Experiential Reflection on Motivation - Research Paper Example

Topic: Human Resource: Motivation Introduction Motivation is the ability to inspire; to provide more passion and energy in a performance of job. It is an act of nurturing the value of human capital’s performance and contribution in the completion of corporate goals. This essay aim to explicate motivation by providing an overview of the at least three different methods of motivation with an analysis of it effectiveness; (b) to select at least one motivation method and analyze its advantages and disadvantages or an organization; and (c) to demonstrate causes and empirical evidences how motivation becomes a vital contributor to organizational performance based on personal experiences. Motivation define Motivation comes in many form and manifestations. In corporate human resource management, it may be illustrated in a form of a reward system which can be practically demonstrated through promotion, provision of more benefits and increases rate of salaries of fees. Price (2007) explained that reward management nowadays integrates both pay systems: fixed pay and the reward granted to compensate improved performance. The former fixed level is more about wages and salaries that are not varying from time to time, and it normally increase on annual basis (Prince, 2007).  On the other hand, the reward for better job performance is fundamentally based on individual’s record in a monthly or annual basis. The reward guarantees company’s recognition of exercising fairness to pay a staff in commensurate to the level of efforts exerted to achieve targeted output with such verifiable positive impact of such outcome. This performance-related-payment (PRP) system is practiced by most banks in Greece and Italy (Daskopoulou, et al 2005) based on worker’s capacity to positively contribute to the fulfillment of company’s performance. However, the PRP system is considered as inherently a de-motivator by other employees in other companies, such as in Midland Bank because it encouraged unfair competition among workers and hence, loss the spirit of teamwork among workers (Daskopoulou, et al 2005) Thus, they developed teambuilding and reformed teamwork as a relational framework within a working environment.   Motivational Models Sociologists developed many strategic corporate frameworks to understand underlying interests of employees to motivate them to perform efficiently and effectively with their roles and functions. Maslow’s Theory of Motivation is the most prominent precept on motivating human resources. This theorizes that human beings have hierarchical needs categorized into five. First, are psychological needs where an individual wanted to satiate self with knowledge and information to understand self, family, and his immediate community? A person needs to enjoy proper food, air, water, and shelter as part of the fundamental needs for survival. Anent to this is the need for all human beings to be secured from threats, disasters, and conflicting environment is very important in any circumstances. It’s this interest which motivated insurance companies and health providers to mushroom in urban and rural communities to provide services and safety environment. Another need of a person is the need nurture self-confidence and self-esteem by exhibiting better performance and to excel above other employees. Each of them likes to be social accepted with co-workers and immediate friends. They endeavor to improve human behavior to be in better human relations to satisfy their self-esteem. Such will also provide emotional contentment by enjoying love, affection and achieve self-actualization. The latter refer to self-fulfillment at a higher level with sense of contentment and feeling of happiness (Hill, 2008). All these influences and drive people to endeavor to perform well in their duties to meet all ends Herzberg, another sociologist, also raise two factors which motivate people to work and systematize its marketing system. These are motivators and the hygiene factors. For him, the fundamental motivators are sense of job enjoyment, achievement, recognition, promotions and growth opportunity for advancement (Borman & Motwidlo, 1993). Hygiene factors include matters on financial freedom, money, flexible and clear company policies, healthy working environments, better relation with management and work ethics, and job satisfaction. These hygiene factors are perceived to as healthy motivators to ascertain achievement of job satisfaction (Lingard and Rowlinson, 2005). Other models of motivation are extrinsic motivation which apparently refers to similar forms of rewards: salary, benefit, promotion, security and other similar nature. Depending on content and process, philosophers too have forwarded some motivational model. These are expectancy-based models (Vroom-Porter-Lawler), goal-theory (Locke), attribution theory and Adams’ equity theory which is focused on people’s feelings and how they experience fair treatment of others. Modern experts have also pointed that there are specific models which are given relevance in this millennium. These are clerical, counseling, control, consultancy and industrial relations models of motivation. Clerical model perceived that HR are processors of documents, records and of knowledge management. They ought to be rewarded in exchange for good performance and for performing tasks beyond expectations. The counseling model, on the other hand, focused on betterment of employees to provide best level of services and anent disciplinary issues. In industrial model, labor forces are unionized to enable them to protect their rights, interests and to exercise their right for collective bargaining. Moreover, control model is to inflexibly regulate the performance and operation of the company while consulting model relates to the practice of the administrator to consult employees on matters that are directly and indirectly affecting them.  Enhancing Capabilities         Motivating people to achieve better performance and relations within workplaces require companies to sustainably educate and upgrade employees’ knowledge and skills through training and capability development (Price, 2007). This is consistent to international policies on labor standards which mandate companies to employ employees who can exhibit the fundamental corporate management principles (Prince, 2007 & Hill, 2008). These are, a. Effective hiring, resourcing and deployment of high quality workers; b. Determining and improving skills and motivation to discourage fast turn-over of employees; c. Regular conduct of organizational capacity assessment and performance appraisal to ascertain which needs to be improved and which opportunities to be exploited; d. Maximization of the use of information technology to improve and hasten conduct of duties; e. Identification of roles, key results areas, and desired outcomes to systematize performance and management; f. Investing attention to upgrade workers skills, capacities to respond to diverse multi-tasks and to provide training needs facilitate career development. Such will make workers felt that they are valued by the company and nurture commitment for the company’s vision, mission and goals; g. Improving human resources perception for change and understanding this as an opportunity; h. Clarifying to employees the companies’ vision, mission, goals, key results areas, performance indicators and appraisals. i. Nurturing effective communication to enhance open communication between administrators and workers to enrich relations and customer care management (Prince, 2007 & Hill, 2008). All companies ought to manage their operations with such expertise in laying corporate objectives, targets, career developments, reward systems, marketing schemes, professional management development and strategies to out-perform other competent companies (Prince, 2007 & Hill, 2008). This affirms the necessity of motivation as an engine to improve company’s performance, including its cost-efficiency to sustain good return of investment. Converse to this, the company who failed to nurture motivational approaches will confront problems on ill result to high turn-over of employees, weaken their capacities, poor customer care management, poor salary scheme, non-achievement of corporate goals and targets, failure of vision, mission and key result areas (KRAs), negative outcomes and lastly, could lead to eventual death of the company (Befu & Cernosia, 1990 & Butler, Ferris, & Napier, 1991).  Experiential Reflection on Motivation It is inherent in the Human Resource Management (HRM) that employees should be motivated to perform duties and to nurture their commitment for the company and their well-beings. Multinational companies have been illustrative and pro-active in engendering motivational approaches for employees following labor standards and its desire to develop competitive advantage in the market. Of these presented frameworks of motivating employees, providing rewards through incentives or promotions and enhancing their capabilities are the best way of inculcating encouragement for employees. It should be realized that human capital are the engine and backbone of an organization (Gerhart & Milkovich, 1990; Pfeffer, 1998). As workers are hired to perform tasks demanded of the companies, their contributions in the achievement of company’s profitability and sustainability should be valued too. Moreover, it should be realized that workers, as engine of company’s operation, should be significantly accorded with such corporate premium because sustaining market leverage necessitate quality and sophisticated human resource management (HRM) infrastructures (Beechler, Bird & Raghuram 1993). As such, HRM policies and rules should be strategically designed to uphold desirable employee’s outcomes and motivate positive behaviors. Thus, provision of rewards, promotional status, benefits and engaging them to trainings, seminars and exposures to facilitate the improvement of their skills and knowledge are imperative for companies. Without these interventions and support, human resources would have weak organizational responses, poor performance and suddenly succumb to resignation or of turn-over (Cable & Parsons, 2001; Carsten, & Spector, 1987). This simply affirms the fact that employees work to gain fair salary, monetary rewards and advancement of their profession. This investment for human resource growth is indeed expensive but with company’s innovation, these risks can be manage to improve company services, sustain retention of good workers and advance company’s leverage in the market. Conclusion Motivation could result to committed workforce. This can be advanced more by upholding motivational approaches as both a corporate culture and a strategy (Allen & Meyer 1990) on better organizational behaviors and roles. It also helped nurture organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), a reciprocal fair relational treatment between employees and management (Colye-Shapiro, Kessler & Purcell, 2004). Motivating employees through benefits and education has strong indication for job satisfaction too. Human resources can express happiness with their jobs if they can handle tasks and are happy about it. If management or administrators are able to nurture effective practices, job satisfaction rate would be high and workers will enjoy such pleasurable emotional feeling (Abdullah, 2001). Crossman (2008) pointed that with motivational approaches, workers would be driven to achieve goals to fulfill his needs and expectation. References Abdullah, A. (2001). Influence of ethnic values at the Malaysian workplace. In A. Abdullah & H.M. 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