Paying for Motivation - Essay Example

Paying for Motivation Introduction There are different means for motivating a person for a certain task during the organizational change process. Every person works because he is getting something in return. This paper takes into account the ways through which pay can be linked to the present and expected value of an educational organization and how it can be adjusted at certain points in the transformation process. This paper also provides evidence for pay serving as an extrinsic motivator for employees and how positive rewards affect the motivation level of an organization. Research present on the Topic Some people also like to work because they like contributing to something which is important. People often have some personal missions which they may accomplish by working hard. People often love what they do at their job and they also like interacting with the clients. Other people just like filling their leisure hours with some sort of activity. People often like to deal with diverse problems, different challenges and changes which occur in the internal as well as external environments. Motivation is considered to be individual as well as a diverse. The personal reasons of working in an organization vary from individual to individual but the bottom line is that everyone works for money or whatever we call it e.g. compensation, remuneration, benefits, etc. Money provides shelter to people, food and clothes to individuals, allows conducting leisure activities, allows children to attend school and plan retirement. Xiang and Chang (2005) discuss the role of pay as an extrinsic motivator. The fair salary and the benefits which a company provides to its individual are considered to be an important cornerstone for every successful firm whose goal is recruiting and retaining committed employees. If the company is offering attractive salary packages to their employees, it is only then that they are allowed to work on the motivational issues which persist in the organization. If the salary package of an organization is not attractive enough then there are chances that companies may lose their valuable employees to a better paying employer. Duffy (2010) relates to the present and the expected value of the educational organization, only if it is used to increase the long term performance of the employees. They management of an educational organization should therefore come up with strategies that would result in providing a long term and substantial results for the benefits of the stakeholders. Pay may also be associated with the expected performance of the employees but it the performance of the employees is not completely influenced by pay. There are some other factors that may directly influence the present and expected value of the organization as well as the employees. A study was conducted on three groups which contained people with equal qualifications who were required to complete a single task for a freelancing website oDesk. One group was being paid $4 per hour, while other was paid $5 per hour. The third group was told that they will be working at $4 per hour; however they were also told that there is some room in the budget; therefore they will be paid a little more but the increase in salary will be a surprise for them. The performance of the three groups was evaluated for measuring the productivity at the task. The results of the first and the second group were almost same, irrespective of the fact that one was being paid more than the other. The third group, who was granted with higher surprise pay rate, exhibited 20 percent more effective results than the other two groups. The conditions given to the third group was categorized as “the quality of gift” by Malhouta. Although it was obvious to the third group that it is totally on the employer whether to grant them the additional compensation. Malhouta further explains that the wage rate of $4 and the surprise is more than $5. All the participants of the study were willing to work for the wage rate as low as $3 but they were offered a rate more than their expectations. Now, it is important to understand that how this study can be implemented on organizational level. One implementation can be that company must mention lower salaries on the job posting and increase the offering while making a hire. The company may also implement this motivating technique while distributing bonuses. They may offer more bonus than the initial expectation of the employees. There are some critics who are not in favor of using financial rewards for increasing the level of motivation in employees. Some argue that there is a natural tension that exists between extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. They also argue that financial reward may be a source of demotivation for the intrinsic reward that people get in an organization (e.g. learning, sheer curiosity, enjoyment and challenges). There are a number of experiments that have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of this argument. However there are still no effective results present which help to effectively measure that how higher pay may demotivate people. Chamorro-Premuzic (2013) conducted a study on how money serves as an en extrinsic motivator. In this study he indicates that there is very little evidence present that supports the fact which indicates that money motivates the employees, while there is enough research present to prove that money serve as a demotivation for the employees and there is also hidden cost associated with the financial rewards being offered by the firm to its employees. This doesn’t mean at all that employees may start to work for free. They do need to pay their bills and also provide for the physical needs of their families but this is a fact that as soon as the psychological needs of the people are fulfilled then the psychological benefits associated with money can be questionable to their level of performance (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2013). Marcia Daszko and Sheila Sheinberg (2013) states that although pay do not serve as an only motivational factor but at some point it may be adjusted in order to transform certain processes of the organization. As transformation is an essential process for the organizations, as it help them in creating viable future. Pay of employees must be adjusted at certain points such as when the employees get promoted to a senior position or when they employees perform extremely well, it is then the organization must recognize their effort and must adjust their pay accordingly. Pay is also considered to be a psychological symbol and the meaning of money is considered to be highly subjective. The tendency of people to worry about money varies from person to person and the reasons for people to value money also differ from one another i.e. it may be a mean of freedom and power for one whereas it can be a mean of love and security for the other. If the company really wants to motivate their employees so it is important for them to first find out that what holds value in the eye of their employees and the answer of this question may vary from individual to individual. Research also suggests that different values may be linked differently to the level of engagement. For example the goal of income is related to narcissism, pursuing power over others, etc. are considered to be less rewarding than the income goals like family support, pursuit of security and leisure time that are more effective in increasing the motivational level of individuals. Now it is time to compensate the employees based not only on their work but also on the basis of their needs and wants. Conclusion There are many more predictors present for the engagement of employees than salary alone but the management too must make sure that they keep a check that whether or the awards and the increase in pay is having a positive effect on the performance of the. Pay may work as an extrinsic motivator but there are other factors as well that may serve as an intrinsic source of motivation and are considered to be more effective. Pay does have an effective impact on the motivation level of employees but only to some extent and it can be linked in increasing the present and expected value of the educational organizations in a positive way. References Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2013). Does Money Really Affect Motivation? A Review of the Research`. Retrieved Febuary 26, 2013, from HBR Blog Network: http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/04/does-money-really-affect-motiv/ Duffy, F. M. (2010). Dream, Create, Sustain. Mastering the Art and Science of transforming School System. Rowman & Littleman Education. Retrieved Febuary 26, 2013, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/06/money-motivation-pay-leadership-managing-employees.html Marcia Daszko and Sheila Sheinberg. (2013). SURVIVAL IS OPTIONAL: Only Leaders With New Knowledge Can Lead the Transformation. Xiang, P., & Chen, A. (2005). Interactive Impact of Intrinsic Motivators. Journal of teaching in Physical Education, 179-197. Retrieved Febuary 26, 2014, from About: http://humanresources.about.com/od/rewardrecognition/a/needs_work.htm Read More