Job Redesign and Workplace Motivation - Term Paper Example

Job Redesign and Workplace Motivation Total Number of Words 551 Table of Contents I. Introduction ……………………………………………………… 3 II. Goal Setting System Used within the Health Care Institution 4 III. Type of Company and On-on-One Rewards ………………... 5 IV. Impact of Rewards over Employees’ Work Performance and Job Satisfaction ………………………………………………….. 6 V. Conclusion ……………………………………………………….. 8 Appendix I – Quantitative and Qualitative Survey Questionnaire ….. 9 Appendix II – Quantitative and Qualitative Survey Results ………… 10 References ……………………………………………………………….. 11 Introduction For several years, I am employed by one of the largest medical groups situated in San Joaquin Valley. During the past ___ years, I work with the health care institution as an employee who teaches childbirth education as well as the importance of car seat safety to patients who are directly referred to me by the patients’ family doctors. In line with my profession, I have a total of eight (8) staff working under my supervision. As a health educator who is specializing in childbirth education and car seat safety, constantly updating my lectures through research work is essential since it will provide the patients with up-to-date health care information. Considering the high number of pregnant women who are in need of going through the childbirth education, maximizing the work performance of my eight (8) subordinates is essential in keeping up with the quality of education I personally extend to the patients. For the purpose of this study, the researcher will discuss the type of goal setting system, performance evaluation as well as the kind of workplace rewards that is used within my department. In the process, the researcher will identify the how goals are used within the health care institution aside from the discussing the major tasks related to my responsibilities as a health educator. Eventually, the researcher will explore the type of company rewards as well as the one-on-one rewards I personally extend to my subordinates. As part of the performance evaluation, the researcher will conduct an anonymous work performance survey within my team members in order to determine their job satisfaction in relation to the type company rewards and one-on-one rewards that is given to my subordinates. Goal Setting System Used within the Health Care Institution According to Locke (2002), “values serve as strategic foundation for goal setting in the sense that goals represent the values present within the working environment.” Several theories have been developed with regards to the proper way of setting goals within an organization. One of the most famous is the SMART approach to attaining an organizational goals such that goals should be Specific, Measurable, Aggressive, Relevant and Time-bound. (Smith, 1999) Another way is the use of empirical approach as suggested by Pintrich & Maehr (1997) stating the importance of the relationship between effort, expectancy and goal attainment. Using the SMART approach, the goal of the health care institution in which I am currently employed is to provide a quality care to the patients by enhancing the current health care plans and endorsing a collaborative care model which focus on the role of nurses on disease prevention. Aiming to prevent and control chronic diseases, the health care institution extends health education to the patients including some areas within the community. With regards to my profession as a childbirth educator under the Maternal and Child Health department, the main goal is to educate the patients with proper health promotion and protection related to smoking and the use of alcohol during pregnancy; proper nutrition; disease prevention; importance of breastfeeding and childbirth techniques as well as the pre- and post-natal care. This specific goal serves as a guide to the tasks I need to deliver to each patient I personally deal with. Basically, my responsibility as the leader in providing childbirth education to the patients allows me to implement my personal choice on how I could achieve the goals I set within my team members. The freedom of choice I get with regards to self-management serves as an effective intrinsic motivation on my part. In line with setting the goal within my department, I use the same technique being used within the health care institution. Based on my experience, the use of the SMART approach is very effective in enabling me to conduct my daily responsibilities aside from the fact that it is simple to use. Type of Company and On-on-One Rewards The type of company rewards offered by any organization contributes a lot in the work performance of its employees. Traditional reward system such as compensation and promotions are slowly becoming ineffective in terms of motivating the generation X and Y employees. (Craig, March-April 1989) Material rewards such as cash incentives could even result to demotivating the employees. (Anthony, Dearden, & Bedford, 1989; Cecil Hill, Spring 1989) Basically, the main reason why ‘pay-for-performance’ concept fails to work is because in exchange with the money, the pride and job satisfaction of employees suffer. Eventhough extrinsic rewards such as increase in pay or bonus given to employees could still be effective in some cases, a more recent study shows that intrinsic rewards / motivation such as congratulating the employees for a job well done either verbally, written on a personal note, through public recognition, or implementing a celebration for success in work performance is more effective in motivating employees to increase their work performance. (Graham & Unruh, 1990) Part of the company rewards offered by the health care institution I work with includes extrinsic reward such as bonus compensation for a complete annual attendance without late and absences. They also provide a public recognition for an outstanding yearly performance. Even though the health care institution provides extrinsic rewards, they practice more intrinsic rewards in order to give employees the sense of job satisfaction and self motivation. The types of reward I personally extend to my subordinates include more of intrinsic reward such as giving praise for a good job performance. On a rare occasion, I also invite them out after office hours to maintain a good leader-and-subordinate relationship with them. Impact of Rewards over Employees’ Work Performance and Job Satisfaction In order to examine and evaluate the impact of these rewards over the work performance and job satisfaction of my subordinates, I have conducted a survey among my eight subordinates to test the effectiveness of the type of reward system the health care institution as well as the type of reward system I personally used within my department in terms of motivating the behavior of employees under my supervision. (See Appendix I – Quantitative and Qualitative Survey Questionnaire on page 9) Based on the quantitative and qualitative survey result, 75% of the respondents are satisfied with their current job whereas the 25% who are not satisfied feels that the health care institution they work for does not provide sufficient career opportunity such as work promotions aside from the fact that it does not pay enough for the work load given to the employees. The type of rewards offered by the health care institution to the employees includes: (1) cash and bonuses; (2) gift items; (3) words of praises and recognition; and (4) work-life balance option. With regards to the type of reward system offered by the health care institution to its employees, only 37.5% of the respondents feel that the type of reward system they get motivates them in terms of increasing their work performances. On the contrary, 62.5% claims that the reward system particularly the bonus reward is not attainable due to emergency cases. One respondent even revealed that he is not aware that the health care institution offers such reward to the employees. On the other hand, the leader of the team offers: (1) words of praises and recognition; (2) gift items; (3) work-life Option; and (4) social gatherings. As much as 87.5% of the respondents say that they are satisfied with the way the leader handles the team. However, 12.5% or one of the respondents is not satisfied because of the work load attached to it. The respondent also suggests that the leader should equally divide the work load among the team members in order to avoid being ‘burnt-out’ from work. With regards to the type of reward system used by the leader, 100% of the respondents claim that they are satisfied with the types of reward system being implemented by the group leader. Conclusion The type of goal setting system, performance evaluation as well as the kind of workplace rewards that is used within an organization are all similar in the sense that it all contributes to the success of a health care institution. Basically, setting a goal and being able to effectively set the goal will enable the employees to easily work towards one objective. In the absence of goal setting, it would be difficult for the team members to work efficiently since the entire group does not have a vision and mission to define the main purpose of the teamwork. Nowadays, the old traditional way of rewarding an employee is no longer the same with the type of reward system that is more effective in today’s younger generation. In the past, extrinsic rewards work well in motivating the employees to perform well at work. Today, it is the intrinsic reward that is more effective since it allows the team leader to develop a closer ties with his/her subordinates. Although cash rewards can still motivate some employees, the concept of ‘pay-for-performance’ has been tested and proven to be ineffective in terms of being able to get the employees to deliver good working performances. As evidently seen in the performance evaluation, a team leader that uses more intrinsic type of rewards could easily enable the team members to feel satisfied with their job more than the reward system offered by the health care institution. Appendix I – Quantitative and Qualitative Survey Questionnaire 1. Are you satisfied with your current job? ___ Yes ___ No; If no, why? ______ 2. Does the health care institution you work for offer a motivating reward system which is effective on increasing the work performance of the employees? ___ Yes ___ No; If no, why? ______________________________________ 3. What are the types of extrinsic reward being offered by the health care institution? ___ Cash and Bonuses ___ Shares of Corporate Stocks ___ Gift Items ___ Profit Sharing 4. What are the types of intrinsic reward being offered by the health care institution? ___ Words of Praises / Recognition ___ Development and Career Opportunities ___ Work-Life Balance Option Others: ___________________________ 5. Are you satisfied with the way your leader handles the team? ___ Yes ___ No; If no, why? _____________________________________ 6. Are you happy with the type of reward system offered to you by the leader? ___ Yes ___ No; If no, why? _____________________________________ 7. What are the types of reward system offered to you by the leader? ___ Cash Bonuses ___ Gift Items ___ Words of Praises / Recognition ___ Development and Career Opportunities ___ Work-Life Balance Option Others: ___________________________ *** Thank You! *** Appendix II – Quantitative and Qualitative Survey Results Survey Question Yes No Reason for Saying No Are you satisfied with your current job? 6 75% 2 25% I feel that the health care institution does not provide career opportunity like promotion. The pay is not enough for the work load. Does the health care institution you work for offer a motivating reward system which is effective on increasing the work performance of the employees? 3 37.5% 5 62.5% The reward system particularly the bonus is impossible to reach. It is unrealistic because emergencies are unavoidable so we do not take it seriously. I would appreciate it if the health care institution could also offer us profit sharing. Honestly, I do not feel the impact of rewards. I am not even aware that the health care institution I work with offers this kind of rewards. I don’t think the reward system is attainable. I wish the extrinsic reward is for real. Are you satisfied with the way your leader handles the team? 7 87.5% 1 12.5% I do like my job but I feel that the work load is just too much for us. The leader should divide the work load equally. Are you happy with the type of reward system offered to you by the leader? 8 100% 0 - What are the types of extrinsic reward being offered by the health care institution? 8 7 - - - 1 8 8 Cash and Bonuses Gift Items Shares of Corporate Stocks Profit Sharing What are the types of intrinsic reward being offered by the health care institution? 8 3 8 - 5 - Words of Praises / Recognition Development and Career Opportunities Work-Life Balance Option What are the types of reward system offered to you by the leader? - 8 - 8 8 8 8 - 8 - - - Cash Bonuses Words of Praises / Recognition Development and Career Opportunities Gift Items Work-Life Balance Option Social Gatherings References: Anthony, R., Dearden, J., & Bedford, N. M. (1989). Management Control Systems, 5th Edition. Irwin, Homewood, Ill.: p. 57. Cecil Hill, F. (Spring 1989). Generating Ideas That Lower Costs and Boost Productivity. National Productivity Review , 8(2):161. Craig, E. S. (March-April 1989). Capitalizing on Performance Management, Recognition, and Rewards Systems. Compensation and Benefits Review , 23. Graham, G. H., & Unruh, J. (1990). The Motivational Impact of Non-Financial Employee Appreciation Practices on Medical Technologists. Health Care Supervisor , 8(3):9 - 17. Locke, E. (2002). Setting Goals for Life and Happiness in Snyder, C.R. and Lopez, S.J. (Eds) Handbook of Positive Psychology. New York: Oxford Press. Pintrich, P., & Maehr, M. (1997). Advances in Motivation and Achievement. Vol. 10. Stamford, CT: JAI Press. Smith, D. K. (1999). Make Success Measurable: A Mindbook-Workbook for Setting Goals and Taking Action. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Read More