Culture, Motivation, and Productivity in Value Addition - Literature review Example

Literature Review Introduction Many scholarly materials have been published regarding the present area of research.Using ASK Italian as a case study in the present paper, different literatures related to the topic under discussion are going to be reviewed (Stone, 2008) Various aspects of the topic i.e. culture, motivation and productivity have been reviewed using various scholarly works to determine how they affect value addition and management practices (Freeman, 2009). In the end, these aspects will be looked at collectively as summary on how they affect the value addition and the adoption of different managerial styles. Many of these scholars agree that employee recruitment and application of different management practices are mainly geared towards adding value to the particular business in question (Zamora 2003, p.17; Ulrich 2008, p. 21). Like any other business, ASK Italian restaurant is a business in which the managerial styles and work environment are made to be conducive purposefully to add value to the business. ASK Italian is a British casual dining restaurant chain that mainly serves Italian cuisine (food, wine and culture, to say the least) in different parts of UK (Empathica Develops 2012, p.9). ASK restaurants are situated in prime positions with each restaurant having a unique design to fit the setting (Italians got Everything 2010, p. 11). It must be noted in this regard that the setting together with the culture of the people around and the general productivity of the business affects greatly the value addition and the management practices of ASK businesses across UK. Value addition and the customer care management practices when ejected in appropriate measure into the business makes the business stand out in the crowded world of competitors (Melling, 2008). Research done by Thomas and Kerr (2004) indicated that motivation level varies depending on the different functions in the workplace. According to Heinrichs (2013), Motivation can be categorized into either intrinsic motivation as referring to those motivations coming from the value of work for an individual. Or, on the other hand, can be extrinsic motivation, which are those motivations that originate from outside work itself. Differently put these are motivations coming from the desire to obtain an outcome independent of the work itself. The various functions in the work environment may include factors like evaluation, expectation, actual performance feedback, reward, autonomy or the very nature of the work itself (Tabassi, Mahyuddin and Abu 2007, p.145). In their work, Glicken and Ben (2013, p.73) observed that the motivation of the employees of a workplace is in itself a value added to the clients. This postulation may be assertive since clientele maintenance depends largely on the friendliness and customer care attitude of the working staff in a business (Freeman, 2009). If the working personnel are not motivated in their work, their attitude will quickly register to the clients and so in a way they would be affected as they would feel unwelcomed to the business (Williams 2005, p.64). The result is obvious, a gradual decline in the productivity of the business. To add to it, Baron and Michael (2007, p.38) in their attempt to refine how motivation affects the value added and the management practices of business, redefined value added. According to the two authors, added value is an enhancement that a business enterprise or a company gives to its products or services which may be considered homogeneous to provide its potential consumers with a feature or an add-on giving it a greater sense of value than its competitors (Baron &Michael (2007, p.38-9). Motivated workers, therefore, can be considered a value added to the ASK Italian business making it a desirable dining place for customers of diverse races. The level of hospitality of the workers in the restaurant is not a coincidence but a well-coordinated management practice that have seen the ASK businesses across the UK to flourish despite the cultural diverse setting (Restaurant Review 2012). For this reason, one would be adamant to concede with Amar’s (2002, p.41) assertion that in one way or another, motivation affect in the great capacity the value addition as well as the management practice. In other words, the management must see to it that their most valuable assets- the workers - are adequately motivated for the work they do so that in their interaction with customers, the friendly and come-for-more environment is created (Lussier & John 2013, p.67). Working on the theory of work motivation, mainly work satisfaction and dissatisfaction, Holman (2005, p.91) concluded that factors such as salary, fringe benefits and working conditions can easily prevent satisfaction, however, they fail to motivate the worker. To his, motivators such as achievements, recognition, responsibility and somehow personal advancement increases satisfaction and so tend to motivate people towards a greater effort and performance. In line with this reflection, Beers (2008, p. 34) postulated that one of the most efficient ways of ensuring a conducive working environment for the workers is for the management to be always on the lookout for the factors that would bring satisfaction and fulfillment to the workers. Leonard and Raymond (2004, p.59) added that satisfying the very needs and ensuring that the workers are fulfilled is the only surest ways to ensure that customers are well and satisfactorily served. Motivation is one aspect of any business since in a way it impacts on the mental and physical human reaction capacity (Butler & Yong 2005, p. 31). Notably, a highly motivated worker or staff will have that willingness to do the job more efficiently and effectively and the result would be an increased productivity, booming revenue, cost savings and more satisfied and fulfilled employees and business owners (Woodbine 2002, p. 51). Otherwise as Williams (2005, p.65) observed low motivated individuals will tend to work slowly with little or no regard to productivity or efficiency and so the result would be the loss of money instead. Worse still is having unmotivated employees in a service industry like in our case- ASK Italian. Contrary to having good customer service as the added value of the products and services offered by the restaurant, unmotivated employee will not adequately represent the business to the public neither will they be in a position to fulfil their duties adequately and effectively (Woodbine 2002, p. 53). This bad feeling or attitude by the employees will have a great impact on the reputation of the business. The consequences of bad reputation as Holman (2005, p.95) observed in his work that once the business develops such bad reputation in their customer service, the negative blow would be far reaching and thus low productivity and sales. Many scholars have published scholarly works on the influence and effects culture has in business daily operations. Set in UK, offering Italian cuisines, ASK Italian has maintained an impeccable customer services that regardless of its different cultural setting ("OPINION 2003). In this regard we note Smith’s (2008, p. 44) assertion that to maintain such an extremely remarkable reputation, both ASK Italian managerial team and the employees, commit a lot of their efforts to provide the best care to their customers. This is also to stay afloat amidst a culturally diverse setting especially in places where cultural diversity is an extremely sensitive topic of discussion (Guo & Ont 2008, p. 63). As a countermeasure to a business like ASK which is situated in such a cultural diverse setting, an extra mile must be covered in order to lure clients from the cultural identical restaurants and so win their confidence by providing an extra ounce in the value of products offered (Grant 2003, p.49). In their research in industrial and organizational psychology, Roughton and James (2002, p. 57) observed that proper understanding of a cultural setting for business is key to its success and advancement. They concluded from their research that the management especially the human management in any organization requires an adequate understanding of the influence of both the internal and external cultural environment of the organization. The internal work culture in an organization represents the internal environment because the external environment is represented by the business culture. In other words, the external environment includes the market characteristics, nature of the business and resource(s) availability as well as the socio-political environment (for instance, power distance, paternalism) (Brett, J M 2007, p. 28). Broadly, scholars have defined culture as the standard patterns or aspects of beliefs, assumptions, values and norms that defines the behaviour of human groups which in our case are represented by work institution (Parrotta & Dario 2012, p. 45; Thomas & Kerr 2004, p. 37). As such cultural diversity calls for a difference in the management practices of business, especially when the workforce is also culturally diverse (Parrotta & Dario 2012, p. 46). Cultural diversity is one aspect that contributes to the impeccable reputation of ASK Italian restaurant since their workforce of composed of individuals from different cultural backgrounds (Restaurant Review 2012). Moreover, Mead (2005, p.77) in her study noted that among all the managerial practices, human resource management is the most vulnerable to the cultural differences and so needs proper design and appropriateness so as to include the sensitivity of the differences. Some scholars have also observed that cultural differences may cause diverse individual perception(s) and preference(s) which in a way will shape workers’ motivation, conflict and conflict management, performance appraisal, definition of goals and objectives, decision making etc. (Alon 2003, p.28; Focus on Workplace Design 2007). This, therefore, means that the management style in place must as such be inclusive of the differences not actually sufficiently satisfying each and every employee preference(s) but at least including almost everybody’s preference(s) (Debts 2008). According to economic theorists, cultural socialization of an institution influences significantly the institution’s style of governance and its managerial structure(s) which are obligated the mandate to coordinate individual’s action within the business parameters (Lawson 2013, p. 56). Given its very setting in the United Kingdom, ASK Italian cultural diversity has become a common phenomenon and so the management must resort to uniquely integrated human resource management policies as well as culturally sensitive customer service (Stone 2008, p.82). These integrated cultural policies are essential especially in addressing cross-cultural concerns and so help solve the challenge of cultural incompatibility. Cultural difference, therefore, can be assertively be regarded to have the great impact on the management practice or practices in an organization (Freeman 2009, p.47). The findings of a study by (Smith 2008, p. 98) indicated that the various management practices applicable to an organization such as ASK Italian are closely correlated with the other corporate performance metrics such as labour productivity, sales growth or increased sales productivity and the return on capital that were employed in the process. As noted earlier, improvement of management practices will lead to an increased production and the general output of the business. Again as Rummler and Alan (2011, p. 51) observed productivity of a business will in a way affect either positively or negatively the management practice in place. For instance, when the business is consistently incurring losses the management must seek to review their management style so as to identify any loopholes in the management. This can result in an adoption of a different management approach if the company or business institution is to see the path of performance once again. On the other hand, Brett (2007, p. 24) points that when a business institution is making profit the management may also seek to review their managerial practices to ensure maintain institution’s productivity. Moreover, when a business enterprise encounters a low productivity which may have resulted from low consumption rate, value added enhancement approach may be adopted so as to see to it that the products stands out in the crowded market (State of Work Environment 2013). In this regard, ASK Italian management may decide to add value to their products and services to make them more appealing to the clients and consumers, in general, and through this the business will sell it products as well as enlarge its clientele base. As such productivity, in general, will bring an affect to both the management practice as well as the value addition. Conclusion Conclusively, therefore, the cultural setting of business will affect the adoption of a particular management style that will largely embrace the cultural diversity of the environment. Again, cultural diversity will facilitate the management of a business to ensure adequate value added to the products so as to make the business enterprise stand out in the competitive market. Motivated employees will show enthusiasm in their work and through this they will act as the value added to the customers. Needless to say, a customer will prefer all the more a place where he/she is treated well and satisfactorily. So to ensure that the working staffs are adequately motivated the management must also effective change to ensure satisfaction of the employees who are the steering wheels of the business. Productivity, in itself act as the value, added and if there is low consumption of the product, the management may decide to add some value to the products. This added value will increase consumption and so the productivity will increase. This also determines the management practice in place. Assertively, therefore, culture, motivation and productivity will affect greatly the value addition as well as the management practice. Bibliography Alon, I 2003, Chinese Culture, Organizational Behavior, and International Business Management, Praeger, Westport, Conn. Amar, A. D 2002, Managing Knowledge Workers Unleashing Innovation and Productivity, Quorum Books, Westport, Conn. Baron, A & Michael A 2007, Human Capital Management Achieving Added Value through People. Kogan Page, London. Beers, C V 2008. Determinants of Innovative Behavior a Firms Internal Practices and Its External Environment. Houndmills, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, Hampshire. 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