Strategies for Employee Motivation - Coursework Example

Management Case Study; Employee Motivation Name Course Tutor Date Introduction Due to increased globalization, dynamisms and changes in the business environment, some organizations focus on employee motivation strategies to help in enhancing competitive advantage and sustainable creation of wealth. In this regard, the practice and theory of employee motivation has received more attention in modern leadership and management practices. There is increasing belief that recognizing and appreciating human behavior forms the basis for the development of an effective employee motivation strategy. As such, some researchers propose motivational strategies based on intrinsic factors while others back extrinsic inducement that can be adopted to increase employee motivation. However, it is notable that other researchers have come up with conflicting approaches to explain employee motivation. This paper gives an in-depth critical view on the issue of employee motivation by examining conflicting approach based on the intrinsic motivation and extrinsic inducement theories. Employee motivation Employee motivation remains one of the most complex issues under the human resource management functions. There is increasing evidence that although most organizations have existing employee motivation plans, such strategies fail to produce the required results. This has led researchers to re-examine employee motivation tactics by emphasizing on several conflicting theories and approaches based on the concept of intrinsic motivation and extrinsic inducement. Evidently, the issue of employee motivation is highlighted by the need for corporations to enhance performance and meet organizational goals and objectives. It is notable that employee motivation has received significant attention in recent years due to its vital role it plays in enhancing organizational profitability. Most organizations focus on employee motivation as one of the tactics for enhancing creativity and innovation the critical elements for sustainable creation of wealth through efficient use of resources (Millette and Gagne 2008). More importantly, it is understood that employee performance is determined by the ability of the employee and the level of motivation the employee has to achieve the objectives. The ability to perform tasks is a function of the level of education, training and experience. Although it is takes relatively longer time to develop talent and skill as a way to enhancing the ability of the employee, it is notable that motivation of employees can be done in a shorter time. However, this does not imply that employee motivation is a straightforward issue. On the contrary, the issue of employee motivation has been on e of the greatest challenges for human resource mangers for a long time. Strategies for employee motivation Several strategies for employee motivation have been proposed to explain the issue of motivation. However, it is notable that such strategies have been employed with varying degree of success. In some instances, these basic strategies have been integrated together to create a mix that fits specific situations and circumstances. The basic strategies used by organizations include positive reinforcement, treating employees fairly, satisfying employees, effective discipline and punishment as well as restructuring tasks and setting goals. However, more generally, employee motivation is classified as either intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation and the theory of self-determination Intrinsic motivation emphasizes on internal factors that create rewarding experiences like pleasure, happiness and sense of satisfaction. The theory of intrinsic motivation has been used to explain hobbies. It is understood that hobbies inspire people not on the basis of external rewards but from the rewards that are derived internally from accomplishing the task (Grant, 2008). The definition of intrinsic motivation has also been a huge challenge with different theorists coming up with conflicting definitions. However, there seems to be an apparent consensus that intrinsic motivation is based on what employees do or fail to do when there are no external inducements. Similarly, theorists have identified several factors that drive employee intrinsic motivation. Challenge is one of the factors that promote intrinsic motivation. This argument is based on the need for humans to engage in personally meaningful activities based on personal values and interests. The second factor that promotes intrinsic motivation is recognition where employees realize satisfaction when their contributions are recognized by the authorities. On the other hand, cooperation has also been identified as a contributing factor (Baard et al, 2004). There is increasing belief that employee’s intrinsic motivation is enhanced by the satisfaction derived from helping others. This forms the energy that drives team work and group activities in most organizations. Contrary to the belief of many, competition has also been termed as a potent issue that drives intrinsic motivation. Although some theorists think that competition is only a motivation when the individual is getting the right results, it is clear that some individuals are clearly driven by competitive forces. Finally, employee’s intrinsic motivation may be promoted by the need for control. Evidently, some individual employees derive their satisfaction from the ability to control situations, choose on voluntary basis on what to do and what to achieve. However on the other hand, some experts argue that external inducement provides a potent motivation that drives employee performance. The theory of self determination The theory of self determination emphasizes on the need to recognize the human nature of employees and intrinsic motivation to achieve goals and objectives. The proponents of the self determination theory believe that given the freedom to decide voluntarily on what to do, employees are more concerned with their satisfaction. This drives performance in the long run as opposed to employees whose decision is based on rules and regulations that tend to work for benefits only. Under this theory, it is understood that employee’s psychological status pertaining to competency, relatedness and autonomy play a critical role in enhancing motivation. The self determination theory was further developed to the cognitive evaluation approach which examines the contribution of social and environmental issues in shaping intrinsic motivation. The proponents of this approach, say that feedback mechanism determine the level of employee motivation. For instance, it is expected that employees who have positive perceptions about their supervisors tend to perform better than those who have negative perceptions about their leaders. Extensive research shows that conditions which increase employee freedom contribute in enhancing intrinsic motivation (Fernet and Senecal 2005). The proponents of the self determination approach of employee motivation suggest that individual motivation is based on causality orientations and life goals for each employee. This means that each employee has a unique set of needs which determines behavioral characteristics including motivation. On the other hand, life goals describe aspirations for each employee. Some of these aspirations depend on the individual values and interests and therefore a motivational program must take into consideration this uniqueness. Hertzberg’s theory of duo structure Fredrick Hertzberg developed the two-factor theory that explains that the presence of certain inducements may lead to increased employee performance but their absence may not necessarily lead to de-motivation of the workers. Hertzberg differentiated the two factors as motivators and hygienic factors. Hertzberg argues that inducements enhance employee motivation but their absence will always lead to poor performance. Evidently, Hertzberg advocated for democratic approaches for developing employee motivation programs. Under this approach, organizations must focus on job enlargement, enrichment and giving employees the opportunity to contribute in decision making processes. Extrinsic motivation and the scientific management approach Extrinsic motivation refers to the external inducement that enhances employee motivation and performance. It is understood that external inducements motivate employees to accomplish tasks even if the intrinsic value derived from the activity is not sufficient. External inducements include positive reinforcements like rewards as well as negative reinforcement which refer to punishment of bad behavior. Positive and negative reinforcement approach of employee motivation Based on the incentive approach to employee motivation, rewards serve the purpose of shaping positive behavior change by creating a connection between the incentive and the desired positive behavior change like achieving targets. Some experts claim that positive reinforcement is the best strategy for motivating employees. The experts propose that organizations must put in place effective strategies to reinforce good behavior by enhancing positive communication and correcting bad behavior. Negative reinforcement on the other hand, describes efforts to discourage inappropriate behavior by creating undesirable conditions for the behavior. Although this type of reinforcement has been applied widely, there is growing evidence that negative reinforcement has contributed to the failure of many organizations. Interestingly, there is increasing belief in many organizations that positive reinforcement has been used inappropriately and hence has contributed in leadership failure in most organizations (Ferris and Brown 2009). The critics of reinforcement strategies of employee motivation argue that this strategy emphasizes on organizational views while ignoring the aspirations of the individual employee. Effective employee motivation programs and leadership There is increase evidence that the best strategy for motivating employees must be shaped by individual aspirations and values. As organizations develop and implement reward programs, they need to observe the interests of individual employees. There is no doubt that a motivated workforce is more productive and that motivated individual’s look for ways to improve quality and quantity. However, for a leadership to develop a suitable program that fits to each employee motivational requirements requires a great deal of planning. Some researchers argue that to determine the motivational status of individual, organizations must focus on the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The Maslow’s theory postulates that individual’s unfulfilled desires influence their behavior (Lynch, 2005). Similarly, Maslow came up with the category of needs that each individual desires. This includes physiological needs category, safety requirements category, and the need for relationships. At the top of the hierarchy chart, Maslow suggested that recognition and self actualization determine individual behavior. Conclusion The issue of employee motivation has generated conflicting views from experts and researchers. Some researchers propose that organizations need to develop employee motivational programs based on intrinsic factors of motivation to capture the social, psychological and environmental characteristics of the individual and the task. On the other hand, there are those who believe that human resource management must focus on creating external inducements to promote employee motivation. This conflicting issue has led to the postulation of the self determination theory and the Hertzberg’s theory of intrinsic motivation as well as the behavioral approaches to reinforcement approaches. However, it is imperative that for organizations to enhance employee motivation, they need to cater for the social, psychological and environmental needs of the employees. References Baard, P. Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. Intrinsic need satisfaction: A motivational basis of performance and well-being in two work settings. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34, (2004): 2058-2063. Fernet, C. & Senecal, C. Adjusting to job demands: The role of work, self-determination and job control in predicting burnout. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65, (2005): 39-51. Ferris, D. & Brown, D. When does self-esteem relate to deviant behavior? The role of contingencies of self-worth. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, (2009):1340-1350. Grant, A. Does intrinsic motivation fuel the pro-social fire? motivational synergy in predicting persistence, performance, and productivity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, (2008): 48-52. Lynch, M. Psychological needs and threat to safety: Implications for staff and patients in a psychiatric hospital for youth. Professional Psychology, 36, (2005): 4OO-42O. Millette, V. & Gagne, M. Designing volunteers’ tasks to maximize motivation, satisfaction and performance: The impact of job characteristics on volunteer engagement. Motivation and Emotion, 32, (2008): 11-2O. Read More