Is Money the Primary Motivator - Assignment Example

Introduction Various researchers have proposed their own factors that motivate employees, some give precedence to money over other factors and others are of the perspective that money is not the primary motivator 1. For example, McClelland proposed the theory of needs and he stated that there are certain needs that motivate an individual into performing a particular task 2. He stated that every individual has certain extent of need for achievement, belongingness and authority and these needs motivate an individual to operate in a particular manner. Throughout the theory, nowhere McClelland has stated that there is need for money or money is a motivating force. One of the compulsory functions of human resource department of any organization is to retain employees. The believe that employees can be retained if they are paid higher wages is completely a myth, if this would have been true then highly paid members of an organization would not have left their jobs for better positions and learning opportunities 3. In this writing, the focus will be on the factors that motivate employees and how managers can use these factors to get the work done from employees. Body Currently the economic conditions throughout the world are experiencing a downward sloping curve, organizations are finding it difficult to make profits and due to decrease in profitability, they have even cut down on employee wages. Even under these economic circumstances, several employees stay loyal to their organizations and are even ready to work for lower wages. 1. Sue Grossbauer, Managing Foodservice Operations: A Systems Approach for Healthcare and Institutions. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co, 2000, p.399 2. Stephen P. Robbins, Organisational Behaviour: Global and Southern African Perspectives. Cape Town: Pearson Education South Africa, 2009, p.148. 3. Joseph F. Dyro, Clinical Engineering Handbook. Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press, 2004, p.216 This is because the organizations they are working in are providing them with opportunities to learn and opportunities to develop their knowledge, skills and abilities and are helping employees in advancing their careers. While making managerial decisions regarding recruit, selection and retention, managers need to know that money can purchase the best employees in the industry but money cannot surely purchase employee loyalty 4. There are several methods through which employers can attain the target of motivating employees, one such method is management of human value, which is defined as the creation of value with the assistance of people and delivering value to people. The environment has become very inconsistent and changes are taking place at all times, this means that one fixed approach cannot be used by organizations while they operate or while they motivate employees. Certain methods and techniques that might have been successful previously are no longer considered as viable options, thus a mix of several options or creation of new techniques to motivate employees is required 5. Even those employees who are not paid well because they lack certain skills and abilities can be productive for the organization if they are motivated to do so. Employees who lack skills and abilities can be motivated into being more productive if the organization helps them in developing their skills and abilities and provide them learning opportunities. A leader’s job is to influence others and get work from them; a leader can influence others through one of the several powers vested within him. A leader is in control of resources that might be desirable for followers. In order to attain those resources followers may perform as instructed by the leader. 4. Frederick F. Reichheld, Loyalty Rules!: How Today's Leaders Build Lasting Relationships. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School, 2003, p.78 5. Jeff Madura, Introduction to Business. Mason, OH: Thompson/South-Western, 2007, p.338 For example, a leader might have the resources required by an employee to attain training and to develop his/her knowledge, skills and abilities. In order to attain these resources and to attain training for his/her personal development, a follower will try to persuade a leader by proving him/her that the training is necessary for him. Leaders can even set an example out of their own practices in order to stimulate an employee to work hard towards the achievement of the aims and objectives of the organization. A good leader is one who has been able to influence his/her followers and his/her followers think high of him. One of the most important traits that a good leader should have is the trait of emotional intelligence 6. This trait provides a leader with the benefit of or recognizing the emotional issues that are experienced by their followers. The recognition of emotional issues helps an employer in motivating his/her employees. The leader can help the employee solve his emotional issues and in turn, the employee will be ready to work in compliance with the leader’s instructions. Motivation can take several forms, it can be as costly as training provided to an employee and it can be as inexpensive as verbal feedback provided by an employer. An employer has to ensure that he uses different types of motivators during different situations. This is because motivational factors even experience redundancy if the employer over uses them. Managers can even motivate employees by showing their presence to the work force and by demolishing any communication barriers between them and their subordinates. If employees perceive that there is a barrier of status between them and their employers, they will avoid communications with the employer. 6. Con Stough, Assessing Emotional Intelligence: Theory, Research, and Applications. New York, NY: Springer, 2009, p. 185 For example: Managers of Wal-Mart just do not spend time behind their desks making and delegating decisions, they work on the floors with their employees in order to prove that they are interested in whatever employees are doing and to make sure that the employees feel important 7. Managers can motivate their employees if they create an organizational environment, which promotes participation and involvement 8. An organization that follows a dictatorial structure in which the orders are handed down from the top-level management to the lower level management, the organization may fail to survive for a very long period. This structure does not only fail to meet the demands of the consumers, this structure even leads to decrease in employee morale. Employees are the ones who are directly involved in transactions with the customers and they are well aware about the needs and wants of the customers 9. If employees are made a part of the entire decision making process, they will be able to provide insight regarding the goods and services that an organization should produce. This behaviour of the management will even make the employees feel important as their participation is given importance during the decision making process. One of the major reason due to which employees quit their job is that they are dissatisfied with their jobs. There are several reasons due to which an employee may be dissatisfied from his/her job. One of these reason is that employee is not learning anything new in his position and is doing the same work over and over again and have become bored of it 10. 7. Vali H. Mitchell, and Philip J. Rothstein. Emotional Terrors in the Workplace: Protecting Your Business' Bottom Line ; Emotional Continuity Management in the Workplace. Brookfield, Conn: Rothstein Associates, 2005, p.230 8. William M. Pride, Robert J. Hughes, and Jack R. Kapoor. Business. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2012, p.295 9. ,Justin G. Longenecker, Small Business Management: Launching & Growing Entrepreneurial Ventures. Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2010, p.559 10. Stephen Taylor, The Employee Retention Handbook. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2002, p. 244 This is why employees tend to move to other organizations where they find something essential to learn and this helps them in attaining personal growth. Under this scenario, the organization needs to empower their employees and they do not only need to delegate responsibility, they even need to delegate authority so the employees can carry out their duties in the best possible manner. Employee empowerment will allow employees to find new ways of doing things and this will help the business as employees can come up with plans of operation that can help the organization decrease their cost. Conclusion It is commonly believed that higher wages, salaries, and bonuses motivate the employees, if so is the case then employees would not have quit their positions and looked for other organizations in which they can learn more and develop themselves. A manager to motivate their employees can use various other factors. References Dyro, Joseph F. Clinical Engineering Handbook. Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press, 2004. Internet resource. Grossbauer, Sue., Managing Foodservice Operations: A Systems Approach for Healthcare and Institutions. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co, 2000. Print. Longenecker, Justin G. Small Business Management: Launching & Growing Entrepreneurial Ventures. Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Madura, Jeff. Introduction to Business. Mason, OH: Thompson/South-Western, 2007. Print. Mitchell, Vali H, and Philip J. Rothstein. Emotional Terrors in the Workplace: Protecting Your Business' Bottom Line ; Emotional Continuity Management in the Workplace. Brookfield, Conn: Rothstein Associates, 2005. Internet resource. Pride, William M, Robert J. Hughes, and Jack R. Kapoor. Business. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Reichheld, Frederick F. Loyalty Rules!: How Today's Leaders Build Lasting Relationships. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School, 2003. Print. Robbins, Stephen P. Organisational Behaviour: Global and Southern African Perspectives. Cape Town: Pearson Education South Africa, 2009. Print. Stough, Con, Donald H. Saklofske, and James D. A. Parker. Assessing Emotional Intelligence: Theory, Research, and Applications. New York, NY: Springer, 2009. Internet resource. Taylor, Stephen. The Employee Retention Handbook. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2002. Print. Read More