Employee Motivation - Coursework Example

Employee Motivation Introduction While it is true that motivation is an internal and personal process, organizations can actually churn up such internal process for their own advantage. Not that the organization only benefits from it but it is a win-win proposition for both the individual’s and business’ well-being. Any organization which depends much on manpower knows several schemes, complicated and simple to motivate their employees. This paper presents how a simple trick concretely affects the whole organizational behavior and the business generally.

Aid of a Brief ContactIn the article, “The Open Secret to Motivating Employees,” university management professor Adam Grant proposes an easy strategy to motivating employees for a healthy organizational framework: a brief contact with the beneficiary. With case studies as backbones, Grant proves to a certain extent how such kind of approach boosts employee productivity to a notch higher than usual. In one study in a call center, an agent was made to interact with a recipient of a school fundraising program (“Open Secret,” 2010).

The agent was able to generate twice as much as sales. In another study at a community recreation center, the certain group of lifeguards who were liberated of their abilities to save lives have worked up to several more hours than the group who only learned about the personal rewards of the job (“Open Secret,” 2010). In these experiments, Grant proposes the need for a social-emotional link between the end-users and the workers which could actually titillate employee motivation at its peak.

With a consistently motivated employee, it is no-brainer that a business can run its course into the industry for a long time. Furthermore, he also proposes a customer-driven approach not merely for the benefit of the customers but also to mold the interpersonal relations of the employee which any individual needs. Grant’s proposition is a psychological assertion in the same way the larger context of ‘motivation’ itself stands on a psychological platform. Psychologist Frederick Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory has been putting important stress on the effect of employee motivation to the overall performance of an organization.

In this model, the motivators refer to achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, growth, and advancement (“Herzberg’s,” n.d.). By adding awareness about who benefits from their jobs, employees will learn the gravity of their social responsibility, the extent of their achievement, and to feel the nature of their work. Arbitrary effects like these results from dynamic interpersonal relations and/or personal discretions. When employees are emotionally and socially stimulated, chances are they would exert more than their usual efforts to perform tasks.

ConclusionEven the most minimal personal contact with beneficiaries could stimulate employee behaviors. This added awareness may increase the level of performance and attitude towards work. Grant’s proposition however, may not be true to all organizations. Yet still, it is but wise to do something about that lackadaisical worker. His simple idea may just do the trick. ReferencesHerzbergs motivators and hygiene factors: Learn how to motivate your team. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2010, from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/ newTMM_74.

htmThe open secret to motivating employees: Start by putting a face to a name. (Feb. 18, 2010). Retrieved July 21, 2010, from http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/18/boost-employee-morale-entrepreneurs-management-wharton_3.html