Essentials Management Functions and Principles - Coursework Example

Essentials Management Introduction Management functions, theories and principles are undergoing drastic changes in the current world because of the changing concepts of business under globalization and liberalization. Traditional management theories have given way for new strategies and business concepts. Change is visible in every segment of the business and management at present. For example, as per the traditional belief marketing professionals have undertaken all sorts of tactics in order to get the business. But as per the current methods relationship building is accepted as the core of every business function and even the marketing people may not do anything which will destroy the relationship building process. “Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant, they is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks” (Johann Gottfried Von Herder, n.d) Motivation is accepted as the driving force behind every human action and organizational principles; whether it is traditional or new, also give much importance to motivation in a business setup. Human actions are primarily for certain goals and anything which helps them to achieve these goals will motivate them. Organizations are spending a substantial period of time in researching about the possible methods or strategies which can motivate the employees. Traditional methods like the rewards and punishments are not enough at present and the employees are thinking something beyond that because of the changing culture, social norms and life styles. The question of a generalised theory of motivation is on card for long time and many business experts are divided in their opinions about the above issue. This paper critically analyses the possibility of a generalised theory of motivation at work place. Motivation at workplace In 1966, Herzberg interviewed a number of people in different professions at different levels to find out factors that motivated them and that prevented them from achieving job satisfaction. (Biz Help 24, 1998) From the above diagram it is clear that achievement, recognition, nature of work and responsibility are the key motivating factors whereas how the business is run, supervision, work conditions and pay scale are the main areas which can demoralize or prevent the workers from achieving job satisfaction. An employee will be definitely motivated, if his achievements are recognized and complemented by the organization. For example, a worker who completes a project efficiently, economically and before the schedule should be complemented by some rewards which will boost his energy for improving his productivity further and further. On the other hand, if the organization fails to respond such outstanding piece of works will definitely prevent the employees from making a conscious effort to increase his productivity. Thus recognition plays an important role in the employee motivation. The nature of the work and the responsibility are two other factors which motivate the employees. An employee who is skilled in a particular field of work would like to do it. For example, a software professional always like a job in the software development. If the organization put this employee in the sales or administration division he will experience difficulties because of his lack of expertise in those areas. Moreover, increased responsibility through promotion and higher pay like activities also can motivate an employee positively. The poor performance of the organization or the business can negatively impact the motivation of the employees which may result in job dissatisfaction. For example, even if the workers work hard, the organization may sometimes show poor performances because of the defects of some other strategies or policies. For example, Parker Pen Company was a big business tycoon in the writing equipment manufacturing industry. But their policy to market same product with same marketing strategies all over the world in order to utilize the possibilities of globalization has backfired and they have suffered major setbacks even though their workers work hard. Such bad performances of the company can retard the performances of the employees also. Supervision, work conditions and pay structure are other factors which can create dissatisfaction among employees. Some managers are autocratic in their functioning which will never yield any employee respect and the employees may not enjoy working under such managers. Unnoticed overtime schedules, poor facilities at the workplace, lack of leaves or holidays are some other poor working conditions which can retard the employee performances. Inadequate pay scale is a major factor in the poor performances of the employees. The employees always compare their pay scales with some others in the same or different organizations who are doing similar jobs. If they feel that they are underpaid, they will be dissatisfied and their productivity can be decreased. From the above discussions it is clear that motivation is an important factor in the employee performances. But the debate over a generalized theory of motivation is still going on. Some people argue that motivation theories must be generalized across the countries especially under the current globalized environment. But some others are opposing this view because of the social and cultural differences of employees working in different organizations in different countries. Importance of generalized theory of motivation Motivation is the force that makes us do things: this is a result of our individual needs being satisfied (or met) so that we have inspiration to complete the task. These needs vary from person to person as everybody has their individual needs to motivate themselves. Depending on how motivated we are, it may further determine the effort we put into our work and therefore increase the standard of the output” (Biz Help 24, 1998) It is not necessary that a motivating factor of one employee may motivate another one. For example, some employees may perform well if they are paid well. They might not care about the other things. They will be motivated with only what they are receiving from the organization in the form of money. They may not care even if a word of appreciation has not been extended to their outstanding performances if they are able to achieve financial benefit from the company. On the other hand, some other employees may be more interested in recognitions from the organizations rather than the financial benefits. Such employees may perform well even if they were not paid well, but the managers shower praise up on their performances. Steady, secure employment, Respect for an individual, Good pay, Chance for promotion, Not having to work too hard, Feeling my job is important, Attend staff meetings, Having a flexible work schedule, Having consistency in job, Prestige, Growth potential with the company, Being able to participate in the decision making, Freedom to make decisions without approval from supervisor, Good physical working conditions, Up-to-date technology and resources, Chance to turn out quality work, Getting along well with others on the job, Opportunity to do creative and challenging work, Pensions and other fringe benefits, Knowing what is going on in the organization, Large amount of freedom on the job etc are some of the motivating factors. (Knox et al, 2002) It is not necessary that all the above factors are equally important to all the employees. Some employees may value only some of them in the above list while others value other factors in the above list. So it is difficult to formulate a generalised theory for motivation purpose. Culture and social economic backgrounds can play an important role in motivating an employee. For example, Muslim workers may like to have prayer rooms at the workplace for conducting their rituals and prayers while at work. Those who give more importance to their religious beliefs may like to have opportunity to do their rituals even at the workplace rather than anything else. For such people the motivating factor will be the permission to perform rituals. Same thing may not be valued by other workers who don’t have many beliefs in religious activities. Thus motivational factors can depend on the culture and individual beliefs as well and a generalization of motivation theories seems to be difficult. Those who are economically poor may value financial gains more than recognitions or praise words whereas those who with sound financial capabilities may value praise words and recognitions more than the money. Conclusions Motivation is an important phenomena required to derive maximum out of an employee. Motivational factors are different for different employees and hence a standardization or generalization of motivation theories seems to be difficult. Social, political, economical, cultural and communal factors can affect the employees’ motivation for a better work. Because of the dissimilarities in the above aspects and individual differences, generalization of motivational theories is difficult. Even though there are some common elements like better pay, recognition, freedom at workplace, better work environments etc in the in the motivational factors, the degrees and extent up to which these factors affect each employee may be varied and hence generalization seems to be out of question. References 1. Biz Help 24, (1998), Motivation in the Workplace, Retrieved on 22 August 2009 from http://www.bizhelp24.com/employment-and-personal-development/motivation-in-the-workplace-2.html 2. Johann Gottfried Von Herder, (n.d), Motivational Quotations, Retrieved on 22 August 2009 from http://www.inspirational-quotes.info/motivational-quotes.html 3. Knox Deborah L., Butzel Sandra S., & Butterworth-Heinemann (2002), Motivating Factors, Retrieved on 22 August 2009 from http://www.lifeworktransitions.com/exercises/part3ch3/motivating.html Read More