The Importance of Workforce Motivation within an Organization - Research Paper Example

?Running head: BUSINESS: THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKFORCE MOTIVATION WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION Business: The importance of workforce motivation within an organization Insert name Insert course code Insert instructor’s name May 4 2011. Outline 1.0 Introduction 2.0 The rationale of Staff motivation 3.0 How to achieve staff motivation within a company 4.0 Theory and practice in motivation 5.0 Implications of motivating staff for the company Kraft 6.0 Conclusion The importance of workforce motivation within an organization 1.0 Introduction Motivation of employees plays an exceptional role in the overall organizational performance and productivity. The recent years have seen the takeover of Cadbury by Kraft, a factor that has infected the existing workforce confidence at Cadbury, and this is deemed as poison to their motivation. This has caused a lot of concern among the reasrechers and academicians, rendering them to investigate the role played by motivation of employees within an organization. The performance, productivity, competitive advantage as well as the corporate social responsibility within a company is all attributed to excellence in employee motivation. There are varieties of environmental types that are known to influence the ways in which motivation should be done. For Cadbury, it cannot be concluded that there is no motivation that takes place, but the paths utilized may not identify these major areas. These are inclusive of all external factors like economic, legal, technological, and social factors. The internal factors are leadership, structure, culture, processes, design of job, as well as the benefit factors. The personal factors are inclusive of experiences, aspirations, needs etc. The ways in which motivation is created within Kraft may be attributed to the concern driven towards the herein stated areas (Crouse 20). The discussion in this paper is aimed at assessing the importance for the company of improving staff motivation and the possible ways that it can be achieved. The understanding of this is accomplished by an investigation into the theories that govern this motivation as well as how they are put into practice for the common achievement of a company’s goals. 2.0 The rationale for Staff motivation The motivation of organizational employees plays a pivotal role in the determination of success levels. The main goal of managers motivating employees is to reduce or completely eradicate employee turnover rates. The availability of inadequate employee motivational factors leads to the increment of employee turnover rates. The turnover rates that are high lead to the exhaustion of the organizational bodies, for instance, managers will tire training workers who end up working for other organizations. The enhancement of organizational competitive advantage is very crucial as enhanced by strategic employee motivation. Competitive advantage is sort via the utilization of competitive outsourcing strategies that are geared towards overcoming a volatile and competitive business environment. The satisfaction of employees acts as a driving force to the increment of their desire to perform activities related to job. The retention of these employees makes the company go to higher heights, for instance the Kraft Company that now supersedes the Cadbury Company. The value of the company gains a path for increment via employee satisfaction enhancement. The value is a rationale for the creation of company sustainability in a competitively volatile surrounding regardless of its size or other considerable factors (Crouse 21). Increased company performance is also attributed to the motivation of employees. Kraft has been recently in the overtaking business, and has definitely overtaken Cadbury due to its emphasis on employee retention. The more the employees are retained within an organization, the greater the ultimate performance due to long periods of job acquaintances by the employees. The increase in the Kraft company productivity than Cadbury is also attributed to the motivation of employees. The long living employees within an organization are able to deliver excellent services than those that have been moving from an organization to another. Hence, productivity levels are highly influenced by the employee motivation factor, since the employees serve as a spine to the company’s performance. More over, the enhancement of corporate social responsibility is possible when employee motivation is emphasized on. The retained as well as those that are achievable as target for a growing organization take a company depending on the services offered by the employees. Satisfied employees will therefore ensure their courtesy to the organizational customers, making the handling of CRM strategies easier. The effectiveness of CRM paves a way for the sustainability of an organization as well as its penetration levels in the global realms. The main factor leading to the success of employee motivation is the enhancement of job satisfaction in all realms. Organizational globalization is also possible due to the application of employee retention strategies that lead to business success (Worden, Para 1). 3.0 How to achieve staff motivation within a company Employee motivation can be boosted within the Kraft and Cadbury companies via the utilization of a dozen ways and formats (Levine, Para 1). The long-term strategy that majorly determines the success in employee performance is the utilization of the reward system in the best possible way. This is inclusive of the extrinsic and intrinsic rewards regardless of the size of the company as well as the operation in existence at a particular time. For the Kraft and Cadbury companies, the extrinsic rewards entail the materials that are mandatory for reception by the employee in payment of work done. These include salary and promotions in addition to fringe benefits and incentives, whose absence may lead to dissatisfaction of employees. The Cadbury Company need also comprehend the need for provision of intrinsic rewards that are inclusive of the intrinsic rewards that serve as psychological incentives (Muller 2). These rewards create a rationale for trust and co-operation construction amongst the employees towards their company. They are also ample in constructing an interactive and free environment within the company officials as well as the lower level employees. The reward system of employee motivation is a rationale for the enhancement of employee morale in performance of job-related activities as well as participation in learning activities. Thus, the current problem provoking the prevailing situation of Cadbury may be highly attributed to their lack of wisdom to provide such psychological and material incentives (Chaffey, Para 2). The development of strategies aimed at informing every employee of the existing policies and expectations within the companies is vital in enhancing motivation. Most companies in operation under private control do not usually posses ample means of transmitting information to their employees. The overtaking of Cadbury by the Kraft may also be attributed to such failures. The information on policies aids at recruitment times so that the employees are aware of the company’s goals and missions, and also to make them understand the ground operation strategies. Effectiveness in communication strategies in use by the management within the companies is also a long term influential factor to the retention of employees. The recent rise of Kraft is attributed to the adoption of the recent communication methodologies. The best are those that do not distinguish between the management and the middle-level employees when it comes to the discussions concerning organizational matters. Excellent leadership plays a pivotal role in the determination of the level of employee motivation. The top management within Kraft has been able to improve their leadership strategies, leading to their recent rise and the supersession of the Cadbury Company which is thought to be fighting with leadership wrangles (Drucker, Para 3). 4.0 Theory and practice in motivation Regarding the overtaking of Cadbury by Kraft, employee motivation must have crated all the distinction between the performances of the two companies. Many organizations that were also initiated in earlier decades have been facing such overtakes due to the failure of identification of the best employee retention and motivational strategies. Many researchers and theorists have arisen to their undivided concern regarding the employee motivation issues. The major theorists in this field are inclusive of Abraham Maslow and his original works in 1954. Maslow’s theory propositions were based on the fact that people work in order to get self-satisfaction in the fulfillment of their desired needs. The hierarchy of requirements as outlined by the theory of Maslow is inclusive of the self-actualization needs, esteem as well as social needs. On a broader context, most of the people according to Maslow do work in order to fulfill their physical and security essentials, an implication that in the absence of such satisfactions, it would be hard for many employees to play their roles (Gunkel 7). The second theory of Frederick Herzberg is a two-factor theory that implies that people not only work for needs satisfaction, but also for other more crucial purposes. The motivators are inclusive of achievement, where every heart is out to observe its company achieve the set goals in addition to the satisfaction in individual requirements. The aspect of recognition is highly valued by most workers within an organization since it acts as a rationale to boost employee morale. The other motivational factor is the development of personal responsibility in the job-related activities. Incase of deprivation of these values, it is hard for the employees to achieve their desires, hence poor performance in a company. Advancement and personal growth are also valued by the theory, in that those working within a company should see personal and organizational progress taking place. This acts as a way to boost employee morale and the ultimate required performance, value and company sustainability. The practice and awareness of this by the management within an organization creates a sum-total of all rationales attributed to the motivation of employees Smith, 138). 5.0 Implications of motivating staff for the company Kraft Motivation of staff at Kraft implies creating a positive ground for job satisfaction among the employees, thus leading to boosted working morale. The implication also drawn out in the motivation of employees by the company is that leadership has been well implemented and practiced for the achievement of the overtaking results. Laying appropriate leadership strategies creates a rationale for the performance within the company. The implication is also that effectiveness and efficiency measures in communication have been emphasized on, since they act as drivers to excellent participation in all undergoing processes. Competitive advantage has been boosted within the company, seeing the penetration of the company in the global realms. Motivation of employees has served as a best outsourcing strategy in the effective Customer Relationship Management, thus the rapid overtake of the Cadbury by Kraft. The management must also have played a pivotal role in setting examples that are excellent for replication in the employee realms. However, the negative implications are viewed in the creation and enhancement of a competitive environment, which drives other companies, includes even crazy strategies that do not yield anything, ultimately collapsing. Nevertheless, the overall implication is that the company has continued to be productive and effective on performance and has managed to overtake the rest including Cadbury (Care quality commission report, Para 3) 6.0 Conclusion Motivation of employees plays an exceptional role in the overall organizational performance and productivity. The success levels in a company are determined by the ability of the management in the motivation of employees in the external, internal, and personal realms. Maslow’s theory advocates for individual working in a company as a rationale for self-satisfaction, while Hernsbeergs theory advocates for motivation to fulfill recognition, achievements, and advancements among others. Nevertheless, employee motivation should be emphasized in Cadbury and other organizations facing the same challenges to enhance productivity and employee retention (Podmoroff 44). Works Cited Care quality commission report. Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust: Report on the trust’s progress in implementing recommendations. Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. 2010. 05 May 2011. http://www.cqc.org.uk/_db/_documents/20100712_Mid_Staffs_draft__12_Month_Follow_Up_Report_edited_v5.pdf. Chaffey, David. 2008. 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