Motivation of Employees in Organizations - Essay Example

The jobs of the workers are enriched. The jobs of the team members are halved so that they can concentrate on the development of the team. Every fortnight the team members talk for 45 minutes to solve problems and gather new ideas.  The responsibility of the workers has been increased and the role played by the workers is changed. From mere assembly line work, the job now involves various tasks such as planning, organizing, leading, and directing.

1. The management of BMW has taken the approach to motivating the employees as mentioned in theory Z. Theory Z mentions the major postulates of Japanese management practices and how these practices can be adapted to the environment of other countries. The major features of this theory are building trust, strong bonds between the organization and employees, team member involvement, and no formal structure. According to this approach, trust is the first primary factor for motivation.

Trust between the members of the organization at various levels has to be built through integrity and transparency. At BMW, the work teams have been very effective in building relationships between employees across the organization. Another major aspect that has to be noted in this approach is the team member involvement. Any decision affecting the production practices is being done by the team members which increases the motivation of the members. Also, this increases the commitment of the employees and gives due recognition to their role. Under this approach, the formal structures in an organization are no longer adopted. Here, at BMW, the work teams resolve the issue irrespective of the formal hierarchical structures. The major advantages of following this approach are building mutual trust, building on the relationships within the workplace, developing a positive work environment, and increasing the efficiency of the work teams. As mentioned before, Theory Z is adopted from the Japanese style of management, which focuses on building the relationship and loyalty of the employees. The involvement and empowerment of the workers will increase their loyalty to the company. This will create value for the organization in the long run and will add to the competitiveness of the organization.

1. The following are the major advantages of Teamwork for employees:
2. Gaining more power and influence within the organization helps the workers to

perceive the job with more value and pride

1. More challenges on the job, hence monotony is reduced

• The workers have a clear idea about the goals that have to be achieved and the tasks

to be completed.

1. Less room for conflicts among the members of the organization as there is a free

flow of information and room for discussion. The workers set their own goals. Hence, there is very less opportunity for confusion and clashes.

1. The workers are sent for various training programs to improve their capability to

work in groups which is a great opportunity for the workers to update themselves with the requirements of the job

For the management, the following are the benefits:

1. Increased production levels, cost reduction, and thereby more profits
2. The level of supervision required by the workers is reduced, hence is very costly and

time effective

• Creates value for the human resource, which can be a great asset to the

organization in the long run

1. Can benefit from innovations on the job by the workers which may create huge

cost efficiency.

1. Changing the organization in the future for further development becomes easier

as the workers are more receptive to change and not rigid with fixed hierarchical patterns

1. The Wings program has been successful only because of the empowerment of the workers. We all know that teamwork is more effective than individual task achievement. But when production departments are divided into teams and if the teams are looking up for directions, the purpose of creating the teams is not achieved. Empowerment of the teams creates efficiency on the job and helps to achieve the goals. Empowerment means the ability of a person or a group to make decisions according to the requirements of the situation. At BMW, the teams are empowered to solve problems and improve their work practices without much interference from the management. This creates the opportunity to try new techniques which has resulted in huge monetary benefits for the company.

Empowerment has been instrumental in the success of this approach because an organization can survive and grow only through its strong workforce. If the members of the organization are not involved in the achievement of the objectives, their commitment to the company remains untapped and the efforts put in by the members are a reflection of this factor. When the employees feel that they are empowered to define their strategies and operational plans t increases their motivation, commitment, and loyalty towards the mission and vision of the organization.