Employee Motivation at Mercedes Benz - Research Paper Example

? Mercedes Benz The term, ‘motivation’ is often argued to be a crucial component for seeking considerable commitment of employees towards attaining the organizational goals. Correspondingly, the managerial approach adopted by Mercedes Benz, a leading manufacturer of automobiles, has been extensively involved in motivating the employees. It has also been duly emphasized on designing proper and pre-defined ways of motivating its employees and keeping them updated regarding the organizational objectives as well as market trends. The participation of Mercedes Benz in different activities of diversity and efficient conflict management systems have also helped the company to boost its revenue to a great extent and retain the tag of world’s most admired automobile company. Mercedes Benz Automobile industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the present world. Mercedes Benz is considered to be one of the leading automobile manufacturing companies around the globe which deals in luxury automobiles, buses, coaches and trucks. The company is owned by the Daimler Group which has made substantial earning amounting to total revenue of 61,660 million Euros in its performance during the year 2012. Mercedes Benz is undoubtedly one of the oldest and most liked automobile brands currently operating across the globe (Scribd Inc., 2013). Theories of Motivation Compare and Contrast The two Theories of Motivation, which can be evidently related to the work environment of Mercedes Benz, are the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and McClelland’s Achievement-Power-Affiliation theory. These two theories are being compared and contrasted in the following discussion. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Abraham Maslow assumed that people are motivated by needs that are not fulfilled. According to Maslow’s theory of needs, if a need is not fulfilled, people feels motivated to meet that need or in other word, individuals strive to perform better to satisfy the unrealized needs. This particular theory also notes that once a need is satisfied, it is not considered to a motivational factor. Figure: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (McLeod, 2013) As identified in the figure above, the physiological needs of the people signify their basic needs for survival in terms of food, water and shelter. It is at this particular stage that people tend to work to earn their living and can be regarded as basic motivators. At the next level, the security needs are postulated as those needs of a person which keeps them free from harm. It basically includes personal security, well being and safety; thus, adding a certain degree of comfort to their economic position. Correspondingly, the belonging needs basically include the desire for love, friendship and companion which deciphers the social needs of people. This need is usually accomplished by people when they spend their time with their family or someone whom they are very close with. Hence, in the managerial field, this need essentialises a better work-life balance. Moving towards a higher level, the self-esteem need generally includes an individual’s desire of gaining recognition and respect from other. Praise and acceptance by people in public or in workplace often helps in meeting this need. Last but not the least, the self-actualization need is considered to be the final need of any person. It is a desire to live up to your full potential which is attainable through best performance at work as well as at home (Certo, 2013). McClelland’s Achievement-Power-Affiliation Theory In contrast to the five needs identified by Maslow in his motivational theory, McClelland’s theory of achievement-power-affiliation theory, three basic needs are identified that people develop and acquire from their life experiences often serving as a motivational factor. As propagated in the theory, the person who has a high need for achievement is willing to take challenges to attain those needs. Accordingly, feedback from the superiors is perceived to be an important component that facilitates employees to realize their need of achievement and motivate them accordingly. Additionally, need for power is basically important for professionals in higher authority as it involves controlling subordinates. The third component of this theory is the need for affiliation. People have strong sense of affiliation or desire for relationship building with their close ones which often act as a motivational factor for them (Certo, 2013). When relating the two theories of motivation with the strategies applied by Mercedes Benz, it can be affirmed that the management in particular aims to fulfill the motivational needs of its employees and motivate them by providing adequate training sessions hence addressing their self-esteem needs (as assumed in Maslow’s need hierarchy) or their needs for achievement (as assumed in McClelland’s theory). Additionally, the organization also focuses on satisfying the basic needs of the employees by rewarding them with adequate compensation along with promotional benefits to satisfy their need for power and affiliation within the company structure (Mercedes-Benz, 2013). Hence, comparing and contrasting both the theories, as applied in Mercedes Benz, it can be affirmed that the strategies of the organization are effective in addressing almost all the needs identified in the two models. This also depicts that although the two theories assume different needs of individuals at different levels, all the identified needs are interlinked and can be addressed with effective motivational strategies. Dynamics and Conflict Resolutions Conflict is a naturally build aspect of any organization where people work in group to achieve the common organizational goal. The reason behind such perception is that not all the people are alike in every matter. Accordingly, the people belonging to different backgrounds and cultures tend to have varying ideas and beliefs which can often lead to conflicting arguments apart from benefiting the organization with workforce dynamics. Thus, in order to efficiently resolve the problems between the employees and to promote healthy working environment, dynamic leaders are essential. Contextually, dynamic leaders are those who learn and practice different ways of dealing with organizational conflicts in the most profound manners. Contextually, the different ways that are applied by dynamic leaders to resolve conflicts are illustrated below: Training One of the most proactive steps taken by a dynamic leader in dealing with the conflict is training for staff members. Training programs, such as improving communication skills, holding successful one-to-one arguments, managing work place and the processes of dealing with workers are the essential components applied by the company to effectively tackle the conflict situations (Scott, 2009). Conflict Coaching Making employee learn the process of dealing one-to-one conflict can have a significant impact on decreasing the percentage of conflicts arising in an organization. In this regard, as applied by Mercedes Benz, conflict coaching programs which aim at making productive use of the conflict situations arising within the company. Evidently, it helps in ascertaining improved acceptance between the employees engaged in the conflicts, which directly benefits the company in attaining these goals efficiently (Mercedes-Benz, 2013; Scott, 2009). Recognizing Strength Promoting ways through which the strength of an employee is expected to be discovered can be implemented by dynamic leadership approaches. Accordingly, such implementation of programs and ways of identifying the strengths of employees radically facilitate in efficient conflict management as well as it promotes employees to understand strengths making the person more productive for the organization (Scott, 2009). Diversity Issues, Multiculturalism, and Individual Differences Diversity in work place is all about creating an inclusive working environment which welcomes and enables all employees to perform at their utmost capabilities in achieving the organizational goals. Diversity and inclusion strategy is considered to be one of the major strategies of Mercedes Benz in building its sustainability. The company believes that diversity in an organization can give rise to better understanding between people and valuing the different believes of their employee. The company recruits people irrespective of their backgrounds or culture, with the belief that diversity shall bring more dynamism through different ways of thinking which in turn shall be beneficial for the managerial decision making. It also participates in career fare associated with external diversity program which includes recruitment of women engineers, the National Society of black engineers, the Association of Latinos in finance and Ascend plan and Asian leaders. The main objective of Mercedes Benz behind recruiting or building a work force with multiple cultural back grounds is to have a broader idea of the need of the different customers present around the globe. It also helps Mercedes Benz to increase brand consciousness among different demographic regions (Mercedes-Benz, 2013). Conclusion With reference to the above study, it is clear that Mercedes Benz does not focus only on generating substantial revenue from its business operations, but the company is also duly committed towards offering luxury and healthy life to its employees. The company has implemented various strategies in this regard such as employees training programs and conflict coaching being committed towards maintaining a dynamic organizational culture, wherein every individual is treated equally and fairly. Correspondingly, such an initiative of the company has significantly benefitted it in the form of attaining motivated employees as well as seeking considerable business growth. References Certo, S.C. (2013). Motivating employees. Retrieved from http://mhanswersauth.mhhe.com/management/supervision/motivating-employees McLeod, S. (2013). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html Mercedes-Benz (2013). Why work at Mercedes Benz? Retrieved from http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/about_us/careers Scribd Inc. (2013). Company profile. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/53074553/Company-Profile-Mercedes-Abhishekism Scott, V. (2009). Conflict resolution at work for dummies. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Read More