Work-Life and Motivation - Balance - Coursework Example

Work life and motivation: Balance Introduction If one was to define the process of work-life balance in terms of keep the perspective of the manager, one would find that it is the maintenance of a balance and through responsibility sharing at the workplace as well within the home environment. This would help the employee view the benefits of working in conditions in an overall help to their life in both the domains of his existence-the workplace and the home. The concept of work-life balance stands in direct contrast to the concept of work/life conflict which is again defined as a form of inner role conflict in which the role pressures from the work and other life domains, such as family are mutually incompatible in some respects therefore making participation in one role being in direct confrontation with the other (Cierri, Holmes, Abbott and Petit, 2002). The ones working in the public sector are in greater need of motivation both monetary and psychological. Dixit (2002) states that the idea could be explained by way of a three pronged reasoning. First, given the altruistic nature of the work that is performed by the public sector, there is a need to ensure that the employees are able to keep themselves motivated. This is true given the larger fact that those that are part of the public sector and the kind of work that are entrusted with, impacts the life of the general public that are fundamentally more important than the work of the private sector, whose work is focused on the furthering of personal or at best company gain. The success or failure of any given organisation at any juncture in time is based on the twin issues of how the organization is able to deal with the issues related to the internal and external factors affecting the overall organizational output. The point to be noted in this context is that while any given commercial organization, more often than not is unable to extend any kind of control to external factors. Internal factors on the other hand are those that have an impact on the overall management based decisions within the organization. The following discussion will track the internal and external factors affecting the workability and the efficiency in any given organisation. The internal factors of the organisation are inclusive of the age and tendencies of the owner and the proprietors, the kind of business the organisation deals with, the cost and process of production that it is engaged in, the marketing and operations management that it engages in for the better management of its product system; the human resource management and the overall process of innovation and product development that the organisation is able to focus on.  When marketing an event it is necessary to keep in mind the scope of the intended audience and the fact that this would be in direct relation to how and where the advertising would have to be placed (Keillor, 2007). When marketing an event it is necessary to keep in mind the scope of the intended audience and the fact that this would be in direct relation to how and where the advertising would have to be placed (Keillor, 2007). The only sustainable source of product advantage is a superior product development process. Advantages based on design, fortunate timing, a comptitor5’s misstep, or even a lucky break cannot be sustained (Cooper, 2001). Such factors cannot be relied upon to create successful products over the long term. An inferior development process would make advantages based on such factors short lived. A superior process would consistently identify the best product opportunities define competitive products and ensure that these are brought to the market a lot faster.   Also important in this context is the management of human resources which would hinge on the effectiveness with which the company is able to deal with the balancing the employee strengths in terms of outsourcing work, setting up jobs for locals and the movement in domestic workforce which would in most cases turn out to be expats and would manage the roles of leadership at the initial stages.  The Human Resources Management functions are inclusive of a large number of variables that are required in order to build and run a successful commercial venture. In fact it has been said by some that a business cannot find success in the absence of a carefully devised and implemented plan that assures a high quality where HR maintenance is concerned (Mitchell, 2001). HRM is made up of a large number of variables and the fields that are linked to the same are complex and overlapping with the management strategies that govern the overall venture-these include the staffing needs of the company, the recruitment and training of the best employees, ensuring they are high performances, value for money and low rates of attrition. The HRM functions also deal with performance issues, and ensuring that the personnel and management practices conform to various regulations (McNamara, 2001). Further an effective HR strategy consists of the management of the approach that is to be taken by the company for employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or nonprofit) have to carry out these activities themselves because they can't yet afford part- or full-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have -- and are aware of -- personnel policies which conform to current regulations.    Production competencies allow the firm to: manufacture a broad range of products, including specialty and high quality items; build a reputation in the industry; and reduce operating costs, which act as key factors to achieve competitiveness (Conant, Mowka, and Varadarajan 1990). However, most small firms experience problems due to inadequate product design and quality, and outdated machinery (O'Farrell and Hitchens 1988). Site and building quality reflects sufficiency of existing structure, and the need for and feasibility of physical improvements. Also important here is the management of logistics. Logistics and distribution occupy a position of supreme importance in all businesses across the world most of all in retail. A successful and well managed logistics and distribution operations are the basic keys behind a business that hopes to thrive and do well (Brewer, Button and Hens her, 2001). Logistics and distribution management experts manage the transportation and distribution of goods, materials, labor and other commodities right from the source to the market. Major decisions about and strategic management of core competencies, capabilities and processes, technologies, resources and key tactical activities necessary in the function or chain of functions that create and deliver product and service combinations and the value demanded by the consumer could be identified as the functional strategy aspect of the operations strategy variable. The external factors consist of government policies and the overall state of the economy which play a dominant role in the overall situation of the business model in light of the fact that more often than not the business is able to do nothing about the policies of the government which hinder more than aid the overall business. Also important is the socio-cultural environment present in a country and the global acceptance of the product being sold.   The overall economic environment affects to a large extent the manner in which customers buy and the things that they buy. In a recessionary economy for example, buying tendencies are automatically limited, while in a boom phase, consumer buying is more indiscriminate (Kurtz, McKinze and Snow, 2009). . The key socio-cultural factor that is encouraging given the present context would be that there is a population growth which would automatically signify a growth in the potential of the market. Also, the idea is that there would be more and more people that would be increasingly dependent on mobile communication. Also, the cultural perception of any device is positive in the worldwide scenario given its aspiration value. The problem here is that perceptions such as the trend of boycotting American products in the Islamic world could create problems. Marketing is a social process through which individuals and groups attain the things that they require or want. This is done through the creation and exchange of products and values with others (Kotler, 2002). Conclusion In conclusion therefore it may be reiterated that although it is correct that many performance enhancing initiatives have been adopted and implemented by organizations the world over, and each of these performance-improvement initiatives could be useful in boosting operating results, most of the initiatives need to be positioned under a process-management umbrella if they are to be successfully integrated. If this is ignored organizations start running the risk of program proliferation and of being burdened with a multitude of disconnected improvement efforts. It has to be remembered that for success the process management initiatives have to be viewed as being structured approaches to performance improvement that focus on the disciplined design and careful execution of a company’s end-to-end business processes. Isolated implementation, in the absence of an integrated approach, would mean that the process would enhance efficiency in the short term but would have no long term impacts on the organization’s fortunes. The literature debates identify the methods are being aspects of strategic operations management but what ultimately happens is a short term fix without any concept of what it means to the larger goals of the company. It is here that changes have to be made, if strategic operations management are to actually achieve any objectives that they state they aim to achieve.   Reference: Kurtz, D. L., MacKinze, H. F., and Snow, K., (2009). Contemporary Marketing. Cengage Learning Publication. p92   Kotler, Phillip, Jain D and Maiscincee S, 2002, Marketing moves: a new approach to profits, growth, and renewal, Pub, Boston, Harvard Business Press, p26    Keillor B D, Marketing in the 21st Century: Integrated marketing communication, pub, A1 Books, pppp175-176   Cooper, R. G., (2001). Winning at new products: accelerating the process from idea to launch. Border Books. p67. Mitchell D J B, 2001, IR journal and conference literature from the 1960s to the 1990s: What can HR learn from it? Where is it headed? Human Resource Management Issue, Vol.11 No.4, pp375-393  McNamara C, 2001, Human Resource Management. Retrieved March 23, 2011   Brewer, A., Button, K., J., and Hensher, D., A., (2001) Handbook of supply chain management and Logistics. Emerald Group Publishing. p36 Cierri, H. D., Holmes, B., Abbott, J., and Petit, T., (2002). ‘Work-Life Balance Strategies’. Working paper. Vol. 28. p50  Dixit, A. (2002). ¯Incentives and Organizations in the Public Sector: An Interpretative Review, The Journal of Human Resources, 37(4): 696-727. Read More