What Great Managers Do - Case Study Example

Table of Contents Introduction 02 Motivation 02 Motivational Ways 03 Importance of Motivation 03 Factors Contributing towards Motivation 04 Theories and Motivation 05 Overcoming Challenges 06 Need for Motivation in Management 07 Conclusion 08 References 09 Introduction Motivation has always been an issue as the manager or the administrator involved in Human resource Management process should be successful enough to motivate employees. Employee motivation is generally considered as a core element of running a successful business. Performance of the employee is always depicted as a combined effect of motivation, ability and environment. Motivation has always been described as a goal directed drive. In this project we come across the various ways of motivating employees and also learn about the importance of motivation is terms of a profit earning organisation. The factors which add to the ways of motivation and how the managers can adapt different models and theories to meet organisational goals through motivating employees are further discussed. The presentation also highlights the challenges that the managers face in implementing and carrying of the motivational strategies and also the need for the managers to use and understand the need for motivation. Motivation Motivation is the process of giving someone a reason for doing something. It acts as a force or cause to influence an individual or a group of individuals. Motivation is an internal drive that causes an individual to decide to take action (Katz, 2005). A well motivated work force will almost allow a company to grow faster. Motivation results from both the internal and external factors such as: Intensity of desire or need, Incentive or reward value of the goal, and Expectations of the individuals and their peers. Motivation in management is described as the ways in which the managers promote productivity in their employees and make them more effective (Strickler, 2006). Motivational Ways There are various ways to motivate the employees and to motivate the employees the managers are required to: Feel that the work they do has sensible meaning. Believe that good work is rewarded. Believe that they are treated fairly. The management should always feel confident that the staffs have the feeling of being motivated. Good communication with employees and involving them in the decision making process and offering training and development also adds to the motivation of employees within an organisation. The need for the staff to understand their role in the organisation process and their contribution towards the organisational goals also serve as motivational factors (Lord, 2002). Importance of Motivation The importance of motivation is very obvious as it is required to reach the goals. It acts a very serious driving force for an organisation. It need not be a positive emotion every time as fear also serves as an effective motivating factor. There are various factors that can be considered as the importance of motivation. A few are discussed as follows: i. Motivation is the spark: Motivation gets things started so it acts as a spark to ignite the fire. Without motivation anything takes more time and less attention. Getting started is the most difficult part so motivation helps as a good start-up. ii. Motivation fuels and keeps moving: It is very easy to get discouraged during any work process; here motivation serves as a fuel to keep moving. In any workplace the additional benefits and perks provides motivation to the employees. iii. Motivation makes you do more than necessary: When an employee is motivated for something it volunteers for more than what is required. This adds to the accomplishment of goals for the organisation. iv. Motivation makes the working fun: An added incentive or perk always is very lucrative for all departments of the company. When the things are not going well in a desired direction motivation helps in easing such situations. Motivation in all ways is considered very important for the management and also has become a desired factor on the part of the employees (Perry and Hondeghem, 2008). Factors Contributing towards Motivation Factors that contribute towards motivation are either of the two types. It may be monetary or financial incentives or non-monetary incentives for the employees. Monetary incentives are provided in terms of money which are more attractive and benefits are achieved quickly and in concrete terms. Non-monetary factors are less lucrative as money or any financial gain is always the first choice of the employees for any organisation. Monetary factors can be either individual or group monetary schemes. Individual schemes benefit a single individual whereas the group schemes benefits the entire group for any combined action performed. In this policy the employees are paid as per their individual efficiency and potentials. Group monetary incentives are more beneficial to the management as they offer more benefits to the organisation. A good reward system, especially money as incentives, has been considered as the most successful drive to motivate employees (Nicholson, 2003). Non-monetary incentive schemes can be in the form of job security or enrichment, fair treatment to employees, recognition of good work, encouragement of self development and career development, delegation of authority, congenial working conditions, helpful attitude of management and fair opportunity of promotion, labour participation in management, designation and status (Wu, 2003). Theories and Models The managers can consider many ways to encourage their employees to get motivated and help in increasing the production capacity of the organisation. There are many motivational theories that the managers can employ in their management process to assist the management cycle. Expectancy Theory: The link between the employee’s expectation and rewards is stated as the expectancy theory. When an employee does very well and puts forward an additional effort they are likely to be expected rewarded accordingly. In the retail section, when the manager is short staffed, a cashier might offer to work in double shifts expecting additional praise and peripherals in the form of compensation. When the expectations are not met the employees get unmotivated. If an employee keeps on working, as hard as possible, over a period of time and does not get rewarded for his effort, the action works in the negative direction. Equity Theory: Equity theory means that the employees fell motivated when they feel that they are treated equally. If two employees perform the same job with the same performance level they expect the same pay and equal recognition. Lack of equity either real or imagined can easily damage the employees’ motivation causes an employee who is working as hard as the other employee shall never be motivated with a low level of recognition. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Maslow has described several levels of need that people seek to fill. These levels are: Physiological or the basic needs like place to live and food to eat. Safety or a desire for security. Feel like a part of something. Feel esteemed for a part or something. Self-actualisation like fulfilment of one’s potentials. Employment, regardless of any motivational factor, fulfils the lower level needs like buying food, having place of shelter and feel safe and secured. Motivated employees feel their needs met at higher levels. Employees who feel like a part of the team and are praised and esteemed are more likely to be more motivated (Helepota, 2005). The managers can easily employ the financial and the non financial factors of motivation as per a proper theory and device the right strategy to motivate and extract the maximum for the employees. Overcoming Challenges The managers are required to follow a few basic steps to overcome the motivational challenges that arise in their way of increasing the production process. The steps are: i. Clearly understand the problem: When a manager tries to solve a problem, it is first required for him to understand the problem clearly. The problem cannot be solved properly without understanding the actual reasons. Understanding the problem helps to focus on the solution. ii. Identify the resources and strengths: The need for the identification of the resources in hand is very necessary to help achieve the goals. The managers should make a time to time list of the resources in hand. iii. Making a proper strategy: A proper strategy is always the first ask to face any situational challenges. Once a right strategy is decided it should be executed correctly. The managers are required to select the right form of motivational factor to inspire the employees. iv. Implementation of the strategy: Proper skill, intelligence and creativity are required for the perfect implementation of the strategy decided upon. If the strategy does not work than the actual cause behind is required to be studied and the strategy is to reformatted and implemented again. The managers are required to work with some good brains in motivating the employees and workers keeping in mind the benefits to be the most in terms of the organisation as a whole. The managers should be prepared for the let down in this entire process and be self motivated to again implement a new policy (Buckingham, 2005). Need for Motivation in Management The managers are the main operators of any organisation are expected to work with proper diligence and care to meet the objectives of the company. The motivation factors and its long and short term advantages and disadvantages are to be well known by them to formulate a proper working channel and plan. Motivation acts a very important tool in knowledge management so the managers should have a very clear concept regarding the motivation issues. The management gets an additional factor and makes achieving objectives easier. A well motivated group of employees can work hard to even move mountains together. Motivation is very useful in improving the communication network of the organisation and also influences the organisational climate. Well structured strategies on motivation help develop the manager-employee relationship. The implications for organisations are dramatic. The leadership teams are not only required to be up to date on the latest researches but also the promotion of individuals to the managerial positions should also ensure that the person has skills required to manage and foster the type of relationships that will motivate their team (Nelson, 2000). Conclusion A good reward system for the employees always assists the management to improve the production process. Enterprise managers recognise that motivation is personal to the individual. Enterprises have created the right environment for motivating and engaging employees through good communication channels and timely feedback. Motivation is a very important component of HRM and also all managers apply the motivational factors to attain job success and organisational goals. The project has clearly brought forward the motivational factors, application through theories, ways to eradicate the implementation problems and the importance of motivating employees. References Buckingham, M. (2005). What great managers do. Harvard Business review, 3(3), 70-79. Helepota, H. A. (2005). Motivation Theories and their Application in Construction Cost Engineering, Vol. 47, No.3 pp.14-35 Katz, R. (2005). “Motivating Technical Professionals Today”, Journal of Research Technology Management, Nov-Dec, vol. 48, Issue 8, pp. 21-30 Nicholson, N. (2003). How to motivate your problem people. Harvard Business Review, 81(1), 57-65. Nelson, B. (2000). Motivation Employees with Intangible Benefits; Available at: http://www.findarticles.com Perry, J. L. and Hondeghem, A. (2008). Building Theory and Evidence about Public Service Motivation; International Public Management Journal 11 (1): 3-12 Lord, R. L. (2002). Traditional motivation theories and older engineers, Engineering Management Journal, 14(3), 3-7. Strickler, J. (2006). What really motivates people. Journal of Quality & Participation, 29(1): 26-28 Wu, X. (2003). Intrinsic motivation and young language learners: the impact of the classroom environment. System, 31, pp. 501 – 517. Read More