Employee Engagement and Intrinsic Motivation - Thesis Example

?Employee engagement is a management concept, which holds a very important position in the business arena. An ‘engaged employee’ is the one who is fully involved in his work and is very enthusiastic about it. In addition to that, he is also very motivated about taking the organization towards success. Employee engagement can be defined as the extent to which employees are motivated with regard to the mission, aims and objectives of the organization. Employee engagement is a modernized version of job satisfaction as it amalgamates the concept of job satisfaction with organizational commitment. In 2006, the Conference Board published ‘Employee Engagement, A Review of Current Research and Its Implications’. Going by this report we see that twelve extensive studies have been published over the course of four years mainly by research firms such as Gallup, Towers Perrin, Blessing White, and the Corporate Leadership Council among others (Soldati, 2007). The Conference Board as a result took and combined all the results in order to come up with a blended definition that incorporated all the themes in it. They define employee engagement as “a heightened emotional connection that an employee feels for his or her organization, that influences him or her to exert greater discretionary effort to his or her work”. According to at least four of the studies agree upon eight of the key drivers: 1. Trust and integrity – how efficiently do managers commune and do what they preach? 2. Nature of the job –Is it psychologically inspiring every day? 3. The line between company performance and employee performance – Does the employer have an idea of how their performance will affect the company as a whole? 4. Opportunities for career growth – Will there be opportunities to grow in the future? 5. Pride about the company – Does the employee feel proud to be associated by the organization? 6. Coworkers/team members – Teamwork will greatly improve the employee motivation 7. Development of the employees – Does the organization make an effort to improve the employee’s skills and abilities? 8. Relationship with the manager – Does the employee treasure his or her relations with the boss? The other vital findings of the study included the fact that in comparison to the smaller companies, the larger companies tend to involve the workers more in the workplace. Employee age also creates a big difference in the vitality of the various drivers. As an example we can quote that employees who fall over the age of 44 will place more importance on ‘recognition and reward for their contribution’, in comparison to their younger counterparts who place a higher value on ‘challenging environment/career growth opportunities’. However, one things that came across as the most important factor among all studies was the factor of one’s relationship with one’s manager. It was seen that it highly influenced the motivation levels of the employees in almost every case. Also according to the report, employee engagement is plays a very important part in the workplace. There is obvious and rising proof that high levels of employee engagement eagerly associates to individual, group as well as corporate performance in a number of crucial areas such as loyalty, retention, productivity, customer service and turnover. It is also seen that this difference is not just by small margins but big ones. Even though the results varied from study to study, the employees who were highly engaged usually outperformed their counterparts by a whopping 20-28%. This is a clear image of how employee engagement influences their workplace decisions as well as paves a way towards further organizational success by effectively instilling into the workers a desire to work efficiently. Finally, there is some verification that companies are reacting to this concept of employee engagement challenge mostly by creating flatter chains of command and also providing training for first-line managers to improve the communication at all levels (Flemund & Asplund, 2007). Employee engagement strategy is quite successful; it is helpful in converting the workplace into a community where the employees can grow. If the employees are attached to their organization in a more personal manner, they are likely to foster feelings of belonging towards the organization. When this happens, they will see the organization as their own. This means that throughout the course of their work, their loyalties will lie towards the organization, and they will get a feeling of liability in every decision they make. This will affect both their attitudes and that of their colleagues as an emotional connection is formed which is deeper than the organizational connection in many ways. Hence, the customer satisfaction will be strengthened and service levels will be improved boundlessly. There are a number of ways in which employee engagement can be improved in an organization. There are not only things that the companies can do, but also a number of things that they need to do. Most organizations incorporate a number of characteristics in the organization in order to improve employee involvement. In order to make sure that employee engagement is encouraged, it is better to start at the recruitment or selection stage. One of the best things that an organization can do is to give the right person the right task to perform. Moreover, employees should be given an overview of how the things work in the organization by giving them an orientation programme. Also, there should be a regular update in the technical skills of the employees in order to make sure that the employee has the necessary skills to perform the task. After the recruitment and induction procedure, it is important that the employee engagement activities are broken down into a number of groups. These could include communication activities, reward schemes, activities to build up the organizational culture, team building activities as well as leadership development activities (Hayward, 2010). Motivation can be defined as the driving force that encourages us to achieve goals and objectives. Motivation can be classified into intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is the kind of motivation that is born out of the will to do work with regard to the enjoyment in the task itself or from within an individual without any external pressures (Bainbridge, 2010). Intrinsic motivation has been under close scrutiny since the early 1970s and has had major implications on the field of management. By intensive research we have found out that it is usually connected with high educational attainment and satisfaction by students. Clarifications of intrinsic motivation have been given in the context of Fritz Heider's attribution theory, Bandura's work on self-efficacies well as Deci and Ryan's cognitive evaluation theory (Bandura, 1997). From a study relating to more than 6000 people, Professor Steven Reiss has projected a theory that brings forth the 16 basic desires that will influence almost all human behavior. These desires include acceptance, curiosity, eating, family, honor, idealism, independence, order, physical activity, power, romance, saving, social contact, status, tranquility and vengeance. These desires are basically a representation of the intrinsic desires that will have an effect on the behavior of a person (Reiss, 2000). Some theorists maintain the fact that only one type of intrinsic motivation exists, which can be defined as a motivation to indulge in tasks that will improve or stabilize a person’s self-concept. These theorists include Combs, Purkey & Schmidt as well as Purkey & Stanley. However, given the research that has taken place on the subject, some theorists now believe that the term can be defined in a broader manner (Malone & Lapper, 1987). Malone and Lepper (1987) have defined intrinsic motivation in terms of ‘what people will do without external inducement’. Intrinsically motivating behavior is those in which groups will slot in for no reward other than the curiosity and pleasure that escorts them in performing the task. Malone and Lepper have incorporated a great amount of investigation on motivational theory into a amalgamation of ways to plan environments that are intrinsically motivating. This includes subdividing the various factors that improve motivation into individual factors and interpersonal factors. Individual factors are individual in the logic that they function even when an employee is working in solitude. Interpersonal factors, in contrast, take part in a role only when someone else intermingles with the learner (Purdue, 2011). In most organizational situations where the intrinsic motivation is supposed to be high, the workers will want to continue employment as he forms ties with is associates and manager, and develops an emotional tie with the company. He will be highly motivated to work at his best and optimum levels. Intrinsic motivation goes hand in hand with employee engagement (Kreps, 1997).  Intrinsic motivation means being motivated inwardly to be capable of something and to recompense you privately. There stays an essential question of whether or not extrinsic motivations weaken intrinsic motivation. Investigations show that creating extrinsic rewards for things that would logically be intrinsically motivated, will in the end decrease intrinsic motivation. Generally, managers or anyone responsible for over-looking the work of the employees will know that some workers will engage in tasks more out of participation than their interest. Others increase their approval mainly out the way in which their performance on the task guides to rewards like pay or incentives. But characteristically there is a combination of motives for which a variety of dissimilar incentives is applicable. Most people will find at least some approval in merely doing the work. For the majority of people there is also some level of approval in rewards which are conditional upon presentation in the task. The equilibrium between these intrinsic and extrinsic sources of approval differs person to person and situation to situation. Managers are usually conscious to some degree of the ways in which both intrinsic and extrinsic types of motivation involve performance and work satisfaction, but there are many difficulties in how these dissimilar types of motivations and their appropriate rewards affect performance. One of the most slight and difficult complications has been established to happen when extrinsic rewards are given for any performance in a task which would otherwise have been commenced simply out of curiosity. But the effects of the dealings are not easy and have been a subject of widespread dispute in recent years. How extrinsic rewards influences intrinsic motivation visibly has many implications for the management of incentives for work and study where both extrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation often coexist. Extrinsic rewards have been found to decrease intrinsic incentives, but not in all situations. The bulk of published research has deals with the result on motivation rather than the performance, but resulting consequences can be obvious in performance, and there are many theoretical forecasts supported at least partially by empirical answers. When people are intrinsically motivated they will be inclined to be more responsive to a broad range of phenomena, while giving cautious awareness to difficulty, variations and unexpected possibilities. They require time and liberty to compose choices, to collect and develop information, and have an approval of well finished and incorporated products. Extrinsic rewards lean towards focusing concentration more scarcely and to cut down time perspectives, which may result in more well-organized construction of predefined or consistent products. Job satisfaction and long term commitment to a task will also benefit as a result. By intrinsic motivation, we indicate a procedure of stimulation and approval in which the proceeds come from carrying out an action rather from a consequence of the action. We speak of the rewards being intrinsic to a job rather than the job being a means to an end that is satisfied or pleasing. In contrast, one might work harder at a job in order to consume or gain social appreciation. This work, commenced as a means to an end, is characteristically shortfall motivated behavior, in which there is a payment as a result of attempt to reach an objective where the shortage is abridged. Intrinsic motivation tends more to be appetitive as new information moving a small attention leads to a craving for more. The word ‘intrinsic’ sometimes is also used with a special suggestion in reference to inducement which is consistent with personal qualities, intentions and values. Satisfaction gained from such incentives may be seen as intrinsic to the person rather than to the job. It can be the case that performance such as responsibility of a scientific research project can help in the approval of individual growth goals while it is also intrinsically satisfying in itself. The micro logic of intrinsic attention in the job is the chief denotation, but satisfaction intrinsic to the person in the macro logic carries some of the equivalent connotation, especially with regard to the processes of incorporation. However, while the two can work at the same time, intrinsic inspiration in the main sense is susceptible to being reserved by the use of extrinsic rewards in ways which do not give the less important kind of intrinsic satisfaction. The works of numerous investigators in current years point to the significance of the secondary or macro type of intrinsic approval from extrinsic rewards as the hint to organizing the effects of extrinsic rewards in behaviors which do not restrain the action of intrinsic motivation for appointment in the task. Hence, it can be concluded that intrinsic motivation is vital for the corporate success of any organization. The feeling of motivation that a person gets from the performance of any given task provides inner and genuine inspiration that a person coddles in without any expectations. In such a frame of mind, people will usually take up things or perform a task just because they think it is superior or a pleasant thing to do. At this point of time, they are not concerned about what they will get out it in the process but only with the satisfaction that they will derive from doing it. Intrinsic motivation is what leads to employee involvement in the sense that once they are internally motivated to perform a task, they will be fully and completely involved in the work that they do. Moreover, the sense of achievement that the intrinsic motivation leads to once a task is successfully accomplished will enable the worker to perform more efficiently in the days to come. Empowered employees are, in the end, more pioneering, original, and practical. They are free from the fetters of management, so they are content and motivated at work and eager to take on new errands. Employee involvement means that every worker in an association is precious and is having worth and is having participation in running the business.  Empowerment means that organization recognizes his aptitude and offer employees with power and gear required to incessantly get better in the process. You can obtain intrinsic motivation in the workplace with optimistic thinking. In today's world it may not be likely to do what you like; so you have to learn to like what you do. And this liking will provide you with intrinsic employee motivation. So, in order to perform at your best you have to build up on the motivation levels of the employees, as pointed out by Maslow in the hierarchy of needs under the esteem needs. The higher the self-esteem, the higher the performance levels of the employees. A motivated employee is the best employee to work with. Also, by providing them with incentives to perform efficiently you are giving them an opportunity to grow and nurture a healthy relationship with the organization. This will also lead to customer loyalty in terms of the better services provided to them by the hard-working workforce of the organization. Moreover, the employees are also likely to stay focused on building a stable and long-lasting relationship with the managers and the organization as a whole. This will ensure that the organization is moving towards the right direction in terms of employee satisfaction and a stabilized position in the market. REFERENCES: Soldati, P. (2007) Employee Engagement: What exactly is it? Retrieved 17 March 2011 from http://www.management-issues.com/2007/3/8/opinion/employee-engagement-what-exactly-is-it.asp Fleming, J & Asplund, J. (2007) Where employee engagement happens. Retrieved 17 March, 2011 from http://gmj.gallup.com/content/102496/where-employee-engagement-happens.aspx Hayward, B (2011) Examples of employee engagement approaches. Retrieved 17 March, 2011 from http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:7eQo7HXIyB0J:www.opcuk.com/downloads/examples_of_employee_engagement_approaches.pdf+Employee+engagament&hl=en&gl=pk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShqINeUlkoF9Sy5Ss7XSS3s2PEBLpnax6x7YLrHVyOnhnFq5z-BTFyX9zKvg6OYek5Fy8XAif_L0u29FNROvh8K_t2AH8YI3kWL7R9TXS-GcMZ8U3AAb0hkenNpCKpVgHXimi1x&sig=AHIEtbQyMwI08lT2HAGNEsPHFw74y3rpcw Bainbridge, C (2011) Intrinsic Motivation. Retrieved March 17, 2011 from: http://giftedkids.about.com/od/glossary/g/intrinsic.htm. Bandura, A (1997), Self-efficacy: The exercise of control, New York: Freeman, p. 604, retrieved from ISBN 9780716726265, http://books.google.com/?id=mXoYHAAACAAJ Reiss, S (2000), Who am I: The 16 basic desires that motivate our actions and define our personalities, New York: Tarcher/Putnam, p. 288, ISBN 1-58542-045-X. Reiss, S (2004), "Multifaceted nature of intrinsic motivation: The theory of 16 basic desires", Review of General Psychology 8 (3): 179–193, doi:10.1037/1089-2680.8.3.179 Purdue. (2011) Intrinsic Motivation, Retrieved 17 March, 2011 from http://education.calumet.purdue.edu/vockell/edPsybook/Edpsy5/edpsy5_intrinsic.htm The American Economic Review Vol. 87, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the Hundred and Fourth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association (May, 1997), pp. 359-364 Published by: American Economic Association Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2950946 http://www.psychologycampus.com/sports-psychology/intrinsic-motivation.html Malone & Leppler. (1987) An integrated model of multimedia learning and motivation. Retrieved 21 March 2011 from http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-22109/An-integrated-model-of-multimedia.html   Read More