An Integration Program at Sambas Company - Assignment Example

? Motivation MOTIVATION Introduction As a manager, one of the most difficult engagements has involved the management of an integration program at Sambas Company. After Sambas acquired ZYX Company recently, there is a lot of uncertainty among the employees. In the initial stage of transition, most workers had understandable anxiety concerning how they fit in; especially since Sambas has a different corporate structure. While most of them were a fundamental factor that contributed to the acquisition’s success, their motivation in the building of a start up company to successful levels has decreased as they are faced by fears regarding becoming redundant and of bureaucratic red tape (Pritchard & Ashwood, 2008). It is the leader’s job to ensure that they understand their fears to be unfounded. With the transition to a big corporate structure from a small organization kicks off, employees naturally respond by making the assumption that they will only be single employees in a company employing thousands of workers. Their belief in making an impact on the new organization’s goals could lead to a reduction in their earlier exemplary efforts (Pritchard & Ashwood, 2008). One of the major changes that the new acquisition brings involves reconfiguration of working spaces that will reduce privacy, which was one of the signature aspects of ZYX Company. For this reason, it will be the manager’s responsibility to ensure they realize the reason for the workspace reconfiguration and that they are set up to continue playing an essential part in the company’s future and retain their motivation. This paper will seek to create a comprehensive plan that will motivate them to cooperate and support the changes. Planning the Project In planning the project, there are various important levers that a manager can use, including coming up with communication, sponsorship, coaching, training, and resistance management plans. Managing the motivation of employees requires a holistic set of components that support the employees as the manner in which they work changes, for example, with the reconfiguration of working spaces (Green & Butkus, 2009). The communication component should recognize how communication will fit in the larger process of change. Used in this context, communication becomes more effective as it gives the employees information in the proper sequence to aid the employees in internalization of the change, while also improving their motivation. With regards to the sponsorship component, the manager should be the sponsor and plays the role of participant, coalition builder, and direct communication. A sponsorship roadmap will include what the sponsor will do in conjunction with the senior managers, the project teams, and with front line employees, while also breaking down the project into initiation phase, design phase, implementation phase, and closeout phase (Green & Butkus, 2009). Sponsorship of the change is critical to the employees’ motivation to participate, while it also reinforces their belief that the change is there to stay. The planning will also require a coaching component that involves the direct supervisor and employees. The manager will have to play a critical role in communicating the change and ensuring the employees retain their intensity. The coaching plan will outline the steps required to improve skills in relation to change with both individual and group sessions in engaging front-line employees (Green & Butkus, 2009). However, proxies must not be used in coaching as it gives the feeling that the change might not last. Employees will always want to hear about the change from their manager. The manager’s change desire will have a direct influence on the desire from the employees. The training component will seek to improve capabilities and skills and should be focused on knowledge building. However, training should come with the implementation of sufficient desire and awareness for it to be effective (Green & Butkus, 2009). Finally, the plan should involve a resistance management component. The focus for this component of the plan should be proactive resistance management. The plan should identify the manner of the resistance and the place it will originate. This should be based on previous experience in the workplace (Green & Butkus, 2009). Next, a set of steps should be developed that seek to answer the questions prior to their emergence, while also identifying those taking part in the resistance management and the manner in which they will intervene. There will also be an allowance for reactive resistance management (Green & Butkus, 2009), which will involve how to manage resistance, triggers used to recognize significant resistance, and the manner in which the manager will respond. Investigating each Connection’s Strength and Possible Causes of Low Connections Since motivation is hard to gauge due to internal attitudes and conditions, diagnosing and assessing employee motivation is important to making them more productive, especially during the reconfiguration of working spaces (Swindall, 2011). One area that should be diagnosed is the source. To the manager, it is important to note that, while the employees could have a good understanding of the goals of the change, they also need a reason to be individually motivated by the set goals of the change. Lack of this motivation means they will have little or no vested interest in the pursuit of the change goals. In diagnosing the strength of each connection, the first step should involve the determination of each employee’s personal stake in the company’s larger goals. Secondly, assessment of the attitudes displayed by the employees towards internal and external motivation will give a manager better understanding of the sufficiency of the employee’s motivation. A survey meant to gauge their attitudes towards incentives will be created that includes various incentives. Including both external and internal motivators, the employees will rate their interest, which will allow the manager to see the most effective motivation stimulator (Swindall, 2011). Internally motivate employees have more long term value to the organization’s success, while those stimulated by external motivators will only be loyal and motivated as long as it is offered and meets their expectations. Assessment of goals will also give another tool that could diagnose the motivation of the employees. Their motivation levels will usually materialize according to the goals that they set for the organization, as well as for themselves. In examining the goals of the employee, important questions include the specificity of the goals as true motivators, as well as the employee’s definition of success and failure with regards to these goals (Swindall, 2011). One important thing that should be considered is the difficulty of the goals set for change, as well as whether they can be achieved. Finally, once the manager understands the manner in which employees respond to particular motivators, it is possible to determine the causes of their low connections to the changes and provide the right incentives (Swindall, 2011). Several programs can be implemented in the next three months to see what employees respond to, after which the manager will make decision on which incentive program is best. Identifying Appropriate Solutions For this case, the solutions considered will be those that use the least possible resources. A staff assistance program is a consulting and confidential service meant to give assistance to employees for concerns related to the changes that could interfere with their performance on the job (Lauby, 2010). The program can help in dealing more effectively with various concerns, including job-related stress, interpersonal conflicts, and depression. Department mentoring programs are also workable in the provision of effective change management strategies, especially with regards to employee motivation. They are valuable tools in employee retention, development of workforce, and transfer of knowledge on the changes required. The above are essential in raising employee motivation. Mentoring will involve employees and managers working together in developing the employee’s abilities, skills, and knowledge in the new changes by offering experience and insight (Lauby, 2010). The process and purpose of the changes should be defined clearly for this solution to be successful to maintain or improve their motivation levels. Finally, the manager could seek to create a training program for change literacy. Sharing of critical reports and numbers that are reflective of the change’s progress will be a critical component in making sure the employees feel involved, increasing motivation levels (Lauby, 2010). The program will also involve a review of the vision and mission with the employees, which provides them with a sense of belonging and improves internal motivating factors. Frequent communication is another important aspect of this program in order to share information and keep employees informed on the progress. In addition, the manager should also encourage participation in opportunities to train, as well as in professional development, while also involving employee development as a strategic partner in the planning process for this program. Deciding on the Problems and Solutions to Tackle and measuring the Results. Deciding on the appropriate course of action could be done through strong interest inventory, which compares the interests of individual employees with interests of those in similar occupations, as well as the Myers-Briggs Indicator, which assesses the preferred ways through which the employee takes information in and coming to decisions based on personality type (Hiam, 2012). The results of the chosen solutions should be measured through a defined process. One way of measuring success is through the NIATX measure, which defines four important measures. These are; the period between initial contact and first results and the individuals who do not attend assessments for various reasons. Baseline data should also be collected by defining the change’s starting point and working back in the collection of data prior to implementing the changes. It is possible to anchor the change and measure its impact over a period, though doing the aforementioned. Establishing consistent measurement data collection channels is important, relying on small samples collected over a short time for the measurement of the progress in implementing the change, as well as whether employees are buying into the change and improving their motivation (Hiam, 2012). Collection of data related to change is of utmost importance. Progress will also be charted over the medium term through collection post-change and pre-change data and integrating them into simple line graphs. The manager will be able to measure the impact of change on the desire of the employees through using powerful visuals and looking at critical indicators like productivity. References Green, T. B., & Butkus, R. T. (2009). Motivation, beliefs, and organizational transformation. Westport, Conn. [u.a.: Quorum Books. Hiam, A. (2012). Motivational management: Inspiring your people for maximum performance. New York; Toronto: AMACOM, American Management Association. Lauby, S. J. (2010). Motivating employees, Alexandria, Va: ASTD Press. Pritchard, R. D., & Ashwood, E. (2008). Managing motivation: A manager's guide to diagnosing and improving motivation. New York: Psychology Press. Swindall, C. (2011). Engaged Leadership: Building a Culture to Overcome Employee Disengagement. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Read More