Non-Financial Motivation at the Workplace - Essay Example

Non Financial Motivation at the Workplace Management has emerged as an important factor in the operational setup of any organization due to various reasons. There are many areas in which management has an important role to play. Of all these, human resource management is of significant importance. This is mainly given the fact that all resources have an optimum level of utilisation, except for the human resource. The human resource is the only variable that can be altered to create better output and increase the quality and quantity of production. This is usually done through the managerial department (Karger, D. W., & Malik, Z. A, 1975). The managerial department undertakes a number of steps to ensure that the human resource employed does not remain static but grow and evolve with the changing market demands and trends. The most important variable that is used by managers and companies to motivate men is that of financial gain. But it has to be realised that other than finances there are other motivating variables that can be used to motivate employees to perform better (Wilkinson A, 1988). In the following paper there will be explored all the non financial variables that can be employed by managers to motivate employees. There will also be looked into and analysed the various motivational theories that have been evolved by scholars over the years. The fact that one has to keep in mind is that there exists a gap between the actual state of performance of the employees and the potential of the employees (Baumeister R F. Vohs KD, 2004). It is the work of the Human resource managers to help the employees evolve in their roles and help them achieve their potential or at least reduce the gap that is present between the performance and the potential of the employees. The manager usually is able to achieve this through the adoption of various motivational processes. The most important variable that is used by the various organizations to motivate the employees to perform better is that of financial gain. But it has to be realised that the motivation that employees derive from this is only limited and this may not hold true after a certain point of time (Deci, Edward L.; & Ryan, Richard M, 1985). Thus, there have to be put into place other motivating variables to ensure that the employees continue to increase their level of performance. The first method through which it can be ensured that the employees are dedicated towards improving their own level of performance is if they have a stake in the company. This has seen to have phenomenal effects on the performance of employees of any organization, as they then have a personal interest in the overall performance of the organization. For example, in the case of Microsoft, the employees are paper millionaires, but the level of efficiency of the employees keeps increasing with time given the fact that they are shareholders of the company stocks, and any change in the stocks will have a direct impact on them (Motivational techniques at Microsoft). Another important variable that has to be ensured by the managers while motivating the employees to perform better is to ensure that the work environment is conducive to work. There has to be ensured that the company takes into account the various needs of the employees. In fact, studies have reflected that in work places where there are facilities of entertainment, health care, and others the performance is better, than in those organizations where these are not available (Festing M, 1997) The managers can help the employees of an organization grow by helping nurture the feelings of competition among the various employees, but at the same time there also has to be maintained that no tensions develop among the various employees and that a friendly work environment is maintained. These are two highly conflicting notions, and it is the job of the manager to ensure that the thin line between the two is maintained, and the office activities are so coordinated that there is maintained a healthy environment of competition without any feelings of insecurities and malice developing (Steinmetz, L, 1983). This is important, as there has been seen that with the development of negative competitive feelings, the performance of employees may increase in the short run. But, in the long run the over al performance in the workplace falls. The theories of motivation have been evolved by a number of scholars including Douglas McGregor, Herzberg, Maslow and others. Abraham Maslow propounded his theory of needs, which is more of a psychological theory but it can be applied to management strategies to motivate workers (Harper, Row, 1954). Maslow in his theory basically lists the needs of humans in an ascending order, where the basic needs are placed lower in the pyramid. According to Maslow, the highest need of man is self actualisation and the lowest include that of monetary needs and security. According to Maslow a person wants to evolve and perform better. He needs the motivation and the facilities to grow, and if these are provided then he grow himself. Thus, if the managers are able to motivate the employees and provide them with the facilities they require then they would by design perform better as this is psychologically natural for them. The various facilities could include provision of infrastructure, information and data, and if there are required new skills then workplace training workshops can also be organised by the managers (Herzberg F, 1966). These would help the employees learn the changing techniques that keep emerging in the market. Thus, these would help the employees realise their potential and grow as individuals. There are also a number of other theories that have been developed that focus on other variables. For example, the theories that were evolved by Elton Mayo based on the Hawthorne experiments stated that the work efficiency of employees increased when working inn teams than when employees were made to work in isolation (Ken Shah & Prof. Param J. Shah, 1975). Thus, the importance of work environment was emphasised by Mayo in his theory. The expectancy theory basically states that if the goal that the company is aiming for is stated clearly to the employees then they will be able to reach it and fulfil their duties. The theory basically believes that the statement of a clear goals helps motivate the employees as then they have a clear aim ahead of them and they work towards that (Harpaz, I, 1990). This helps them grow and motivates them to push their limits and achieve the stated goal. Another factor that is closely related to this is that the company has to ensure that its employees know the high level of responsibility that is placed on them and there has to be positive reinforcement of these goals and these expectations that the company holds from the employees. This has been seen to be highly motivational to the employees as it adds to their work a deep sense of responsibility towards the company. There are two other important variables that this theory propagates. These include instrumentality as well as valence. The variable of instrumentality is clearly related to the process of functioning that is employed by the employees (Barry D, 1997). Thus, through the regulation of the method and the process of reaching the goals that have been specified by the company helps ensure that any faults and weaknesses can be detected and rectified. This is usually conducted by the managers by conducting clear reviews of the work that the employees have managed and reviewing their working. These can be conducted periodically and any problems that are reviewed can then be dealt with through finding the cause and then addressing it through appropriate methods. The final variable that can be regulated by the managers so as to motivate the employees into functioning in a more efficient and economic manner is placing a certain amount of importance on the expected outcome (Armstrong M, 2006). The managers can clearly communicate the reaction that the employees will receive on the achievement of certain goals (Martin, Beaumont P, Pate J). Some may be motivated through recognition of their work. This can be done by the conduction of a periodic inspection and then rewarding them through recognition. For example in Mc Donald’s the managers at the end of every month review the functioning of each employee and then declare the employee of the month. Also the motivation of promotion or demotion can lead to an increased level of efficiency as then the employees will have a clear image of the result of their working (Fishbein, M.; Ajzen, I, 1975). This would lead to motivation of the employees to improve their performance so that they can grow in the status. Also the fact that any slacking will not go unpunished will help ensure that the employees do not take their work lightly. These are some of the non financial motivational methods that can be employed, and these are of significant importance while managing the human resource because the financial motivation only helps them motivate them to a certain extent and is not always feasible for the organizations to employ. References: Armstrong M. (2006). A handbook of HRM practices. pp 127-135. Barry D. (1997). Strategy Retold, Towards a narrative view of strategic discourse. Academy of Management Review (22), 2 pp 429-52. Baumeister R F. Vohs KD. (2004). Handbook of self regulation: Research theory and applications. Guilford Press, New York. pp 574. Deci, Edward L.; & Ryan, Richard M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Festing M. (1997). International HRM strategies in multinational corporations. Management international Review. January 1997. Fishbein, M.; Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Addison-Wesley Harpaz, I. (1990). The importance of work goals: an international perspective. Journal of International Business Studies, 21. 75-93. Harper, Row. (1954). Maslow Abraham: Motivation and personality. New York pp 210-212 Herzberg F. (1966) Work and the nature of man. 1966 pp. 104-109.  Karger, D. W., & Malik, Z. A. (1975). Long-range planning and organizational performance. Long Range Planning. 8(6) pp. 60-64 Ken Shah & Prof. Param J. Shah (2009). Shah, Shah Theories of Motivation, Part - 3 of Motivation. Martin, Beaumont P, Pate J. A Process Model of Strategic HRM/LR Change in MNCs: The Case of AT&T and NCR in the U.K, pp 143-167 Motivational techniques at Microsoft, August, Motivation Techniques at Microsoft  Uploaded by impulsive on Aug 1, 2005, accessed on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 from http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=27506 Steinmetz, L. (1983) Nice Guys Finish Last: Management Myths and Reality. Boulder, Colorado: Horizon Publications Inc Wilkinson A. (1988). Empowerment, theory and practice. Personnel Review (27) 1. pp 40-56. Read More