employee motivation strategies(1)

8/13/2019 Employee Motivation Strategies(1)

1/11

1

EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION STRATEGIES

Student name

University affiliation

Date


2/11

2

Employee motivation strategies

Introduction

When it comes to employee management and motivation, a lot of heat is generated and a

great deal of attention is focused on strategies of how best to handle the situation. For most

managers, the key issue is how to successfully handle employee motivation without

compromising the company and to achieve the best outcome from the process. In other words,

when it comes to employee motivation, a number of issues come into play most of which revolve

around the business environment dynamics. Consequently, the number of challenges that emerge

from the entire process revolve around the fact that the business environment I rapidly changingand most manages are face with a dilemma. On the one hand the entire organisation has to be

supported and has to succeed against all odds, and on the other hand, employees play a key role

into this desired success. Basically, process theories are concerned with how individuals process

situations around them, and act in order to get what they want. In addition, these theories also

explain means that management can employ to encourage employees to better perform. These

therefore, help to predict and influence their attitude towards work in a positive direction. The

first step in improving performance is to understand exactly why employees lack the self-drive in

terms of responsibilities (Podmoroff, 2005). This way, a gateway will then be created to provide

the necessary tools, advice, and environment required to effectively perform.

Therefore, this paper attempts to discover important aspects that are involved in

motivational strategies and the approaches behind employee motivation in the current business

environment. Additionally, this paper seeks to highlight various organisational strategies that

could be enhanced, and through application of various motivational theories address how better

performance would be achieved (University et al., 2000). Finally, the challenges, and the


3/11

3

importance of such moves will be highlighted and recommendations given for various

organisations seeking to enhance the performance of the human capital within their workforce

(Crouse, 2005).

Review of related literature

According to earlier research byLewis et al., (2006)employee motivation is viewed as a

concept derived from the idea that people tend to see comfort and pleasure. In other words, the

ultimate goal of an employee is to avoid pain and discomfort by securing the best possible

position, This view further argues that the key factors to consider when motivating employees

are shaped by pleasure and that is why motivation employees can be equated to keeping themhappy. However, this theory was met with a lot of critique most of which came up with valid

argument s as to why this is not true. Eventually, experts were of the conclusion that the concept

of hedonism when it comes to employee motivating has a very limited scope and perspective of

human behaviour. A different approach byPodmoroff, (2005)suggests that employees are

motivated and driven by the thought of money. In essence, the economically motivated employee

will work as hard as possible so as to accumulate wealth which is deemed the epitome of

success. Consequently, according toNohria et al., (2008)the best way to motivate employees is

to pay them. However, the complexity of human behaviour and how they view the subject of

money automatically disqualifies this concept. The many instances where volunteers and

philanthropists work tirelessly; to achieve a goal cannot be explained by the concept of money or

wealth as a goal.

On a similar note, research byCruz et al., (2009)added a different twist to the concept of

employee motivation with the introduction of the human relations approach to employee

motivation. According to him, most if not all employees are strongly motivated by social factors


4/11

4

money being among them. In other words, employees strongly respond to their social

environment and money is simply a means to an end. Therefore, money play a role but not as

emphasised by the scientific approach theory of motivation. Among the core motivators, job

satisfaction is considered to be the most crucial aspect of motivation and is seen to tremendously

improve an employeesperformance. Consequently, Maslowstheory of needs hierarchy

explains a lot when it comes to employee motivation strategies.

A contemporary motivation thought is arguably represented by the fat that employees

have specific needs that have to be met.Nohria et al., (2008)argue that the various deficiencies

in employees and their social life Is among the chief motivators that drives them to perform.According to Abraham Maslow human beings have an inborn desire to satisfy a set of needs

which grow with time. In contrast to Maslows theory, the erg theory stipulates that a person can

be motivated by more than one need at the same time. According toChiang and Jang, (2008)the

key motivational aspects are progress and frustration in employees.

Strategies in motivation

Among the most common strategies that managers employ is empowering employees

through giving them autonomy, trust, and encouragement to work. Often, this makes the task at

hand the employees responsibility and is designed to liberate them. Similarly, managers often

use reward to encourage a given good trend or trait they want emulated. A reward is more of an

outcome of positive work to an individual, and for those whose work is geared towards meeting

company objectives. One of the major contributors to employee demoralization is a condition

known as burnout (Lewis et al., 2006). This way, an employee goes through the same routine day

in day out, and this monotony brings rise to lack of enthusiasm and dismal performance. Smart

managers employ the strategy of redesigning job description, and usher in a fresh energy for


5/11

5

better performance. This can be achieved through job enlargement, job rotation or job

enrichment.

For a very long time, management and most scholars have constantly pondered on why

some employees tend to work and perform better than other even when similar resources are

availed to them. Through the study of motivation in organisations and the goal that drives

employees, managers are able to comprehend the variance in performance and how the situation

can be harnessed for the benefit of the organisation (Chiang and Jang, 2008). Furthermore,

bagging the knowledge of what aspects in within and without the organisation motivates people

to work will be of great help to the managers in coming up with constructive steps to build andimprove on employee performance (Nohria et al., 2008).

Essentially, employees are the most important aspect of the internal organisation due to

the fact that the make things happen so to speak. It is for this reason that managers put a lot of

effort into motivating employees (Paarlberg et al., 2008). When the internal organisation and the

human resource work as a team towards achieving organisational goals, the net effect is

automatically brought out to the eternal components of the organisation. Ultimately, his means

that the organisation will be in a position to meet its obligations to the market and successfully

compete for the market share. Finally, creating a flexible work time for employees is among the

best strategies yet employed by managers (Cruz et al., 2009). This can be achieved through

offering a compressed work week, and avoiding the traditional work hours which tend to tie

individuals down. Job sharing or effective use of shifts is another way of applying the flexible

work time. Essentially employees still put up the minimum required number of work hours, but

are allowed to manage their time and other activities.


6/11

6

Challenges

At the end of the day, motivation seems to be a core function in management and

business success. Consequently, motivation seems to be a very good concept and simple function

in books. However, in practice it is more challenging and a complex affair especial when the

current business structures are put in perspective. The changing workforce and the dynamic

business environment is among the main reasons why employee motivation is a challenging and

tricky affair for managers. The various needs and expectations of employees become part of the

organisationsneeds. The differences in employee attitudes, backgrounds, beliefs, and

expectations are clearly represented in their needs and have to be reflected in the organisation.However, the fact those organisations are often not aware of all these needs. As such, satisfying

all the requirements equally will continuously be a challenge to the organisation. Additionally,

the inner motives of individual employees can seldom be seen or properly be identified

(Cadwallader et al., 2010). Therefore, management and the human resource department simply

resort to presume the most obvious requirements.

Another key challenge is low self confidence in employees which limits their level of

scope and ability to perform. Confidence enhances an employeesmotivation and drives them

towards achieving their goals effectively. The lack of self-confidence, therefore, is reason

enough to limit the performance and enthusiasm of an employee. This in a great way hampers

the efforts by management to motivate and stimulate performance on employees. Similarly, low

expectations for success and performance in the job environment are a major hurdle to

management where motivation is concerned (Stone et al., 2009). This goes both ways as it

applies to management and the employers view towards the employee. Therefore, an employer

with low expectations towards an employee is less likely to motivate them to work.


7/11

7

Conclusion

These strategies are the most basic and can be applied to any organisation at a simplified

level. However, the final combination that works for independent organisations depends on the

structures and organisational goals. Consequently, employee needs vary from organisation to

organisation and depending on location and age group as well. In other words it is the

prerogative of the managers to understand and relate the employees to the strategies that best

work for their given setup. Essentially, a major difference exists between individual employee

state and reality that is with the organisation and it is the bridging of this gap that result to a

successful motivational strategy. In effect, the core objective of motivation in employees and theorganisation it to reduce this gap as much as possible and to meet the employees at the specific

point of need. Similarly, the process of motivating is advantageous to the organisation in the

sense that it helps the firm and its managers to conform to required industry standards and be at

par with the changing environment, the changing requirements of the employees, and the ever

growing business and customer requirements. In essence, the motivational strategies employed

by an organisation must be tailored to the specific team of employees, the exact environment of

operation, and to the business goals and requirements.

Clearly, the key role of management is to ensure that work is done through effective

management of available resources. Among the main resources available in an organization is

the human resource which can be considered as the greatest asset any manager has. In order to

achieve their objectives through human resource, the manager should be in a position to

effectively motivate the employees and to inculcate the organisations goals and culture into

them. Essentially, motivation dwells on human nature which can introduce a number of

complexities into a number modern business working environment.


8/11

8

All in all, employee motivation however complex today plays a fundamental role in sustaining

and developing organisations. A number of factors come to play when considering which

strategies to employees in the organisation and that is the principle headache that managers

undergo. Additionally, apart from the main benefit of encouraging and developing employee

motivation mechanisms, which is to attain positive results, the additional benefits that come

along with employee motivation make it all important. From the benefit of a positive outlook on

the organisation to the moral value of treating employees and colleagues humanelymotivation

is fundamental to establishing performance and sustainable development in the organisation. As

to the claim that the most important responsibility of a modern manager is to ensure themotivation and functionality of the human capital is upheld, reality is that human capital is

essential to continuity of the organisation and as such the claim is true. Additionally, it is

claimed that given the complexity of the modern working environment, employee motivation is

becoming increasingly difficult. These complexities are contributed to highly by the business

environment, changing needs and requirements on the employee and the market dynamics.

However, when all is said and done the organisation has to remain afloat and make profits while

at it. Based on these, it is required of the managers and leading teams in the organisation to

ensure the continuity of the organisation and sustainability through employee motivation and

support.Recommendations

People and human capital more often than not will do what they want to do unless

motivated to do otherwise. In other words, an external stimulus has to be exerted to employees

by top level management so as to perform within the required standards. Business dynamics

aside, motivation is a concept that can be learnt by both the management and the employees so as


9/11

9

to achieve the desired results. It is therefore true that the most important aspect of a manager is to

understand the needs of the employees and how best to meet hem. Through this, employees are

motivated to perform in their respective duties. Consequently, the complexities in the business

environment are a major hurdle to watch out for. These complexities such as business needs and

the changing employeesneeds are challenges that not only have to be understood but also be

incorporated into the organisations goals. In a nutshell, the basic strategies employed in

employee motivation are inculcating a positive reinforcement to employeeswork thereby

forcing the employer to have a high expectation out of each employee. Similarly, the employee

will have a high and a predictable expectation out of the employer and as such the organisationwill be in a position to deliver. Similarly, an effective discipline and culture can be inculcated

into the organisations way of business such that from the word go, employees are aware of what

to expect from the organisation and what they are to expect from the organisation. In addition to

this, both the employees and that management have to learn a fair treatment of each other.

Thereby each does their respective responsibilities with due diligence and uttermost concern for

each other.

On a separate yet related note, work related goals have to be clearly set by both the

employee and the organisation. This will help n understanding that is expected on the employee

even as they seek to meek their own goals. Additionally, job restructuring helps in killing the

monotony and as such should be effectively employed within the work environment by the

management. Finally, a base rewards scheme can be employed my management to ensure that

the efforts pout in by individuals do not go unnoticed. Being recognised for ones efforts goes a

long way into motivation an employee and encouraging them to give their best despite the odds


10/11

10

Bibliography

CADWALLADER, S., JARVIS, C. B., BITNER, M. J. & OSTROM, A. L. 2010. Frontline

employee motivation to participate in service innovation implementation.Journal of the

Academy of Marketing Science,38,219-239.

CHIANG, C.-F. & JANG, S. 2008. An expectancy theory model for hotel employee motivation.

International Journal of Hospitality Management,27,313-322.

CROUSE, N. 2005.Motivation Is an Inside Job: How to Really Get Your Employees to Deliver

the Results You Need, iUniverse.CRUZ, N. M., PREZ, V. M. & CANTERO, C. T. 2009. The influence of employee motivation

on knowledge transfer.Journal of Knowledge Management,13,478-490.

LEWIS, P. S., GOODMAN, S. H., FANDT, P. M. & MICHLITSCH, J. F. 2006.Management:

Challenges for Tomorrow's Leaders: Challenges for Tomorrow's Leaders,

Thomson/South-Western.

NOHRIA, N., GROYSBERG, B. & LEE, L. 2008. Employee motivation: A powerful new

model.Harvard Business Review,86,78.

PAARLBERG, L. E., PERRY, J. L. & HONDEGHEM, A. 2008. From theory to practice:

Strategies for applying public service motivation.Motivation in public management: The

call of public service,268-293.

PODMOROFF, D. 2005. 365 Ways to Motivate and Reward Your Employees Every Day--with

Little Or No Money, Atlantic Publishing Group.

STONE, D. N., DECI, E. L. & RYAN, R. M. 2009. Beyond talk: Creating autonomous

motivation through self-determination theory.Journal of General Management,34,75.


11/11

11

UNIVERSITY, F. D. P. P. S. S. A. T., PROFESSOR, M. S. A. S. S. C. W. R. U. D. B. D. &

UNIVERSITY, E. N. P. S. W. V. C. 2000.Managing Human Resources in the Human

Services : Supervisory Challenges: Supervisory Challenges, Oxford University Press,

USA.

employee motivation strategies(1)

Documents