Introduction
For You is a Manufacturing company that produces WooWoo alcoholic beverage. The widget is mad of vodka, schnapps, peach and cranberry juice. It is usually served in a rock glass with the ingredients stirred together with ice. A lime wedge is also sometimes used as garnish. The competition in this industry is high but the widget has been a super brand clone with a larger customer base. WooWoo is less expensive and more readily available than other known brands.
The current sales are high despite the fact that there are many defects that increase the cost of production and delay delivery. The defects are caused by lack of motivation and team work among the employees. As the president and Chief Executive Officer of this company, I have designed an organizational motivation plan that encourages my employees in each of the following departments: sales, assembly, technology, and administration.
Design an organization motivation plan that encourages:
High job satisfaction
I have set a plan to conduct employee satisfaction survey with the help of experts to determine the current satisfaction. Once the results are obtained, it will be easy to identify areas where my employees express high and low satisfaction. Improving job satisfaction will also involve addressing employees’ concerns on job security. This will be done by delivering a clear and consistent message to inform the employees of the dealings of the business.
The sales department will be provided with enough vehicles to assist them in movement as they market the products of the company. A management information system will be developed for the technology department to reduce their workload and to assist in the storage of data for future reference. The assembly department requires more attention due to its huge employee base. The service employees can be allowed some overtime so that more widgets can be available for delivery.
Low turnover
Lack of development opportunities in organizations always leads to labor turnover (Bohlander and Snell, 2010). In my plan, all employees will be provided with training and development opportunities at all levels of management on annual basis.
All the salesmen will be given bonuses on the percentages of sales made every month. In addition to the bonuses, I have organized for retreats where all the salesmen will have a chance to go out together as a department and have some fun outside the company. In order to keep the employees at For You, I will conduct frequent meetings with each department where employees’ ideas will be factored in decision making processes in order to make them feel valued.
High productivity
When employees work together in teams, production increases by double digits. By creating these groups and choosing qualified leaders, the company can reduce on the production costs. All the assembly employees will be divided into groups and a target will be set for them. The company is also working through the new website which is managed by the technology department.
When groups manage to reach their targets a reward shall be given to them to keep them motivated to work even harder. I have also set a plan to recruit more employees to help with assembly so that my employees do not feel like they are given too much work. The administration department will be using the incoming management information system to assist them in keeping records.
To further improve the morale of servicemen in view of increasing their productivity, I have set aside free WooWoo for them every Friday. The company produces enough widgets that can be used to motivate employees. If this plan is implemented, the assembly department will work hard in order to produce more so that they can be given extra widgets.
High-quality work
In order to encourage high quality work, all the departments will be assessed continually. Awards will be given to the best performing department every year in order to keep them on their toes. Interdepartmental competitions will also be done at the lower levels of management.
In the plan, employees will be expected to sign performance contracts in order to pledge their loyalty to the company. This agreement will bind them to the organization and will always make them work hard. As the chief executive officer, I will ensure that the company sticks to the rules of engagement and that no right of employees will be abused.
Propose two (2) methods to motivate all of the employees in the organization. Rate these methods in order of importance.
Recognition and applause are two important ways to appreciate achievement. As a manager, I can motivate my employees by appreciating their achievements. This is also another way of showing gratitude to the employees and building a manager’s giving spirit. Applause is another form of recognition and it is more important to this organization than recognition. It involves physical approach where employees can be applauded in meetings or sponsored social gatherings. By using plaques and trophies, employees can bare the sign of success and share it out with others so as to challenge them to also work hard.
Propose three (3) ways to motivate the minimum wage service worker. Support your suggestions with a motivation theory.
According to William James, human beings are programmed to follow what others are doing; it’s a life preserving habit (Bohlander and Snell, 2010). His instinct theory states that people are motivated by inborn patterns of behavior. The minimum wage service worker forms the bulk of this company’s employee base. By studying their psychology the company can simplify task that seem heavy to them by creating software programs.
Instinct theory also states that some traits such as love are inborn. Promoting a minimum wage service is the way to show love to them. The employees will be satisfied in an environment where they are attached to the organization. Without motivation, such employees feel detached and lonely.
Human instinct can lead such employees to feel like they are not important to the organization. William James had in his list an instinct known as shame. Most of the service men feel despised and ashamed of their work. Taking such employees for retreats and workshops annually can improve their morale.
The company can also offer free training opportunities to the servicemen in order to improve their skills. Due to their state, some service men attend evening classes to acquire some status. Such employees can be allowed study leave in order to have humble time for their studies.
Analyze the relevance of the individual worker in today’s organizational context.
A business is a separate entity from the owner. Its operations are majorly carried out by the workers at all levels (Schermerhorn, 2012). Organizations try so hard to pull together both human and natural resource in order to achieve their goals. An individual worker determines the success of an organization which is why every business sets a well-rounded approach to performance assessment.
An individual worker copes with the difficulties in the organization bearing in mind that the proceeds will also benefit him. An organization cannot build its market structure without connecting to the target. The organization therefore relies on the individual worker to improve its customer base. In most cases, however, this perception does not hold because the individual workers feel abused.
Today, the individual worker must be put under pressure in order to perform his duties. Supervisors are placed at all departments to give a report to managers on the productivity of the workers. When the pressure is too much, the workers walk into the streets making demands and destroying the reputation of the organization.
Organizations that pick the right workers, give them the opportunity to spread their wings and put compensation as a carrier behind them knows the relevance of individual workers (Deci and Ryan, 2006). They almost don’t have to manage them. Managers should therefore surround themselves with the best people. They can even delegate authority to such workers and avoid interfering as long as the policy they decide upon is being carried out.
Conclusion
When dealing with human beings, organizations should know that employees are creatures of emotions and not creatures of logic. Both the employees and customers should be treated equally because they both determine the market share of any business. A good motivation plan improves employees’ morale for a manufacturing industry such as For You
References
Bohlander, G. W., & Snell, S. (2010). Managing human resources. Mason, OH: South- Western Cengage Learning.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2006). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.
Schermerhorn, J. R. (2012). Organizational behavior (12th ed.). Danvers, MA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.