Principles of Employee Motivation - Research Paper Example

of the of the of the Employee Motivation The best way to motivate employees to achieve the necessary goals is by means of recognition. Moreover, this enables the company to realize its objectives. The manner, in which the observations of the supervisory staff, is presented to the employees has a major bearing on the way in which the latter respond. Such recognition or assessment should be continuous throughout the year (Dossenbach 14). Another measure that has been seen to improve employee performance is to conduct an informal and individual meeting with employees. This is to be done at the end of the year, and it should focus on the extent to which the goals of the company have been achieved. The employees stand to obtain a better insight into the functioning of the company, due to this initiative. Furthermore, employees obtain a better understanding of the lacunae in the performance of the company, which in turn could motivate them to seek methods for bettering the situation (Dossenbach 16). Subsequent to the evaluation of corporate performance, the employee’s achievement in realizing individual goals can be scrutinized. This task should be so conducted that the employees are made to review their individual objectives and achievements. At this juncture, the employees should be encouraged to provide suggestions for improving their deficient areas. As such, suggestions for change that emanate from the employee, will be adopted voluntarily, in addition to engendering a sense of well – being and accomplishment (Dossenbach 16). It is essential to realize that human resources management is critically dependent on the motivation of employees. The individual and collective motivation levels of employees have an overbearing and direct influence on the persistence, level and direction of their efforts. This circumstance finds substantial evidence in the fact that the best performers in the corporate sector enjoy a workforce that is highly motivated (Gilley, Gilley and Quatro 129). In fact, the functions of human resources management are based on a thorough comprehension of the theory of employee motivation. As such, any motivational theory is founded on a fundamental understanding of the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards on the motivation levels of employees (Gilley, Gilley and Quatro 129). Extrinsic rewards are basically motivational stimuli that are provided to employees as inducements for indulging in certain activities. Such rewards constitute valued consequences for completing a task in an exemplary manner. On the other hand, intrinsic rewards are motivational stimuli that are self – administered. These rewards emanate from within the employee, who experiences them as a natural corollary of completing certain tasks (Gilley, Gilley and Quatro 130). These are valued emotional states and they are experienced in the context of the job itself. Career development and job design are the chief influencers of intrinsic rewards and motivation. Some instances of intrinsic rewards are feelings of autonomy, personal development and competence (Gilley, Gilley and Quatro 130). It is only when people who are well motivated are involved, and when such individuals express no qualms in exercising discretionary effort that there is performance of a very high caliber. As determined by Hunter et al in their research study, discretionary performance, even in the context of mundane roles, resulted in a 19% increase in value added performance between the superior and typical employees (Armstrong 317). With regard to jobs involving substantial intricacy, this difference was determined to be a significant 48%. It is essential to comprehend the manner in which motivation functions, in order to motivate people. A motive, per se, is a reason for doing something. Motivation deals with the direction and strength of behavior and the factors that cause people to behave in a specific manner. Thus, motivation connotes to the goals of individuals, the manner in which people select their goals, and the various means by which people attempt to transform the behavior of others (Armstrong 317). The degree to which employees depict their commitment, creativity and energy in their jobs, constitutes employee motivation. Regardless of whether there is an expansion or contraction being experienced by the economy, it is the fundamental task of a company’s management to determine and adopt measures that motivate its employees (Darnay, Magee and Hillstrom 395). There are several theories in this area; and some of them advocate the provision of incentives to employees, in order to motivate them, whereas there are other theories that believe in involving the employees in the management process, as a means of motivating them. With regard to small business enterprises, motivating employees could pose a great problem. In such instances, the owner would have made painstaking efforts over the years to build up the business (Darnay, Magee and Hillstrom 395). Not surprisingly, such owners would find it repugnant to delegate tangible authority to their workers. However, there is great danger in adopting such an attitude, due to the fact that small business could be seriously affected on account of low employee motivation. The latter could develop apathy, complacency and demotivation, which could result in crises (Darnay, Magee and Hillstrom 395). A considerable number of employers have been subscribing to the belief that happy employees are motivated employees. To this end, these employers provide their employees with a plethora of benefits, such as health care, life insurance, profit sharing, child care facilities, subsidized meals, and company cars (Darnay, Magee and Hillstrom 396). This attitude of the employers has been contended to be erroneous, by several contemporary theorists, who maintain that the design of the job has a greater bearing on the motivation of employees, rather than the material incentives provided by the employer (Darnay, Magee and Hillstrom 396). Studies from six decades have demonstrated in unequivocal terms that the highly segmented and simplified jobs invariably resulted in employees with low output and morale. Some of the principal difficulties associated with low employee motivation are absenteeism and high employee turnover, which cause significant damage to a company (Darnay, Magee and Hillstrom 396). In order to overcome these undesirable outcomes, job initiatives were introduced in the major companies, in the 1950s. Over the years, concepts such as quality circles, teamwork and empowerment have come to the fore. Empowerment provides an employee with autonomy and the ownership of accomplishments and ideas. Quality circles provide employees with the opportunity to emphasize the significance of their accomplishments, in addition to obtaining feedback regarding the efficiency of their work (Darnay, Magee and Hillstrom 397). Behavior that is aimed at some specific objective can be termed as motivation. It transpires, whenever individuals anticipate that a particular course of action will in all probability; result in the achievement of some specific goal and the attainment of a valued reward or something that satisfies their requirement. The well – motivated possess clearly defined goals, and such people act in a manner that should make them realize those aims. It has been universally observed that the majority of the people require motivation to some extent (Armstrong, A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice 252). In addition, when there are unsatisfied needs and there is recognition of this fact, then motivation commences. Such needs result in wants or the desire to procure or attain something. The consequence is the establishment of goals that are likely to address these needs. Thereafter, a behavior pattern is selected that has the greatest likelihood of realizing that goal. When such behavior ends in success, it is repeated. On the other hand, behavior that leads to failure is discarded. This procedure of continuing with successful behavior has been termed as the law of effect (Armstrong, A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice 253). Any organization can ensure exemplary levels of motivation by providing opportunities for learning and growth, satisfying work, rewards and incentives. Works Cited Armstrong, Michael . A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 10. Kogan Page Publishers, 2006. Print. Armstrong, Michael. Armstrongs Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. London: Kogan Page, 2009. Print. Darnay, Arsen, Monique D Magee and Kevin Hillstrom. Encyclopedia of small business. Volume 1. Thomson Gale, 2007. Print. Dossenbach, Tom. "Effective employee evaluation and motivation." Wood & Wood Products 115.1 (2010): 13 – 16. Print. Gilley, Ann, et al. The Praeger Handbook of Human Resource Management. Volume 1. Westport, CT: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2009. Print. Read More