The Motivation of Human Resources - Literature review Example

Literature Review on Motivation of Human Resources Name Institution Abstract Most organizations are competing to survive the increasingly congested and fierce market environment. Employee motivation and performance are important tools for any organization that aims to succeed in the end. Consequently, measuring performance is important to the management of the business considering that it highlights the business evolution and achievements. There is a positive link between motivation of human resources and effectiveness of the business. In this paper, the research analyzed the drivers of employee motivation and associated effects on the business performance. The reviewed literature indicate that factors such human resource recognition and empowerment are vital in increasing employee motivation. Increment in empowerment and recognition of the significance in business management improve the level of motivation of employees and performance and accomplishment of the organization. However, dissatisfaction of the human resources through job monotonous and pressures from the customers could lead to weakening of the business performance. Based on such reasoning, the paper undertook an analytical and empirical study with an aim of revealing the associated discrepancies and feasibility aspect of the employee motivation on the human resource management. The paper highlighted that motivation is important for good performance of the organization, which makes it important to study various factors responsible for employee motivation for better performance. To emphasize of the significance of employees, the paper analyzed the motivation theory after establishing various definitions of motivations. The study three important objectives to establish including establishing the motivational measures currently in place and their effectiveness; determining whether there is positive relationship between enhanced performance and motivational measures; and establishing the positive relationship between the current motivation of employees and performance Literature Review on Motivation of Human Resources Introduction Research Topic With increased competition within the markets, businesses are focusing on the effective management of human resources. Research reveal that human resources are the greatest organizational assets. Most businesses use employee motivation which is the becoming a strategic tool in the management of human resources (Bobinski, 2009). Employee motivation plays significant role, both theoretically and practically, in the field of management. One of the roles played by human resource managers is ensuring that there is job commitment within the working area, which is only achievable through motivation of employees. Research on management reveals that there have been changes in the work dynamism due to globalization in the recent years leading assessment of businesses against the international standards of practice (Qi & Wang, 2016). As a result, emphasis on the people has been on the rise. Considering that the businesses have to produce the required outcomes through the workers, there is much emphasis on the concern and motivation of the people through ensuring frequent assessment, experience based programs, support, and regular feedback (Manzoor, 2011). Motivation is important as it determines organizational level of performance and its intangibility nature. Employee motivation is an indispensable part of human resources management. Most research divides motivational incentives into various parts: groups and individual motivations. The aim of the topic is to undertake a literature review on the motivation of the human resources Relevance of the research topic and gap Generally, whenever the employees feel demotivated, the businesses are unlikely to operate in effective and efficient manner to achieve the goals and success. Moreover, dissatisfaction within the workplace often contributes to poor performance among the employees; as a result, the profitable and highly motivated employees can assist in making a business competitive through addition of value. Motivated employees are organizational competitive advantage since their performance allows the accomplishment of the goals (Khan & Ajmal, 2015). Each organization needs to be successful even with increasing businesses competitiveness. Hence, irrespective of the business size and market strive in retaining the best employee; it is important to acknowledge the role of employees and their influence on organizational effectiveness. To overcome such challenges, businesses need to create a strong and positive link with the workers and direct them towards the fulfillment of organizational objectives. For achievement of such goals and objectives, businesses need to develop mechanisms of competing within highly competitive markets and increase the level of performance. However, few businesses consider their human resources as their major asset with the ability of leading them into success. Every employee has different mixture and strengths of the needs since some are driven by the accomplishments while others focus on security (Alalade & Oguntodu, 2015). Whenever the management is unable to understand, predict, and control the behavior of the employees, then it needs to understand the needs of the employees from their job. Despite the significance of motivation in human resources, most of the undertaken literatures do not elaborate on employee motivation methods. Based on search reasoning, the paper shall undertake both analytical and empirical analysis in revealing the discrepancies and feasibility aspect of motivation while putting forward the significance of motivation of human resources in ensuring better business performance. Hence, it is important to understand to study employee motivational factors. Research Objectives The main objective of the study is to determine the importance of human resources motivation and associated effects that hinder the performance of the employees across businesses. The specific objectives include: 1. To establish the motivational measures currently in place and their effectiveness 2. To determine whether there is positive relationship between enhanced performance and motivational measures 3. To establish the positive relationship between the current motivation of employees and performance Literature Review Motivation Motivation refers to the psychological features, which are added to the degree of commitment of people (Naquin & Holton, 2003). It involves a management process that influences the behavior of employees. Some researchers associate motivation to motivation to the force responsible for stimulating the behavior, provide behavioral direction, and underlie the prevalence tendency (Korzynski, 2013). From such definition, there is need for sufficient individual stimulation and energetic among individuals, clear focus on what the business intends to achieve, and should be willing to commit for a long period to realize the aim of achieving the goals. The motivations that stimulate behavior emphasize of the voluntary actions. Other definitions view motivation as a process governing the choice of people on involves incorporation of psychological processes creating arousal, direction, and persistence of the involuntary actions, which are considered goal, oriented. Motivation influences the manner in which human resources acquire skills and the level in which they apply their abilities. Therefore, it involves internal factors impelling the actions and external factors that act as inducement to the action. These three aspects of action associated with motivation are likely to affect the direction, duration, and intensity translating to choice, persistence, and effort (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010). Concisely, various authors have been able to put forward the motivational concept differently. However, such definitions seem to have common concepts, which that principally associate with the factors stimulating, channeling, and prolonging the human behavior with time. Paradigms in the Human Resource Management The global business environment is increasingly becoming competitive with the change in needs, tastes, and preferences of the customers. As a result, satisfaction for the needs of the customers is becoming central attention within both the private and public entities. This calls for the need of employing the most appropriate strategies and techniques with an aim of achieving the required business objectives and goal, which increases the popularity of human resource management in the management paradigm (Randall, Novotny & Larson, 2006).). Research on management reveal that human resource management is part of the business main strategy as supported by various strategies. HRM is a distinctive approach in managing employment as it intends to achieve the competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of the highly committed and capability of the work force through the integrated collection of the cultural, personal, and structural methods. HRM has different versions. The hard version stresses on the idea of resource as something that the management places under very tough strategic control and the economic policy of the Theory X and the soft model focus on the control through the committed as enshrined in the Theory Y. On the other hand, the soft version focus on the term human as something that requires nurturing through winning the commitment. Various scholars argue that the soft model considers the workers as important and value organizational assets that play important roles in achievement of competitive advantage by the business. In addition, the soft model stresses on the organizational efforts in winning the commitment of the employees and promotion of their adaptability levels using various factors such as leadership, motivation, and communication (Fernandez & Pitts, 2011). As a result, it places the burden of the development of the capability of the employees due to its proactive nature towards development. Soft HRM involves human resource movements, utilization of individual talents, and the Theory Y presented by McGregor in ensuring the development of employees. There is a close relationship between such finding and the notion of high commitment work system. On the other hand, hard HRM involves stressing on the calculative, quantitative, and business strategic aspects that including the management of head count resource rationally but not as a production factor. Therefore, both the versions support the position that human capability and commitment play significant role in making the distinction between successful businesses and the rest (Naquin & Holton, 2003). HRM paradigm, especially the soft model, is important in human resource motivation as it focuses on nurturing the employees in a bid to with their commitment for better performance and attains organizational objectives. Motivation Theory Employees play important roles in ensuring organizational success. As a result, businesses are keen on employing various strategies to improve employee performance, which in turn enhances the business output and customer satisfactions. Businesses are beginning to realize the important of employee motivation to the required competitive advantage amid the increased level of competition within the market (Coyle-Shapiro et al., 2013). A motivated and qualified human resource is important in increasing business productivity and quality of services that the business offers for achievement of the desired objective. However, the major challenge and dilemma experienced with most managers is the way to create the type of motivation required by employees. Even though there are several theories that surround the motivation notion, there two areas of motivation that often appear to be mixed: the motivation rooted within the job and motivation for performance. These notions are very important to the businesses; thus, the managers have to understand critically the impact of their activities on these areas (Mikkelsen, Jacobsen & Andersen, 2015). Motivation is very important in business since even those considered to have the required knowledge, skills, and abilities will perform poorly if there is no motivation to devote their time and efforts to work. Human resources often have their needs that business entities need to fulfill to prevent demotivation. Whenever there is no motivation of the human resources, they often resort to other anti-work behaviors including negligence, absenteeism, reporting late, poor employee-customer relations, late submission of assignments, and displaying frustrations in the open (Manolopoulos, 2007). Resorting to these negative behaviours often result poor business performance and organizational credibility. Businesses need to have strategies and efforts in place to ensure that various forms of incentives such as intrinsic motivators, performance management strategies, and extrinsic motivators are incorporated properly into the HRM to retain, attract, ensure high level of satisfaction, commitment, and high working efforts among the employees. Improving Human Resources Motivation Human resources need to have reasonable salaries considering that money currently represents the most important incentive. In a mid of increasing level of competition within the market, the need for efficiency, and technological developments, many businesses are focusing on employee retrenchment as other consider reduction for salaries (Dobre, 2013). Money is very influential in nature. The financial rewards that most businesses utilize in maintaining and motivating the human resources to greater performance might be useful in solving some of their needs; however, this only at individual levels. However, it is important to note that not all time money motivates the employees to improve their level of performance. Pay as significant impact on the diligence and commitment of the human resources as it is the major motivator. Nonetheless, other studies reveal that pay does not boost productivity in the long run like money does not improve employee performance significantly (Osabiya, 2015). In addition, the businesses that focuses on such aspects often up deteriorating the attitude of the human resources while pursuing only the financial milestones. Research point towards rewards that it leads to job satisfaction; as a result, it influences the directive and positively the human resource performance. In addition, the rewards offer one of the most efficient management tools in a bid to influence the behavior of individual or group employees to improve organizational level of effectiveness. Many businesses use pay, promotions, bonuses, and various reward methods in motivating the human resources and increasing their level of performance. To use salary in motivating the employees, there is for allowances (Kuranchie-Mensah & Amponsah-Tawiah, 2016). Business entities can as well use proper leadership, which involves getting things done appropriately. To achieve such goals, the leaders have the responsibility of gaining the trust of the employees. However, to earn their trust and complete their duties on time, there is need for employee motivation. The leaders and human resources need to work together to attain the greatest level of morality and motivation. Trust refers to the perception of individuals regarding the others and their willingness to act based on the speech or compliance with the speech. This makes trust a vital factor within the organization that intends to achieve competitive advantage considering its ability to improve the level of employee motivation and spearhead interpersonal communication within the organization. Irrespective of the extent of technical automation within the business, attaining greater levels of productivity depend on employee level of motivation and effectiveness (Gitongu, Kingi & Uzel, 2016). Thus, development and implementation of training programs is a vital mechanism of motivating the employees. Besides, a good communication between the managers and human resources can influence motivation with decline in the ambiguity levels. Human Resources Empowerment and Business Performance Employee empowerment and organizational performance are closely interlinked. Empowerment is a leadership approach used by many organizations to empower the employee, which views them as the main constituents of the management. Moreover, it involves offering the employees the authority and freedom of making decisions that motivates them to even discover their potentials further. The major driving force of empowerment is offering the employees to have control over their jobs, which encourages growth and improved productivity (Fernandez & Pitts, 2011). Thus, the process on empowerment is important in solving organizational problems as it makes the workers feel appreciated. Their feed performance on the business is important. The contribution of the human resources and participation in the development of the business is important for organizational well-being as individual employees are able to offer assistance in areas they perceive to better (Manzoor, 2011). Empowerment offers the workers the responsibility and authority to act which gives them control of their destinies. It is important for businesses to recognize the quality and result of their employees. Employee participation and empowerment involves contribution of employees in the administration and decision making process within the business on matters relating to policies, aims, and organizational objectives. Various studies revealed that the perception of the human resources on the goals and norms of the business relate to employee motivation (Bao & Nizam, 2015). Considering that high motivational levels are achievable through empowerment, such process contributes in business growth. Empowered employees have the ability to satisfy the needs of the customers since the workers are able to make quick decisions in solving certain problems without consulting the management. Furthermore, increment in autonomy increases the level of productivity and improving their ability and motivation to accept the challenges that come their way and solving them (Ng & Wyrick, 2011). Adequate remuneration and empowerment could be imperative when the business needs to acquire greater dedication and trust from the human resources. When the workers are loyal to the business and motivated, there are high chances of achieving greater levels of effectiveness and growth. References Alalade, S. Y., & Oguntodu, J. A. (2015). Motivation And Employees’ Performance In The Nigerian Banking Industry: A Survey Of Selected Banks. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, 3(4), 1-14. Retrieved from http://ijecm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/3443.pdf Bao, C., & Nizam, I. (2015). 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