Managing Performance of Individuals in SAS Institute - Case Study Example

The understanding of issues related to management and its role in enhancing performance in an organisation is very important particularly during the contemporary period where it can be noted that the business environment is dynamic and it is constantly changing hence the need for management to keep pace with these changes in order to ensure that the workers are also constantly motivated. The essay therefore, seeks to outline how the management can enhance optimal performance of SAS Institution through outlining various theories of motivation that are related to the case study. Reward strategies employed in the given case study will also be outlined so as to show their effectiveness in enhancing employee performance. The essay starts by giving a brief description of the organisation followed by an outline of the definition of motivation and the reward strategy used. This would be followed by discussion of the relevant motivation theory as well as management process and organisational issues related to each concept. SAS Institute was established in 1976 and is the largest privately owned software company in the world and it employs more than 10,000 workers. The organisation has always strived to ensure that its employees enjoy their work and are motivated by the work they do and this can be attributed to its outstanding performance where it has witnessed a steady increase in its revenue for 29 years in a row. Therefore, in order to gain a clear understanding of the issues related to the concept of motivation in the case study of SAS, it is imperative to begin by defining the term. Motivation is the enthusiasm employees have for their jobs and the factors which influence how hard they may try to do the job. An employee must be encouraged, persuaded or inspired to do the job (Kleynhans et al 2006). There are various factors which can motivate the employees to do their best in their work and the most notable motivator to the employee is financial reward. On the other hand, a reward can be simply defined as a token of appreciation which is in the form of a financial reward for outstanding performance in particular circumstances by the employees. Whilst there are various motivation theories attributed to different levels of motivation of the employees, it can be noted that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, goal setting and Herzberg’s two factor theories of motivation are more suitable in giving a critical analysis of theories of motivation related to the SAS Institution’s case study. Someone who is motivated has high chances of being productive since he or she would have a sense of belonging to the organisation which would motivate him or her to put maximum effort at work knowing that they would get a reward. An individual who is motivated as well would feel that he is regarded as useful to the organisation hence productive. A disgruntled worker can never be productive since there would be no incentive for working hard. Thus, a critical reading of the given case study shows that the organisation’s triumph can be attributed to the needs, goal setting as well as the two factor theories. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is perhaps the most appealing theory for HR professionals. Thus, according to Maslow, when a need occurs, motivational tension develops and is directed towards satisfaction of that need, (cited in Carrell 1995). The hierarchy comprises of five levels of needs namely physiological, security, social, self esteem and self actualisation needs. These needs build from grassroots levels up to the point where some skilled workers feel that they should be rewarded on the basis of their importance, coupled with their performance to the company. As far as company growth is concerned, there is need for the workers to feel that they are part of it through engaging them to participate directly especially in decisions that affect its operations. The ability to create a sense of belonging among the employees is very important as far as growth of the company is concerned since they are the drivers who determine the pace at which the organisation grows. In the case of SAS, it can be noted that the organisation strives to fulfil the financial needs of the workers by offering them fair and equitable financial rewards which are linked to the employees’ performance. The organisation also emphasises on fair treatment in numerous ways such as private offices for the employees. The company also cares for the needs of the employees’ families both on and off the job and the employees have other various benefits that are meant to fulfil their primary and secondary needs. As can be noted from the cases study, the company strives to fulfil the lower level needs such as physiological, security as well as social needs through specially designed pay benefits. Higher level needs are also given to the senior level management workers where they are given the opportunity to be involved in the developing process of the products as this would give them a sense of belonging to the organisation where they would feel that they are also making meaningful contributions hence the need for them to strive to perform for the betterment and continual growth of the organisation. The goal setting theory on the other hand posits that job performance can be increased when the individuals are given measurable goals rather than ordinary performance standards (Carrel 1995). Goal setting is seen as a challenge that motivates the employee to improve performance. In this case, it seems that the employees are given opportunities to set goals in their operations in the organisation. In this case, it seems that the most appropriate way of goal setting at SAS is achieved through management by objectives (MBO). According to Carrell (1995) there ought to be objectives set for influential workers so that they pull their resources towards fulfilling those objectives set. Any organisation should have drivers and the skilled personnel are tasked with steering such objectives in to motion. It can be seen in the case study that Goodnight has been committed to motivating that workers to develop creative and high quality products that are responsive to the customer’s current and future needs. By virtue of being given the autonomy to set their own goals, employees are greatly motivated to accomplish the objectives they will set since they will have a strong sense of belonging to SAS Institute. Job enrichment is another strategy employed by SAS Institute as a way of motivating the employees. According to Carrell (1995), the worker should decide how the job is done, planned, controlled and even make decisions concerning the whole process. At the end of the day, this stance can motivate the employees by making the job more exciting and challenging. Skilled workers are normally motivated by seeing the fruits of their contributions and efforts than just performing routine tasks though handsomely remunerated. Thus, it can be noted that the organisation thrives on giving the skilled workers the ability to make decisions as well as influencing the decision making process as a way of creating a sense of belonging to the company which in turn highly motivates them. Another equally interesting theory that can be attributed to the success of SAS institute is Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory of motivation. He identified factors which cause dissatisfaction as hygiene and those which cause satisfaction as motivators. However, he argues that while poor working conditions result in dissatisfaction, ideal working conditions do not necessarily lead to motivation or satisfaction (Armstrong 1999). Thus, pay increases alone may not be adequate to motivate the employees. As can be noted in the case study, the management at SAS is not primarily concerned with motivating the employees with financial rewards alone but with other incentives such as empowering the workers to make decisions at their work. Motivators in this case reflect the content of the job, and they reflect that there is no individual who can give the other person satisfaction that is related with accomplishing a challenging job but it is self derived. They are concerned with a sense of responsibility, achievement and recognition among others. Basically, it can be noted that the success story of SAS Institute’s ability to motivate their employees is to a larger extent influenced by empowering them to be able to fulfil the need of having responsibility tasks to perform such as decision making that creates a sense of belonging thereby motivating them than material or financial gains. By virtue of enlarging the list of job tasks to be performed by employees at SAS, this step has greatly contributed positively for the organisation as far as the need to avert boredom associated with performing only one task repeatedly is concerned. At least an employee feels a sense of belonging to the company as a result of the responsibility he has which can motivate him than the feeling of just being a productive ‘tool’ whose efforts are not duly recognised. There is need to create a sense of belonging to the organisation that is vested in the employees which is one major contributor of success to SAS Institute. A clear distinction between traditional and contemporary reward system is based on the notion that traditional rewards are primarily concerned with offering a reward to an employee such as bonus after notable achievement owing to hard performance. On the other hand, the contemporary reward system is characterised by a high demand situation where special rewards are offered to attract the applicants with the right requirements, skills and abilities in order to waiver competition from other organisations (Kleynhans 2006). In this particular case, there may be other organisations which may also be interested in attracting the skilled workers already employed at SAS institute hence the need to offer special rewards for them to stay in the company. It can be noted that SAS institute uses the contemporary reward strategy which is varied instead of relying on the traditional strategy which is particularly focused on issues related to pay and bonus. It can be noted that the workers at SAS Institute are also offered other additional benefits which include access to technology, a 35 hour working week, two low cost child care facilities as well as giving the employees the opportunities to enjoy the company cafeteria. These benefits are not a result of direct positive performance by the individual employees but are put in place as continual benefits that are meant to constantly motivate the workers every time they are working. In this case, it can be seen that the reward is not only given for notable performance but is put in place for the general good of the organisation. So as to attract the employees to remain committed to work for the organisation. Over and above, it can be concluded that the success story of SAS Institute is mainly attributed to its ability to motivate its workers to continue working for the organisation. In brief, motivation is the enthusiasm the workers have for their work to continue working for a particular organisation. After a critical reading of the given case study, it can be noted that whilst there are various motivation theories attributed to different levels of motivation of the employees, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, goal setting and Herzberg’s two factor theories of motivation are more suitable in giving a critical analysis of theories of motivation related to the SAS Institution’s case study. It has also been seen that SA institute primarily uses the contemporary reward strategy which is meant to give on going incentives to the workers rather than focusing of pay and benefits alone. Someone who is motivated has high chances of being productive since he or she would have a sense of belonging to the organisation which would motivate him or her to put maximum effort at work knowing that they would get a reward. Bibliography Armstrong M. 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