How Managers Motivate Their Employees - Essay Example

?How managers motivates their employees Introduction: Motivation is often defined as a need or a desire which causes a person to do something. According to Shanks (n.d.) to “motivate, in turn, means ‘to provide with a motive,’ and motivation is defined as ‘the act to process of motivating’. Thus, motivation is the act or process of providing a motive that causes a person take some action. In most cases motivation comes from some need that leads to behavior those results in some type of reward when the need is fulfilled”. These rewards can be intrinsic or extrinsic rewards. The first type of reward is generated from the within and the second type is generated by another person. Rewards are used by the managers as the most important factor for providing incentives to the employees where the role of these incentives or rewards is to motivate employees to work. These incentives can be of different types, such as changes in job descriptions, rearrangement of work schedules, improvements in working conditions, reconfiguration of teams etc. But the most important feature of this theory of motivation is that not all employees are motivated by the same degree (Shanks, n.d., pp.24-25; Daft, 2006, p.522). Confidence, trust and motivation – these are the most important requirements for the managers to motivate employees (Green, 2000, p.155). Thus motivation is more like a moral encouragement for the employees (Boone and Kurtz, 2010, p.268). Motivation is important for the purpose of raising the productivity of employees by increasing their working skills (Doyle, 2005, p.1, Lussier, 2011, p.403). Motivating ethical behaviours in employees is also highly important (Deckop, 2006, p.111). This paper is aimed at providing different motivational practices which are applied by the mangers to motivate their employees to work effectively and to achieve these goals. Literature review Managers are required a change the working habits of the workers at the workplace by motivating them to work. With this motivating power these managers do two main things. The first thing is to motivate workers to work hard for the overall growth and development of the business organization. The second challenge is related to motivate these workers to work harder for the purpose of achieving their own goals. In any kind of industry, consumer goods, healthcare, service sector these goals for both employees and the employer are important to achieve. Motivational roles of managers are important in this respect (Shanks, n.d., p.23; Neely, 2007, p.433). Theoretical framework: There are various theories of motivation which are used for the purpose of developing the working abilities of the employees in different business organisations. These theories are described below: Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs: In this theory the Maslow (1954), identifies various needs which are necessary for the purpose of motivating employees. These needs are comprises of psychological needs, safety needs, belonging needs, esteem needs and self-actualisation needs. With the help of satisfaction progression, these needs are used for the purpose of moving from one stage of satisfying the need to another stage (Shanks, n.d., p.25) Alderfer’s ERG Theory: In this theory Alderfer (1972) has used three concepts of existence, relatedness and growth to describe how managers can motivate their employees. Various needs defined by Maslow have been used by Alderfer to define these stages of motivating employees. He also used the frustration-regression principle for the purpose of describing the fact that with the achievement of each level of satisfaction employees will be motivated to achieve the next level of satisfaction (Shanks, n.d., pp.25-26). Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory: Herzberg (2003) has used two motivational factors: Hygienes and Motivators, for the purpose of modifying Maslow’s theory. The first factor provides lower level of satisfaction to the employees, like better working condition, high salary etc. The second factor provides higher level satisfaction to the employees, which are related to the ‘achievement, recognition and achievement’ (Shanks, n.d. pp.26-27; Herzberg, n.d., p.1). Apart from these basic studies there are also several studies which are used by managers for the purpose of motivating employees. Providing reinforcements of behaviours of employees are used as great motivating factor. Appraising the performance of an employee acts as significant motivating factor. Also there are few misconceptions regarding these motivating factors. If there is any asymmetry in the process of motivating different employees then the expected result cannot be realised. If employees are motivated by money only then also desired results might not be found. Hence, managers need to motivate employees on the basis of providing greatest level of rewards to them and by expecting the results from them, by creating the focused, unpredictable as well as novel approach from and for employees. This may also include motivating policies enhancing the performance of employees by providing rewards to them, providing employees significant amounts of time to spend for the purpose of revitalising their working ability and power and also to increase their level of productivity. And these policies of motivating employees may also include interacting with employees and solve their difficult personal and/or impersonal problems through effective communication and policies which are focused on finding out the strengths as well as weaknesses of employees of any business organisation and to channelise these strengths for the betterment of the organisation and employees and to get rid of those weaknesses through effective problem solving skills of these managers (Shanks, n.d., pp.31-34). Greater level of job satisfaction is also regarded as an important motivating factor in businesses. Some of the crucial factors which help in the building up effective job satisfaction among the employees are the nature of work, salary package, promotional opportunity, level of supervision, the behavior of the co-workers and the culture prevailing within the business organization (Brown & Lent, 2005, p.180). Various motivational theories have been applied by McDonalds in the UK. A study revealed the fact that employees of the company are not satisfied with the wage rates of this company and also no financial incentives and rewards are given to these workers at all by managers. Hence, employees of the company are getting de-motivated in their work (Nawaz, 2011, p.5549). Another study has revealed that employee motivation increases productivity and growth of organisations in private businesses. A greatly motivated employee invests his best efforts in respect to taking responsibilities and completing perfect works. This employee thus maintains good relation with the managers and increases the growth rate of the organisation by improving the job performance. According to Al-Aamri (2009/2010), “in the free market economy under today's globalization only organizations which pursue high-performance focused on their employees can survive and growth rapidly and safely” (Al-Aamri, 2009/2010, pp.40-41). Methodology: In conducting a research it is most important to understand the research philosophy. It is related to understanding of different research paradigms, matters of ontology as well as epistemology of the research. These parameters after describing the perceptions, beliefs, assumptions as well as ‘the nature of reality and truth’, these factors can affect the research. While ontological perspectives use various existing characteristics of topic and concepts chosen, epistemology clarifies these aspects in light of the real life experiences. The research paradigm is related to the positivist approach which deals with the testing of hypothesis from the prevailing theory. Paradigm also includes Interpretivist / Constructivist where various theories are considered to understand the given hypothesis (Flowers, 2009, p.1). This paper focuses on the positivist approach. This is paper because the existing theories of motivating employees by the managers will be tested through statistical analysis. Suitable research method: The suitable research method which is used in the paper is based on a self-designed questionnaire. The type of questionnaire which is considered in this research has both open-ended and close-ended questions. The questionnaire has been developed to consider how different policies and strategies have been used by the managers to motivate their employees to achieve desired goals. These questions have been designed to cover all the aspects of different motivational theories which are discussed in the literature review. This research method will be used in the paper because this is the most suitable method of conducting a research based on both qualitative and quantitative data. Collection of primary and secondary data: The primary data sources are collected from the business organisations for the purpose of collecting information for the qualitative variables. These secondary data are to be collected after conducting a survey on responses of business managers and employees of 50 business organisations in the United Kingdom. These business organisations which will be elected in the survey have been applying these motivating factors since a long time and these companies have achieved their desired level of satisfaction from motivational strategies as well. These managers or participants have been asked about the nature of strategies and policies to motivate employees. They have also been asked about various positive as well as negative results which these managers have obtained after applying those strategies. Some of the questions will be answered in “Yes” or “No”. These managers will be required to respond their level of satisfaction on each question in a five-point of Likert-type scale, where the measurement criteria were 1 = extremely disagree, 5 = extremely agree (Yuan and Wu, 2008, pp.392-393). Interview and questionnaire: The questionnaire which will be used in the paper will consider the different motivational strategies and effectiveness of those strategies from the perspective of both managers as well as employees. The entire structure of the questionnaire is presented in Appendix 1. Ten fieldworkers have been trained for collecting data from respondents. They have been trained to maintain consistency while asking questions to the respondents and they have also been trained to understand the concept and research design in order to make effective and useful counter-questions on the answers given by the respondents. A total of 50 questionnaires were designed. And a total of 50 questionnaires were collected by the field workers after completing the survey. Hence, the usable rate of questionnaires is 100 (Freedman, 2005, pp.15-17). During the data collection process expedient samples were collected. Literature search: The literature search process is based upon searching of various literatures based on the topic of discussion and thus conducting the analysis of the primary and secondary data or information. This chosen method is justified in light of the fact that conducting statistical analysis based on the qualitative and quantitative data is regarded as the most suitable analytical concept. Sampling strategy: Selection of participants, target group and interview selection: Participants will be selected from 50 business organisations in the UK. They will be employees with different designations, different age groups and different educational level. Also business managers of those organisations will be interviewed. These organisations are the target group because they have applied different motivational theories to a great extent in their organisations. Managers and employees will be selected for the interview to understand the link between them in regard to various motivational theories and their applications. Statistical Analysis: Different qualitative as well as quantitative variable have been used in the process of conducting the statistical analysis of the findings from the survey. However, most of the variables have been qualitative and these qualitative variables have been quantified at suitable method of Dummy Variable approach for effective calculations of all these variables. The quantitative variables are based on the level of market share and the level of profits earned by these companies after applying these motivating policies. The qualitative variables are related to the responses of participants (Messmer, 2011). These qualitative variables are presented and described in the table in Appendix 2. Hypothesis Testing: The model and hypotheses are tested simultaneously by the ‘linear structural relation analysis’ using MS Excel 2007. The variables are considered in measurement model and in structural model. The measurement model uses the latent variables in terms of observed variables and describes properties of measurement processes of these observed variables. The structural model describes the causal relationships among observed variables and also specifies quantities of unexplained variances. The hypotheses have been set explaining that there are relationships between the independent variable and each of the dependent variables (Freedman, 2005, pp.90-91). The hypothesis of the statistical analysis of the paper is that different theories which are applied by the managers of different organisations have not significantly motivated employees to yield expected results. Limitations of the research: However, in practical life these policies sometimes become difficult for the business managers to apply because of lack of proper resources and also due to lack of sufficient time. Again, these policies and theories for motivating employees might not be supported by the existing infrastructure of the business organisation. In all these circumstances it would be very difficult to acquire data sources on effective uses of these policies and strategies. Another important problem might be related to the fact that managers might not reveal the actual information regarding the motivational strategies used by them to motivate their employees to get improved results. This case might also be true for the employees as well. This asymmetry of information might also lead to inappropriate collection of data and thus lead to ineffective results. Again, lack of proper and efficient resources, both human resources, such as field workers, and monetary resources (for hiring field workers, transportation costs etc.), might create great obstacle in conducting the research. Conclusion: Motivational theories are considered as very important factor for improving the performance of employees and also for increasing the profitability of business organisations. There are various motivational theories and approaches which are used by managers to motivate their employees. This paper will conduct a research on use of these motivational theories and approaches in 50 business houses in the UK by considering both primary and secondary data. References: 1. Al-Aamri, A. D. (2009/2010), Employee Motivating in Private Organization, Project paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration Open University of Malaysia, Available at: http://www.masterstudies.net/media/pdf/MBA%20Proj/employee%20motivating%20in%20private%20organization.pdf [Accessed on March 27, 2012] 2. Boone, L. E. and Kurtz, D. L. (2010), Contemporary Business, UK: John Wiley & Sons 3. Brown, S. D. & Lent, R. W. (2005), Career development and counseling: putting theory and research to work, New York: John Wiley & Sons 4. Daft, R. L. (2007), Management, USA: Cengage Learning 5. Deckop, J. R. (2006), Human resource management ethics, UK: IOP 6. Doyle, S. (2005), The Manager's Pocket Guide to Motivating Employees, UK: Human Resource Development 7. Flowers, P. (2009), Research Philosophies – Importance and Relevance, Cranfield School of Management, Available at: http://www.networkedcranfield.com/cell/Assigment%20Submissions/research%20philosophy%20-%20issue%201%20-%20final.pdf [Accessed on March 27, 2012] 8. Freedman, D. (2005), Statistical models: theory and practice, UK: Cambridge University Press 9. Green, T. (2000), Three Steps to Motivating Employees, HR Magazines, Available at: http://www.tbcc.cc.or.us/~atchison/ba-classes/ba-206/Green-3-Steps-to-Motivating-Employees.pdf [Accessed on March 26, 2012] 10. Herzberg, F. (n.d.), One More Time: How do you motivate employees?, Available at: http://www.eq4u.co.uk/One%20More%20Time.pdf [Accessed on March 26, 2012] 11. Lussier, R. N. (2011), Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, Skill Development, USA: Cengage Learning 12. Messmer, M. (2011), Motivating Employees For Dummies, UK: John Wiley & Sons 13. Nawaz, A. S. M. S. (2011), Employee motivation: A study on some selected McDonalds in the UK, African Journal of Business Management, Vol. 5 (14), pp. 5541-5550 14. Neely, A. D. (2007), Business Performance Measurement: Unifying Theories and Integrating Practice, UK: Cambridge University Press 15. Shanks, N. H. (n.d.), Management and Motivation, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Available at: http://www.jblearning.com/samples/076373473x/3473x_ch02_4759.pdf [Accessed on March 26, 2012] 16. Yuan, Y-H E. and Wu, C. K. (2008), RELATIONSHIPS AMONG EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING, EXPERIENTIAL VALUE, AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, Available at: http://www.udec.edu.mx/BibliotecaInvestigacion/Documentos/2009/Agosto/Merka%20experiental%20marketing%20exp%20value%20customer%20satisfaction.pdf [Accessed on March 26, 2012] Appendix 1: Questionnaire: Disclaimer: The information you provide here would be kept confidential and would solely be used for research purpose. Gender: ?Male ?Female Education Level: ?Under Graduate ?Graduate ?Post Graduate ? Doctorate Designation: ___________ 1. Do you think that the practices of motivating employees are essential in modern businesses to yield greater profits and greater market share? ?Yes ? No 2. Do you think that these motivating strategies are helping the organisation to obtain greater employee satisfaction? ?Yes ? No ?A little Bit 3. Do you think that decisions should be taken to increase the use of these motivating strategies instead of general employee-employer relationship? ?Yes ? No ?A little Bit 4. Do you believe that these motivation practices are sustainable for the future? ?Yes ? No 4. Do you think that motivational policies are giving greater amounts of satisfaction compared to providing hike in salary and general performance incentives? ?Yes ? No Please answer the following questions by marking one of the box 1 = strongly disagree and 7 = strongly agree. 1. I believe that the performance of the employee of the company has increased after using these motivational policies.  2. I intend to use more motivating policies in the future (for example, making greater degree of promotions based on performance) to increase the practice of using motivational theories in the country  3. I will suggest other business organizations which are not using motivational policies to use these strategies by greater amounts  4. I am satisfied with the role of these motivational theories in raising the performance and the employer-employee relationship.  5. I believe that profit of my company has increased after applying these policies of enhancing the performance of employees  6. Any further suggestions for increasing market share? ­­­________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Appendix 2: Construct Definition Measurement of variable Value calculation Measures the value by which increase in practices related to motivating employees are affecting the number of employees of the business organisation to produce expected results Change in employee base Change in practices related to employee motivation Change in practices related to producing desired outcomes through effective employee performances Feel perception Measures the feelings of the managers and employees regarding various policies and strategies used for motivating people of the company to generate best results Changes in the amount of customer base and popularity of these motivating theories, strategies and policies Future expectations and further uses Measures the future expectations of effectiveness of these policies and strategies Change in future perception of respondents (Source: Yuan and Wu, 2008, p.399) Read More