shortage of clear communication is creation of awareness that is preceded by active steps aimed at improving communication initiated for the benefit of employees and operations in the organization. Non-verbal language, which involves ways a person stands or carries oneself, holds one’s hands and arms during a discussion, and facial expressions, has a significant influence on communication. For example, problems are experienced during a conversation in a situation that involves people closing their arms across the chest, thereby signifying defensiveness. Therefore, in order to deal with problems related to cultural and non-verbal barriers, several media of communicating can be employed. Furthermore, there is a need to focus on the medium used while communicating with employees since each situation fits a certain medium such as face-to-face, over the phone, through text messaging or emails. Therefore, management has duties of determining the medium which is compatible with a certain message in given situation; for instance, managers should not avoid face-to-face communication by using text messages or emails; instead, they should focus on selecting the medium that suits every situation. References Bourne, L., & Yaroush, R. (2003). Stress and cognition: A cognitive psychological perspective. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Grant Number NAG2-1561. Retrieved from http://humansystems.arc.nasa.gov/eas/download/non_EAS/Stress_and_Cognition.pdf Kneer, C. (2009).The Wal-Mart success story. Munich: GRIN Verlag.     Lunenburg, F. (2001). Goal-setting theory of motivation. International Journal of Management, Business and Administration, 15(1). Retrieved from http://www.nationalforum.com/Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Lunenburg,%20Fred%20C.%20Goal-Setting%20Theoryof%20Motivation%20IJMBA%20V15%20N1%202011.pdf. Olynk, N., & Widmar, D. (2004). Identifying and addressing barriers to communication. Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.porkgateway.org/FileLibrary/PIGLibrary/Factsheets/a6760v1-0.pdf.  Read More