The Organizational Leadership and Organizational Goals - Research Paper Example

HOW TO MOTIVATE THE EMPLOYEES by goes here] Presented to [your goes here] [your goes here] s name] [due date of the paper] Introduction Before going to discuss some of the ways to motivate the employees, let us get a better understanding of what employee motivation actually is and how it relates to organizational leadership. Employee motivation means to inspire employees in order to make them achieve organizational goals. Ellis-Christensen (n.d.) states, “When employee motivation is low, businesses can have a difficult time”. Therefore, it is extremely important to increase employee motivation in order to increase their productivity. The concept of employee motivation is deeply associated with the concept of organizational leadership. Organizational leadership is the art of bringing employees together to achieve organizational goals. Excellent organizational leadership makes employees feel valued and appreciated. “An organization with excellent leadership will have employees who feel that their opinions are valued and that their work is highly important” (Roland, n.d.). When employees feel valued, they show more commitment and dedication towards their tasks ad responsibilities, which consequently increases overall organizational performance. In this paper, we will discuss how managers of a company can motivate employees at the workplace to achieve organizational goals. Ways to Increase Employee Motivation “Motivating people to do their best work, consistently, has been an enduring challenge for executives and managers” (Williams, 2010). Managers give extreme attention towards increasing employee motivation. The reason is that employee motivation not only improves employee performance but also increases overall productivity of the companies. Some other benefits, which companies gain through employee motivation, include employee commitment, resource integration, organizational development, and improvement in business processes. Employee motivation is the combination of direction of behavior, level of effort, and level of persistence (Mosley Jr., Pietri, & Mosley Sr., 2011, p. 197). Without employee motivation, companies face many setbacks, such as, poor employee performance, decreases in company’s profits and income, lack of interest, decrease in employee productivity as well as organizational productivity, poor customer service, and increase in employee absenteeism. Let us discuss some of the widely used ways that really help managers increase employee motivation. Motivation by Compensation Providing compensation to employees is one of the most effective ways to increase employee motivation. Employees like to work for such companies, which provide them with considerable rewards and bonuses. Different forms of compensation, which may include performance bonuses, salary raise, and commission, motivate a large number of employees. Managers put their efforts on designing effective compensation plans, which can help them motivate their employees while considering the limitations of the budget. Compensation and rewards can be given to employees based on their individual and group performances. The basic intent is to increase employee motivation because it is a key to a company’s success. Employees like to work for those companies, which consider their needs and demands while developing budgets. One can see the difference between the level of enthusiasm and commitment of compensated and non-compensated employees. Those employees, who are compensated in result of their performances, are more enthusiastic and show more commitment and dedication towards their tasks. On the other hand, those employees who do not get compensations and benefits that they deserve for their performasnces, show decreased commitment and dedication towards their jobs. Therefore, we can say that compensation plays an important role in increasing employee motivation. Appreciate the Employees Employees’ motivation is increased when their bosses or managers appreciate them. Appreciation injects the sense of acceptance in the minds of the employees. When a manager praises his/her employees, the employees feel valued and their level of motivation increases. Employees feel very nice and satisfied when their managers come to their desks and appreciate them for their performances. Appreciation is an expression of positive reception and approval shown by higher authorities to the subordinates. Appreciation increases confidence of the employees. Saying thanks to the employees, putting smile on the face, showing thumbs up, and recognizing them in front of peers increase motivation of the employees, which consequently makes them work hard for the company. Listening to the Employees Listening to employees also increase employee motivation. It is the responsibility of the organizational leadership to listen to all concerns of employees related to the workplace. Managers need to listen to the concerns of employees in order to make them feel valued and appreciated. Negative behavior of managers decreases employee motivation because the employees start feeling dejected at the workplace. Employees need a friendly work environment to show good performance. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the managers to create a peaceful and friendly work environment in which employees feel valued and respected by their managers. Motivation through Recognition Recognizing employees by their names is also a good way to increase employees’ motivation. Recognition acts as an effective method to increase employee motivation. Employees like to be recognized by their managers personally. “Rewards and recognition should be given as soon as possible after the desired behavior” (Sanow, 2009). Employees are motivated when they see their names in the company’s newsletters in a positive sense or when they see their names written on the company’s notice board for some achievement or for display of good performance. Managers should not overlook the performances of their employees rather they should recognize their performances in order to make them feel valued. Calling employees by their names is another way to recognize employee performance. Similarly, putting up photographs of the employees on the notice board who meet their targets also increases employee motivation. Increasing Employee Satisfaction Employee motivation is directly related to employee satisfaction. Increasing employee satisfaction with their jobs also increases employee motivation. Managers need to consider needs and demands of the employees while setting up any specific compensation plan in order to make employees satisfied with their jobs. It is a fact that when managers take care of their employees, employees take care of the company’s customers. Therefore, it is extremely important for the managers to make their employees feel satisfied with their jobs in order to improve their individual and group performances. Listening to Personal Problems Managers can also increase employee motivation by listening to their personal problems. Employee motivation increases when managers take interest in solving personal problems of the employees. Such companies show a good graph of progress where there is friendly relationship between managers and employees and where managers show concern in solving personal problems of the employees. Providing Facilities and Benefits to Employees Managers can also increase employee motivation by providing facilities and benefits to the employees. Some of the facilities and benefits, which managers can provide to their employees, include conveyance facility, health insurance, paid leaves, house rent, mobile phone credit, and gym facility. These facilities and benefits should be for all employees regardless of their race, gender, or religion. Managers can also give surprises and gifts to the employees on showing good performance. Ordering pizzas for all employees and giving gifts and cakes on birthday occasions can also be some good ways to increase employee motivation. Employees like to be praised by the managers for their good work and if managers recognize efforts of the employees, the motivation and enthusiasm levels of the employees definitely increase. No Discrimination Managers need to avoid all sorts of discrimination in order to create an excellent work environment. There should be no discrimination based on race, sex, or religion. Every employee should be given equal opportunity to excel in his or her professional career. Discrimination leads to decreased productivity because it injects the feelings of dejection and inferiority complex in the minds of the employees, which ultimately reduces their level of motivation. Therefore, managers need to give extreme attention towards elimination of the possibilities of discrimination in order to increase and maintain employee motivation. Conclusion Summing it up, it is extremely important to increase employee motivation in order to increase their productivity. It is the responsibility of the organizational leadership to bring employees together to achieve organizational goals. Without employee motivation, companies face many setbacks. Therefore, managers give extreme attention towards increasing employee motivation through different ways not only to improve employee performance but also to increase overall productivity of the companies. References Ellis-Christensen, T. (n.d.). How Do I Increase Employee Motivation?. Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-i-increase-employee-motivation.htm Mosley Jr., D., Pietri, P., & Mosley Sr., D. (2011). Supervisory Management: The Art of Inspiring, Empowering, and Developing People (8th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage learning. Roland, P. (n.d.). What Is Organizational Leadership?. Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-organizational-leadership.htm Sanow, A. (2009). 36 Proven Ways to Motivate Employees. retrieved from http://arnoldsanow.articlesbase.com/leadership-articles/36-proven-ways-to-motivate-employees-799215.html Williams, R. (2010). How to motivate employees: What managers need to know. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201002/how-motivate-employees-what-managers-need-know-0   Read More