Motivation Issues in Management and Organisational Behaviour

Question: Discuss about the Motivation Issues in Management and Organisational Behaviour. Answer: Introduction Competition, globalization and complexity are the three key words that are enough to define current situation of todays global business environment(Fox, 2007). Companies enter the market, attain growth and suddenly vanish as they are unable to sustain their competitive advantage and satisfy rapidly changing market behaviors. Organizations that are able to survive these changes have few things in common, they know where they are competing, what exactly they need to offer to satisfy consumer needs, what resources and competencies they have to attain competitive advantage and how they are going to retain they growth and competitive advantage(Mullins, 2011). To sustain in a fiercely competitive business environment organizations must ensure that their assets, skills and competencies are upgraded on a timely basis. Apart from other tangible and intangible assets possesses by an organization, its people or the human resources are the most precious assets and it is important to invest enoug h time and money to ensure this asset is effectively upgraded, motivated and engaged to deliver high performance, commitment and contribution towards organizational goals(Kitchin, 2010). Organizations should not only possess the ability to attract and retain competent employees, but also motivate and engage them in a way they get emotionally attached to their work and the organization. Employee motivation is the biggest challenge facing employers across the globe as it is directly linked to performance and productivity at workplace(Stickland, 2002). Motivated employees tend to deliver high performance and productivity which in turn help organization achieve their goals and objectives. Employee engagement and motivation shares a very unique relationship wherein high employee motivation leads to effective employee engagement and employees that are effectively engaged experience high motivation. Employee engagement is the extent to which an employee enjoys and believes in what he is doing and feels valued for doing it(Albdour Altarawneh, 2014). It is the key to organizational success as it leads to high commitment and contribution to organizational goals and objectives . This report aims at evaluating the use of key motivational theories in enhancing employee engagement. Real world examples are studied to get an in-depth understanding of the practical application of these motivational theories to increasing employee engagement within the organization. Motivation and Employee Engagement The term motivation is used to define the inward force within a person of the need which influences a persons behavior and make them act in a specific, goal-oriented manner(Hellriegel John W. Slocum, 2011). Motivation plays a very vital role in determining the way people behave in their personal and professional lives with other people around them. It determines their attitude and perception towards things, work and individuals around them. The level of employee motivation determine their level of productivity and performance, thus one of the managements most complex task is to ensure that employee motivation is effectively channelized in a direction that leads to achievement of organizational goals and objectives(Macey Schneider, 2008). Employee motivation plays a very crucial role in employee engagement which in turn leads to job satisfaction and commitment towards the success of organization. Employees whose needs and motives are being satisfied in an effective manner develop a positive perception towards their work and organization. They start enjoying their work and derive a sense of meaningfulness and importance and thus are effectively engaged. Employee engagement helps organizations in sustaining their competitive advantage and lowering absenteeism and employee turnover(Susi.S Jawaharrani.K, 2011).Lack of employee motivation often creates an employee engagement gap as employees do not experience the passion and enthusiasm to put in their best efforts and contribute towards organizational success. Organizations that face employee engagement gap often realize that the prime reason behind the issue is employees who are not effectively motivated and do not feel connected to their roles and the organization(Bridger, 2014). An analysis of different motivational theories can help understanding the relationship between motivation and employee engagement and how application of these theories can help increase employee engagement within the organization. Motivational Theories Employee motivation has been a serious concern for employers since ages and has attracted scholarly and professional attention since beginning(Frey Osterloh, 2013). Several motivational theories have been developed to facilitate employers achieve desired level of employee motivation which in turn helps increasing employee engagement and commitment towards the work and the organization. The most widely accepted and recognized theories of motivation are Maslows needs hierarchy theory, Herzbergs motivator-hygiene factors theory and the Job characteristics theory(Herzberg, et al., 2011). These three theories of motivation are analysed to determine the role of motion in increasing employee engagement. The employees are the assets of an organization, and hence there is a direct relation between employee motivation and increased productivity. Each employee of an organization should be sufficiently motivated, so that they can complete their individual task with a higher level of dedication and enthusiasm. There is a variety of employee motivation theories, some of which are discussed below: Maslows Need Hierarchy Theory Developed by Abraham H. Maslow, the need hierarchy theory of motivation is the most preferred theory of motivation used by organizations across the globe. As per this theory of motivation, humans possess a group if needs that are exceptionally strong and complex in nature and can be arranged hierarchically in the form of a pyramid(Hellriegel John W. Slocum, 2011). This motivation theory is based on few assumptions such as, one a need is satisfied it loses its motivational power, the network of needs is highly complex and human behavior can be influenced by several needs at a specific time, it is important to satisfy lower level needs first before higher level needs are activated else it create a need gap and the number of ways in which higher level needs can be satisfied is greater than number of ways in which lower level needs can be satisfied(Jr, 2005). Maslows need hierarchy models divided different types of individual needs into five broad categories namely, physiological, secur ity, affiliation, esteem and self-actualization. These five types of need are arranged in a hierarchical pyramid with the lowest level need being at the base and highest level need at the top as shown in figure below. Maslows Need Hierarchy Model Fig.1. Source: Made by Student (2016), Adopted: Hellriegel John W. Slocum (2011) Physiological needs represent human basic needs for food, water, air and shelter(Fox, 2007). These are the lowest level needs and individuals who are looking forward to satisfy these needs will not be concerned about the content of work they will be doing. Employers who focus on satisfying these needs to motivate their employees assume that money is the primary source of motivation for all employees(Bridger, 2014). As employees at this stage of motivation are not concerned about the job they are doing they donot feel connected to it. Merely staisfying these needs cannot help employers achieve desired level of employee engagement. Employees are aware that the work they are doing can be performed by anyone as no specilised skills and expertise are required to perform them. They donot experience a sense of meaningfulness and importance and thus lack engagement(Herzberg, et al., 2011). Mcdonalds for example aims at satisfying only physiological needs of their entery level employees as th e work given to them requires no specilisation and can be performed by anyone. Students and freshers are motivated to take these jobs to satisfy their basic needs but they lack engagement owing to which the organisation faces high absenteesim and employee turnover at these ranks. Contrary to this Hersheys encourage wellness activities among employees by offering insurance rebates for employees who prefer a healthy lifestyle. Thus, in a way ensuring that employee are motivated and experience a sense of engagement with the work they are doing. Secrity needs represents human need for stability, safety and absence of pain or illness(Hellriegel John W. Slocum, 2011). Once the physiological needs are satisfied people are motivated by security needs and perceive these needs as defences against loss of physiological needs. During economic downturn or other financial crisis organisations look to downsizing as the only way of safegaurding their existance, these kind sog activities create a threat in the minds of employees that they might lose their jobs(Hughes Rog, 2008). Organisations such as Starbucks offer life, health and disability insurance to their employees to promote a sense of security and well-being which in turn leads to increased employee motivation and engagement. Affiliation needs represents human need for a feeling of belonging, friendship and love. These needs emerge after the two lower level needs are satisfied. Individuals who are motivated by affiliation needs perceive their work as a means of developing strong interpersonal relationships. Employers can satisfy affiliation needs of their employees by being supportive and organising different team building activities such as cultural events, sports programs, company celebrations, outings etc. Employees feel motivated as they get ample opportunities to establish interpersonal relationships and they are effectively engaged as they feel they are being part of something important. Employee motivation in this case leads to increased employee engagement. Organisations such as Starbucks organise various volunteering programs which support their employee to satisfy affiliation needs and experience a sense of connection with the organistaion. Esteem needs represent human need for recognition, self-worth, respect and achievement(Carbonara, 2012). Employee who strive to satisfy their esteem needs look for jobs that are challenging and require specilised skills and expertise. They want people to appreciate and respect them for the work they are performing. They want people to know that they are important for the organisation and are contributing towards organisational goals. Employers need reward and recognition programs to satisfy the esteem needs of their employees. It is important to ensure that the job content is good and appears challenging and important to employees(Kaliannan Adjovu, 2015). Organisations such as BMW rewards their top performers monthly and organises a grand annual event to reward the best performer of the year. With such reward and recognition programs they motivate their employees to deliver high performance. Employees ensure that they perform all their tasks with passion and endeavour and deliver re sults which can satisfy their esteem needs. Self-actualisation need represent human needs for realising their full potential and becoming what they always wanted to be(Markos Sridevi, 2010). This is the highest level need and it gains its motivational power once all the lower level needs are satisfied. Employee in this state looks for job that gives them decision making power and enhances their problem solving abilities. Employers should involve such employees in the process of decision making, people managemnet, job designing and implementing strategies. When these needs of employees are satisfied they show high level of engagement and commitment towards their work and the organisation. Employee at this stage experience that achieving organisational goals is their purpose and they develop a connection with the organisation and its people(Miner, 2005). Organisations such Starbucks ensure that leaders are given enough power to make important decisions for the organisation and its people. Under the effective leadership of Howar d Schultz, Starbucks has achieved remarkable success across the globe as he had ample opportunity to satisfy his self-actualisation needs and achieveing companys goals was his mision. Herzbergs Motivation Theory: Herzberg had proposed the Two Factor theory. According to the psychologist, Herzberg the increment in salary, compensation benefits, great working condition or even good relationship with colleagues in themselves, do not serve to motivate the employees. However, Herzberg claims that the moment these factors are absent, the employees start feeling discontent with their work situations, and hence these factors are considered to be the hygiene factors. On the other hand, career growth opportunity, challenging work, greater recognition is the motivation factors (Miner 2015). According to Herzberg, an organization usually aims at reducing the factors that dissatisfy the employees, and increasing the factors that keep them content. Herzberg claims, offering attractive salary or other benefit to the employee, may remove dissatisfaction and bring peace, but may not leave the employee satisfied. Hence, what is needed is to satisfy and motivate the employees, by introducing more challenging ta sks, assigning specialized task to an employee or allowing the employee to work in a neutral unit, so that he can enjoy a sense of growth and fulfillment. Herzberg claimed that an organization, instead of reducing the dissatisfaction of its employees, should focus more on increasing the job enrichment of the employees (Smith and Shields 2013). Achievement Motivation Theory: According to the Achievement Motivation Theory, an employee needs to achieve, and enjoy accomplishment, while working in an organization. In case an employee is not able to feel a sense of accomplishment at his workplace, he will start losing his interest and enthusiasm to work more. This in turn will reduce his productivity and work efficiency, ultimately bringing huge loss to the organization. Hence, this theory upholds that it is important for an organization to provide opportunities for personal drive to each of the employees, so that he must feel the urge of striving and toiling more. According to David McClelland, the chief proponent of this theory, there are three principal needs, the fulfillment of which can motivate an employee, and these are as follows: Need for achievement Need for affiliation Need for power (Schunk et al. 2012) Each individual employee aspires to be promoted to an influential position, and they would work hard if they have a chance of getting promoted to a position where they can control and influence others. Hence, it is important to offer promotional opportunities to the employees. Undoubtedly, it is not expected that an organization will keep on promoting an employee, yet it is the duty of an organization to render a sense of personal accomplishment to its employees. It should be noted that it is not sufficient to promote a deserving employee to a higher designation, offering him recognition and appraisal is equally important. The employees derive a sense of fulfillment when his performance is evaluated, and reviewed and praised by the organization. This in turn helps to motivate and encourage the employees to work more productively next time (Heckhausen 2013). Expectancy Theory: According to the expectancy theory, an employee will work hard and with greater enthusiasm as well as dedication, only if he believes that his efforts will be rewarded by the organization. However, the reward he will be receiving for the successful completion of a task, must comply with his expectation. Vroom, the exponent of this theory, claimed that the theory has three important components, which are: 1. Expectancy 2. Instrumentality 3. Valence (Renko et al. 2012) An employee will work harder, and put greater efforts only if he believes that his hard work and labor will be rewarded by the organization. Once the individual has been able to achieve the goals and objectives, he must be able to enjoy the instrumental outcomes, in the form of increment of salary, compensation fees, bonus or incentives. Next, it is not merely sufficient to offer reward to the employees, but it is equally important that the employee places great value on the reward he is going to receive, after the accomplishment of his task. Hence, the management of an organization must ensure that the organization is offering incentives as well as rewards to the employees that are meeting his expectations. For instance, suppose an employee is already enjoying a huge amount of salary, and as such it is meaningless to offer him bonus. On the contrary, offering him a holiday package may come up as a more alluring offer to the employee, and it may inspire him to increase his productivi ty and workplace efficiency (Estes and Polnick, 2012). Goal Setting Theory: The goal-setting theory of employee motivation is another very important theory upheld by Edwin Locke, which claims that goal setting activities, and employee motivation is closely related to each other. An employee feels motivated only when he has a set of goals and objectives that he aspires to achieve. Hence, it is the duty of the leader or the manager to keep on providing challenging yet achievable goals to the employees, so that the achievement of the same can lead to the creation of employee satisfaction. However, it is also important for the management authority to ensure that the goals are realistic to achieve, otherwise setting unrealistic goals will lead to a sense of inferiority among the employees. In case a goal is set, the employees feel motivated towards the accomplishment of the goal, and they will not the leave the work unless the goal is achieved. However, it is not sufficient to set a goal, as it is important to ensure that the goal is being stated and explained cl early to the employees, and the individual goal of an individual employee must be set in accordance with his individual skill and competence( Locke and Latham 2013). Conclusion Employee motivation and engagement is a serious concern for organisations that are struggling hard to safeguard their existence in todays fiercely competitive and dynamic business environment. An analysis of the three most widely used theories of motivation support the fact that high employee motivation results in increased employee engagement. Motivation is the inward force that encourage employee to engage in their jobs and deliver high performance. 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