Summary
The article selected for this assignment is “Designing an Effective Organizational Employee Motivation System Based on ABCD Model for Hotel Establishments” by Çakır and Kozak (2017). This article provides insights into the application of motivation theories in an organization. In their work, the authors presented the course and findings of a research project that focused on the improvement of motivation for the employees of a hotel. As specified by Çakır and Kozak (2017), since in most organizations, workers have to interact with customers directly, the levels of their motivation are critical as they comprise a part of customer experience.
Further, the authors move on to searching for the most appropriate and effective ways to increase employees’ motivation in the workplace. For that, they overview a number of different motivation theories such as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the frameworks created by Herzberg, McClelland, Alderfer, Adams, and Lock and Latham. Having taken into account all of the aforementioned theories, the authors express the decision to use a more recent approach known as the ABCD framework that was introduced in 2002 (Çakır & Kozak, 2017). This model became the preferred alternative because of its recent and contemporary design that was found to be more appropriate as a practical framework for an organizational motivation strategy than older theories.
The ABCD model includes four main elements that present the vision of motivation that underlies the framework. These elements are the drive to acquire (valuable resources and experiences), bond (form social attachments), comprehend (or make sense of one’s environment), and defend (oneself from threats) (Çakır & Kozak, 2017). That way, the vision of the factors that stimulate and motivate employees is based on the level of satisfaction of the four needs mentioned previously. For the purposes of research, a sample of employees of two large hotels in Istanbul and Antalya, Turkey was selected using the convenience sampling method. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect quantitative data. The ultimate purpose of this project was to test the applicability of the ABCD model as an instrument helping to explain the levels of motivation in the selected organizations. Moreover, with the help of this model, researchers were able to carry out a thorough evaluation of the motivation tools and strategies used by the hotels based on the employees’ responses. In addition, Çakır and Kozak (2017), could assess the usefulness and efficiency of all the identified tools and notice the strengths and weaknesses of the motivation strategies and approaches in the organizations under review. As a result, the researchers made a conclusion that the ABCD model is an effective tool that could help managers assess their motivation approaches and find which areas of organizational motivation require more attention.
Review
Reviewing the article summarized in the previous section, it is important to notice that it was well thought through and comprehensively structured in order for the readers to be able to develop a clear understanding of the findings. Moreover, it is critical to notice that the author of this article pursued a noble purpose of finding a standardized tool that could help handle issues related to the lack of motivation in various organizations. Most likely, this was done due to the presence of an overwhelming quantity of theories of motivation which often results in confusion of persons who attempt to find the ones that apply in the best way possible (Stecher & Rosse, 2007). In turn, this is the case because theories of motivation have seen a wave of rapid development due to the recognition of their importance in organizational behavior, psychology, and education (Latham & Pinder, 2005).
As a result, acknowledging the importance and effectiveness of the older frameworks, the authors of the article under review selected a newer model for their research. Interestingly, the ABCD model seems to include the most important motivational factors outlined in the other theories. For example, ABCD’s drive for bond represents a common tendency for the individual to look for belongingness and affiliation – features mentioned in most other theories (Veroff, 1978). Moreover, the drives to acquire and comprehend identified in the ABCD model as some of the core elements of motivation represent the need for self-actualization, cognitive development, and the improvement of self-efficacy (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). Finally, the fourth drive to defend is a manifestation of a well-recognized factor also known as the need for security and safety and the ways in which this need is matched in each particular workplace.
As a result, a conclusion can be made that the article by Çakır and Kozak is quite interesting and useful as a study that has the potential to contribute to further research in the field of organizational motivation. Practically, the authors of this article presented a modern interpretation of all of the most common motivation theories developed many decades ago. The ABCD model employed by Çakır and Kozak is a framework that contains some of the essential elements of motivation and structures them in a manner that allows assessing organizational performance in regard to the success of motivation strategies and motivation components or practices that require improvement.
References
Çakır, O., & Kozak, M. A. (2017). Designing an effective organizational employee motivation system based on ABCD model for hotel establishments. Tourism and Hospitality Management, 23(1), 69-86.
Eccles, J., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Motivational beliefs, values, and goals. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 109-132.
Latham, G. P., & Pinder, C. C. (2005). Work motivation theory and research at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 485-516.
Stecher, M. D., & Rosse, J. G. (2007). Understanding reactions to workplace injustice through process theories of motivation: A teaching module and simulation. Journal of Management Education, 31(6), 777-796.
Veroff, J. (1978). Social motivation. The American Behavioral Scientist (pre-1986), 21(5), 709-727.