Case analysis Montego Bay - Essay Example

In order to protect her store and keep her employees motivated, she agrees with Theresa Daley, operations director for Montego Bay, to test a new computerized scheduling system, which is expected to reduce payroll costs and improve productivity. Mahoney learns that the new system has several benefits; however, she is also weary that this system will disrupt the collegial and productive work environment she had created in the store. A careful examination of the business’ status shows that Mahoney, as a manager, has failed to create and maintain a working environment that motivates her employees.

Motivation amongst employees improves the quality and productivity of work, since employees are triggered to work towards achieving a common goal. This paper describes how Mahoney can create a working environment that will motivate her employees by examining some theoretical perspectives on motivating employees. The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is one of the theories that managers apply to create a working environment that motivates workers. This theory describes how people fulfill a range of personal needs in the context of their work.

Maslow postulated that there is a common pattern of needs identification and satisfaction, which many people follow in the same sequence (Kaufman, 2004). According to this theory, a person has to satisfy the low-level needs (physiological and safety) before he or she pursues upper-level needs (social, esteem and self-actualization). Most employees usually have problems articulating what they want from a job. Mangers should, therefore, offer different incentives to workers so as to help them identify and satisfy each need in turn, and progress up the hierarchy.

Mahoney, as the store manager, should recognize that her employees have different needs, and not all are motivated in the same way, and all do not move up the hierarchy at the same pace (Kaufman, 2004). Her duty is to adapt and change her style to fit the employees’ needs, other than forcing them into something they are not. In addition, she has to test different techniques with every employee in order to determine which ones are considered effective, and which ones are not. The employees should be encouraged to follow their own self interests, which motivate them to pursue higher level needs and improve the quality of work.

The workers should be motivated to higher levels of individual commitment and personal expectations. As an employee progresses though an organization, his employer should supply opportunities to satisfy high level needs on Maslow’s pyramid (Montana & Charnov, 2008). Another important theory of worker’s motivation is Herzberg’s motivator –Hygiene theory. Herzberg suggested hygiene factors, which do not create or motivate satisfaction and “motivators”. These include interpersonal relations, salary, supervision, working condition, and company policy (Montana & Charnov, 2008).

According to this theory, absence of dissatisfies can create job dissatisfaction, but their presence does not create or motivate satisfaction. Herzberg, therefore, established from a data that motivators are elements that enrich a person’s job. He came up with five motivators, which were strong determiners of job satisfaction: responsibility, achievement, advancement, recognition and the work itself. The hygiene factors constantly produce only short-term changes in job performance and attitude,