Management Assugnment: Motivation - Assignment Example

The workers at SAP are unable to even think beyond money. They just have to follow the work structure which leaves no place for creativity and innovation. They do not have the flexibility to experiment and they have no freedom to do challenging work by themselves, as has been explained by Theory Y by Douglas McGregor. Once the basic needs are satisfied, monetary rewards loses its importance. At SAP, workers are offered incentives in various cash forms such as fixed, flexible and incentive-based pay structure.

SAP relies on the implementation of technology by the workers and hence it believes that money alone can keep them happy and motivated as all their needs are satisfied. However, the different forms of incentives and bonuses are restricted to the physical well-being of the workers and their families as benefits such as insurance, dental and health care and dry cleaning facilities are offered. To some extent they have also taken care of the work environment or the hygiene factors as described by Herzberg which motivates employees.

This is evident from the fact that their coffee lounges and workplaces are nice. This can at best, prevent employee dissatisfaction, says Herzberg (Sachau, 2007). However, the flexible benefits enable the worker to choose a holiday or invest in pension plans. Since workers always seek security they would prefer to invest in pension plans and deny themselves and their families a vacation. Hence, SAP can alter its strategy to enhance organizational performance and to sustain the motivation level of its employees.

As of now the workers at SAP have no intrinsic motivation; they rely totally on extrinsic motivators such as the hygiene factors or the cash incentives. SAP should provide freedom to its workers by way of support and acceptance, promotion and appraisal, recognition and evaluation as intrinsic motivation produces more than extrinsic motivation (Ryan and Deci, 2000). Most workers do not work for the enjoyment of working and hence they seek extrinsic factors, which also conform to the higher levels of needs as per Maslow’s theory.

Self-esteem is associated with job satisfaction. When the workers are given the freedom to experiment perhaps they could improvise on the existing technologies thereby adding value to the organization. People work for money and to make a living – this is a fact. However, money is the main motivator only up to a certain level. Once the basic human needs are satisfied, their desires, needs and wants expand. McClelland’s Need for Achievement Theory also state that man’s needs change over time.

These needs can be classified under achievement affiliation or power. The change in needs over time conforms to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs which changes over time as the lower level needs are satisfied. Needs change as the mental level changes, and the employees then reach the state when they can be empowered to experiment. People who have a high need for achievement would avoid both low-risk and high-risk assignments (NetMBA, 2002). Such employees would not depend on chance nor would they engage in something that is easily achievable.

They would either work alone or with high achievers. They seek challenging projects with achievable goals. If monetary benefit is all that they are offered, they would not find it interesting because to them job satisfaction can be derived through challenges. Restricting incentives and motivation to monetary or cash benefits provides no intrinsic