How Employees Can Be Motivated Relating to Theories, Practice, and Experience - Coursework Example

A Common Question Recruiters Ask Prospective Candi s Is How They Would Motivate Their Staff. Critically Debate How Employees Can Be Motivated Relating Your Answer to Theories, Practice, and Your Experience If Applicable Table of Contents 1.0.Introduction 3 2.0.Literature Review 4 2.1.Traditional Motivational Theories 4 2.2.Contemporary Motivational Theories 5 2.3.Success Factors on Motivation Processes 8 3.0.Use of Motivation Theories in Construction Management 9 3.1.Factors Considered 10 3.2.Challenges 10 3.3.Applied Theories 11 4.0.Critical Analysis 14 5.0.Conclusion 17 References 18 1.0. Introduction The success of any business primarily relies upon the performance of its staffs. They are treated as the vital resources of any organisation which tend to yield high productivity through their performances. For staffs or employees, motivation acts as a key towards enhancing their performances. Motivation is a force which encourages employees to render their best effort towards the job. This motivation can only be achieved when the requirements of employees are satisfied. These requirements can differ from person to person as every person has their personal needs which can help to inspire toward high performance and thus yield high productivity. It has often been argued in this context that effective motivation is one of the prime reasons which prompt certain positive behavioural aspects amid employees. Although motivation is regarded as a crucial factor for success of business, there are certain debaters who attempt contradicting this explanation. In broader terms, motivation is believed to be the determination to perform better. Motivated people are identified to commonly exhibit energy and enthusiasm in the work procedure. Based on this notion, the paper will describe motivation of people from different perspectives. The objective of the paper is to understand the aspects which can help to stimulate employees towards higher performance. Application of different theories along with challenges and success factors for motivation of employees has been illustrated in the discussion henceforth. 2.0. Literature Review 2.1. Traditional Motivational Theories There are three most commonly applied motivational theories which were developed in traditional period namely, ‘Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory’, ‘Hertzberg’s two factor theory’, and ‘Theory X and Theory Y’. Maslow had proposed that employees have different set of requirements through his Need Hierarchy Theory. He had identified five kinds of needs to be effective for any and every individual from a generalised point of view which included ‘psychological needs’, ‘safety needs’, ‘social needs’, ‘esteem needs’, and ‘self-actualisation needs’. However, the earnestness of these different needs is likely to vary from person to person. In this regards, Maslow had described that when one need is fulfilled, the other need arises. Hence, the urge for satisfying different needs drive employees toward more effort. Thus, accomplishment of different needs can help to motivate employees toward higher performance in an organisation (Bryson, 2006). Fredric Herzberg had developed two aspects namely ‘motivators’ and ‘hygiene’ factors which certainly creates an impact on motivation of staffs. Hertzberg believed that there are certain aspects which result in satisfaction of staffs and certain other aspects which inhibit dissatisfaction amid them. According to him, the hygiene aspects are essential for existence of motivation in the workplace. Although hygiene aspects do not result in positive satisfaction for long run, it is vital for preventing displeasure among employees. In other words, hygiene aspects are extrinsic factors in the job. Alternatively, motivational aspects can generate satisfaction for employees to a considerable extent. These aspects are fundamental in nature and motivate employees for providing superior performance on a consistent basis. Motivator aspects are often termed as satisfiers and represent the psychosomatic requirements (Bryson, 2006). The other commonly used traditional theory in the field of motivation was developed by Douglas McGregor titled as theory X and theory Y. This theory principally suggests behaviour of people in the workplace. According to this theory, people can depict positive and negative behaviour in the workplace. Theory X accepts that people are negative, i.e. they do not prefer to work and attempt to escape from it. They usually dislike duties and resist to any change in the workplace. Thus, according to this viewpoint, employees need to be convinced, forced or counselled with penalty so that they can provide high performance for accomplishment of organisational objectives. On the other hand, theory Y observes employees to be positive in nature. Theory Y assumes that employee can observe their job as their usual activity and therefore put physical and mental efforts in an integral way in their jobs. 2.2. Contemporary Motivational Theories It can be observed that the traditional theories are still revenant to certain extent in organisations; however, several managers in present days believe that employees desire to perform well. Therefore, contemporary theory believes that employee desire to perform effectively (Gitman & McDaniel, 2008). The three major contemporary theories for motivation are ‘equity theory, ‘expectancy theory’ and ‘McClelland’s need theory’. The ‘equity theory’ of motivation believes that employees are motivated by observing equitable treatment in their organisations. Equity in this sense can be regarded as the impartial distribution of recompenses in direct fraction of every employee’s input toward the accomplishment of organisational objectives. The inputs can be in terms of time and efforts provided to certain tasks or education and experience of employees among other aspects. On the other hand, recompenses for the inputs can be in terms of increased pay, acknowledgment, and promotion. While evaluating the fairness, employees tend to compare the inputs with the received recompenses (Rynes & et. al., 2004). Hence, the equity can be perceived when the ratio comparison is equal. However, in distinct circumstances, it can result in equity pressure. Equity pressure can occur in both under rewarded circumstances, where employees are recompensed less in comparison with input and over rewarded circumstances, where employees are recompensed more in comparison with the input (Gitman & McDaniel, 2008). ‘Expectancy theory’ is the other modern theory, developed by Victor Vroom. According to this theory, motivation relies on the explaining the aspects that how much a person desire and how they can perceive those desires. This theory describes the intensity of tendency to perform in a specific way in order to accomplish a certain outcome. According to this theory, the motivation of employees can be regarded as an outcome of three aspects i.e. requirements of employees (also termed as ‘valence’), evaluation of likelihood which can result in expected performance (which is termed as ‘expectancy’) and the faith that certain degree of productivity can result in accomplishment of the desired requirements (which is called ‘instrumentality’). Briefly, it can be defined that valence is the implication related by an individual regarding estimated consequences after accomplishing certain objectives. In the similar context, ‘expectancy’ is regarded to be the belief that greater efforts can lead to improved performances. It is determined by various aspects such as possession of proper talents, availability of proper resources, accessibility of information and obtainability of compulsory support for performing the task. Furthermore, ‘instrumentality’ is considered to be the faith that if an employee performs well, they are eligible get effective results (Gitman & McDaniel, 2008). David McClelland had also proposed ‘need achievement theory’ which illustrates that the performance of employees is highly impacted by three kinds of needs which are ‘need for power’, ‘need for achievement’ and ‘need for affiliation’. ‘Power’, in this sense, is the authority to stimulate other employees’ behaviour within an organisation. In other words, ‘power’ denotes exercising control over other employees by an individual. Achievement denotes impulse of employees to shine or outperform in comparison with certain standard within the organisation. It is generally associated with struggling of employees to gain success. Affiliation is the prerequisite towards preserving a frank and friendly relationship within organisation. In other words, it is a desire for relationship on the basis of teamwork and mutual understanding (Gitman & McDaniel, 2008). Thus, the ‘need theory’ believes that employees with differing needs, can be motivated with the stimulation of differing factors. For instance, employees with achievement needs can be inspired through competitive working environment and challenging jobs. These types of individuals seek for promotional and growth prospects in any job. On the other hand, employees with high affiliation needs are inspired by sociable and sympathetic working environment. This kind of persons individuals tend to be effective in team performances. Contradictorily, employees with high power needs have strong urge to be influential and can be driven by reputation and self-confidence (Gitman & McDaniel, 2008). 2.3. Success Factors on Motivation Processes The discussion conducted above, provides with a comprehensive idea regarding several factors for success in the process for motivation of employees in an organisation. Motivation usually stands for aspects which attempt to strengthen, guide and sustain the competitive behaviour of employees. From an in-depth point of view, it can be affirmed as the level of effort which an employee demonstrates in behavioural circumstances. Furthermore, any inclusive look at the motivational sources of behaviour in organisational backgrounds must be considered carefully in order to inspire employees. There are four major aspects named individual features, job features, work environment and external environment which are related with motivation. In other words, motivation of employees in construction theory can impact on one of these aspects by a considerable extent (Perry & Porter, 1982). The findings obtained through the literature review depicts that the most efficient way for motivating employees is to ensure that they understand and appreciate the objectives of an organisation and are reinforced by the managers in performing towards the accomplishment of those objectives. From the study of literature, it is clear that there are managers who use negative motivational techniques through numerous disciplinary activities in order to motivate employees. However, these aspects are often termed as short term motivators. In order to accomplish long term success in motivation, there is an initial need for identifying motivational triggers for each employee. Employee in an organisation can react in different manners to motivational aspects. Moreover, a number of motivational aspects which drive certain employees toward high performance can result in poor performance for other employees. Thus, the success factors for motivation processes can be identified to recognise the personal interests of employees. The other success factors, which have been often recognised in relation to motivational factors, can be identified in terms of rewards and recognition. Employees who provide high performance deserve good reward from organisation. Organisations also must provide recognition from time to time who had earned them through demonstrating effective performance. Besides, there is need for encouraging healthy completive environment within the organisation which can be beneficial for motivating employees toward high performance (Stefanovic & et. al., 2010). Team atmosphere is also regarded as the other success factor for motivation of employees. Employees are motivated by positive healthy competition with fair opportunity to win. Effective team relationship in organisation can develop happier and improved working environment which are quite likely to lead towards better productivity. However, it is vital for organisations to prudently balance the team development activities in order to make sure that every employee is provided with equitable probability of success (The CV Centre Limited, 2012). 3.0. Use of Motivation Theories in Construction Management The literature review developed in the above discussion, validates extensive range of theorists and studies which have apparently contributed to the motivation of employees in construction management. 3.1. Factors Considered There are several factors which can be considered for motivation in construction management. The motivating factors for staffs in construction management can be fringe benefits, working environment and job security. On the other hand, major de-motivating factors for construction staffs can be bad treatment in workplace, insecure working condition, low appreciation, unskilled team members, lack of communication and ineffective assessment of performance and regulation affecting the mental peace of the members and likewise hampering their productivity level by a certain extent (Ogunlana & Chang, 1998). Apart from the above factors, various aspects such as fair pay, involvement in decision making and prospect of growth can also be identified as significant reasons for motivation of construction staffs toward better performances (Yisa & et. al., 2000). 3.2. Challenges From the above theories, it can be observed that every employee can be motivated by their personal motives. The dissimilarity among staffs in terms of culture, physical capabilities, religion, demography and behaviour can therefore cause challenges for organisation to motivate employees. Motivational factors such as job security or higher pay are no longer sufficient for motivating the present workforces (Brooks, 2006). Construction staffs also require other factors for motivation, such as encouraging working environment and prospect for promotion among other factors. Employees require balancing the professional and personal life. Hence, it is likely to become quite challenging for managers in organisation to understand the factors and motivate them according to their which can effectively motivate the employees (Javitch Associates, n.d.). 3.3. Applied Theories Maslow in his theory has depicted that employees can have five kinds of requirements in relation to their job responsibilities where fulfilment of those requirements can help them motivated. This theory is also applied in construction management for motivation. Every employee is concerned with satisfying their perceived physiological requirements; thus, in construction management, employees can be provided with appropriate salaries so that they can satisfy those requirements. After this there is need for satisfying the safety requirements where employees should be given appropriate job security assurances along with clean working conditions. With respect to social requirements, construction organisation can encourage better teamwork and arrange social gatherings occasionally in order to motivate employees (Tabassi & et. al., 2011). With concerns to the self-esteem requirements of the employees, managers in construction organisation can reward employees for demonstrating good performance. Finally, in self-actualisation requirements, employees can be provided with significant growth prospects within construction organisation in order to make them motivated. However, the fulfilment of those needs also depend on the nature of economy. For instance, in the booming period, construction management can effectively satisfy the higher level requirements such as social requirements or self-esteem requirements; however, in discouraging economic condition, construction management can only be capable of satisfying the low level requirements perceived by the employees in terms of physiological needs (Ogunlana & Chang, 1998). With regards to motivation, Hertzberg depicted that employees can be motivated when they are satisfied with their occupation. This satisfaction is related with two factors; one being the hygiene factors and the other being the motivational factors. In construction management also these two factors can be applied for motivating employees to render greater efforts towards job. The hygiene factors are essential for actuality of motivation. In construction management, the hygiene factors can include good wage structure, effective organisational rules and strategies, fringe benefits, respectable interpersonal associations and job security among others. These aspects also represent the physiological requirements of employees which were described in Maslow’s ‘need hierarchy theory’. Hence, it can be affirmed that these factors should be present in construction management to avoid resentments or dissatisfactions amid the employees (Marisa & Yusof, 2011). On the other hand, construction management, in the current era, has been identified to recruit an increasing number of manpower from the international labour market and therefore are quite likely to face various motivational challenges in terms of recognition, feeling of success, promotional prospects, responsibility, and seriousness of work among others. These aspects can result in greater job satisfaction among the employees and observed as self-esteem and self-actualisation requirements. The job satisfaction of employees can certainly lead to motivation of employees in the workplace (Marisa & Yusof, 2011). Furthermore, Douglas McGregor, in his theory, has depicted two types of people with positive and negative approach towards job. In construction management also employees can be of two kinds with positive and negative perspectives toward tasks assigned and thus can be motivated by different ways. As theory X believes that employees are negative in nature, construction management can imply tight control and regulation on employees in order to prevent reluctance behaviour during work. Besides, construction management can use motivational practices of theory Y category by means of providing benefits concerning self-regulation, participative decision making and team work among other practices which can synchronise and balance the requirements and the personal objective of employees with the objectives of construction business. Both aspects are useful in applied world of construction management towards making the best effort from employees (Parkin & et. al., 2009). The ‘equity theory’ is also often applied in construction management. According to this theory, an employee always tends to associate the job with other persons within similar industry with respect to different inputs (such as efforts, loyalty, sacrifice, honesty and devotion among others inputs) and received recompenses (such as reputation, honour, respect, relationship and welfare among others aspects). Thus, in order to motivate employees these two aspects must be balanced. Construction management can make employee feel over-rewarded for their inputs so that they can enhance their productivity. Over-rewarded employees can be more motivated and would perform harder with the intention to deliver quality performance, where under-rewarded employees can demonstrate grievances, complaints, absenteeism traits, and time wastages among other behaviours (Redmond, 2012). However, it is worth mentioning that such variances can vary from individuals to individuals depending upon the economic as well as the social values. ‘Expectancy theory’ is commonly used in construction management for the purpose of motivation of employees. It is based on the supposition of employees emphasising upon what they should acquire from organisation as a consequence of providing greater efforts. The construction management can link the desired consequences of employees with expected performance level so that they (employees) can provide higher efforts toward the job. However, construction management must ensure that expected performance level are achievable, to avoid further challenges to motivate the employees. Employees with outstanding performance should be rewarded where the reward system must be impartial and unbiased. As a facet of motivating employees, construction management can also assess the motivational level through developing communication with the individual members in order to better understand their expectancies from the organisation (Nasri & Charfeddine, 2011). McClelland’s ‘need theory’ is also popular in the field of construction management concerning motivation of employees. His theory depicts that there are three kinds of needs which can drive the performance of employees. In construction management also, employees’ performances can be determined by three different needs. There are certain employees who get motivated by performing better in comparison with others. Thus, this kind of employees can be motivated by encouraging challenges within the working environment. Besides, other employees might desire high pay or respect or comfortable working environment from the organisation among his/her other perceived needs. Therefore, it can be affirmed that construction management can motivate employees by recognising the different desires perceived by them and developing schemes for satisfying those (Thwala & Monese, 2007). 4.0. Critical Analysis With reference to the above discussion, it can be apparently observed that in order to make employees motivated, their requirements should be addressed and fulfilled effectively from time to time. The review of above theories and application of theories in construction management depicts that employees can be motivated through different ways. There is no single factor or theory which can completely describe the motivation of employees with accuracy, especially concerning the individual distinctiveness. However, the motivation theories also possess certain limitations. For instance, Hertzberg’s ‘two factors theory’ ignores the situational variables. The theory has also been criticised to disregard the aspect of employees’ productivity (Bryson, 2006). Concerning the ‘need hierarchy theory’, it is true that employees are not directed by certain set of requirements. In other words, and employee can desire for several requirements at one specific time of work life. With respect to ‘expectancy theory of motivation’, it also seems to be unswerving as there are only few employees who observe high level of connection between their performance and received recompense. The above specified features of the traditional motivation theories can be regarded as the consequence of its complex thought that concentrates on a particular the topic from different viewpoints. To be illustrated, where ‘need hierarchy theory’ describes the extrinsic motivational aspects; the ‘hygienic theory’ realises the importance of intrinsic motivational aspects. ‘Need hierarchy theory’ is based on the belief that the basic requirements of employees are demonstrated in hierarchical ladder. The two factor theory further describes the reasons for dissatisfaction among employees. It describes that motivation aspects are the major reasons for satisfaction, whereas the hygiene aspects are reasons for dissatisfaction. Contrariwise, theory X and theory Y also depicts two kinds of inconsistent behaviour in an organisation. The contemporary motivational theory, i.e. ‘the equity theory’ further concentrates on fairness within workplace whereas the ‘expectancy theory’ assumes that the performance of employees can be directed by providing rewards which meet their expectations providing a certain degree of extra efforts. Moreover, as per the traditional as well as modern motivational theories, rewards can certainly have a significant impact on the motivation of employees which in turn necessitates careful administration so that employees’ performance can be enhanced. Hence, it can be understood from the critical analysis of these theories and practices that employees must be acknowledged with the work, where employers should also understand the behaviour and requirements of their employees. In reality, motivation can be best achieved when employees are capable of integrating the individual determination with the goal of organisation which can be attained with effectual leadership and transparency maintained within the organisational culture. Motivation also plays a significant role in improving the efficiency of construction staffs. From the literature review, it can be observed that employees demonstrate various behaviours within an organisation. Studying the implications of these theories, it can be thus ascertained that intrinsic motivation can be applied for encouraging self-regulation and self-direction. Hence, if management focuses on providing employees’ objectives to perform harder, rather than controlling their behaviour in the organisation, they are likely to be motivated in a more effectual manner. The intrinsic motivational factors can be discoursed by the application of ‘need hierarchy theory’ and ‘two factor theory’. It deals in how employees feel about their tasks and can be considered as significant motivators based the degree of determination they are able to create in the mind of employees. The idea of motivation denotes internal aspects within employees which tend to drive certain positive behavioural traits and external aspects acting as stimulus to those behaviours in the workplace. Therefore, in order to motivate the stuffs, managers need to reach to their requirements. There is need for making employees understand the benefits they can acquire by demonstrating a good performance. Motivation, can be thus regarded as a set of independent and dependent association which illuminates the way, generosity and determination of individual employee’s behaviour having a constant impact on ability, skills, knowledge of tasks and restraints in the working environment. 5.0. Conclusion Motivating employees are vital task for managers of construction organisation as it is directly related with the productivity, self-esteem, revenue and services in organisation. The analysis suggests that employees are motivated in different ways as their requirements vary in accordance with age, culture and race among other factors. Thus, in the pursuit of motivation of staffs, a substantial need can be identified for undertaking examination about the characteristics of workforces to reveal their values. Increased understanding about the nature of workforce, combined with knowledge of different motivational and de-motivational factors can be worthwhile for developing and implementing measures which can effectually motivate employees in an organisation. Apparently, the recognised motivational factors must be aligned with organisational objectives and de-motivational factors must be removed in order to gain maximum productivity in construction. References Brooks, I., 2006. Organisational Behaviour: Individuals, Groups and Organisation. Pearson Education Limited. Bryson, J., 2006. Managing Information Services: A Transformational Approach. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Gitman, L. J. & McDaniel, C., 2008. The Future of Business: The Essentials. Cengage Learning. Javitch Associates, No Date. Motivating Employees. Consultants to Leaders. [Online] Available at: http://www.javitch.com/Q/004.pdf [Accessed July 11, 2012]. Marisa, A. & Yusof, N. A., 2011. 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University of Johannesburg. Yisa, S. B. & et. al., 2000. Factors Affecting Management Motivation in the Iranian Construction Industry: A Survey of Site Managers. University of Wolverhampton, pp. 465-472. Read More