Leadership Motivation and Performance - Case Study Example

Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Leadership (Motivation and performance) Introduction Academic theories on employee motivation, empowerment and performance have been used widely for both practical and theoretical aspects of management. Business leaders and their companies to a large extend use these theories to develop and equip their workforce for maximum production. Theories of management particularly where employee motivation, empowerment and performance is concerned have played a critical role in helping modern times companies to break through to higher levels of performance, production, and customer satisfaction. Performance management entails many phases and vendors narrow down on surfacing historical information permitting organizations to observe what occurred in the past and then manage as well as report on performance. To generally refute the importance academic theories on motivation in the workplace is misleading. These theories have been applied widely in management of organization and increasing performance of employees (Schweitzer, Ordonez & Douma, 429). This essay demonstrates the importance academic theories on employee empowerment, motivation and performance will illustrating using modern organizations where they have been applied. There could be limitations but these theories cannot be overlooked by nay managers who want to maximize the performance of his employees. Discussion Motivation theories are arranged in two groups as content and process theories. Content theories involve naming and analyzing the factors which motivate employees to perform better and efficiently whereas process theories emphasize on how different types of personal traits inhibit and impact behavior of a human being. Content theories are closely linked with extrinsic rewards while process theories are connected with intrinsic rewards like respect and recognition that helps in boosting the confidence of the employees at the place of work as well as encourage job satisfaction. Therefore academic theories on employee motivation, empowerment and performance are not merely theoretical but practical in many aspects particularly in the modern world where companies invent strategies of improving performance. Competition is stiff and without job retention and employee satisfaction strategies, a company cannot keep pace with its contemporaries in the same industry. An example of a content theory is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs while the process theory is represented by the equity theory. Employee performance depends fundamentally on many factors such as employee motivation, performance appraisal, job security, employee satisfaction, training and development, compensation, and organizational structure. However, employee motivation is highly regarded as a means that highly influences employee performance (Gkorezis & Panagiotis 33). An employee who is motivated is responsive of definite goals and objectives to be achieved and therefore he directs his efforts in that direction. Motivation formulates a company more successful since provoked employees are consistently exploring improved practices to accomplish their tasks. Encouraging employees to do their best in strenuous environments can be achieved through motivation. Consequently theories of management and motivation have played a big role in developing the current state of the modern day organizations. Managers have to understand what makes their employees to perform. In order to improve agility organizations have to identify threats and opportunities more easily as compared to their competitors, interpret the implications, come up with a strategy quickly and implement the strategy consistently in the entire organization. The companies have to identify and respond to social, economic, and environmental risks and opportunities. An emphasis on the triple bottom line of profit, people and planet results in increased brand value via innovation, drives internal efficiencies and accountability, and encourage the loyalty of employees, consumers as well as other stakeholders. Douglas MacGregor came up with the negative view known as Theory X and generally positive view known as Theory Y. Under theory X managers assume that many workers have very little ambition and have a belief that employees dislike work and will attempt to avoid it whenever where possible. Managers applying theory X use threats and coercion to motivate employees to attain the goals and objectives of the firm. Theory Y on the other hand assumes that people enjoy work responsibilities and can come up with good decisions. Managers applying theory Y motivate employees by providing them with opportunities to develop their abilities and skills in order to fulfill their potential. These managers offer greater control to employees and opportunity to innovate and come up with new products (Phillips 17). MacGregor personally explained Theory Y and offered that challenging and responsible jobs, participatory decision making, and excellent workgroup relations maximize employees’ effort and motivation. Managers apply both theory Y and X differently. This is enough proof that theories of motivation, employee empowerment and performance are widely used in the practical world. Consistent with Theory Y some companies emphasize on creation of a culture whereby employees can flourish and establish meaning in their work. This shows that motivation theories are practical used in the business world. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is one of the most famous motivation theories. Maslow’s explained that people have a hierarchy of needs that are progressive. Physiological needs for food, comfort and water have to be met first before proceeding to security and safety needs. Friendship and belonging are the next in order. Self-actualization needs that include self-fulfillment and the realization of once potential come at the peak of the hierarchy. Managers in the workplace have to understand the needs of the employees and address them urgently in order. Employees whose needs are being met will feel more motivated to perform better. The work by Maslow assisted in increasing managers’ awareness of the motivating capacity of giving employees greater responsibility, challenge, as well as continuous development. This is also consistent with theory Y put forward by MacGregor. Maslow’s work has also demonstrated how needs for security can affect business performance and strategy (Watson 48). Apart from their negative influence on remaining employees, layoffs and downsizing create worry about job security which makes it impossible for employees to concentrate on their jobs and customers. Research has demonstrated that such restructuring practices do not result in long-term competitive advantage despite the cost that is saved. In the late 1950s, scholars established that economic rewards alone were not adequate to motivate employees to perform their best. Fredrick Herzberg explained in his two-factor-theory that supervisory style and pay do not strongly influence worker satisfaction. He referred to them as hygiene factors or maintenance needs. Hygiene factors such as status, pay, and working conditions result in acceptable working environment, they do not enhance satisfaction. Herzberg came with another category of factors that he referred to as motivators or satisfiers (Phillips 17). These are intrinsic factors that can make propel an employee to pursue excellence. Such motivators include responsibility, recognition and motivation. Managers have to strive to offer opportunities for growth and other intrinsic motivating factors to increase employee performance. Apple Inc is regarded as the most innovative and admired company in the world. It attracts and retains employees owing to benefits and incentives that extended to employees. More control has been given to employees that have allowed the growth of an innovative and creative culture. Motivation is the important factor that has allowed creative thinking at Apple that resulted in new product development. Employees are given opportunities to comment on the design of products in the company that gives them a sense of belonging and confidence. Apple has grown to become one of the leading companies in the world (Müller 2). Recognitions and providing new challenges to employees have resulted in new product development. Contemporary companies are looking for new approaches and ways to recruit top talent, to retain top talent, and look for innovative means of motivating employees for maximization of output. The theory concerning the manner in which managers can more effectively reward and motivate employees can be traced back to the turn of the century. Companies are coming up with new ways of motivating their workforce. Companies like Cisco Inc, Wholefoods Inc, and Google Inc are leading the way of restructuring management so as employees can come up with creative ideas that result in the development of many new products. These companies reward their employees with perks, permit employees to come with their pets to work, provide free food, and onsite child care. The setting of the companies offer environments that are relaxed where group thinking is encouraged and teamwork works best to provide the new product that would change the next generation. The companies cultivate small individual entrepreneur and avoid the tight micromanaged environments typical of majority of traditional companies (Watson 49). These companies have demonstrated that one can achieve results through rewarding of employees. This demonstrates that intrinsic rewards are important and these companies have allowed employees to operate with respect and freedom; permitting them to control their own time, as well as empowering them to develop a common goal that encompasses invention of products and ideas that are bound to change the face of the world and the means of doing business. Intrinsic motivation it is the enjoyment that employees derive from performing the activity or the subjective interests that a person possesses in the subject. Providing a comfortable working environment is a source of motivation to employees because they are able to give their best without worrying about other work related challenges. Creating a positive habit within the culture of the organization will strengthen the values of the organization towards achieving the desired goals and objectives. Habits are normally repeated activities that emanate from past experiences. Habits are formed as a demonstration of goals-action links and incorporated to stimulate automaticity within routine activities (Grant 111). Extrinsic motivation is performing a certain activity in order to attain some separable outcome. Extrinsic motivations include autonomous and controlled aspects that involve links to reward systems, behavior elements of non-financial indicators and making a worker feel ashamed owing to poor performance. No one can work for free. Employees are motivated by being paid a reasonable salary as well as other payments. Money reward is a fundamental inducement that cannot be overshadowed by any other. Money can motivate employees towards high performance. Fredrick Taylor using his scientific theory described money as the most basic factor that can motivate industrial workers to attain higher productivity. Research has demonstrated that reward now cause satisfaction of the employee that directly affects performance of employees. Rewards are tools of management that hopefully contribute to the effectiveness of a company through influencing group and individual behavior. Many companies use pay, promotion, bonuses, and other forms of rewards to encourage and motivate high level of performance among their employees. In order to use salaries effectively as a motivator, managers have consider salary structures that should include relevance organization attach to each job, special or personal allowances, payment with regard to performance, fringe benefits and pensions (Schweitzer, Ordonez & Douma, 429) Empowerment offers benefits to the organization and encourages a sense of belonging and pride to the workforce. This raises the level of confidence and productivity in the organization. Empowering can result in flourishing of human capacities. Recognition and rewards are fundamental factors enhancing job satisfaction as well as work motivation that are closely associated with organizational achievement. The main force towards empowerment is having a bigger control on how jobs are done and accomplished for more productivity and growth. The use of expectancy theory, equity theory, goal-setting theory, reinforcement theory, attribution theory; among others at Gore and Associates and SAS Institute demonstrates the essence of motivation theories at the workplace. Theories of motivation have been widely applied at the workplace. Expectancy theory suggests that an individual will behave in a certain manner because they are motivated to choose a particular behavior over others owing to what they expect the expected result of that behavior will be. General expectancy is normally the central core of personality dispositions connected to achievement areas. It is the disposition motives that make one to seek success, try to avoid failure, self-efficacy, academic and self-esteem (Bong & Skaalvik 19). This theory focus on the essence of companies relating rewards directly to performance and make sure that the rewards provided are those rewards wanted and deserved by the receipts. SAS Institute goes at great lengths to make sure employees understand how they make a difference. To get a management position at SAS one has to demonstrate a natural ability to support and help people. SAS employees are compensated well and promotion given to those who deserve it. At Gore teams organize opportunities and leaders emerge. This contributes to satisfaction and retention. Positive work is rewarded. Equity theory attempts to justify the rational satisfaction of perfections of unfair or fair distributions of resources in interpersonal relationships. People value fair treatment at the workplace makes them to be motivated to ensure that the fairness is maintained in the relationships of the co-workers and the company. Equity theory emphasizes the importance of striking a balance between employee outputs and inputs (Watkinson, Dwyer & Nielsen 179). A person will consider to be treated fairly if the ratio of his inputs to his outcomes is equivalent to those around him. Senior colleagues at the work place receive high compensation owing to their experience and training. Employees at SAS Institute are treated fairly. Employees of SAS and their families have free access to huge gymnasium comprising of basketball and tennis courts, a heated pool, and a weight room. Health care clinic is free, hugely discounted child care is available, counseling for employees is available as well as common work areas are filled with treats and snacks. SAS firmly believes that one reaps what he sows. At SAS there is equal pay for equal work. All employees having the same skills get the same pay rise. There are no cases where new employees get paid higher than old employees at SAS. Every employee at SAS Institute takes part in profit sharing and is eligible for a bonus, and bonus has been paid since the founding of the company. At Gore, associates make sure that there is fairness to each other and every other person that they interact with. Goal-setting ensures that participants are aware of what is expected of them. Goals have a pervasive impact on the behavior and performance of the employee in management practice and organizations. Effective performance is realized where goals are specific and challenging. Deadlines enhance effectiveness of goals. Goals have to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-targeted. At SAS Institute employees understand the significance of their work. Employees at SAS understand what is expected of them. Gore is a team-based, flat lattice organization that encourages personal initiative. There are no predetermined channels of communication, no chains of command and no traditional organizational charts. The culture at Gore encourages different viewpoints from different backgrounds and environments. The lattice organization encourages creativity, participation, and communication. Employees at Gore are involved in decision making and hence they understand what is expected of them. Reinforcement theory suggests that the behavior of a person is a function of its consequences. Positive reinforcement involves giving positive response when an individual demonstrates positive and required behavior for instance praising the person. Positive reinforcement encourages the occurrence of the behavior. Negative reinforcement implies that the negative consequences are eliminated to encourage a certain behavior (Goddard, Hoy & Hoy 2). Punishment refers to the removal of positive consequences so as to lower the chance of the undesirable behavior being repeated in future. In the fall of 2008 SAS customers stopped buying its products as the effect of recession set in. fears of losses forced companies to cut spending and the whole analytics software industry was hugely affected. Some SAS Institute competitors declared massive layoffs and SAS’S workforce grew increasingly worried that job cuts would be unavoidable. But in January 2009 SAS announced that none of its 13,000 employees would lose his job. Workers got back to work and stopped worrying. This is negative reinforcement used by SAS because it removed the negative consequences of workers losing their jobs hence making them to concentrate. Massive profits were recorded that year. Absence of bureaucracies at Gore Company encourages personal initiative. Workers communicate directly and are accountable to fellow members of multi-disciplined teams. Hands.om innovation is encouraged to those closest to a project in decision making. Attribution is the process that infers the causes of behaviors or events. Causes of failure or success can be explained through attribution theory (Malle 14). Causes of success of failure can be internal or external. SAS Institute values its employees. SAS Institute discovered that emotions and feelings are true drivers of employee innovation, loyalty, and productivity and hence they made workforce happiness one of their basic missions. At Gore Company sponsors assist associates come up with a course that will provide personal fulfillment while maximizing contribution to the enterprise. Leaders are defined by followership despite them being appointed. Normally leaders emerge naturally through demonstrating special skill, knowledge, or experience that drives a business objective. Conclusion Empowerment and recognition play an important part in enhancing employee motivation towards organizational tasks. These factors form part of the intrinsic motivation that managers use to ensure satisfaction of employees. Enthusiasm and motivation can be achieved when employees are given more control in their workplace. This demonstrates the fact that academic theories of employee motivation, empowerment and performance play a crucial part in the running of organization. They are not merely theoretical but also can be practically applied in organization to achieve job satisfaction and organization goals achievement. Employees can be motivated to give their best in the workplace. Where there is no motivation employees become dissatisfied and lose concentration on their job. Managers have to come with both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation means to achieve job satisfaction. Work cited Bong, M. & Skaalvik, E., “Academic self-concept and self-efficacy: How different are they really? Educational psychology review”, 15, 1, (2004): 1-40. Grant, A. M. “The significance of Task significance: Job Performance Effects, Relational Mechanisms, and Boundary Conditions,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(2008): 108–124. Goddard, R., Hoy, W., & Hoy, A., “Collective efficacy beliefs: Theoretical developments, empirical evidence, and future directions. Educational Researcher”, 33, 3, 2004): 3-13. Gkorezis, Petridou and Panagiotis, Eugenia “Employees' Psychological Empowerment via Intrinsic and Extrinsic Rewards". Academy of Health Care Management Journal 4, 1, (2008): 17–38. Malle, Bertram F., How the Mind Explains Behavior: Folk Explanations, Meaning, and Social Interaction, MIT Press, (2004). Müller, Christoph, Employee Motivation and Incentives at Apple, GRIN Verlag, 2011. Schweitzer, M., Ordonez, L., & Douma, B. “Goal Setting as a Motivator of Unethical Behavior” Academy of Management Journal, 47, 3, (2004): 422–432. Phillips, J., “The Role of Excess Cognitive Capacity in the Relationship between Job Characteristics and Cognitive Task Engagement”, Journal of Business and Psychology, 23, (2008): 11–24. Watson, Stephen "Building a Better Employment Deal", Workspan 46, 12, (2003): 48–51. Watkinson, E. J., Dwyer, S., & Nielsen, A. B., “Children theorize about reasons for recess engagement: Does expectancy-value theory apply?” Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 22, (2005): 179. Read More