Todays Competitive World - Essay Example

Motivation Table of Contents Introduction 3 Literature of Reviews 4 Result of the Self Assessment 6 Presentation of the Self-Assessment Result 6 Analysis 7 Solution of Case Study 9 Question 1 9 Question 2 12 Conclusion 13 Reference 14 Introduction In today’s competitive world, it is very difficult to survive and gain competitive advantage and to become sustain every organization needs to take care of all the stakeholders and most importantly the internal and external customers. This paper concentrates on the internal customers and its motivational factors. To attain adequate level of the employee satisfaction, employers should consider motivational factors. This paper undertakes three processes to demonstrate the motivational aspect in the workplace and those are reviews of literature, case study and self assessment test. Literature of Reviews In this part of the project various aspects of motivation and its application in the work field has been discussed. Batul Nafisa Baxamusa has written an article on equity theory even she has described various aspects of the theory. According to her, motivation factors usually differ from person to person. She states that few persons are motivated through the fame they earn whereas for most of the persons money is the motivating factor. While analyzing the Adam’s equity theory, she has brought into light an interesting fact that most of the employees tend to compare themselves with their coworker to judge the remuneration and reward provided to him and here lies the importance of the equity theory (Baxamusa, 2010). Yoon (2001) had highlighted the importance of the empowerment of the worker in the workplace. According to him, instead of being pleased with their jobs, few employees feel burnt out and powerless due to the increased workload and lack of job security. He proposed empowerment as the critical intrusion program to boost motivation (Yoon, 2001). Incentive is a part of motivation and Stolovitch (2004) has mentioned his two major findings regarding incentives at workplace. These two myth-breaking findings are “Incentives destroy personal, intrinsic interest in work” and “Incentives only results in paying more for the result you would have had anyway”. It has definitely a major impact on determination of the motivational factor in the workplace (Stolovitch, 2004). According to Amabile (2002), the prevailing psychological view of Motivation is that extrinsic motivation destabilizes the intrinsic motivation. He has proposed two mechanisms for the synergic combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and those are ‘motivation-work cycle match’ and ‘extrinsic in service of intrinsic’ (Amabile, 2002). Hackman and Oldham (2004), have suggested a model consisting with the specifications under which an individual can internally be motivated and can perform the work effectively. It focuses on three categorical variables and those are a. psychological states of employees’, b. psychological states supporting characteristic of job, c. attributes of an individual determining the degree of responding to a complex job (Hackman & Oldham, 2004). As per the view of Perrow (1972), the prevailed notion that indicates that a happy worker is a good worker should be criticized on the basis of the core of the native “human relation” movements. Again the Brayfield & Crockett (1955) have challenged the assumption of the human relation movements through the typically low correlation of the job performance and satisfaction. At last the key approaches can be discussed which can motivate the employee in the workplace. McCuddy (n.d.) has described these approaches in his presentation ‘motivation in the workplace’ According to him human need should be met and treated equitably, job design should be such that motivates people and reward system should be such which can be achievable (McCuddy, n.d.). Result of the Self Assessment Presentation of the Self-Assessment Result What are my Dominant Needs? What Rewards Do I value most? Statement Q 1 Q 2 Q 3 Q 4 Q 5 Q 6 Q 7 Q 8 Q 9 Q 10 Assessment 4 5 3 3 4 4 4 5 3 3 Analysis The first part of the assessment test determines the dominant needs of mine. The statements of the test have been divided among four parts. Those are Achievement, Affiliation, Autonomy and Power. Now on this basis the score has been estimated. Achievement score -23 Affiliation score - 17 Autonomy Score - 19 Power score - 19 I have scored highest in achievement needs and lowest in the affiliation need. For rest of the two I have acquired the same score. On the basis of this assessment it can be said that I have a high desire to excel along with improving my past performances. Comparatively I possess lower aspiration for interacting socially, to be recognized and accepted by the others. Even I have scored well in autonomy and power needs. It indicates that I want to be become self-directed and yearn for directing others. Now this analysis can be linked with the review of literatures. As per the theory of McClelland’s Needs Model, now I can also draw on the characteristics. As per this theory my personality can be considered as Finishers. It refers that I am always seeking for completion of my personal responsibility; I require hard data reinforcement, am used to plan ahead, I enjoy challenges, setting conservative goals and have an aspiration for ensured success. To some extent I also possess strong-speaking skill and usually am quite fluent and have believed in autocratic decision making. But I need to develop a nature through which I can maintain relationships and harmony. The assessment further shows that somehow I am lagging behind in the aspect of loving and caring nature and I need to put some effort to achieve it as in present business world, these characteristics are very much required. The second test tries to determine the factors that will motivate me most. Basically rewards are the most effective way of motivating employees. Therefore on the basis of that the assessment has been done. The analysis of the assessment test can be presented in a tabular format. Grouping of the Results Score Attributes 1 (No Value at all) 2 (Slight Value) 3 (Moderate Value) Vacation Time Job Security Flexible Schedule Friendly Coworker 4 (Great Value) Good Pay Recognition Interesting Work Pleasant Condition 5 (Extremely Great value) Prestigious Title Chances to Advance It is apparent from the analysis that job profile and scope of progress is more important for me than money. All the other secondary attributes such as job security, flexible timings, vacation time and others hardly matter for me. It has been also revealed that I have a tendency to associate with interesting work and have an aspiration to work in the pleasant condition. Solution of Case Study Question 1 It has been found from the case study that there is a lack of equity between Matt Jones and his co-worker Jack Singleton. From the article written by Nafisa Baxamusa it has been revealed that for achieving the employee satisfaction and enhancing motivation level, manager need to consider balance between the inputs and outputs of the employee. She has pointed out few factors in input and output. Those are as follows. Input: Ability, hard work, commitment, effort, loyalty, tolerance, determination, enthusiasm, flexibility, personal sacrifice, colleague support, trust in superiors and others. Output: Financial rewards, such as benefits, increment in pay scale, perks. Intangibles like reputation, sense of achievement, recognition, job security, praise. As per the view of Nafisa, employees usually compare themselves with the other employees to determine whether they are being treated fairly or not and Matt also did the same and became de- motivated (Baxamusa, 2010). Now the inputs and output that Matt has given to and receive from the organization respectively can be discussed with respect to the reviews of this article. According to the case study Matt is hard worker, loyal, committed, determinant, and skilled and usually sacrifices for the organization but in opposed to that he did not get any recognition, praise and sense of achievement from his boss. It refers to the under payment inequality. In that case it is evident that Peter Finch must consider the equity theory for motivating Matt as he sounds very offended while sharing his views regarding the appraisal procedure. It can be recommended that peter should at least recognize his effort and appraise him. From the understanding of expectancy theory from literature review, the case study can be analyzed in a tabular format. Basically his present motivation level is zero. From the case study an idea regarding the demand of the organization and their appraisal criteria has been develop. Therefore it has been advised to Matt to give more effort to earn revenue for the organization and on the basis of that analysis has been done. Attributes Expectancy Instrumentality Valence Measurement Effort – Performance Performance - Reward Reward – Personal Goal Analysis Giving more effort, Matt will be able to gain more customer satisfaction with increasing the revenue and thus productivity will also increase. If he is able to earn more revenue along with customer satisfaction, organization will appraise him in both the form i.e. monetary and non-monetary. With the intangible appraisal and recognition Matt will be definitely inspired and will get mental satisfaction. Even with increase remuneration also he can raise his status level. (Radford, n.d.). After analyzing the case study it has been found that Matt is in third or in fourth step of the Maslow’s hierarchy of need pyramid. The basic needs have been satisfied and he doesn’t have any security problem. But his fellow worker and superior are not happy with his work procedure. Therefore he seeks social need. Again his effort has not been recognized therefore he also seeks out for esteem needs. Regarding the analysis of this case study through goal-setting theory it can be said that there is lacking in defining the goal for Matt. His boss requires revenue and he worked for customer satisfaction therefore a problem has arisen and that can be satisfied through defining the goal as per the S.M.A.R.T rule. Which refers that goal should be specific, measureable, attainable, and relevant and time bound (Affirmation for Radical Success, 2008). Question 2 From the above analysis it is quite clear that Matt is not at all motivated and from the case study it has been also found that the grievance level of Matt is increasing as he found himself improperly treated in comparison to the Jack Singleton. Even he does not have any faith and interest in the appraisal procedure. Matt has brilliantly performed in context to the customer satisfaction and being a management consultant, taking care of the customers demand is one of the major roles of management consultant. It refers that Matt deserves an appraisal. It is true that he is not able to generate revenue directly but he also does not want monetary reward. In that case if I will be in the position of Peter Finch then I will promote him with a prestigious job profile and provide him recognition and job security. From the reviews of the literature it is evident that before apprising anyone it is necessary to determine the motivating factor and needs of the particular employee and then they should be appraised accordingly. Conclusion At the first stage of the paper various related topics of motivation, its theory and application in the workplace have been discussed. It is a well recognized fact that self assessment is the best way to understand a concept and that has been applied here also and a self assessment test has been conducted. It has disclosed few of my motivational factors and also indicates my characteristics on the basis of the need analysis. At the last stage of the report analysis, a case study has been conducted for better understanding of the study. From the case study it has been found that revenue generation and customer satisfaction both are the major goals of a project and completion of both is subject to performance appraisal and appraisal should be according to the requirement of the particular employee which can help to motivate the employees. Reference Affirmation for Radical Success, 2008. Goal Setting Theory. Get SMART. [Online] Available at: http://www.affirmations-for-radical-success.com/goal-setting-theory.html [Accessed on October 09, 2010]. Amabile, T. M., 2002. Motivational synergy: Toward new conceptualizations of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in the workplace. Abstract. 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[Online] Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B7J20-4D5WNG6-HR&_user=10&_coverDate=08%2F31%2F1976&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1491280415&_rerunOrigin=scholar.google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=9710a9a84038b1befe96c250cb0333cb&searchtype=a [Accessed on October 09, 2010]. McCuddy, M. K., No Date. Organizational Behavior. Key Approaches to Motivation in the Workplace. [Online] Available at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:1qpXdBExTkgJ:baniasad.ir/behavior/books/Hellriegel/ch05-Hellriegel-10e-ob.ppt+motivation+at+workplace+ppt&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in [Accessed on October 09, 2010]. Perrow, C. (1972).  Complex organizations. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman. Radford, L., No Date. Motivation. How Expectancy Theory Works? 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