Personal Skill Development of Motivation - Essay Example

Personal skill analysis From my survey I found out that, motivation is instrumental in the performance of any organization. Many top performing firms motivate their employees and reap many of the benefits associated with motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2000). For instance, I found out that motivation reduces employee turnover (Ball, 2006). From the survey I found out that the employees stay long at these firms mainly because they are motivated in various ways by there managers (Lepper, Greene & Nisbett, 1973). The low workforce turnover reduced costs for recruiting and training new employees and thus their profit margins increased (Griffin, Bateman & Wayne, 1987). Although some medium performing firms also experienced low employee turnover, those who stayed longer at the firms seemed to be motivated by the way, the firms are run and how their needs are met by the firms (Kasser & Ryan, 1996). Thus, this consolidates the fact that motivation is essential in retaining talented workers and enhancing the performance of the firm (Hackman & Oldham, 1976). On the other hand, firms with little motivation of their employees end up having many of their employees being unsatisfied and complaining on how they are treated since they are not motivated by the management to work hard. This often results in mass migration of employees from such firms and reduced productivity. From the experience I noted that I can motivate most of my employees by allowing them to participate in decision making instead of imposing decisions on them (Deci & Ryan, 2000). I found out that for my firm to be top performing or to be medium performing firms I need to allow my employees to make suggestion on how to improve the quality of products and to encourage my employees to be involved in trainings. This can ensure that the quality of products of my firm is not compromised, and innovations take place. I noted that low performing firms do not carry out consultations prior to making decisions (Steers & Nardon, 2006). Thus in case my firm is performing poorly I need to evaluate how the decisions that I make as a manager reflect the goals of the employees via consultation or I just impose on them what I think is right. In line with literature, I found out that different employees are motivated differently. I found out that in order to be able to drive my firm to the top or medium performing firms, I have to be involved in setting up frameworks, which help my employees to set work related goals (Hackman & Oldham, 1976). In addition, I have to offer several trainings programs to employees to enable them adapt to the changing business environment (Scullion & Collings, 2006). I also found out that ought to be involved in constant structuring and reorganization of job and work description (Wilkinson, Orth, & Benfi, 2001). Furthermore, I realized that I can use rewards in form of job promotions and monetary benefits to motivate my best performing employees after sometimes. I also noted that different theories can be used at the same time to motivate my employees (Hackman & Oldham, 1976). Some of the theories that are used n many organisations include the Maslow hierarchy of needs, the Alderfer’s ERG theory, Herzberg’s two-factor theory and Vroom’s expectancy theory. I found out that I can use the Maslow hierarchy of needs theory to learn how to motivate employees in labour intensive jobs (Griffin, Bateman & Wayne, 1987). I noted that I can motivate these employees by offering wages that are able to meet their basic needs. However, from the experience I learnt that for me to increase productivity among such employees I have to design the jobs in a way that the harder the employee works the more he/she earns and thus they are motivated to work harder. Even though the application of this theory among other categories of employees seems to be of little use (Deci & Ryan, 2000). I also noted that I can be able to address several needs of different employees via using the Alderfer’s ERG theory rather than using the Maslow theory. Thus I can use Alderfer’s ERG theory to satisfy different needs of employees in different levels at the same time (Halepota, 2005). I also noted that I can use Herzberg’s two-factor theory (motivator hygiene theory or the dual structure theory) to motivate my employees (Deci, 1972). I realised that I must strive to ensure that the quality of supervision used, positions, wages and ranks, interpersonal relationships, safety, company policies and the working conditions are able to satisfy the needs of employees to be able to motivate them. I also found out that when I use rewards based on their achievements, I allow both personally and professionally growth and give challenging work to my employees. Moreover, leaving them to tackle such tasks independently they are able to drive the firm to prosperity (Deci & Ryan, 2000). From my experience I learned that such activities were able to satisfy my employees. Thus, when I want to attain high productivity in the firm that is under my management I need to combine high hygiene factors and high motivator factors (Hackman & Oldham, 1976). I learned that when I provide my employees with either high hygiene factors with low motivation factors or high motivation with low hygienic factors my firm is likely to be medium performing. On the other hand I found that when I do offer my employees neither high hygiene factors nor high motivational factors my firm is likely to become low performing firms (Gallagher & Einhorn, 1976). I also noted that I can use integrated Vroom’s expectancy theory in motivating my employees especially those employees who are motivated by factors such as efforts, outcome and performance. Research has shown that these kinds of employees work harder expecting to be rewarded or promoted for their increased output (Griffin, Bateman & Wayne, 1987). From the survey, I have learnt several things about motivation. I have been able to appreciate the role of motivation in the performance of firm. I have also learnt that no single theory can be used to motivate employees but instead a combination of various theories is required. I think from the findings the best way to improve motivation skills is via practicing them in addition to learning more about different ways motivating employees (Gallagher & Einhorn, 1976). Participating in discussions with experienced managers and interviewing employees are essential for improving the motivation skills. Personal skill development Objectives 1. To investigate the effect of motivating my employees Research has shown that a firm benefits a lot from motivated personnel. One of such benefits is that a firm is able to increase its profit margins since the cost of recruitment of new employees is greatly reduced because of reduced employee turnover. The quality of production is likely to increase since motivated employees are usually high performing and thus consumers of the products produced by the firm are likely to be satisfied and hence increased profits for the company. Motivation also allows innovation and invention to take place within a firm. Motivated employees also act as good ambassadors of the firm and hence the firm’s reputation improves drastically. Thus I will be assessing the effect of motivation on increasing profits of my company, improving quality of production, encouraging invention and innovation and in creating good reputation for a firm. 2. To investigate the best way that I can motivate my employees: Not all employees are motivated using the same technique. Motivation process needs to be all-inclusive for it to be effective in attaining its intended results. Thus, managers ought to participate in the motivation program. Thus, I will be investigating how I can motivate my employees to enable my firm to become a top performing company. 3. To find out the best theory that I can use to motivate my employees using questionnaire: Research has shown that the behaviour of people are influenced by unsatisfied needs with those already satisfied having no or little influence on their behaviour. These needs vary from individual to individual. Several theories have been formulated to help in understanding the behaviour of human beings. These theories are usually instrumental in informing managers on how to motivate their employees. Some of the theories that have been put forward include the Maslow hierarchy of needs, the Alderfer’s ERG theory, Herzberg’s two-factor theory and Vroom’s expectancy theory. According to Maslow hierarchy of needs theory, a person’s behaviour is influenced by unmet needs. The theory categorizes the needs in a hierarchical order. The needs are arranged in a pyramid form with basic needs at the bottom of the list, followed by safety needs, then social needs and then esteem needs with self-actualization at the tip of the pyramid. Thus, I will be seeking to find out how application of this theory can motivate my employees. Alderfer’s ERG theory is based on the Maslow hierarchical needs theory. However, it differs from Maslow theory in that the needs are categorized into three groups. These are the existence needs, the relatedness needs and the growth needs. At the lower level are existence needs, followed by relatedness needs and at the top level are growth needs. This theory also differs from the Maslow theory in that managers can seek to satisfy different needs in different levels at the same time in Alderfer’s ERG theory. I will be seeking to find out the effect of applying this theory on motivating my employees. Herzberg’s two-factor theory (motivator hygiene theory or the dual structure theory) provides an explanation on when or how motivational factors can be used in creating satisfaction and reducing dissatisfaction. According to this theory, motivational factors affect the satisfaction and psychological growth of an employee. The motivational factors under this theory include motivators and hygienic factors. Lack of hygienic factors such as quality of supervision used by employers, positions, wages and ranks, interpersonal relationships, safety, company policies and the working conditions can result in lack of motivation and dissatisfaction. Motivational factors such as employers rewarding achievements, employees having achievements after a period of time, employee growing either personally or professionally, and employee being given work that challenge their potentials results in satisfaction of employees. High productivity is achieved in companies whose managers combine high hygiene factors and high motivator factors. However, a company which provides high hygiene factors with low motivation factors has its employees complaining a little and considering their job as a source that help them pay their bills. On the other hand, companies whose management offer high motivation with low hygienic factors have its employees complaining a lot, the complain is because the challenge involved in their jobs does not match the wages paid. Finally, companies whose managers neither offer high hygiene factors nor high motivational factors has low production since employees complain a lot and are not motivated. I will be investigating how I can influence the motivation of my employees using this theory; this will be achieved using questionaries. According to Vroom’s expectancy theory, motivation results from factors such as efforts, outcome and performance instead of what is proposed by Maslow or Alderfer. Thus, the value placed on expected outcome by employees influences the effort provided by them. Thus, goals and expectation of employees influence their behaviour at work. Thus, I will be finding out what motivates workers at my firm that can help it to become a high performing firm. 4. To find out the best method to evaluate my employees that can aid in their motivation. Productivity of employees can be tracked easily using a balanced scorecard. The balanced scorecard enables a firm to balance between achievement of both short term and long term objectives of the firm. It reflects the performance of an individual instead of focusing on financial indicators. Customers perspective is one of the dimensions considered when scoring an employee on a balanced scorecard. Other perspectives considered include internal business process perspective, learning and growth perspective and financial perspective. The scorecard acts as a strategic organizational performance management and an effective communication tool. The scorecard allows the employers to evaluate the performance of their employees. I will be seeking my employees’ opinion concerning my performance using a questionnaire. Plan Interviews –semi structured interviews will be carried out by six of my employees. This will allow me to give free responses to specific questions asked by my employees concerning motivation. Interviews will enable me to talk about my perspective on the role of motivation in my company in enhancing work place relationships and the performance of my firm. Given that, interviews are simple, efficient and a practical way of obtaining information about things, which cannot be easily observed, my employees will get first hand information about the importance of motivation in my firm. The workers will be asked to fill the questionnaire. Questionnaires (Infosurv 2010, SHI People Performance, 2010, & Businessballs 2010) - structured questionnaires will also be used to obtain information concerning the role of motivation in the performance of firms. The questionnaires will be administered electronically. This will allow faster administration and will reduce the costs of data collection and analysis. Probability sampling will be used to sample six respondents from my firm. The questionnaires will enable me obtain information that cannot be found in other sources such as books, internet sources and newspapers. These questionnaires will target different levels of employees in my firm. The questions will have both closed end and open ended questions. The questionnaires will seek to find out what the employees like about my firm and what they dislike. They will also be used to find out what makes them continue working for at my firm. The employees will also be expected to give information concerning what attracted them to join my firm. The information obtained will be used to analyse the role of motivation in increasing the output of employees. The questions will also unveil how the employees perceive the products of their companies and whether they usually inform their friends about such information. This will help me to know whether the employees act as good ambassadors of their firms because of motivation. In addition the questionnaires will try find out what the employees like about their managers and what they would like there managers to change about and how this influence their output. The employees will also be asked about what motivates them and whether the management strives to provide amenities that motivate them or not. This will enable me to understand how manager motivate different levels of employees. This will also shade light on the type of theory used by managers to motivate their employees. The employees will also be asked on how they feel their performance should be evaluated. This will enable me to understand the best way that I can evaluate my employees using a balanced scorecard method. This will be helpful in shedding light on what method the employees prefer for evaluation. Observation- I will seek to observe my employees to try and find out their behaviour. In particular, I will be seeking to find out whether employees work best when left to work independently or when they are pushed to perform their duties. I will also be observing the effect of giving my employees challenging duties on their motivation, innovation and invention and the effect of carrying out routine duties. These observations will be instrumental in hypothesizing the role of motivation in innovation and invention. Goal Activity Time Evaluation To investigate the effect of motivating my employees Interviews Week 1 Evaluation will involve transcribing the recorded interviews and analysing them using grounded theory. Questionnaires Week 1 and week 2 Evaluation will involve use of Excel analyze the data collected Observation Week 1 to week 3 The data collected using observation will help in consolidating that obtained using interviews and questionnaires To investigate the best way that I can motivate my employees Interviews Week 1 Evaluation will involve transcribing the recorded interviews and analysing them using grounded theory. Questionnaires Week 1 and week 2 Evaluation will involve use of Excel analyse the data collected To find out the best theory that I can use to motivate my employees Questionnaires Week 1 and week 2 Evaluation will involve use of Excel analyse the data collected Observations Week 1 to week 3 The data collected using observation will help in consolidating that obtained using questionnaires To find out the best method to evaluate my employees that can aid in their motivation. Questionnaires Week 1 and week 2 Evaluation will involve use of Excel analyse the data collected Evaluation and reflection From my experience I leaned that my firm benefits a lot from motivated personnel. I found out that those employees who had stayed for prolonged period of time at my firm felt that they were motivated in one way or the other. This is in line with literature which states that a firm that motivates its employees has a reduced turnover. In addition I noted that some employees joined my firm on the basis that the needs of my employee of my firm are adequately addressed. From my observation participatory decision making between me and my employees tended to make my employees feel to be part of the decision made and they worked harder to achieve such set goals. From the questionnaires response, most employees seem to be motivated when they are allowed to make suggestions concerning improvement of the quality of products. In addition, almost all employees find work place trainings and other training opportunities offered at my firm to be more motivating. This is because they reported such training allow them to build on their careers and help them improve the way they perform their duties. Based on this, I can say that motivating employees by offering training opportunities are essential in increasing the output of a firm. In addition, it encourages innovation and invention since employees are able to learn new methods of doing their tasks. From the results obtained from questionnaires, different employees are motivated differently. I noted that I need to participate actively in motivating my employees for my firm to be a top or medium performing firm. In addition, I ought to be involved in setting up frameworks, which help my employees to set work related goals. Furthermore I need to offer several training opportunities to my employees to enable them adapt to the changing business environment. Moreover, I also need to be involved in constant structuring and reorganization of job and work description. Apart from this, I also have to reward my best performing employees in various ways including promotions and offering them monetary benefits. In line with various researches which have shown that the behaviour of people are influenced by unsatisfied needs with those already satisfied having no or little influence on their behaviour, I found out that this is also true in my firm. I found out that the needs vary from individual to individual. From the questionnaire, I found out that I need to employ varied combination of theories while motivating my employees. Some of the theories that I can use to motivate my employees include the Maslow hierarchy of needs, the Alderfer’s ERG theory, Herzberg’s two-factor theory and Vroom’s expectancy theory. I learned that I can use the Maslow hierarchy of needs theory to learn how to motivate employees in labour intensive jobs. As a manager I should try to ensure that low-level employees are accessible to basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, air, sleep, water and sex in order to motivate them to work hard. In addition to basic needs, I have to offer those wages that are able to meet these needs. However, I ought to design the jobs in a way that the harder the employee works the more he/she earns. This will enable me to motivate the workers to work hard and at the same time increase productivity of my firm. From my experience, I can commonly use Alderfer’s ERG theory to motivate various employees of my firm. This theory can enable me to satisfy different needs of employees in different levels at the same time. This seems to be all-inclusive theory in motivating different employees. In addition, I can integrate Herzberg’s two-factor theory (motivator hygiene theory or the dual structure theory) in other theories to motivate my employees. I ought to strive in order to ensure that the quality of supervision used, positions, wages and ranks, interpersonal relationships, safety, company policies and the working conditions are able to satisfy my employees. I also found out from my experience that employees in my firm ought to be rewarded based on their achievements and that I should allow them to grow both personally and professionally. In addition, I found out that when I give my employees work that challenges their potentials they tend to come up with innovative and inventive ways of carrying out this tasks and if they manage to solve the challenge they get satisfied and motivated even more if I reward them accordingly. From this I concluded that I have to combine high hygiene factors and high motivator factors to achieve high productivity. From my observations, I found out that some employees are motivated by factors such as efforts, outcome and performance in accordance to Vroom’s expectancy theory. These kinds of employees were found to work harder expecting to be rewarded or promoted for their increased output. I can say this experience has changed my view on motivation. I have found out that the success of a firm is highly dependent on motivated employees. Contrary to my belief that a single motivational theory can be used to motivate my workforce, I learnt that I can employ a combination of these theories to motivate my employees in various ways. The corporation from my employees in my firm was instrumental to the success of my personal skill development. Given more time, I would have used interviews to interrogate various employees concerning their views on motivation since the questionnaires used provided limited information on the issue. References Ball, D. (2006). International business: the challenge of global competition. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Publishers. Deci, E. & Ryan, M., 2000, the “what” and the “why” of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-determination of Behaviour, Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227 – 268. Deci, E., 1972. Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic reinforcement, and inequity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 22, 1, pp. 113–120. Gallagher, W. E. &Einhorn, H. J. 1976. Motivation theory and job design. Journal of Business, 49, 3, pp. 358-373 Griffin, R., Bateman, T. & Wayne, S., 1987, Objective and Social Factors as Determinants of Task Perceptions and Responses: An Integrated Perspective and Empirical Investigation, Academy of Management Journal, 30, 501-523. Hackman, R. & Oldham, G., 1976, Motivation through the Design of Work: Test of a Theory, Organizational Behaviour and Human Performance, 16, 250-279. Halepota, H. A., 2005., Motivational theories and their application in construction. Cost Engineering, 47, 3, pp. 14-18. Kasser, T. & Ryan, M., 1996, Further Examining the American Dream: Differential Correlates of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Goals, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 280-287. Komaki, J., 1982, Managerial Effectiveness: Potential Contributions of the Behavioural Approach, Journal of Organizational Behaviour Management, 3, 71-83. Lepper, M. R., Greene, D. & Nisbett, R. E., 1973. Undermining children's intrinsic interest with extrinsic rewards: A test of the over justification hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 28, 1, pp. 129-137. Scullion, H. & Collings, D. (2006). Global staffing: volume 7 of Routledge global human resource management series. London: Routledge Publishers. Steers, R. & Nardon, L. (2006). Managing in the global economy. London: M.E. Sharpe Publishers. Wilkinson, H. E., Orth, C. D., & Benfi, R. C. 2001. Motivation theories: an integrated operational model. Sam Advanced Management Journal. pp. 24-31. Infosurv. 2010. Employee motivation survey. Available at http://www.infosurv.com/employee-motivation-survey.htm [Accessed 30 October 2010] SHI People Performance. 2010. Motivation questionnaire: employee motivation report. Available at http://www.shl.com/WhatWeDo/SHLReports/Documents/SHL_Reports_pdfs/SampleEmployeeMotivationReport.pdf [Accessed 30 October 2010] Businessballs. 2010. Employee motivation: principles of improving employee motivation and empowerment. Available at http://www.businessballs.com/employeemotivation.htm [Accessed 30 October 2010] Appendix Questionnaire This is the sample of questionnaire used (Infosurv 2010, SHI People Performance, 2010, & Businessballs 2010) 1. Can I be a good manager? Employee 1 Being a manager entails numerous requirements and for the period we have worked together, I think you will be a good manager Employee 2 Definitely, you are a potential manager Employee 3 There some small insues that you are supposed to correct so that you become an effective manager Employee 4 Your question is relative Employee 5 No comment Employee 6 Try been creative to sustain your leadership capabilities 2. What are some of qualities that you seen in me? Employee 1 You know how to encourage people to accomplish tasks Employee 2 You include other members of the team views before making decisions Employee 3 You ensure goals and milestones are achieved Employee 4 You are hardworking and ensure requirements of employees are met Employee 5 You champion equality and assist us to accomplish our duties Employee 6 You bring together employees in making decisions 3. What are my weaknesses? Employee 1 You are slow in making decisions Employee 2 You are judgmental and sometimes emotional Employee 3 Sometimes you sentences and words are not clear Employee 4 You should improve on your speed Employee 5 Sometimes you irritate employees 4. What are some of the issues that I should work on or what is your advice Employee 1 You should cultivate a culture of transformative change rather than rapid change Employee 2 Motivation does not fulfil organisation goals but also encouragement Employee 3 No comment Employee 4 Encourage more of indirect rewards rather than direct rewards Employee 5 You should work on your temper Employee 6 You should be subjective and not objective 5. What type of organisations are you willing to work in? i. Top performing firms Out of the six employees interviewed, four said that top performing organization motivated them to fulfil organisational goals ii. Medium performing firms Two of the employees appreciated motivation presented by medium performing firms iii. Low performing firms All the employees said that low performing firms lacked motivation 6. Does lack of motivation increase employee turnover? Employee 1 Motivation is important in retaining employees Employee 2 The management should treat me like a human and I need the urge for direction so that I can accomplish my duties. Hence, motivation is necessary. Employee 3 Motivation usually directs employees to accomplish tasks and duties Employee 4 I am ready to change jobs if I am not motivated Employee 5 How can I work in an environment that my sweat is not appreciated? Employee 6 Appreciation and encouragement is important in ensuring an organisation succeeds 7. What motivates you? Employee 1 – money (salary) Employee 2 – appreciation and incentives Employee 3 – basic needs and appreciation of my family Employee 4 – enough free time to work with my family Employee 5 – frameworks and definite goals Employee 6 – equity and defined structures Interviews A single question was answered b six employees and their responses are indicated below: The question – Generally, can you summarise my capability to manage, lead, and ensure an organisation can operate optimally with standards specified. Response: Employee 1 Management and leader usually entail numerous requirements doubled up with personal character. Analysing these different views results in understanding the capability of an employee or manager to fulfil assigned tasks. Even though you can meet most of these requirements, some parts require ironing such as your temper. Response Employee 2 What a question! Even though I have been working here for the last two weeks, I have been able to learn a lot from you as a promising leader. I have been working for the past twenty years under different types of management strategies with its associated difficulties. Based on this background, I can rate you six out of ten: correcting some small issues results in optimisation of your capabilities. Response Employee 3 Leadership requires numerous qualities and conditions such as motivation, impartiality and equality. This means that I cannot answer your question but you may answer yourself based on the stated points. Response Employee 4 An organisation to operate optimally means that appropriate strategies and measures are in place that ensures success of the organisation. Some of the strategies that you have introduced have helped in directing the organisation to success. Response Employee 5 Continue working on the direction you are taking but champion motivation. Response Employee 6 No comment. Observations Most of the employees require motivation to succeed in their duties and obligations A high percentage of the employees are hardworking and are determined to achieve set milestones Organisation management has created a culture that champions team work based on collective decision making Responsibilities and duties frequently fluctuates meaning that each employee is given the opportunity to manage the organisations Read More