Employee Motivation at ARM Company - Case Study Example

Running Head: Human Resources Human Resources [Institute’s Human Resources Introduction Employee motivation is an essential factor in talent management and human resource practices. It is vital for an organization’s success that its employees are actively participating in the organization’s activities and are taking an interest in the organizational functions. However, often organizations are unable to engage their employees in the organization’s activities and employees are only involved up to the extent of performing their job, which they often do half-heartedly (Zheng et al, 2010). If the employees of an organization are not properly interested in the jobs they are performing but are only performing those jobs for the sake of getting paid and meeting their basic needs, this often signals a lack of employee motivation and interest. This can be harmful for the company in the long run as human resources are the main asset of a company and substantiate the company’s brainpower. Thus, it is highly in the interest of organizations to keep their employees fully motivated in order to ensure that their main assets are strong (Kishie et al, 2012). Accordingly, there are various factors, which influence employee motivation. Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation are both needed in order to encourage employees to do their best. However, some organizations mainly focus on extrinsic motivation and they are not as much focused upon intrinsically motivating employees. Several motivation theories focus on intrinsic motivating factors that develop interest and a desire to work hard within employees. It has also been seen that without intrinsic motivation, employees are not likely to be properly motivated (Kishie et al, 2012). This paper analyzes the human resource practices regarding employee motivation of a semiconductor intellectual property supplier by the name of ARM. While the company is highly successful in its business and conducts business worldwide, the company can attribute its success to the hard work and high motivation levels of its 2,050-employee workforce all over the world. The company focuses upon intrinsically motivating employees and encouraging participation in all company activities. The company’s human resource practices will be analyzed further in this paper. Part A ARM”s main human resource management strategy is directed towards global learning and development, talent management, and the provision of proper reward systems in order to enhance employee motivation and increase productivity. In order to do this, the company uses several intrinsic motivational tools, such as providing employees with proper training, opportunities to choose and manage their own challenges and assignments, rewarding them with shares and bonuses, and giving them the discretion to act as owners of the company and make informed decisions on the company’s behalf. Thus, ARM”S main strategy is focused towards providing the upper levels of needs on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and increasing “motivation factors” in the job as described in Hertberg’s two factor theory. While all of these strategies have proven to be highly effective in motivating the employees of ARM, there exist some other ways that employee motivation can be enhanced and employee productivity can be increased. One of the important aspects influencing employee performance and motivation is organizational structure. While the case study on ARM does not mention the company’s policy on organizational structure when aiming to influence employees positively, this strategy can be adopted by firms aiming to improve communication processes, cut red tape in decision-making, and empower employees to make their own decisions. There are various types of organizational structures, yet there are mainly two forms in which an organization can design its structure. The first organizational structure style is a hierarchical structure. This structure has several levels of authority with the top management at the top of the structure, middle management in the middle, and the employees of the company at the bottom of the structure. The number of levels included in the structure can be unlimited and may vary from company to company. Some companies have many levels of authority in their organization system, while some companies have fewer (Zheng et al, 2010). Adopting a hierarchical organizational style usually shows an autocratic leadership style in which commands are usually given from the top of the hierarchy and then they are followed by lower levels of management. In this manner, it takes a longer time to make decisions, as there are several levels of authority to go through before a decision can be made in the organization and change is usually slow and takes times. However, some organizations must adopt this style of structure as their organization policy demands guidance and control over company operations. Such organizations are not willing to give their employees and subordinates high levels of autonomy (Zheng et al, 2010). The other basic form of organizational structure is the flat organizational structure. In this type of organizational structure style, there are very minimal levels of authority and most employees operate on an equal basis. The organization is divided into different departments or teams, which function in their own departments. In this type of organizational structure, there is not a lot of red tape to go through when making decisions as employees are given a substantial level of autonomy in their own departments. Time is saved when making innovative decisions and employees are responsible for achieving their own targets and career-oriented goals. Supervision is provided in their own respective department, but employees feel more a part of a team or more a part of an organization as they are given the opportunity to make their own decisions and voice their own opinions (Zheng et al, 2010). With consideration to organizational structure style, ARM can design their organizational style in a flat structure in which employees get maximum room to communicate. In addition, they are divided into teams effectively and are required to show performance within their own team, are given the power to make decisions regarding their own department, and are easily able to communicate ideas and opinions to higher levels of authority. In this manner, the company will reduce time wastage before the implementation of ideas as the company is mainly built on the factor of innovation and change. The company will also be able to encourage employees to act as owners of the company and act on their own accord for the company’s benefit. They will also be able to make worthwhile decisions regarding their own careers and training processes and be able to measure their own contribution towards the benefit of the company. Hence, ARM’s focus on organizational structure could also increase productivity levels for employees and increase their levels of motivation as they feel as equal partners in the organization rather than being on the lower end of a very long chain of command. Part B Organization culture defines the values, customs, traditions, and style prevalent in an organization and also defines the type of environment that exists within an organization. There are many different types of organizational cultures in various organizations. However, the organizational culture of a company depends on the behavior and the manner in which employees conduct themselves in an organization. Some organizational cultures may be lethargic or highly restrained in which employees do not feel challenged or do not feel as if they are a part of an organization. Such organizational cultures are highly formal and may lead to uncomfortable working environments. Many employees may not wish to work in such an environment and the environment may not promote productivity and high levels of employee retention. Thus, problems such as high employee turnover rates, employee absenteeism, and low levels of productivity may be prevalent in the organization (Linstead, 2011). When employees remain motivated and committed to the organization, this promotes a highly efficient working environment in the organization. Moreover, employee moods and feedback remain on a positive scale and provide the organization with continuous benefits. As employees remain motivated and committed to the organization, they become a part of the organization and begin to form the organization’s culture (Linstead, 2011). The various tools and methods used to keep employees motivated and committed towards their jobs become organization policy and tradition. Moreover, when employees are engaged in their work and are involved in the organization, the decisions they make, and the informal activities they pursue within the organization also tend to form organizational culture (Zheng et al, 2010). When employees are unmotivated and dissatisfied with their work, they are unlikely to participate in the organization actively. Thus, this leads to only the absolutely necessary work being done and also leads to very low levels of efficiency and productivity. Therefore, this leads to a very uncomfortable and rigid organizational culture. Employees do not enjoy working in such organizational cultures that then results in a bad reputation for the company, losses, low levels of productivity, employee absenteeism, and many other continuous problems for the organization (Linsted, 2011). However, when employees are properly motivated and committed, the organizational culture will build in a positive manner. Thus, the organization will have no problem attracting top talent, retaining current employees, and improving performance. Organizational culture can also be considered as a “motivator” according to Hertzberg’s two-factor theory. A bad or autocratic organizational culture can also lead to lack of employee motivation and then further result in problems for the company. Hence, ensuring that employees have a positive impact on organizational culture is important through motivating employees and ensuring that they are committed towards their job (Zheng et al, 2010). In this manner, while ARM is ensuring that employees remain engaged in their work, they are also building a positive organizational culture, as all the practices prevalent in the organization will also become part of organizational culture. The fun element of going bike-riding or joining marathons will also support teamwork in the organization and promote the cultural value of coordination and cooperation amongst employees. Part C After reading the ARM case study and analyzing the various practices of the company in the context of organizational structure and culture, it is evident that there are many ways to motivate employees and enhance employee performance. However, the case of ARM has emphasized and proven that only extrinsic motivation through increased pay levels and promotions is not the manner in which employee motivation can be increased. While pay levels and monetary rewards are important, there are other ways, which are more effective in making employee’s feel that they are a part of the organization and their contribution is vital to the organization’s success (McKenzie & Tullock, 2012). ARM’s vigour to increase employee engagement by allowing employees to act on behalf of the firm, increase innovation in the firm by providing their own ideas, choose when they want to opt for a global assignment, and allowing them to make decisions regarding their own training processes has proven to be highly successful for the company. Employees are determined to perform their best and are actively participating in the formal and informal activities of the firm (McKenzie & Tullock, 2012). Moreover, it is evident that motivating employees and ensuring they are committed to their jobs promotes a positive and fun organizational culture leading to high levels of productivity and efficiency. Organizational structure is also a worthy component for consideration when aiming to increase employee satisfaction and productivity (Kishie et al, 2012). Hence, it is highly advisable for firms aiming to increase their productivity and employee motivation levels to adopt a flatter organizational structure in order to save time, enhance efficiency, and make employees feel more in control of the firm. They are also advised to give employees a reasonable amount of autonomy, interesting and challenging projects, and opportunities for self-growth through training and decision-making, and rewards in the form of shares in the company and bonuses for good performance (Kishie et al, 2012). Thus, keeping motivation and commitment levels high will promote a positive organizational culture that will further benefit the firm in increasing productivity, attracting new employees, and retaining old employees. Conclusion While pay and monetary rewards may be positive factors in contributing to employee motivation, it is highly essential for firms to enhance employee interest and engagement in the organization. Doing so increases employee commitment and makes them feel that their contribution is vital to the firm, thus resulting in employees working harder. Hence, firms must focus on providing employees with needs that are further up in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and increase their focus on intrinsic motivation. Moreover, they should focus on increasing “motivators” and decreasing “de-motivators” as defined by Herzberg’s two-factor theory (Gardner, 2011). References Gardner, G. 2011. “Is there a valid test of Herzberg’s two-factor theory?” Journal of Occupational Psychology. Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 120-127. Kishi, H., Ito, K., Siguira, S. & Kinoshita, E. 2012. “A Study of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Decision Making.” Intelligent Decision Technologies. Vol. 15, pp. 89-97. Linstead, S. 2011. “Joker’s Wild: The Importance of Humor in the Maintenance of Organizational Culture.” The Sociological Review. Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 51-56. McKenzie, R. B. & Tullock, G. 2012. “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Economist’s Demand.” The New World of Economics. pp. 43-49. Zheng, W., Yang, B., & Mclean, GN. 2010. “Linking organizational culture, structure, strategy, and organizational effectiveness: Mediating role of knowledge management.” Journal of Business Research. Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 49-54. Read More