Motivation Theories for Tata Steel - Case Study Example

Motivation theories for Tata Steel Submitted by s: Introduction A human resource of an organization typically encompasses the whole employee body of the firm and human resource management is tasked with the selection and induction of individuals who are competent, their training, facilitation and motivation so that they may perform at levels of efficiency that will make the organization successful (Williams, 1995: 166). Human resource management also provides the mechanisms that make sure that the workers remain affiliated with the organization. In regard to production, human resources are key factors as the human assets are responsible for the conversion of different resources into production resources (Paul, 2009: 178). It has a huge potential as it is the only resource that gets better with time as compared to the other resources that depreciate with time. The success of a firm is chiefly dependent on the kind of workforce as well as how this workforce performs. The human side of production has to be considered as the efficiency of the organization is dependent on the quality of association among the workers as well as their social needs which are vital. If the management choses to concentrate only on productivity or material and environmental issues while neglecting the human side of production, them the endeavors of the organization will be simply self-defecting. Motivation theories may be considered in two different views which are content and process theories where the content theory is concerned with what motivates the individuals and focuses on the needs and objectives of the person (Ahlstrom and Bruton, 2010: 209). Maslow and Herzberg all considered motivation from a content point of view (Chelladurai, 2006: 100). On the other hand, the process theory is concerned with the process of motivation and the manner in which motivation occurs. Vroom and Locke among other people considered motivation from a process point of view. The main aim of this paper is to identify how Tata motivates its employees through content and process motivation theories and the level of satisfaction of the employees. It seeks to understand the manner in which the steel company applies its functions in the form of human resource within the firm and outside. Various aspects of the company will considered so that a clearer picture may be created of these. Tata’s profile The Tata steel company was established in 1907 by Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata from that time, it has continued to be a pioneer in the integration of professional business practices with corporate citizenships initiative that are exemplary (Tiwary, 2009: 228). The steel works of the company in the India’s and Asia’s biggest integrated steel plant that is owned by the private sector (Nalini, 2011: 85). Currently, the company mainly produces flat steel, wire rods as well as bars, and is the sixth largest steel company placing it among the Fortune 500 companies. Tata steel acknowledges that the people who work for the company are the main source of its competitiveness and commits to equal employment opportunities so that it can attract the best talents that are available while making sure the workforce remains cosmopolitan. The company seeks to pursue management practices that are intended to better the life of its workers, nurture their potentials and increase their productivity. It also strives to make sure that all the processes of dealing with employees are transparent, fair and unbiased. The company can be perceived as a pioneer in its human resource policies through the years with the fundamental principle of sharing and caring as well as a sense of belonging among all the workers who are viewed as part of the Tata Steel fraternity. Motivation at Tata Steel Company Goel (2014: 86) states that being the second most geographically diversified steel producer in the world, Tata Steel employs more than eighty thousand people from all over the five continents in almost fifty nations. The company works towards its vision of becoming the pioneer in regard to respect and creation of value as well as corporate citizenship through the excellence of its workforce, innovation and overall conduct. The company has always sought to have the best human relations practices that begin from the idyllic system it uses to recruit new employees. If the right people are recruited for the job, then most of the conflicts and disputes that may come up later are avoided and this assist in increasing the intrinsic motivation and morale of the employees. The company has been recognized as a leader in regard to the introduction of different human resource practices as well as setting standards in the Indian and worldwide industry. The company came up with initiatives like leave with pay as well as the Workman’s Accident Compensation scheme which was enforced by the law in 1924 (Khandwalla, 1992: 52). It is also credited with the introduction of the eight hour working time in 1912 even before this kind of system was executed by the law in majority of the western states (Mukherjee, 2008: 50). In relation to the programs that touch on the relations of the employees, their growth as well as development, Tata steel considers people as being its greatest asset and has therefore embraced the best practices for its workers in relation to this (Gupta, 2009: 797). The company encourages trade unions and perceives them as an exceptional asset to the entire organization, thus they exist in all the Tata Steel locations. The company has also been the pioneer in regard to joint consultation in its country of origin for almost half a century where the organization and workers’ representatives consult with each other at all the levels to deal with the critical issues concerning the progress of the company, its success, productivity and welfare among other topics. Tata steel has comprehensive mechanisms to handle grievances where by all the grievances and complaints that the employees might have are dealt with through a simple and well-defined mechanism. Additionally, the company strives towards the improvement of standards in the workplace so that employee’s welfare may be enhanced. An excellent initiative on Wellness@Workplace was launched and includes health checkups as well as preventive measures so that the workers in the entire company may remain in good health (Tatasteelindia.com. 2012). So that the employees can enhance their skills, the company gives them monetary incentives if they attain high technical qualifications in their respective fields. It also offers programs that allow the employees to upgrade their skills and competences on an equal and non-discriminatory basis while giving them access to all the opportunities that will assist in this learning. Furthermore, the company has elaborate in house training facilities through the Tata Steel Management Development Center that provides all the managerial and functional training to the workers and managers at various levels. Another program that promotes the professional development of the employees is the 70:20:10 learning and development initiative where the program establishes the idea that the workers are supposed to go through training, coaching and mentoring in a manner that is systematic and allows them to grow in their careers making them gain competence for assuming bigger responsibilities (Verma, 2010: 274). In this initiative, learning and development gets seventy percent support through real life and workplace experiences, activities as well as problem solving. The twenty percent learning and development occurs being coached, mentored and guided as well as discussions with the superiors while the en percent is filled by instructions in classrooms and sessions. There is a provision that allows efficient job rotation as well as career planning of the workers to make sure they progress so that they may increase likelihood to be retained in the organizations for an increased period. With the aim of capturing the concerns of the employee and identifying the need for policy changes, the Employee Contract Programme was established in 2009. Ensuring Development and Growth of Employees, EDGE, which is a performance management system, standardizes the conduct and activities of the entire workforce and thus assists leaders in coming up with an ideal work culture, improving the performance as well as productivity and making the relationship between the superiors and their subordinates better (Tatasteelindia.com, 2012). Specifically for the female workers, Tata Steel has developed several initiatives such as SWATI, which is a women empowerment cell that aims at promoting the development of women managers and workers with the different self-development initiatives that are associated with them (Tata.com, 2012). The initiatives that have been created by Tata Steel over the years in regard to the welfare of employees as well as their motivation and well-being are numerous. This is the main reason why the people who work for Tata Steel demonstrate a higher level of motivation and emotional attachment with the company through their contribution of efforts that drive strong company performances with high revenues and profits. Recommendations for the knowledge management programme at Tata Steel In the current internet world that provides a variety of options for consumers all over the world, simple clicks of a mouse have made consumers develop an increased degree of awareness. In order to survive in this form of competitive world, organizations including Tata Steel have to create awareness, replenish it and make sure it is distributed among the entire workforce of the company so that the knowledge that has been accrued may be utilized in the pursuit of the goals of the organization. In the creation of the knowledge bases, Tata Steel should remain conscious of what may be regarded as knowledge and what is not knowledge to the company and organize, interpret and disseminate among the workforce only the knowledge that will be able to support and improve its overall performance. It is important to remember that information technology greatly assists in the management of knowledge and that the human resource is the main decider of the efficiency of knowledge management. This is because it is the human resource that is involved in the creation of knowledge, recognizing new knowledge and utilizing the knowledge for the good of the entire organization. Therefore, it is Tata Steel’s management and approach of managing the human resource along with the enabling culture that they develop in the company that will consequently determine the efficiency of its knowledge management. Conclusion Tata steel is among the best and most successful companies in both India and the world and it is acknowledged for its nurturing of talents as well as human resource practices all over the world (Fernando, 2009: 181). The employees who work for the company have a high level of satisfaction and are motivated to work at their optimum (Scullion and Collings, 2011: 121). All the workers are motivated to work together towards the collective goals of the company and as a result of the highly motivated employees of the company, the production associated with the company has always been steadily increasing and this translates to for success for the company. “Tata Steel has been a pioneer in discharging social responsibility and has made several contributions in areas such as community” (Fernando, 2009: 383). In all the sites where Tata Steel operates, new approaches to motivation are always being developed and in most of the territories, these structures have a manual approach. However, with the increased automation of various processes in the territories, the mechanisms that support its utilization will become a more commonplace occurrence. Regardless of the strategies that have been developed for use, the central goal is usually the motivation of the employees and increasing their skills so that they may be more qualified. This increases their commitment to the firm and ensures that the production of the company remains timely and efficient with goods of a dependable quality. Consequently, the company will be able to achieve the goals that it had set out to achieve as part of it mission. The company also manages its monetary as well as non-monetary approaches to motivation between all the levels of the management based on the preferences they hold. Bibliography Ahlstrom, David, and Garry D Bruton. 2010. International Management. Australia: South- Western Cengage Learning. Chelladurai, P. 2006. Human Resource Management In Sport And Recreation. 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