Staff Motivation - Case Study Example

Running Head: STAFF MOTIVATION Name Course Tutor Date TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................................................................3 The Motivation Concept ..............................................................................................................4 Theories of Motivation..................................................................................................................5 Maslow’s theory of motivation......................................................................................................5 Psychological needs............................................................................................................6 Safety needs.........................................................................................................................6 Belonging wants .................................................................................................................7 Self esteem needs ................................................................................................................8 Self actualisation and awareness .........................................................................................8 Alderfer’s Theory ............................................................................................................................8 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................9 References .....................................................................................................................................10 Introduction In the contemporary world of business, organisations are doing everything possible in their portfolios to maintain steady growth and sustainability. The environment has become so diversified and competitive that managers have to come up with creative and innovative ways to edge out their rivals and any upcoming competition (Shanks, 2003). Organisations have been forced to operate with leaner budgets and rising costs of doing business that has greatly affected the levels of revenues and consequently profitability. In this view, mangers and leaders in organisations are under constant pressure to go the extra mile in ensuring that organisations stay afloat in a world driven by globalisation and liberalisation. Further, the economic status in many countries has been in shambles, forcing business to operate with smaller and efficient workforces. The result of this has been increased pressure on employees to deliver high targets, given short periods of time and resources. Employers are nowadays working with workforces that are objective to organisational goals and long-term objectives. In this view, they are going to extreme extents to ensure that they only engage the best personnel the market has to offer. This has been accomplished through rigorous training programs and mentoring to shape employees towards achieving specific goals entrenched organisational vision and mission (Martin & Joomis, 2007). The competition is not only in the end products that organisation produce but also in the workforce itself. The demand for productive employees is higher in the modern word that it was two decades ago. Due to high expectations vested on employees, their motivation has become a critical issue in an effort to achieve set objectives and reach certain targets. According to Shanks, (2003) a motivated employee is a productive employee. Employee motivation has gained momentum and theorists have come up with models that managers could apply in their portfolios to yield the best out of their employees. The practicability of these studies has proven to be effective depending on organisational application and support strategies that are accompany them. In this essay one of the most applied motivational theory, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory will be discussed and evaluated on how it can be used by mangers to improve organisational performance. The concept of motivation Motivating staff in an atmosphere with pressure to achieve their potential is a complex undertaking. It takes into account human psychology which is diverse among different people. Therefore, managers have to have an understanding of their employees in a more than working relationship, in order to motivate them accordingly in regard to their personalities and aspirations in life. Research has shown that a majority of employees spend less than 50% of their time at work being productive (Buckinghum, 2005). This translates to losses to the employer. Motivation is all about making employees have the desire to work well and achieve results that they themselves can associate with. Motivation can, therefore, be defined as the process that comes from certain needs leading to certain behaviour which brings reward if it is achieved (Mak & Sockel, 2001). These rewards can either be intrinsic or extrinsic in nature. Intrinsic rewards are found in self-fulfilment and satisfaction psychologically. On the other hand, extrinsic rewards pertain to material rewards such as bonuses, increased pay and added benefits. Employees or staff in the work place can get motivation from different sources. The most valuable motivation is that that comes from within and individual. There are several external factors that can influence an individual but not even managers can force action out of a person (Shanks, 2003). Employers and managers in general provide incentives such as better working conditions, better perks, and team building activities among others (Herzberg, 2003). The act of balancing organisational goals and meeting employee requirements is a difficult one for managers. Theories of motivation In trying to understand how motivation influences personalities and performance in the work place, psychologists have studied the topic extensively and come up with theories that explain what actually motivates people. Most argue that it is more of a psychological issue, rather than a physiological one. The various theories that have been put across over time focus on the nature of motivation as a function of staff requirements, intrinsic as well as extrinsic factors(Ramlall, 2012). One such theory is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory In 1954, Maslow put across the theory that all human beings have needs which progressively increase from a low subsistence level to a higher level of self actualisation and awareness (Moran, Diefendorff, Kim, & Liu, 2012). The theory asserts that when a lower level of need on the hierarchy is satisfied, they will be motivated to by aiming higher to achieve the need in the next level. The theory groups human needs into categories that they progressively seek to satisfy in their lives. Maslow identified general and basic needs that are common across all human beings. He then presented them in the form of a pyramid representing the needs from a lower to a higher level (Hoffmann, 2007). The lowest levels in the pyramid represent deficiencies while the higher ones represent the need for growth. In the motivational perspective, employers and managers as well can improve performance of their organisations by influencing on these hierarchical needs. The needs are grouped into physiological, safety, belonging, self esteem and self awareness/actualisation. Psychological needs- This form the basic human wants that are necessary for survival. They include food, shelter and clothing. All human beings are seeking to acquire and fulfil these needs first before they engage in efforts to fulfil any other needs. In a managerial position, low level employees could be highly motivated if employers were to ensue that they were able to meet these needs. This is especially for employees with low wages in unskilled labour. In situations where the basic necessities are missing, the only motivation that people can get is through their achievement. One of the basic motivational strategies that some employers apply is provision of meals to their staff. Employers can also motivate employees by ensuring that the minimum wage bill is essential to provide the basic commodities (Martin & Joomis, 2007). Safety needs- Once physiological needs are solved, humans find themselves moving to the next level of need which is security and safety. This aspect revolves around issues such as safe homes, living environments, healthy working conditions, access to health care when needed and finances to cater for emergencies. This need seeks to keep emotional anxiety at low levels. Employees are at peace when they are guaranteed that their physical, emotional and psychological safety is safeguarded. In this aspect, employers could motivate their employees by providing a safe working environment with guaranteed job security and healthcare provisions (Nicholson, 2005). When employees are feeling safe and secure in a given job, they are motivated to repay the employers efforts through productive work. Belonging wants-Social life in the personality of human beings is very crucial in determining their behaviour and response to diverse issues. After fulfilling the safety need, human beings try to peruse love and, friendship and social support. This need is achieved through the everyday interaction with people from the family, work place and society at large. This need is only fulfilled when people feel they are socially recognised and accepted. To improve organisation performance, employers could elevate the social status in the work place by recognising individual efforts and encouraging teamwork. This way, close interaction between employees makes them acceptable amongst themselves. Employees should also have an interest in personal life such as family and friends. The belongingness earns employees their respect and recognition in society (Ali, Mahdi, & Malihe, 2012). Self-esteem and self-worth needs- When love and belongingness needs are fulfilled, individuals move higher in the pyramid to this group. This group of wants deals with issues such as personal status, recognition by others, how people regard the individual in question. This way they can foster towards taking pride at what they do. This affects how individuals feel about themselves and their levels of self esteem. Before this stage is reached, all other needs mentioned before have to be fully satisfied and fulfilled (Demirkaya, 2012). Employers should have ways of achieving previous wants in order to make employees like what they do and take pride in it in the social eyes of the community. Self actualisation and awareness- Once individuals have realised high self esteem, they seek self actualisation and awareness as the highest ranking want in the pyramid. This need entails the feeling of autonomy and the desire to be successful and ability to achieve life goals. It also seeks to fulfil personal growth both socially and career wise. This is a high level on the pyramid and even manages themselves my not have reached it dealing with employee motivation. Self actualisation entails achieving the full potential in terms of capacities and talents. Maslow observed that it is very difficult to achieve this for many people. In fact, only 1% of individuals accomplish this. If employees are at this level, employers could provide support mechanisms that would allow individuals to realise their full capacities (Jelencic, 2011). At this level, employees may rise across ranks and even become part of leadership or even ownership, beyond management. Movement up in the pyramid is referred to as satisfaction progression. It is the achievements at one level which motivates individuals to move to the next level. Manages and employers can facilitate this movement by influencing the needs. The theory is more of theoretical than practical as many individual do not follow such a system. Many individual do not see their needs in this view and hence in some contents may be unrealistic and impractical (Mak & Sockel, 2001). Alderfer’s ERG theory In 1972, Alderfer modified Maslow’s theory by stating that individuals were motivated to move upwards or downwards in the levels depending on the motivators available to them. He modified the levels in Maslow’s theory to three levels. The first level is existence, which combines the physiological and safety needs in Maslow’s theory. Secondly, he came up with the next level which he regarded to as relatedness. This describes social interactions with family, friends, employers, workmates and the whole society at large. Finally, the final stage is that of growth which basically combines issue of self esteem and self actualisation (Nohria, Groysberg, & Lee, 2008). In this theory, the ability to move from one stage to the next is dependent on the forms of motivators that employers give. There is a possibility of moving down the stages when the motivators are not appealing to employees. He further applies the principle of frustration regression where the extent of individual needs being met determine the level which individuals are at the theory is more applicable and practical as it relates better to the real world situations Conclusion As mentioned earlier, motivating employees to achieve their full potential can sometimes conflict with the aim of achieving organisational goals. Motivation is more about understanding employees and seeking to employ strategies that bring out their full productivity out of their own will. The theories in this regard try to explain the psychological relations behind motivation and how it works. Maslow’s theory forms a fundamental argument on motivation and lays a foundation towards understanding it. Other theories such as Alderfer’s seek to modify it to make it more applicable and practical in management portfolios. However, one issue remains clear, motivating staff is critical in enhancing productivity and reducing costs in a highly competitive and dynamic business environments. References Ali, S. B., Mahdi, A., & Malihe, J. (2012). The effect of employees' performance appraisal procedure on their intrinsic motivation. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2(12), 161-168. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.alpha2.latrobe.edu.au/docview/1437190941?accountid=12001 Buckinghum, M. E. (2005). What great Managers Do. Harvard Business Review , 3 (3), 70-79. Demirkaya, H. (2012). The relationship between motivational tools and job satisfaction. The Business Review, Cambridge, 20(2), 103-110. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.alpha2.latrobe.edu.au/docview/1268720264?accountid=12001 Elegido, J. M. (2013). 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