Performance Management Practices and the Expected Increase in Employee Motivation - Essay Example

1 Research Proposal Measuring the Relation between Motivation and Effective Performance Management Word Count: 3,025 2 Contents ………………………………………………………………………………..3 Study Rationale…………………………………………………………………….3-5 Objectives……………………………………………………………………………6 Contribution of Existing Literature………………………………………………7-12 Methodology……………………………………………………………………….12-14 i. Proposed Data Collection Approach ii. Sample Frame iii. Potential Limitations / Contingencies Timeframe…………………………………………………………………………..15 References…………………………………………………………………………..16 3 Title: Measuring the Relationship between Motivation and Effective Performance Management Study Rationale: The purpose of this study is to determine direct correlation between performance management practices and the expected increase in employee motivation. To understand this relationship, it is vital to recognise conceptual ideas on the factors driving forward employee productivity. Motivation is a goal-directive drive, and it seldom occurs in a void (Mathis et al, 2003, p.69). This implies that motivation is determined by tangible factors both internal and external. Therefore, motivation does not exist as an inherent characteristic, but is borne of initiatives for personal goal-setting or receipt of rewards. Performance management, in the same context, is a human relations approach to organisational goal-setting which distributes company strategy and identifies employee productivity factors leading to employee discipline or reward. There are, conceptually, five standard steps used in the performance management process that include communicating clear organisational goals, applying managerial practices that encourage employee performance, identifying actual performance levels, producing positive or negative outcomes to employee performance, and evaluating whether organisational goals can be met through the current level of employee productivity. It is proposed that a successful performance manager be aware of the circumstances that affect employee motivation from a psychological standpoint and apply a rather clinical methodology in distribution of productivity feedback for the employee targeted for increased motivation. Essentially, an organisation cannot meet its strategic goals without the assistance of employee talents, therefore, a performance managers role in satisfying employees needs directly impacts company outputs. 4 How does a performance manager, then, handle the role of satisfying employee needs without sacrificing organisational objectives? This study of performance management versus impact on employee motivation will first examine the psychological aspect of human nature by observing Abraham Maslows recognised Hierarchy of Needs. According to Maslow, each individual possesses five main principles that affect intrapersonal satisfaction. He proposes physiological needs (basic elements of survival) as a first step toward fulfilment. Following forward in motivation is the need for safety and security, moving next to love and belonging, then creating a positive self-image, and finally reaching a level of self-actualisation in which the person develops complete satisfaction with overall existence. Maslow offers that the more basic needs lie at the bottom of the hierarchy and must largely be satisfied before higher motives can emerge (Morris et al, 2005, p. 349). Maslow introduced his hierarchy philosophy in 1954, arguably a time period quite dissimilar to the modern business era. In todays fast-paced business world, it might be argued that Maslows hierarchy of needs does not fully represent the total, overall needs of an employee. Where in the 1950s an employees most basic need might have merely been an adequate base salary, today it might represent an environment that is conducive to an employees experience and career expectations. To illustrate, modern employees might find themselves in a career position that is incapable of fulfilling their most basic desire for a fitting job profile, and a performance managers ability to motivate the employee might largely be limited due, simply, to the unsatisfactory position. Should this be the case, no distribution of positive feedback or monetary incentives can serve to alleviate the very basic dissatisfaction with the nature of the employees position in the company. A 5 performance managers inability to motivate productivity, in this situation, would most certainly not be the managers fault, but the impact to productivity could be disastrous. Motivating modern employees, then, consists of not only the performance managers effectiveness, but also stems from the personal goal of the employee as well in regards to establishing a satisfactory employment position. The purpose, then, of this study is to relate effective means of motivating through performance management techniques in a modern context. Essentially, which methods of persuasion or relationship-building must a contemporary performance manager take into consideration as a means to successfully satisfy the employee? Today, more emphasis is placed on balancing hectic personal lives with the lives of the professional. Management also tends to take a broader perspective of employee needs (both business and personal) and applies psychological theories as well as traditional methods (pay raises and promotion) in consideration to motivate employee productivity. This proposed study is designed to highlight what factors are more effective in driving organisational results: The traditional approach to performance management or a psychological approach that focuses on partnerships between the business and the employee. In summary, determining which tactics are more effective at guaranteeing results for increased employee motivation is the nature of the proposed study. 6 Objectives: 1. To identify approaches to performance management that are closely related to practices similar to social psychology as tools to drive employee motivation. 2. Assess employee satisfaction within one or more reputable organisations in comparison to traditional versus humanistic approaches to performance management. Results will indicate excessive employee turnover rate or improved retention. 3. Performance managers implementation of disciplinary tactics as a means to enhance employee motivation. Does this approach produce positive results? Based on results, propose enhancements to performance management tactics. The three distinct objectives tie directly together and will serve to offer a sample analysis of management tactics, employee expectations for improved job satisfaction, and a negative feedback approach to driving organisational productivity. Most organisations today recognise a need to maximise performance and the results of these objectives will serve to create a statistical model with which a company could, potentially, mould its performance management techniques against to better fit employee needs. The main objective, therefore, is to create a template study for organisations to utilise for a re-evaluation or enhancement of their performance management tactics. 7 Contribution of Existing Literature: Some research professionals in the field of human relations have identified twelve motivational "drivers" that include the human needs for interesting work, achievement, self-development, variety, creativity, social contact, tangible rewards, structure and rules, long-term relationships, power and influence, and good working conditions (Buchanan, 2000, p.95). Most of these "drivers" represent the traditional approach to performance management by means of identifying physical and environmental factors that influence employee motivation. Differing from Maslows hierarchy of needs, the multitude of motivational drivers illustrate a growing trend in managements recognition of a complex set of stimuli that influence positive activity among the staff. This acknowledgement of multi-factor drivers supersedes Maslows five factors and serves to illustrate a changing movement in altering traditional perspective on performance management techniques. For a performance technologist, this bevy of motivators affords managers more goals by which to motivate performers (Gordon Rouse, 2004, p. 31). In addition, it suggests that managers can exploit more than one goal so as to stimulate a more effective motivational practice. However, recognising these factors and successfully incorporating them into the performance management system are two distinct issues. Psychological perspectives on motivation will most likely offer even greater amounts of motivational factors relating to a more interpersonal approach to performance management. Psychological theory recognises extrinsic and intrinsic motivation; internal or external factors that drive productivity. Extrinsic motivation comes from the rewards that are linked to job performance (Gomez-Mejia et al, 2005, p.505) such as a regular pay 8 check. Intrinsic motivation consists of managements feedback in praise of a job well-performed that develops long-lasting psychological effects. Depending on the nature of the leadership of an organisation, the overall importance of the psychological impact of positive verbal reward will vary dependent on leaderships stand about promoting employee satisfaction. Contributing literature has implied that there are senior executives within companies that embrace only traditional views, believing that the only reward necessary is that of extrinsic, or monetary. The question as to whether this conventional approach serves to retain quality employees must be addressed. According to empirical evidence, extrinsic incentives often crowd out intrinsic motivation, thus reducing the effort of workers (James, 2005, p.549). The implications of this method of managements focuses on extrinsic reward virtually obliterate any psychological impact of relationship-building and team philosophies. In fact, an organisations focus on merely the extrinsic even negates Maslows hierarchy in that self-actualisation (or complete workplace contentment) can never be achieved since the extrinsic reward does not address individual needs such as self-esteem derived of positive verbal feedback. Since Maslows theory of needs is, arguably, the cornerstone of every managers training initiatives, ignoring the interpersonal aspects of reward through praise even leaves a gap in the traditional performance management approach. The question, then, of what makes an effective performance manager is directly related to the level of satisfaction expressed by a cross-section of established employees. 9 Whether using a traditional approach or a psychological approach, quite often the performance review is an acceptable method with which to monitor employee motivational performance. The performance review is designed to carefully consider all of the aspects surrounding an employees job function, assessing the employees overall performance, and creating a mechanism with which to generate rewards or disciplines. In order for the review to be an effective tool in generating positive outcome, leadership must ensure that performance evaluations will have a factual and fair basis (Rausch, 2003, p. 979). A major step in ensuring employee satisfaction is in guaranteeing that the performance management system will take a non-biased approach when determining overall productivity. The traditional approach looks towards job design, whether deadlines or organisational expectations are met, and employee conformity to company process and policy. Employees however, in modern terms, view a broader aspect of issues that impact their expectations of what dictates accuracy in determining job performance. An employee might suggest co-worker relationships, success in customer interaction, or contribution to the social structure of the business to be valuable factors in motivating productive momentum on the job; and expect to be assessed accordingly. Whether the manager accepts such factors in the performance appraisal or not, it is clear that dismissal of these expectations can serve to hinder productivity. On a similar note, managers who are good at creating a lot of enthusiasm and team spirit are sometimes not good at outlining specific steps to attain (company) goals or at motivating individuals to commit to continued performance excellence (Kavanagh, 2003, p.2). This assumption would indicate that a more humanistic approach may not always be 10 ultimately effective in motivating productivity. It has been suggested that excessive camaraderie between manager and employee can promote associate staff members to exhibit a rather cynical attitude to any discussion regarding corporate strategy and begin to see organisational goals as vague objectives. An overly humanistic approach to performance management might lead to relentless belligerence because of the increased familiarity between leadership and the employee. This study will address the question of how a performance management system can properly recognize psychological needs of an employee without crossing the line that emerges into increased unprofessional business behaviour. Contributing literature suggests that spirit-building techniques intended for the purpose of satisfying the employee can often completely undermine the effort to enhance employee productivity. The aim of the study is to explore what motivational efforts have been successful in legitimate practice and which humanistic techniques have caused more aggravation for business due to increased employee resistance to changing policies. The hypothesis of this study is to substantiate the premise that it is modern psychological approaches to performance management that serve to improve employee motivation. Contributing literature suggests that intrapersonal needs such as a need for achievement, a need for affiliation, and a need for power are as much important in the employees spectrum of desires in relation to career motivation. Goals of an organisation, largely, are distributed amongst the employee population as the basic foundation of company expectations for productivity. The need for achievement is a personal employee motive and cannot, arguably, be satisfied without a management feedback mechanism that 11 authenticates employee efforts. However, literature has suggested that a manager who strives for over-achievement is likely to ignore the personal needs of the employees for the sake of personal ambitions to move upwardly within the organisation. How, then, does the employee who strives for achievement receive feedback for effective productivity? Ignoring the humanistic approach in the rewards system would seem to create a vicious circle of achievement versus frustration when the employee receives no meaningful acceptance for on-the-job effort. Similarly, a manager responsible for actively contributing to the performance management system can promote an atmosphere of authoritative challenge against an over-ambitious employee for fear of being outperformed by the employee. Such an adversarial relationship between manager and employee is likely to drive down motivational levels and cause alarm for decreased employee retention. The employees need to achieve should be supported by the performance management system, offering substantial growth and development opportunities as reward for productivity. Promotion incentives can serve to push some higher motivation, but employees tend to want more from their work than merely an upward change in position status. Employees demand a level of equity in all of their personal assessments, designed to follow in their career movements. To illustrate, a productive employee who is passed over for promotion demands a certain level of reinforcement highlighting specific reasons why he/she was not considered for a position of authority. This study will address the levels of equity in performance reviews and feedback as a situation directly impacting organisational retention levels. To summarise, an employee who feels slighted for perceived undue cause is likely to become an underperformer in the business and possibly seek other employment. 12 This study will also address the underperformer in terms of disciplinary tactics used in the performance management system. A boss who verbally reprimands his employees for being late will surely minimise the behaviour, but the psychological impact on the employee can be quite severe. Literature suggests that such tactics lacking in a humanistic approach to motivating promptness can even result in anger and resentment toward leadership, leading to a significant drop in overall motivation. This study will illustrate the effectiveness of disciplinary tactics as a means to enhance productivity and determine whether positive reinforcement or traditional disciplinary methods are most effective at enhancing motivation. Methodology: The study measuring motivation to effective performance management will be conducted via various approaches in relation to the strategic goal of the study hypotheses. It is, first, prudent to examine the absolute necessity for a performance management system within any organisation which requires employee motivational support. The intent of the study is to collect data that can sufficiently support the opinion that it is the approach to performance management that shows marked improvement in overall employee satisfaction. Increased corporate profitability immediately following a complete organisational overhaul in performance management methodology would serve to illustrate which motivational approaches lead to greater organisational momentum. 13 i.Data Collection Methods: The majority of the information collected for the study will be in the form of secondary data. The sources for data collection will be analysed from the following areas: Charted Analyses – Statistical data gathered from various, reputable sources highlighting specific performance management initiatives and percent increases/decreases in overall employee satisfaction/motivation. Surveys – Continuous or regular surveys aimed at employees both in radically modernised business and traditional organisations. Opinion Data (Primary Resource) – Key commentaries from recognised professionals regarding successes and failures in performance management tactics. Most of the information collection areas are available in journal formats, reports, magazines, newspaper articles, internet sources, books, and other similar mediums. Vast amounts of literature pertaining to performance management tactics, results, and increased awareness of employee needs are available to successfully complete the data collection methodology of the study. ii. Sample Frame As a further data collection method, a five issue questionnaire will be distributed among several organisations that staff five or more employees. The selected individuals will be issued an introductory letter stating the purpose of the investigative questionnaire highlighting employee opinion regarding historical or current employment satisfaction. The questionnaire will indicate opinion from each participant regarding personal needs fulfilment on the job and offer a section to highlight improvements in their organisations 14 (past or present) performance management system in regards to distributing positive feedback or rewards for increased productivity. This questionnaire will offer qualitative, first-hand statistics to substantiate information retrieved from secondary sources. Assuming a competent participation level, the opinion survey analysis can be charted to highlight employee expectations in terms of what motivates productivity to show correlation between needs and feedback mechanisms distributed by their leadership. iii. Potential limitations / contingencies The only foreseeable limitation to the data collection method would be in a zero participation ratio in regards to questionnaire completion. In such an event, the authoritative sources used to identify performance management practices that maintain proven track records of employee motivation will serve to authenticate the research study. Refusal to submit return questionnaires will not, in any dramatic fashion, alter the scope or impact in this research study. The main objectives are to determine effectiveness of the psychological and traditional approaches to performance management in relation to overall employee satisfaction. Authoritative sources are widely available in relation to performance management methodology, disciplinary tactics to enhance employee motivation, and specific outcomes of utilising psychological approaches. Drawing a conclusion as to which methods best fit increased employee productivity can effectively be accomplished in spite of possible zero participation in the questionnaire. 15 Timeframe: The final dissertation will consist of the following sections: I. Introduction II. Research Question or Hypothesis III. Review of Relevant Literature IV. Methodology V. Findings – Summarised and Analysed VI. Implications and Conclusions VII. Appendices VIII. References Conducting relevant research using primary/secondary data sources should be accomplished within 4-5 weeks. Questionnaire assessment, upon receipt of completed surveys, can be effectively charted for analyses in 6-8 weeks summarily after review and compilation of data. Completing the study portion highlighting implications to organisations and conclusions for performance management tactic effectiveness can be competently achieved in a 4-6 week process immediately following review of total research data collected. Conservatively, an allotment of 10-12 weeks is required for total project completion after approval is granted for this research proposal entailing proving, disproving, or substantiating the studys hypothesis. 16 References Buchanan, Dave. 2000, Motivation Management, Human Resource Management Journal, vol.10, Iss. 2, p. 95. Gomez-Mejia, Luis R, Balkin, David B. & Cardy Robert L. 2005, Management: People, Performance, Change, 2nd ed., p.505 Gordon Rouse, Kimberly A. Nov/Dec 2004, What do people strive for?, Performance Improvement, Silver Spring, vol.43, Iss. 10, p. 31. James, Jr., Harvey S. Aug. 2005, Why did you do that? An economic examination of the Effect of extrinsic compensation on intrinsic motivation and performance, Journal of Economic Psychology, vol.26, Iss. 4, p.549. Kavanagh, Nicki. 2003, Communicating for performance: The challenge of modern Business, Human Resource Management International Digest, Bradford, vol. 11, Iss. 6, p.2. Mathis, Robert L. & Jackson, John H. 2003, Human Resource Management, 10th ed., Thomson South-Western, p.69. Morris, Charles G. & Maisto, Albert A. 2005, Psychology: An Introduction, 12th ed., p. 349. Rausch, Ersin. 2003, Guidelines for Management and Leadership Decision, Management Decision, London, vol.41, Iss. 10, p. 979. Read More