Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation - Essay Example

Student’s name) (Course code+name) (Professor’s name) (University name) Introduction There have been arguments and counter arguments that have tried to enquire reasons why managers ought to spend time motivating their employees. The answers have been cycling around the need to extend the existence of companies or organizations operations and culture. The need for rush to motivate employees is that companies or organizations are made of employees and if these people are not given commitment within their places of work, there will be lack of incentive to excel at their work. While motivation has been documented to be essentially significant, a majority of human resources professional appear to concur that employees who are expected to prosper and promote the performance of an institution often mention importance of cash or pay at a given period of time (Hymowitz & Murray 2004). While this stands to be one dimension of the issue, studies such as Shulman (2003) suggests that opposite is actually true. This study reviews what people say and actually do as far as the use of money and other financial rewards form basis for worker motivation. That is, the importances of monetary rewards are not true measures of actual decisions employee makes regarding key institutional issues. The multi-dimensional approach of worker motivation in relation to monetary rewards and organizational effectiveness has seen contemporary scholars mention theories such as Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and McClelland’s theory of achievement, power, and affiliation needs (Cameron & Pierce 2002; Herzberg 2000). The need to incorporate such theories in understanding significance of money and other financial rewards while motivating employees has been elicited by the fact that fundamental way to inspire employees and maintain the relationship between the company and employees is to attach financial and monetary incentives among other factors---meaning that even though money is an important way to act in such a role, it is neither the only way, nor the fundamental method. This research therefore incorporates such theories by also comparing other motivating factors to ascertain the extent money and other financial rewards impact employees. In so doing it will also explore benefits and challenges money and other financial rewards have employees. In order to underscore the above statement, there are key terms and elements that need to be understood so as to also underpin the argument within its context. To begin with is motivation. Just like the argument, motivation is a multifaceted term that can only befit certain contextual argument. Within this context, motivation is a set of inherent or organization-elicited factors that tend to satisfy diverse demands of employees within a working environment (Adams 2000). In a separate research, Staw et al. (2012) agree with the above definition adding that such factors will motivate if only they are able to instigate or stimulate the worker to achieve personal and organizational growth and objectives. With relation to organization, Ray Williams, an author with Pyschology Today explain motivation as predisposition one has to behave in a targeted or purposeful manner which also necessitate achievement of specific unmet needs and such pushes individual to achieve personal and organizational objectives (Dewhurst et al. 2012). This argument concur with earlier researches such as the one by Champagne and McAfee (1989) where they argued, “If employees believe that a given behavior will result in a desired outcome such as a pay increase, they will be motivated to work harder” (p. 59). Another important term that can also help understands Champagne and McAfee assertions are the motivational theories. According to Latham (2012) motivational theories are both extrinsic and intrinsic (intrinsic is the inborn factors that motivate while extrinsic are the external factors) factors that elicit a certain desire to achieve a given goal. The connection between these theories and the topic is that they illustrate how human resource managers can use money or financial rewards to influence their employees to self motivate thus producing the best work possible. Research documenting importance of money and other financial rewards as a key motivator continue to be myriad. Actually, there is strong evidence from researches such as Kehoe (2007) that money and other financial rewards are a powerful---perhaps the most powerful potential motivator of performance. The most convincing theoretical explanation on how money and other financial rewards build employment relationship can be used effectively in motivating employees is that such rewards make employees obtain other desirables in life. For instance, in addition to what has been documented by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, higher order needs such as modern house and cars can only be obtained when employees are motivated financially. In relationship to this argument, Career Vision carried out extensive research on Job Satisfaction Statistics and found that among other possible reward alternatives, 40% of the employees interviewed showed strong preference for money and other financial rewards as such can pave way for social status, good education for family members and opportunity for early retirement (Stewart, 2006). This argument conforms to recent case build by sociologists that relative wealth from organizations is a hard-wired aspect in human nature and should not be delinked from workers (Ramlall, 2012). Other schools of thought argue that such rewards are necessary for the continuity of organizational culture (Herzberg 2000; Adams 2000). That is, human resource managers would like to retain exceptional talents to avoid culture of the organization as well as flow of workforce getting eroded. Therefore, the best way to resist temptations of getting the talents lured by incentives from other competing companies is to make money and other financial rewards necessary. This also applies to organizations willing to attract better skilled employees and higher working performance so as to achieve effective and instant organisational goals. This is the reason why Skinner finds reinforcement to be essential as workers will always tend to behave depending on the consequences they experience as a result of a behavior. In as much, researches are not short of problems associated with introducing such rewards. For instance, Kehoe (2007) argues that financial rewards only generate short-lived boost of energy which can have damaging and unplanned consequences. Ramlall (2012) cites the recent economic crisis as a case study of such consequences. A recent survey from McKinsey Quarterly underscores the problem caused by monetary rewards (Dewhurst 2012). In this article, McKinsey rates monetary rewards fourth after leadership attention, praise from immediate managers and a chance to lead projects or task forces because organizations focusing only on monetary rewards may suffer especially with the declining corporate revenues, increasing scrutiny by the regulators and sagging stock markets. Kehoe (2007) also argue that organizations that have developed cultures such as timely response, ‘let us have a talk over that’, fear, fair and balanced feedback tend to motivate their workers more than organization embarking on money. This is the reason why the Skinner’s reinforcement theory explains that financial incentives only bring change(s) to organizations if such incentives make employees meet their needs. That is, the binding force from money and other financial rewards does not give employees the cohesive force to stand by the company. Conclusion In emphasizing the significance and delimits of money or financial rewards, the research has talked about a number of issues. Firstly, while money or financial rewards form integral part of an organization that intends to motivate and retain best talents, this is not the only option available as the research finds factors such as Maslow and Herzeberg’s ‘interesting work and participation in decision making’ as equally essential elements. Secondly, this research discovers that building of motivation (money, financial or non financial rewards) should not be left in the hands of human resources departments. Motivation is largely a line management responsibility that calls for participation and corporations of different stakeholders in an organization especially when building intrinsic motivation and engaging workers into management. There are also interesting findings related with professional qualifications of workers. This research can conclude, from factors eliciting motivation that in order for money and or financial remunerations be an important factor, there has to be variability in such rewards and these must be pegged on professional qualification. To conceptualise this idea, take a consideration of an applicant’s job choice decision. Taken to the extreme, the person has a dilemma of several job alternatives, all at the same money and or financial remunerations. This person would indeed find that salary is not a key factor. On the other hand, employees in the same job at the same company receiving merits and honour will conclude that financial rewards are not necessary. Lastly, this research finds that in light of the contemporary predominant advice that have been suggesting that employers reduce the relationship existing between money or financial rewards and work performance, such notion misleads since most performing or sought-after workers do not wish to work in organization where money and performance do not differentiate them. While the research has documented findings on benefits and problems associated with money and other financial rewards and the relationship such hold with employee motivation, there seems to be other benefits and problems of the motivation that are inherent among employees and such has not been captured by literatures reviewed. To begin with, most organizations have supervisors who are largely evaluated on the basis of how best or well their group as a whole performs. Therefore motivation is the best skill such supervisors can acquire. Money or financial rewards do not work with such groups. Instead, flextime where the supervisor gives employees some opportunity in choosing which eight hours a day or which 40 hours a week can best suit their schedule. That is, workers tend to be motivated to seek results that are valuable to their own ambitions and such help them achieve their desired goals. On the other hand, it needs to be noted that companies focusing on monetary rewards do not give workers opportunity to participate in making suggestions and essential decisions regarding how they should improve their incentives. In as much, this research brings the belief that giving monetary rewards is also essential for excellence in work place performance. The simple argument is that one has to be rewarded in the soul and wallet. That is, money is not always enough but plaque is not enough either. To conceptualise or support these assertions, empirical evidences presented together with current working environment in most organisations show some consistencies with theories highlighted as well as motivational views from CEO Jack Welch---renowned motivational speaker from General Electric. Secondly, it is high time believing, from the current practices in organizations that monetary rewarding is not essential because current trends provide differentiated rewards for performance and that financial rewards are in fact not motivating. References Adams, J. S. (2000). Toward an understanding of inequity. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 67, 422–436. Cameron, J., and Pierce W. D., (2002). Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation: Resolving the Controversy. U.S.A.: Greenwood Publishing Group. p.11. Champagne, P. J., and Mcafee, R. B., (1989). Motivating Strategies for Performance and Productivity. U.S.A.: Greenwood Press. pp. 5-6,59. Dewhurst, M., Matthew G., and Elizabeth, M. (2012). "Motivating People: Getting Beyond Money." McKinsey Quarterly (2009). Organization Practice. Herzberg, F. (2000). One more time: How do you motivate employees? Harvard Business Review, pp. 5–16. Hymowitz, C., & Murray, M. (2004). Boss talk: Raises and praise or out the door—How GE’s chief rates and spurs his employees. Wall Street Journal, p. B1. Kehoe, D., (2007). Motivating Employees: 25 Action-based Articles Showing You How to Engage Your People In Peak Performance. Australia: McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Limited. Latham, G. P., (2012). Work Motivation: History, Theory, Research, and Practice. 2nd ed. U.S.A.: SAGE publication Ltd. p. 3. Ramlall, S. (2012) "A Review of Employee Motivation Theories and Their Implications for Employee Retention within Organizations." Journal of American Academy of Business 52-63. Print. Shulman, B. (2003). The betrayal of work: How low wage jobs fail 30 million Americans and their families. New York: The New Press. Staw, Barry, Robert I. Sutton, and Lisa H. Pelled. "Employee Positive Emotion and Favorable Outcomes at the Workplace." Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences 5.1 (1994): 51-71. JSTOR. Web.Williams, Ray. "Wired for Success." Psycology Today, 13 Feb. 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2012. Stewart, G. L. (2006). Reward structure as a moderator of the relationship between extraversion and sales performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 619–627. Read More