motivation, decision making, and organizational...

4/27/2012

Individual Assignment | AISHA AHMAD USMAN

LUCT Motivation, Decision Making, And Organizational Culture

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

PROLOGUE

The word administer is derived from the Latin words administrate, which means to care for or to

look after people, to manage affairs. According to this wide definition almost every human

activity involves some kind of administration. Even in primitive societies, simple activities like

hunting, food, gathering, etc., could not be carried on without some form of organization.

Somebody had to determine as to who will do what. Certain norms of behaviour had to be laid

down to decide the distribution of work among the members of the primitive groups. Public

administration has many definitions. According to some authors, public administration is

centrally concerned with the organization of government policies and programmes as well as the

behaviour of officials (usually non-elected) formally responsible for their conduct.

Public Administration is the complex of governmental activities that are undertaken in public

interest at different levels such as. The central, state or provincial (in a federal set-up) and local

levels In a broad sense, therefore, Administration is common to both public and private affairs.

Public Administration would then refer to that part of administration which pertains to the

administrative activities of the government. Here again, it would be worthwhile to turn to the

definitions of public administration given by some well known scholars.

To achieve the organizational and individual goals in an economical and efficient manner,

motivation is an important tool in the hands of management to direct the behavior of

subordinates in the desired and appropriate direction and thus minimize the wastage of human

and other resources.

The assignment is mainly about the motivation, decision making and organizational culture as far

as the public administration is concerned. It is going to highlight some relevance of the topic in

the today’s public administration from the peak level to the ground level.

© AISHA AHMAD USMAN 2012 All Right Reserved No Part Of This Individual Assignment Is To Be Used Without The Owner’s Prior Permission.

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IMPORTANT OF MOTIVATION

Motivation is one of the most important factors determining organizational efficiency. All

organizational facilities will go to waste in absence of motivated people to utilize these facilities

effectively. Every superior in the organization must motivate its subordinates for the right types

of behavior. The performance of human beings in the organization is dependent on the ability in

the motivation. Motivation is an effective instrument in the hands of management in inspiring the

workforce. Motivation increases the willingness of the workers to work, thus increasing

efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.

Best utilization of resources: - Motivation ensures best and efficient utilization of all types of

resources. Utilization of resources is possible to their fullest extent if the man is induced to

contribute their efforts towards attaining organizational goals. Thus, people should be motivated

to carry out the plans, policies and programmes laid down by the organization.

Will to Contribute: - there is a difference between "Capacity to work" and "willingness to work".

One can be physically and mentally fit to work but he may not be willing to work. Motivation

results in feeling of involvement to present his better performance. Thus, motivation bridges the

gap between capacity to work and willingness to work.

Reduction in Labor Problems: - all the members try to concentrate their efforts to achieve the

objectives of the organization and carry out plans in accordance with the policies and programmes

laid down by the organization if the management introduced motivational plans. It reduces labor

problems like labor turnover, absenteeism, indiscipline, grievances, etc. because their real wages

increase by the motivational plans.

Sizeable increase in production and productivity: - when motivated properly, people try to put

efforts produce more, thus increasing their efficiency and as a result of this general production and

productivity of the organization increases. They (motivated employees) use the methods, system

and technology effectively in the best interest of the organization.

Basis of Cooperation: - In a zeal to produce more the member's work 'an s a team to pull the

weight effectively, to get their loyalty to the group and the organization, to carry out properly the


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activities allocated and generally to play an efficient part in achieving the purpose which the

organization has undertaken'. Thus, motivation is a basis of cooperation to get, the best result out

of the efforts of the human beings on the job.

Improvement upon skill and knowledge:- all the members will try to be efficient as possible and

will try it improve upon the skill and knowledge to the progress of the organization which, in turn

will provide the promised and more, ultimately enabling them to satisfy their needs - personal and

social both.

Acceptance of organizational change: - change is the law of nature. Due to several changes in the

society, changes in technology, value system, etc. organization has to incorporate these changes to

cope with the requirement of the time. If people are effectively motivated, they gladly accept,

introduce and implement these changes without reserving any resistance to change and negative

attitude, thus keeping the organization on the right track of progress.

Better Image: - a firm that provides opportunities for the advancement of its people has a better

image in the minds of the public as a good employer. This, image helps in attracting qualified

personnel and thus simplifies the staffing function. This will also improve employee satisfaction

and reduce industrial stifle.

IMPORTANT OF DECISION MAKING

Decision making is an important process for organizational effectiveness. Decision making is

almost universally defined as choosing between alternatives. It is closely related to all the

traditional management functions. In the manufacturing area, effective decisions are aimed at

achieving zero defects in recent years this focus has also been applied to the service sector in

order to create zero defections. Decision making is an organizational process because it transcends

the individual and has an effect on organizational goals.

Every day is spent making decisions that affect each individual's life. Thus, it is best that every

decision that we make takes all the considerations needed in order to have a very productive

result. Accordingly, decision making is "the cognitive process leading to the selection of a course

of action among alternatives; it is a reasoning process which can be rational or irrational, and can


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be based on explicit assumptions or tacit assumptions." (wikipedia.org) Thus, with the advent of

technology, decision-making software and programs are being developed and made for the

assistance and utilization of the general public, especially in the fields of management, marketing,

health sciences and research.

Making decisions in our daily lives and in the workplace can be one of the most overlooked

processes. The daily routine presents us with hundreds of decisions, many quite small, but every

now and then comes the big decisions that seem to turn life upon its head depending on the path

we choose. Beloved American poet Robert Frost famously said, "two roads diverged in a wood --

and I? I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Just what did Frost

mean by saying that he took the road less traveled by?

Each of us in making decisions must choose which path we will travel by. We don't have to

choose obscure paths to take the road less traveled by, but we do have to take paths that require

courage in making decisions. For example, sometimes we are faced with decisions about personal

relationships that have a great effect on work, school, or whatever responsibilities may be placed

upon us.

Decision-making makes it possible to adopt the best course of action in carrying out a given task.

When there are different ways of performing a task, it becomes necessary to find out the best way

and that is what decision-making is all about. The course of action finally selected should produce

the best results.

By choosing the best method of doing any work, decision-making ensures optimum use of the

enterprise resources, namely, men, machines, materials and money. Resources are always scarce

and therefore, it is necessary to make a proper use of the same.

IMPORTANT OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

One of the most important building blocks for a highly successful organization and an

extraordinary workplace is organizational culture. We define organizational culture as the set of

shared beliefs, truths, assumptions, and values that operate in organizations. Organizational

culture has been described as how people behave when no one is looking. Furthermore, something

is driving the development of your culture and sustaining it. Organizational culture is a result of

that which precedes it. Why is this so important to understand and what does this mean for you in


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your organization? It means that if you want to address issues related to your culture, you must

focus on the key elements that come together to create and sustain it.

The thing that prompted me to make a study on this topic is the endless adoration to influence the

subject by motivating them and making decision before undertaking any necessary action that

would affect the subject or employees as far as business institutions is concerned. There is no

company that can do well without motivating its employees by using different means to achieved

that and rushing to the conclusion when it comes to the decision making is another shortcoming;

but looking in to proper decision making makes other things to be very easy to approach.

OBJCETIVES

The main aim of the assignment is to bring about the purpose of motivation and decision making

in an organizational set up in relevance to the public administration.

In it you would see how the topic of motivation is explained and gives light on how

administrator would use it to galvanizes and improve the morale of his personnel in order to

increase positive productivity and smooth achievement of targeted goals. Motivation is nothing

more encourage staffs to do well in the organization by bringing the organizational goal upon

any other thing, the assignment explained of these and more.

It also explained how and why decision making is important and how come about the best of

available alternatives for choices to decide upon. Since organizational goals are unlimited, it’s

eminent to embark on vibrant decision making which would spawned the organization with

alternatives to choose and help set goal out of available one which seem to be impossible to

achieve at once but rather in a series form from the highest important to less important and

eliminating the non relevant ones.

Another aim is that to explain the import of organizational culture, which helps in giving

direction to the organization to follow, every organization has its own culture which it to set

goals and how to achieve those goals from public organization to private establishments culture

is varied, the assignment explained some of these variables.


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Motivation is defined as the process that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviors.

Motivation is what causes us to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or

reading a book to gain knowledge. It involves the biological, emotional, social and cognitive

forces that activate behavior. In everyday usage, the term motivation is frequently used to

describe why a person does something. For example, you might say that a student is so motivated

to get into a psychology program that she spends every night studying. Psychologists have

proposed a number of different theories,

including drive theory, instinct theory and

humanistic theory.

Motivation is a term that refers to a process that

elicits, controls, and sustains certain behaviors.

Motivation is a group of phenomena which affect

the nature of an individual's behavior, the strength

of the behavior, and the persistence of the

behavior. For instance: An individual has not

eaten, he or she feels hungry, as a response he or

she eats and diminishes feelings of hunger. There are many approaches to motivation:

physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social. It's the crucial element in setting and attaining

goals and research shows you can influence your own levels of motivation and self-control.

According to various theories, motivation may be rooted in a basic need to minimize physical

pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating and resting, or a

desired object, goal, state of being, ideal, or it may be attributed to less-apparent reasons such

as altruism, selfishness, morality, or avoiding mortality. Conceptually, motivation should not be

confused with either volition or optimism. Motivation is related to, but distinct from, emotion.

Extrinsic Vs. Intrinsic Motivation

Different types of motivation are frequently described as being either extrinsic or intrinsic.

Extrinsic motivations are those that arise from outside of the individual and often involve

rewards such as trophies, money, social recognition or praise. Intrinsic motivations are those that


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arise from within the individual, such as doing a complicated cross-word puzzle purely for the

personal gratification of solving a problem.

Intrinsic motivation

Refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists

within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure. Intrinsic Motivation is based

on taking pleasure in an activity rather than working towards an external reward.[8] Intrinsic

motivation has been studied by social and educational psychologists since the early 1970s.

Students who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to engage in the task willingly as well as

work to improve their skills, which will increase their capabilities.

Push and Pull

This model is usually used when discussing motivation within tourism context, so the most

attention in gastronomic tourism research should be dedicated to this theory. Pull factors

illustrate the choices of destinations by tourists, whereas push factors determine the desire to go

on holiday. Moreover, push motives are connected with internal forces for example need for

relaxation or escapism and pull factors in turn induce a traveler to visit certain location by

external forces such as landscape, culture image or climate of a destination, push factors can be

stimulated by external and situational aspects of motivation in shape of pull factors. Then again

pull factors are issues that can arise from a location itself and therefore ‘push’ an individual to

choose to experience it. Since, a huge number of theories have been developed over the years in

many studies there is no single theory that illustrates all motivational aspects of travelling. Many

researchers highlighted that because motives may occur at the same time it should not be

assumed that only one motive drives an individual to perform an action as it was presumed in

previous studies. On the other hand, since people are not able to satisfy all their needs at once

they usually seek to satisfy some or a few of them.

Self-control

The self-control of motivation is increasingly understood as a subset of emotional intelligence; a

person may be highly intelligent according to a more conservative definition (as measured by


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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation#cite_note-7


many intelligence tests), yet unmotivated to dedicate this intelligence to certain tasks. Provides

an account of when people will decide whether to exert self control to pursue a particular goal.

DECISION MAKING

Decision making is an essential leadership skill. If you can learn how to make timely, well-

considered decisions, then you can lead your team to well-deserved success. If, however, you

make poor decisions, your time as a leader will be brutally short.

Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes (cognitive process) resulting in the

selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making

process produces a final choice. The output can

be an action or an opinion of choice. The

thought process of selecting a

logical choice from the available options. When

trying to make a good decision,

a person must weight the positives and negatives

of each option, and consider all the alternatives.

For effective decision making, a person must

be able to forecast the outcome of each option as

well, and based on all these items, determine which option is the best for that particular situation.

Process

Firstly, decision making is a process with several stages. These combine to produce effective

outcomes. Of course in some instances, decision making may simply consist of someone making

up their mind to do something. More often though, in life and especially in business, many

decisions are not that simple.

More complex or important decisions are best made after a series of steps are taken. Whether the

process used relies more on intuition and decision making, or involves a rational decision

making model, both involve processes to help you make good decisions.

ELEMENTS OF DECISION MAKING


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Option

Any decision making process should ensure that sufficient options are generated to enable a

decision. Decision making firstly involves deciding where you are and where you want to go.

Then generate options which will show you how to get there. Making a decision without

considering sufficient options is an easy mistake to make, so always try to generate as many

quality options as possible. Without a good range of options choice can become stifled. Without

any options, there is no decision to make

Choices

Choices can be difficult to make. In making a decision you'll probably rely on numerous inputs,

and you'll certainly need to address a range of factors.

Inputs will include your own experience, knowledge, common sense and judgement, and

possibly that of others involved in the decision. They will also include factors related to types

and styles of decision making.

Choices are typically made within constraints. For example, the goals and priorities of the

organization, and of your team, will no doubt shape your choices. Constraints provide the

boundaries within which decisions have to be made.

Therefore clarity about goals or objectives is essential for making better choices. Of course, your

decision may well need to address several objectives, so you will need to analyze and prioritize

these. Making a decision is rarely easy, and is often a compromise between what you really

want, the ideal, and what can actually be done. It's rare that we have a completely free hand in

making choices. However, it's always worth asking yourself: "if we had no constraints what

would we choose?

Actions

The last element in our definition of decision making is perhaps the most important. A decision,

even though well-made, is pointless without action. Decision making is about the future, about

looking forward. Making a choice should take you forward - to action. Our definition of decision

making can help you to focus. To focus on how to select the most appropriate actions, at the least

cost, and with the most advantages.


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Actions have consequences, both intended and unintended. The consequences can be detrimental

or favourable to your objectives. It's therefore crucial to consider both the positive and negative

effects which might result from your decisions. Then you'll need to put a plan in place to

eliminate or limit the adverse effects, and capitalize on favourable consequences.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Basically, organizational culture is the personality of the organization. Culture is comprised of

the assumptions, values, norms and tangible signs (artifacts) of organization members and their

behaviors. Members of an organization soon come to sense the particular culture of an

organization. Culture is one of those terms that are difficult to express distinctly, but everyone

knows it when they sense it. For example, the culture of a large, for-profit corporation is quite

different than that of a hospital which is quite different than that of a university. You can tell the

culture of an organization by looking at the arrangement of furniture, what they brag about, what

members wear, etc. -- similar to what you can use to get a feeling about someone's personality.

Organizational culture is

the sum total of

an organization's past

and current assumptions, experiences, philosophy, and values that hold it together, and is


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expressed in its self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside world, and

future expectations. It is based on shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, express or implied contracts,

and written and unwritten rules that the organization develops over time and that

have worked well enough to be considered valid. Also called corporate culture, it manifests in

(1) the ways the organization conducts its business, treats its employees, customers, and the

wider community, (2) the extent to which autonomy and freedom is allowed in decision

making, developing new ideas, and personal expression, (3) how power and information

flow through its hierarchy, and (4) the strength of employee commitment towards

collective objectives. It is termed strong or weak to the extent it is diffused through the

organization. It affects the organization's productivity and performance,

and provides guidelines on customer care and service; product quality and safety; attendance and

punctuality; and concern for the environment. It extends also to production-

methods, marketing and advertising practices, and to new product creation. While there are

many common elements in the large organizations of any country, organizational culture is

unique for every organization and one of the hardest things to change.

Organizational culture is the collective behavior of people that are part of an organization, it is

also formed by the organization values, visions, norms, working language, systems, and symbols,

it includes beliefs and habits. It is also the pattern of such collective behaviors and assumptions

that are taught to new organizational members as a way of perceiving, and even thinking and

feeling. Organizational culture affect the way people and groups interact with each other, with

clients, and with stakeholders.

Ravasi and Schultz (2006) state that organizational culture is a set of shared mental assumptions

that guide interpretation and action in organizations by defining appropriate behavior for various

situations. At the same time although a company may have "own unique culture", in larger

organizations, there is a diverse and sometimes conflicting cultures that co-exist due to different

characteristics of the management team. The organizational culture may also have negative and

positive aspects.

The assignment is related to the field of Public policy entirely as a result of in depth public issues

and analysis which required the assignment topic to runs smoothly. Motivation can be used to


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encourage masses to backed new enacted regulation from a responsible party of concern and

Decision making enlights the management to choose from available alternatives of policies.

Public policy is an attempt by a government to address a public issue by instituting laws,

regulations, decisions, or actions pertinent to the problem at hand. Numerous issues can be

addressed by public policy including crime, education, foreign policy, health, and social welfare.

While public policies are most common in the United States, several other countries, such as

those in the United Kingdom, implement them as well. The process to create a new

public policy typically follows three steps: agenda-setting, option-formulation, and

implementation; the time-line for a new policy to be put in place can range from weeks to several

years, depending on the situation. Public policies can also be made by leaders of religious and

cultural institutions for the benefit of the congregation and participants, and the term can also

refer to a type of academic study that covers topics such as sociology, economics,

and policy analysis.

It is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of

the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional

customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and substantial constitutional law

and implementing legislation such as the US Federal code. Further substrates include

both judicial interpretations and regulations which are generally authorized by legislation. Other

scholars define it as a system of "courses of action, regulatory measures, laws,

and funding priorities concerning a given topic promulgated by a governmental entity or its

representatives." Public policy is commonly embodied "in constitutions, legislative acts, and

judicial decisions."

When new public policies are created, there are generally three key things involved in the

process: the problem, the player, and the policy. The problem is the issue that needs to be

addressed, the player is the individual or group that is influential in forming a plan to address the

problem in question, and the policy is the finalized course of action decided upon by the

government. Typically the general public will make the government aware of an issue through

writing letters and emails, or making phone calls, to local government leaders; the issue is then

brought forward during government meetings and the process for creating new public policies

begins.


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This is my little point to see the need of linking my assignment to the field of Public policy, as

we all see what the Public policy is all about when it comes to direction people or employees.


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REFERENCES

http://psychology.about.com/od/mindex/g/motivation-definition.htm

Carlson, N.R. & Heth, C.D.(2009).Psychology the Science of Behaviour.Toronto:Pearson Education Canada

James L (1998). Understanding Employee Motivation. N/A June 1998,

Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky (2000). Choice, Values, Frames. The Cambridge University Press

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/decision-making.html#ixzz1t9tBOYxy

http://www.the-happy-manager.com/definition-of-decision-making.html

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/organizational-culture.html

http://managementhelp.org/organizations/culture.htm

Halpin, A. W., & Croft, D. B. (1963). The organizational climate of schools. Chicago: Midwest Administration Center of the University of Chicago.

Adkins, B. and Caldwell, D. (2004). "Firsm or subgroup culture: Where does fitting in matter most?" Journal of Organizational Behavior,

http://www.completehost4u.com/~isplindi/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/module-1-introduction-to-public-administration-rev1.pdf

http://www.faridabadcity.com/articleDisplay.php?a=26

http://www.infobarrel.com/Importance_of_a_Decision-Making_Tool_in_a_Company_or_Organization#ixzz1tDCvsr00

http://www.articleonlinedirectory.com/121999/the-importance-of-decision-making.html

http://bizcovering.com/business/importance-of-decision-making/

http://qsilver.queensu.ca/~wolfer/General/Definition.html

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-public-policy.htm


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