Employee Motivation Process - Coursework Example

Employee Motivation Name: Institutional Affiliation: Employee Motivation Introduction Employee motivation refers to the willingness of the employees to be able to exert very high levels of effort towards the organizational goals mainly conditioned by the effort’s ability to meet some of the individual need [Joh05]. To be able to engage in practice of motivating the employees, the employers should first of all understand the major unsatisfied needs of the of each of the groups of employees. Various employees have various needs and this may vary by age, gender or even the status in the society [Joh05]. It is therefore important the employer understands the various characteristics of his or her employees before employing the various employee motivation techniques. Motivation has the effect of energizing the thinking of the staff, fuels enthusiasm across the organization. Motivation also generates mental effort that drives the employees to apply their knowledge and skills. It is important to understand that even without motivation, even the most capable employee is likely to refuse to work hard. Most of us fail to understand the effect motivation has to an individuals and an organization at large. Motivation does not directly influence work performance in the organization but has the effect but instead facilitates the use knowledge and skills hence applying them effectively to the work tasks. Successful performance mainly involves the interaction of knowledge and motivation in the supportive work environments. Ways to motivate Employees In the present day, it is difficult to hire workers and expect to get motivated individuals. As a result, learning how to motivated individuals has become one of the most essential and relevant skills leaders have to possess in the ever changing work environment [Zie06]. This paper will identify and discuss some of the best ways to motivate employees in the organization. Years before leaders were mainly celebrated for their risk-taking nature and courage when formulating the corporate strategies, however the times have changed [Cla03]. In the present day the leaders must go beyond the tough decisions and the day to day operations and thus expected to be social scientists and the greatest leaders are those that have understood the concept of motivation [Lat08]. Some of the main ways to motivate employees include; fun, rewards, reputation, challenge and purpose. Fun There exist a group of workers that want to enjoy what they do and those that enjoy the activities they participate in the work environment, tend to look forward to each and every day at work [Bar07]. The opposite can also occur in any work environment when workers do not enjoy the daily tasks that they perform however, may like the social activities that they engage in after work such as movies, shows, going out with his or her friends and football [Bar07]. These are the type of individuals that tend to get very excited at the end of the day having in mind that there fun time is about to begin. Leaders should be keen to identify such characteristics. If a leader notes that his staff members are always excited at the end of the day, more than they are always are at the beginning of the day then it is vivid that there is lack of motivation in the workforce [Zie06]. As a result, the leader should identify ways in which they can motivate such individuals, by coming up with ideas and activities that are likely to suit them. Some of these initiatives include; Identify the task that each employee prefers and does best Find ways in which the human resource department can assign them more tasks that they enjoy and few of those that they do not enjoy. Create laughter in the workplace since many individuals love laughing and it is well known that a happy worker is a good worker. Plan social event where colleagues can have fun and interact Organizing sporting activities for the staff such as baseball, volley ball, and football. This can be further enhanced by establishing inter organization tournaments that have reward. These activities may look minor but have great result of the employee and hence the workforce performance. Most employers have not embraced such events and thus do not understand why there is no humor nor fun at the work place [Emp96]. These initiative enhance interaction which results into togetherness in the workplace and hence the employees are able to work as a team and hence take the organization greater heights. Rewards One of the greatest source of motivation is reward since most workers need to know that their efforts and work will be rewarded. There should be clear guidelines on the systems of reward so that there is an understanding between the employer and the employee [Bar07]. For example, per hour pay is what keeps most individuals going to work. However, this is not the only thing that will motivate the employees to work hard in their work and that people motivated by rewards, most times tend to look beyond the fact they are getting something reasonable from their work and most times will compare with their colleague’s out-put [Laz08]. For example if one employee realizes that he or she outperforms a colleague and earns less, then that will not go well with the individual motivated by rewards. The effect is that this is likely to demotivate the specific employee. It is therefore important to highlight if a worker that is motivated by rewards, does not feel that his pay depends on how well they perform then would in turn not be motivated to work harder [Lat08]. A reward system should therefore be formulated so as to ensure that there is fairness in organization and that the system effectively compensates the employees for their efforts. It is also important the workers are constantly reminded that they need to work effectively and that they will get incentives for the efforts that they put [Bar07]. It is also important that the top performers are recognized and rewarded since this will have the effect of challenging the other employees and at the same time be motivated to work even harder [Cla03]. Another mistake that most organization make is passing out rewards evenly across every employee, this should not be the case as it has the effect of demotivating the instrumentally motivated individual. Rewards can be in many forms, this can funds, recognition, salary increase or even holiday time for the outstanding performers [Bar07]. Reputation Individuals that are motivated by reputation have a strong need to improve their esteem or image with others. There exist a lot of individuals that want others to think highly of them and others are always hungry for attention [Bar07]. The same applies to workers, there are those workers that would not work hard not unless they believe that their work and effort, will recognized and noticed. There exist those employees that would work hard for a while and would stop after realizing that the managers do not show any form of appreciation [Bar07]. Because of this, reputation has been identified as being one of the best forms of motivating individuals in the organization. There exist numerous methods of reputation and they include; giving employees a lot of feedback on the way they are performing, criticize the employees in private, inform the employees that they are important both to the business and to you, offer certificate of appreciation to the employees that perform extra ordinarily well for the organization [Zie06]. Challenge Research has shown that most of the leaders tend to have extra ordinary levels of self-concept. This implies that leaders tend to be motivated from within and also like to challenge themselves with the developmental opportunities and new skills [Bar07]. Most leaders thus believe that if employees are not motivated this way, then they are not motivated at all. Some of the ways in which an organization can motivate people with challenge is through; assigning tasks that require their talents and skills, identify what the employees feel is their best skill, avoid the assignment of mundane tasks to the workers and identify the areas a specific employee may want to improve and help them through the process [Laz08]. The Coca Cola Company The Coca Cola Company is one of the company that has embraced employee motivation. We will look at the Coca-Cola Great Britain and the company states that it makes its priority to treat their employees well, help them develop and at the same time offer them a rewarding working life [Sta151]. The Coca-Cola Company believes that employee motivation should involves creating an environment where the employees can develop skills for improvement, excel in their performance and finally move towards their career goals [Sta151]. Some of the ways in which the Coca-Cola company employs to motivate their employees include; employee engagement, providing a good working environment, pay and reward and being open and inclusive. Employee Engagement The Coca-Cola Company recognizes the fact that its success significantly relies on the committed and motivates employees. The company always aims at making the employees feel that they play an important in enabling the organization meet its goals. The company has implemented various initiatives that measure the level of employee engagement with the organization and the satisfaction they derive from their working lives [Sta151]. Great Work Environment The company believes that it is important that their employees to enjoy their work life and also be sure that working for the company in the Great Britain if achieving and fulfilling. This is achieved by initiatives such as discounted gym membership, free Coca-Cola fruits and drinks, flexible working hours [Sta151]. Training and development So as to be able to attract and keep the best employees, the company has significantly invested in the development of their employees [Sta151]. The company has continued to do this, with the main aim of improving the performance of the company. Pay and reward The Company also engages in other activities such as praying and reward by offering competitive pay and other motivating benefits that are also crucial in attracting and retaining the most talented individuals [Sta151]. The reward programme adopted by the company are usually benchmarked with the major competitors and other key players in the market. Open and Inclusive The Coca Cola Company is significantly committed to providing the inclusive working environment where each individual is treated fairly. The company further believes that having individuals from the different background is a bonus to them and thus always aim at respecting the diversity of its workforce [Sta151]. Conclusion The paper has effectively analyzed the ways to motivate employees by reviewing literature from over eight materials and from the analysis above, it is vivid that the points listed above are valid since it has been determined that even Coca Cola use some the methods that had been earlier discussed to motivate its employees. References Joh05: , (Johnson, 2005), Zie06: , (Ziegenfuss, 2006), Cla03: , (Clark, 2003), Lat08: , (Latt, 2008), Bar07: , (Barbuto, 2007), Emp96: , (Rigsbee, 1996), Laz08: , (Lazenby, 2008), Sta151: , (Staff, 2015), Read More