Analysis of Motivation Styles - Case Study Example

Analysis of Motivation Styles Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code and Name: University: Date of Submission: Analysis of Motivation Styles The Setting and the Person Formax Direct units is a small company that engages in production and selling of solar panels. The company produces solar products but its main product is solar panels. The sales manager in this company was superb at motivating the sales team. He employed all means and tactics to make employees in the sales team to work hard and turn in positive sales for the company. As a result of his work, there was increased productivity and profitability of the company. The sales manager was keen to see everybody in the company sales team being productive. I was a member in the sales team. The sales team was the integral part of the company since they determined how much of the product should be produced for the market. The company faced stiff competition from other companies producing solar or energy saving products. The sales manager was a charismatic leader who was motivated the members of the sales team with his endowed ability. The leader was able to inspire sales team leaders to be aggressive in their jobs as they do their personal selling. Building up a sales team and giving sales members the required morale is not an easy task. The sales manager was able to motivate sales team members to be productive and think positive throughout their jobs in the field and the company procedure. The leader instilled discipline and hard work in the team members and made them to be responsible throughout. He encouraged members to have personal self-drive that keep their spirit positive. The Behaviors and Style of Motivation The sales managers used various methods of motivation and modification of behavior to ensure that the sales team worked hard. Fun days and retreat for members were organized and used as forums of making members bond and exchange ideas. During these retreats members were encouraged to share their experiences in the field and exchange challenges that they encountered. Retreats were forums to reduce stress and psyche up for the events of the week. Members were encouraged to be open minded and be willing to learn from others. The retreats provided a good time for bonding for the sales team. Sales people who felt that they were giving up got encouraged in the forums during retreats. The sales manager attended these forums and encouraged members to keep on fighting and to go for the best in life (Miner 2007, p. 321). The life experience of the sales manager was very encouraged and he shared with everyone how overcome challenges as a member in the sales team before being promoted to the position which he held then. Games and other playing activities were organized to make members bond with each other. Singing competitions and individual talents were showcased. Winners were given prizes to encourage people to participate. Everyone find something interesting to take part in. The various activities helped members to unwind and cope with challenges that come with their jobs in the field. Apart from the retreats, sales team engaged in competition that enabled them to gauge themselves against each other. The best performing sales team was rewarded by being taken to a dinner part or just being given presents. Rewards were extensively used by the sales manager to motivate the sales team members to work hard. High rollers who were the best performing sales people were given a present at the end of the week. They were also encouraged to share their experiences with the rest of team members during daily or weekly meetings. Punctually was also encouraged through rewards. A member who came early than the rest for three consecutive days was rewarded. There was a rush for everyone to be an early riser. This trend led to people reporting early at the place of work regardless of their destination. Bonuses were given to sales team members on unspecified days. The sales managers could come to meetings and abruptly announce the bonus day. On the bonus day, members got higher commissions on everything they sold. The commission was separate from the fixed salary. The fixed salary was also introduced by sales manager as means to make sales people stay. Initially the rate of turnover from the company as a result of meager pay was very high. The sales manager encouraged old members of the team to mentor the members who were new on the job. The sales force was motivated by the manner in which they were encouraged by sales manager. Sharing of ideas created an unbreakable bond among the members of the sales team. Openness and being concerned about each other made the members of the sales team feel at home in the group. Team members who performed well were elected as team leaders and given more responsibility. The out come of this style of motivation and behaviors resulted into a motivated workforce and looked forward to doing its job with indescribable motivation and diligence. Members of the sales team carried out their duties joyfully and were happy with their work. The members got encouraged to remain positive in their work. Striving to achieve more pay and better condition of lives in the place of work made workers to work hard and be more productive than before. The Situation, the Task or Challenge Making repeated sales was not an easy task. The company was situated in the place where there was electricity and many people questioned the essence of selling to than solar panels. It was the responsibility of the sales team to convince the customers to buy the solar panels. Some of the reasons included unprecedented power blackout that were frequent in the city. The seasons of the year had cold weather that did not have full sunshine (Gorman 2004, p. 146). Overcoming barriers or oppositions before making a sale was a challenge, and sales team members could get very frustrated to the point of quitting. Frustrated sales people could get nasty and even quit. The sales manager had to give the sales team morale to continue working in the company. Working in trying conditions and selling to unwilling buyers were some of the challenges. Sales teams had to move from one town to another looking for wholesalers and retailers to stock the products of the company. The sales team was divided in groups that traversed different areas of the country selling the company’s products. The sales team had to learn how to package the product in case of there being some interference when in the field. Learning the operation and components of the product was very important. The customers wanted to know what was used to make the product and how it operated. Customers wanted service communication contact in case the product failed to perform as described. It was the responsibility of the sales team leaders to file progress reports on the performance of products in the market (Baldoni 2005, p. 115). The products were facing competition from other companies producing solar products. The sales manager met the sales team to encourage them and motivate them to do better than before. The tasks were challenging; the work was demanding; and setbacks were discouraging. It is the sales manager who gave people morale to continue sticking around and pursue organizational as well as personal goals. Members of the sales team who found it very tough continuing to work for the company eventually quit. A majority of the members of the sales team were encouraged throughout their work. Even those who eventually left were glad for the experience that they had gained while working for the company. Important Elements of This Example to the Theories of Motivation One of the theorists, Frederick Taylor put forward the perspective that employees are majorly motivated by pay. His scientific theory of management argued that workers did not enjoy work and, therefore, needed close control and supervision. Fredrick suggested that mangers have to break down production in small tasks that formed a serious to make them stay interest in the job. Workers were to be given required training and tools so as to work efficiently in their duties and function (Baumeister & Vohs 2004, p. 554). Workers were to be paid per the number of pieces of work they produced every day. This was the piece rate method. Workers were encouraged to maximize their production and work hard. This perspective by Taylor was largely applied in the company by the sales manager. Money rewards were hugely used to make the workers more productive and aggressive in their functions. Apart from the money incentives, the piece-rate method was encouraged when more commission was given for high performance according to the number of products sold. People received more bonuses if they sold many products (Ginsburg & Bronstein 1993, p. 1467). There was also a fixed salary that members looked forward to every month. Fredrick Taylor means of motivation was highly exploited by the sales manager to make the sales team members productive and maximize their potential. The Taylor’s perspective turned workers into machine like objects who were there to accomplish the assigned tasks. Eventually this system of approach becomes boring and other methods of motivation are used. Another theorist, Elton Mayo, had the belief that workers not only motivated by money concerns but other needs that were met at the place of work. These social needs were outlined in the Human Relation school of thought. This kind of perspective focused on the aspect of managers having greater interest in the employees, treating them well and listening to their opinions about issues affecting the organization. Mayo realized that employees enjoyed interacting together. A series of experiments were conducted by Mayo in Western Electric Company situated at Hawthorne in Chicago. Mayo discovered that workers were motivated by better communication between workers and managers. He also demonstrated that workers were motivated by greater manager commitment in the working lives of the employees. Thirdly, he declared that workers were motivated by belonging to a team or groups. In real practice businesses are required to re-organize production to enhance greater use of team work and group work. This perspective by Elton Mayo was largely used by the sales manager in the company. The sales force was organized in teams and mentoring of members was encouraged. The working conditions of the workers were looked at thoroughly, and the social needs of workers addressed. Retreats organized by the sales manager were meant to address the social needs of workers from the sales team force. The workers belonged to various groups, which was a source of encouragement and motivation to them (Cervone et al. 2006, p. 336). The perspective by Elton was applied largely in the sales team and kept the sales team members together and excited about their duties. The sales team was more focused in their duties due to the fact that their social needs were being met in the company. The theory by Mayo has been widely applied in the places of work in an effort to keep workers focused in their functions. Abraham Maslow in partnership with Frederick Herzberg introduced another theory of thought that stressed on the employees’ psychological needs. Maslow described that there were five levels of needs which employees or human being need to fulfill. The needs are structured in a hierarchical manner. In his assertion, one lower on needs has to be fulfilled before the other is attended to (Gollwitzer 1999, p. 499). For instance, a person who is very hungry will be motivated by basic wage to buy food before thinking about a secure contract of the job. Consequently, different incentives have to be used to motivate workers at different levels. Managers have to agree that employees are not motivated in the same manner, and, therefore, they should come up with a variety of ways of motivating them (Elliott & Dweck 1988, p. 5-12). The sales manger devised ways of rewarding people according to their abilities and performance. Members who were promoted to be team leaders felt more recognized, and they exerted themselves increasingly in their duties. Basic pay alone was not used as the sole motivation of staying in the company’s sales team. Members had to work hard to achieve other forms of rewards in an effort to better their standards of life and position at the place of work. Frederick Herzberg was very close to Maslow and believed in a motivation two-factor theory. Het saw that whereas organizations introduced motivators to word hard in the place of work, there were aloes other factors that would de-motivate employees if they are absent in the place of work (Zimmerman 1989, p. 331). These factors were regarded by Herzberg as hygiene factors. Motivators were based by the actual job itself. Hygiene factors refer to those aspects that surround the job and not the job itself. On the job, workers were concerned about promotion, recognition, and responsibility. Herzberg was concerned about other aspects surrounding the job that made the workers satisfied and comfortable working at the company. Herzberg saw that businesses could motivate workers by using a democratic approach in management and improving the content and nature (Murphy 2009, p. 37). Some of the methods recommended for motivation include job enlargement, which include workers being given greater responsibility, and hence making their work to be more fun and interesting. Job enrichment is whereby workers are given a wider range complex, challenging, and interesting tasks to make their work exciting. Empowerment in the place of work involves workers being delegated more power and ability to make decisions. In the company, the sales manager employed the suggestions by Herzberg. He gave more responsibilities to workers who showed more dedication or commitment to their job. People were promoted to be sales representatives in other places of the country. Motivation and hygiene factors were both covered by the reward scheme that the sales manager used. People were given roles to lead road trips and sales expeditions in different parts of the country. Conclusion Theories of motivation have been extensively used in the modern day business operations to keep workers focused of their work functions. Every firm or company is striving to make sure that the workers are satisfied and happy at the place of work. The sales manger used different methods of motivation to get good results from the sales teams. Some of the methods used have been advocated by renowned psychological theorists such as Elton Mayo, Frederick Taylor, Abraham Maslow, and Frederick Herzberg. It has been learnt that pay is not the only reason way workers are motivated to work hard. Social needs have to be met to encourage workers to stay focused in their work. Herzberg categorizes the factors of motivation into motivators and hygiene factors. It is important for all needs to be addressed before workers feel comfortable at their place of work. Abraham Maslow has created a hierarchy of needs that that places workers needs into levels that need to addressed from one level to the next. Theories of motivation has been extensively been used in modern days organization to keep workers in the organization. Bibliography Baldoni, J 2005, Great motivation secrets of great leaders, McGraw-Hill Professional, Boston. Baumeister, RF & Vohs, KD 2004, Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and application, Guilford Press, New York. Cervone, D, Shadel, WG, Smith, R E & Fiori, M 2006, ‘Self regulation: Reminders and Suggestions from Personality Science,’ Applied Psychology: an International Review, Vol. 55, No. 3, p. 333–385. Elliott, E S & Dweck, C S 1988, ‘Goals: An approach to motivation and achievement,’ Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 54, No. 1, p. 5-12. Ginsburg, G S & Bronstein, P 1993, ‘Family factors related to children’s intrinsic/extrinsic motivational orientation and academic performance,’ Child Development, Vol. 64, No. 5, p. 1461-1474. Gollwitzer, PM 1999, ‘Implementation intentions: Strong effects of Simple plans,’ American Psychologist, Vol. 54, No. 7, p. 493–503. Gorman, P 2004, Motivation and emotion, Routledge, New York. Miner, JB 2007, Organizational behavior: From theory to practice, Volume 4, M.E. Sharpe, London. Murphy, J 2009, Inner Excellence, McGraw-Hill, Boston. Zimmerman, BJ 1989, ‘A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning,’ Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 81, No. 3, pp. 329-339. Read More