Introduction
In every organization, the productivity of employees is significantly determined by the organization’s ability to motivate them. In order to motivate their employees effectively, it is important for an organization to employ the appropriate management practices and behaviors. Management practices and behaviors is one of the most appropriate tools which can be used to increase the employee’s productivity and enhancing employee morale and commitment.
Motivation can be defined as the set of reasons which affects one’s decisions to engage themselves in particular behaviors. When employees are motivated, they will become more committed to their respective duties because they believe their hard work is recognized.
They will be motivated to work harder in order to maximize the returns of an organization. When their efforts are recognized, employees will get a sense of identity with an organization. They will somehow have sense of ownership of the firm. Consequently, they will be committed to meet the organizational goals. In the long run, the organization’s profitability will increase due to the increased employee productivity.
Despite of these advantages of employee motivation, the process is faced by a number of problems. These problems have significantly affected the success of employees’ motivation. For instance, in order for any organization to have a successful employee motivation process, it has to assign a substantial amount of money. It will cost an organization to buy presents for the employees or to carry out any incentive in order to motivate them to work harder.
In most cases, it becomes very difficult to measure the returns which a certain employee-motivation practice will bring to an organization. For example, how much will an organization gain for every unit of resources allocated to employee motivation? This question brings about controversies in an organization’s efforts to motivate its employees.
Literature Review
In every organization, the major concern of the management is to coordinate the production factors in such a way that they contribute significantly in realization of the organizational goals. In an organization, we have non human factors like equipment which facilitate the process of production. The performance of such factors depends on the performance of the employees.
Therefore, motivation of the workers is of great importance in improving the overall performance of an organization. The performance of the workers, however, will be determined by the motivation they receive as well as their ability to perform certain tasks (Scribd, not dated: 3).
In most cases, many organizations find themselves in a number of problems emanating from its employees. Human beings can be too complex and they can also be very simple. Therefore, it is very important for the management to realize this fact in order to come up with the best practices in its efforts to manage its human factors.
Employee motivation affects the productivity of employees in four dimensions. That is, effort, persistence, direction and goals (Scribd, not dated: 4). Effort refers to the strengths of an employee in the work related behaviors.
On the other hand, persistence refers to the determination which employee’s display in applying effort to their work and duties. Direction refers to the quality of the worker’s behavior related into how they conduct themselves in carrying out their duties or tasks. Finally, goals refer to the ends through which the workers direct their efforts (Scribd, not dated: 5).
It has been found that motivation causes goal oriented behaviors (Scribd, not dated: 8). When an individual experiences a feeling for a need, this feeling generates an urge that he or she misses something. Consequently, the feeling that he has something missing generates a lot of tension in his or her mind. In order to satisfy these needs, employees end up engaging themselves in goal directed behaviors to satisfy their needs.
These behaviors in which the employees engage themselves in are goal directed. These behaviors increase their productivity hence significantly improving the performance of an organization. By engaging themselves in goal oriented behaviors, employees manage to fulfill their goals and, therefore, succeed in their efforts to fulfill their needs (Scribd, not dated: 5). This helps employees in overcoming their tension.
However, the fulfillment of these needs require the presence of a favorable environment. Otherwise the process will be less effective. Goal oriented behavior among the employee is continuous because when one need is satisfied, it generates another need. Therefore, employee motivation is significant in realization of organization long term and short term goals.
Importance of applying employees’ motivation principle
There are several reasons why it is important to motivate employees in every organization.
Employees’ motivation is one of the major factors which determine an organization’s competitive advantage. When an organization motivates its employees, they improve their productivity. Therefore, an organization is able to produce more and spend less. In other words, a company is able to reduce its production costs. Thus, it will be easy for an organization to sell its products at a lower price and still retain its profitability.
Motivation can also be viewed as the key to performance improvement and innovation. Motivated employees record a higher performance compared to other employees (Scribd, not dated: 10). When employees receive motivation through various methods, they will work very close to their capabilities.
However, in the absence of any motivation, employee performance will tend to deviate away from their capabilities. High employee performance promotes profitability of an organization and therefore organizations need to motivate their employees.
Another importance of motivating employees is to maintain a high level of employee turnover. An organization which frequently motivates their employees frequently experiences minimal cases of employee absenteeism. Organizations manage to avoid problems which are related with employee absenteeism like shortages, delays and other inconveniences. An organization also manages to maximize on utilization of its human factors.
Employee motivation also reduces the chances of workers rejecting organizational changes. Motivated employees are more receptive to organizational changes compared with unmotivated employees (Scribd, not dated: 5). Changes in organizations are very important especially in the current business which is characterized by a very high level of competition. In such environment, an organization is forced to embrace changes with time.
However, employees tend to oppose these changes when they are introduced in the organization. This is due to the adjustments that are associated with such changes which affect them. Motivated employees will support these changes and even engage themselves in their implementation. This promotes various activities in organizations.
Maslow’s Theory
This theory categorizes human needs into different levels. There are some levels which are more fundamental than others. The satisfaction of these needs can significantly affect the performance of an individual in an organization.
One of the main needs that an employee needs to get in an organization is safety. Employees need to be guaranteed of their job security in order to promote their commitment in their tasks (Huber 2006: 486). Employees need to be provided with safety and security needs in order to be motivated to improve on their production. In other words, lack of employment safety discourages employees from putting effort in their duties.
They cannot successfully be committed for the success of the organization. For instance, they will not have any incentive to conduct research which has long-term impacts on an organization. Employees need to be free from any fears and any form of deprivation of their physiological needs (Wahba and Bridwell 1976: 230).The management should use the right language to the employees which does not threaten the permanency of an employee position in an organization. They must feel valued as an important part of an organization.
There are several things which can be done in order to meet these basic needs which are necessary for employee’s motivation. For instance, employers must assure the employees on the security of their employment. This will encourage employees to work harder for the success of their organization. If employees are not guaranteed on their security on an organization, they will have very low incentive to innovate.
The expectancy theory
The expectancy theory stipulates that employees will tend to work harder if they believe that hard work will lead to better performance and that better performance will lead to rewards (DuBrin 2008: 389). In other words, this theory shows that rewards can significantly affect the performance of employees.
One of the ways through which employees can be rewarded is through payment. Employees can be encouraged to put more effort in their respective areas if they are rewarded with a good payment. Otherwise, employees will be discouraged and hence their productivity will be reduced if they are poorly paid.
The element of equity also plays a pivotal role in improving the employee’s performance. Employees will be discouraged if they feel they are being discriminated against. On the other hand, employees will be satisfied when they believe their compensation is equal to that given to others who make similar contribution in the organization (DuBrin 2008: 595).
Herzberg Two Factor Theory
In every organization, hygiene plays a pivotal role in motivating the employees. Hygiene factors represent both the work and the working environment in an organization. Employees will tend to be discouraged by poor working conditions (Anonymous 2011). Therefore, hygiene factors are of great significance in every organization.
Herzberg’s two factor theory proposes that people are motivated by both satisfaction and psychological growth. These two factors contribute significantly in motivating individuals. Similarly, hygiene factors can significantly affect the level of employee’s satisfaction (Mendenhall, Punnett and Ricks 1995: 58). According to this theory, hygiene factors are of great importance in an organization since their presence leaves the employees satisfied.
Examples
In the contemporary business world, many organizations have realized the importance of employee motivation in improving the overall performance of an organization. Most successful companies have applied employee motivation practices in their management. There are a number of organizations which have enormously benefited from their efforts to motivate their workers.
One of the major companies which have significantly benefited with employee motivation practices is Coca Cola. Coca Cola is a multinational company whose employees come from all over the world. The company puts employee motivation as a top priority (Ford, Stephens and Cooper 2007: 12). This has significantly increased the performance of employees where the productivity level remains very high.
Today, the Coca cola is among the most famous companies in the world. Its brand is widely known such that when the name is mentioned to anybody from any part in the world, they have a least an idea of what it is.
Another example is United Arabs Emirates which has critically benefited from employee motivation. Recent research has indicated that about 64 per cent of the United Arabs Emirates are motivated which is above the region’s average of 63 percent of employees who are motivated in their work (Khaleej times, 2009). This has contributed to the success of an organization. Employees provide good services to the customers due to motivation. This increases the performance of the company compared ton its competitors.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this discussion has clearly shown that management practices and behaviors are most appropriate for the purpose of increasing productivity and enhancing employee morale and commitment. Employees will always tend to improve on their performance when they receive any form of motivation. Less motivated employees will tend to be less committed in their work.
These results indicate that it is important for every organization to allocate a specific fraction of its time and financial resources for the motivation of its employees. This is because lack of such practices will affect its profitability significantly. However, it is important to balance between motivational efforts and the returns from such practices. Otherwise, it will be not economical to spend more than what is realized from a motivational practice.
In order for an organization to be able to come up with the best practices and methods of motivating its employees, it has to conduct an intensive research on the employees’ needs and their performance. This will help in making decisions on the most appropriate methods and times for carrying out these practices.
For instance, the management may decide to carry out its motivational practices during their peak period when employees need to be more active. This will be more beneficial to the company rather than when motivation practices were conducted during other times.
Recommendations
The strategy of improving the worker’s productivity through motivational practices can significantly affect the productivity of an organization. The process has a number of benefits to an organization both in the short run and long run. The process should be supported from all levels of the management in order to gain maximum benefits from the whole process.
This commitment will also improve the effectiveness of employee motivation practices. It is necessary to be objective while selecting the best approach to apply in promoting employee through motivational practices. The management must choose the most acceptable practices. This is because other methods may bring some conflicts in an organization which may eventually affect the performance of an organization negatively.
Reference List
Anonymous, 2011. Two Factor Theory-Herzberg, Fredrick: Value based management. Web.
DuBrin, J., 2008. Essentials of Management. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. Web.
Ford, W., Stephens, R. and Cooper, L. 2007. Coca-Cola Case Study: An Ethics Incident. Web
Huber, D., 2006. Leadership and Nursing Care Management. New York, Elsevier Health Sciences. Web.
Khaleej times, 2009. Survey; UAE Leads in Employee Motivation. Web.
Mendenhall, E., Punnett, B. and Ricks, A. 1995. Global Management. London, Wiley-Blackwell. Web.
Scribd. Employee’s Motivation (Using Two Factor Theory of Herzberg). Web.
Wahba, M. and Bridwell, L. 2009. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. Volume 15, Issue 2, Pages 212-240. Web.