Motivation in Business - Term Paper Example

Motivation Submitted by: XXXXXXXX Number: XXXXXXX of XXXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXX Submission: XX – XX – 2010 Number of Words: XXXX (Excluding Bibliography) Essay Assessment Criteria and Feedback Form (35%) : Student Name: Please attach this sheet to your assignment. CRITERIA MARKS Introduction (2 marks) (approx 150 words) Succinct introduction that outlines the main focus of your essay /2 Part 1: Literature Review (10 marks) (approx 500 words) Relevant literature (8 refereed journal articles) on personality or motivation Depth of analysis Key issues covered /10 Part 2: Results of self-assessments (10 marks) (approx 500 words) Presentation of your relevant test results (personality or motivation) Your self-insights in terms of what this means for your work behaviour/experiences Link these insights to literature /10 Part 3: Your answer to the case study (6 marks) (approx 350 words) Give your answer to the questions Back you answers with the literature on personality or motivation and workplace behaviour /6 Conclusion (2 marks) (approx 100 words) /2 Referencing (3 marks) Appropriate use of referencing (For correct referencing methods refer to the course web site) /3 Clarity, Presentation, Format and Proofreading (2 marks) Logical presentation of ideas Consistent formatting Grammar, spelling and punctuation /2 Comments: Total Mark:_______/ 35 Introduction: Motivation plays an important role not only in businesses but also in the daily lives. The level of motivation of a person determines the level of input and work that the individual puts into the task at hand. This paper aims at discussing the various literatures of motivation that have been set down over the years. The paper also includes self assessment tests which have been taken to identify the personal level of motivation and things that motivate the author. The paper also aims at answering the questions that relate to the case study of “What Motivates Matt?”. The main aim of the paper is to identify and discuss various theories relating motivation and to also put the theories into action. Part I: Literature Review: Motivation is generally explored on the basis of three main aspects; a) Goals, b) Decisions, and c) Influence (Brooks, 2009). Two main theories will be discussed here as there is clearly relevance on the topic of discussion. These theories are, Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory and ERG Theory (Mullins, 2007). Maslow developed a theory and identifies the following as the nine needs of people. He explains these are Biological requirements, Safety needs, Affiliation needs, Esteem needs, Knowing and Understanding, Aesthetic needs, Transcendence, Freedom of enquiry and expression, and Self – actualization needs (Maslow, 1998). The theory clearly states that people move in the order that the stages have been stated and once a person achieves one stage they are motivated to work towards the next stage and so on. This theory is useful not only in terms of employees of a company but also in the context of each of us as individuals (Petri & Govern, 2003). Maslow has not expected this theory to be rigid and the hierarchy to be a rigid form of the human development. There have also been numerous other theories that have been developed over the years which include, Herzberg’s two factor theory, Vroom’s Expectancy Theory, Equity Theory, Mc Gregor’s X & Y theory and Ouchi’s Theory Z(Robbins & Judge, 2008, Slocum & Hellriegel, 2006). Employee needs, play a very important role in the levels of motivation and the output levels that the employees show. It is very important for the management to concentrate on the needs of not only the business model but also on the employees within the company. It is very important that the management understand the needs of the employees and try to ensure these needs are met to acceptable levels (Robbins & Judge, 2008). This also has a major impact on the business as a whole as it provides the company with indirect better performance. In short higher levels of satisfied needs equates to higher levels of performance, which in turn equates to higher revenue for the company (Ricky W Griffin, 2010). It is also important to note that very few people tend to be self motivated and it is for the managers to use various factors like the intrinsic and extrinsic factors to ensure better overall motivation levels as well as overall improved performance of the individuals as well (Slocum & Hellriegel, 2006). The theories, sound very descriptive in nature are very impactful when applied within the companies and on the employees of a company (Marchington & Wilkinson, 2002). Different people are at different levels of needs and hence each person needs to be treated differently and in more appropriate manners to ensure higher levels of motivation among the people and to also lead to bettered overall performance. A manager can be considered to be successful in motivating the employees, if he/she is able to understand the needs of the employees and keep a balance within the teams (Marchington & Wilkinson, 2002). Part II: Self – Assessments: The self assessment tests were taken and the results have been attached in the Appendices. Before moving into the analysis of the results, it is essential to get a brief overview of each of the results. I.C.1: What motivates me? This test was based on the Existence, Relatedness and Growth theory. Here my scores were as follows: a. Existence Needs – 17 b. Relatedness Needs– 10 c. Growth Needs - 15 Analysis: Based on the above score it is evident that my main needs are existence needs. The results clearly indicate that the main focus for me is the needs of safety and physiological. I fall into the lowest category based on these needs however, this is an accurate rating, simply because ensuring a safe environment and meeting the physiological needs form a strong foundation before moving into the higher needs of self actualization or external esteem needs. For me, it is essential, to realize I am safe and stable rather than simply having a high need for external esteem. I.C.2: What are my Dominant Needs? The second test was to test my dominant needs. Here I was asked a total of twenty questions and these were to mainly identify my dominant needs. The results of the test are as follows: a) Achievement needs: 13 b) Affiliation needs: 13 c) Autonomy needs: 14 d) Power needs: 14 Analysis: Based on the above test it is evident that I give almost equal importance to all of the above. Although the results show power and autonomy to be higher than the achievement and affiliation needs, it is evident that these are not much higher and can be classified to be under the same level. I see a basic balance in my needs. I don’t find myself giving more importance to one aspect than the other and not only based on the results but also in real, there is a well struck balance between all these needs. Group Activity: What do you want from a job – Motivators or Hygiene? The last self assessment was on the factors that affect my level of motivation. Here the Herzberg’s two factor theory has been used. The results of the test were as follows: a) Motivational factors – 16 b) Hygiene factors – 18 Analysis: According to Marchington and Wilkinson (2002) “Herzberg found in his research that satisfaction and dissatisfaction were not necessarily related, because a person did not feel satisfied about a particular aspect of his or her work it did not mean that he or she was dissatisfied. Equally, if workers did not feel dissatisfied, this not means automatic satisfaction”. Herzberg believed that “unless hygiene factors are satisfied, motivators are of little use” (Marchington & Wilkinson, 2002). It is evident that there is quite a balance that has been struck here between the two factors. Also, the results clearly show I have higher needs in terms of my hygiene factor which in fact allows me to be more clearly motivated as well. Part III: Case Study: Matt is a very different kind of person and unlike his coworker he is not too inclined towards money and fame. Considering Matt, it is essential to note that he to some extent follows the equity theory. John Stacy Adams in 1962 argued that individuals are motivated to act differently in situations where it is felt as unfair or inequitable. In short the theory aims at understanding the satisfaction based on social comparisons (Ricky W Griffin, 2010). He suggested that a comparison of one employee’s rewards and contributions are made with that of other employees. Here in the case of Matt, the motivation is quite low as he is being compared however the benefits and hard work is being ignored (Slocum & Hellriegel, 2006). Tolman argues that the behavior of individual is based on the expectations of the behavior leading to the achievement of the expected outcomes (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2005). In the case of Matt, the expectations are not many and the only aim is to be recognized for the work he does. However this has not been happening in the company. In order to ensure that Matt is equally motivated a few steps can be taken. It is important to note that Matt is not focused on money and monetary gains instead he is more focused on what he can bring to the company in terms of ethical sales and good customer experience (Aksel, 2007). Following the expectancy theory, it is evident that Peter can motivate him by providing assessments where the final outcome is checked in terms of the customer feedback and customer satisfaction rather than in terms of the sales and revenues (Smith & Wheeler, 2002). Also, no form of favoritism is also essential to ensure that the motivation level of Matt is high and his efforts are recognized and duly acknowledged (Ricky W Griffin, 2010). Acknowledging a person’s efforts allows in better performance and higher motivation of the individual as well. Hence as the manager, it is the duty to ensure that the employee efforts are recognized and duly acknowledged (Schermerhorn, Hunt, & Osborn, 2005). Conclusions: In conclusion, it is clear that motivation plays a very important role in the overall performance of every individual. The various theories of motivation that have been developed in the past are equally important and each of these displays different areas that motivate individuals. It is essential to note that understanding the factors that motivate an individual is essential as it helps in better overall performance of the person as well. It is essential to not the factors and provides the individual with the needed motivation to work harder. Bibliography Aksel, S. (2007). Minimizing Churn and Building Customer Profitability. Customer Retention Forum . Marchington, M., & Wilkinson, A. (2002). People Management and Development (People & organizations). Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. Petri, H. L., & Govern, J. M. (2003). Motivation: Theory, Research, and Applications. Wadsworth Publishing. Ricky W Griffin, G. M. (2010). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. Mason: South Western. Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2008). Organizational Behavior (13th Edition). Prentice Hall. Schermerhorn, J., Hunt, J. G., & Osborn, R. N. (2005). Power and politics organizational behavior. Chapter 12: Power and Politics. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Slocum, J. W., & Hellriegel, D. (2006). Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour. USA: Thomson South-Western. Smith, S., & Wheeler, J. (2002). Managing the Customer Experience: Turning customers into advocates. FT Press. Appendices IC1 What Motivates Me? IC 2: What are my Dominant Needs? Group Activity Read More