“If we take care of our employees, they will take care of our customers” is a common phrase. In your experience, is it actually practiced or is it just a cliché on the wall? Discuss the implications of your answer.
Employees are the central pillars of every organization. In fact, Noe et al. is right when he says, “if we take care of our employees, they will take care of our customers” (2011, p. 319). This statement is true in many organizations since the employee stands out as the person who is in direct contact with customers. The employer and other stakeholders are the recipients of the actions of the employees. For example, in the case study of Texas Roadhouse Company, employers do not make meals. This duty is preserved for employees. Hence, they ought to be motivated since motivated employees not only look for the best way to perform their duties but also become quality-driven and more productive. When the employee is motivated, he or she is also likely to motivate the customer to buy more. No employee would like to lose his or her job. Therefore, every one of them is happy when his or her company prospers. Consequently, when an organization increases its profits, employees expect better terms from the management.
The motivation flows down to customers via the employees and hence prosperity of the organization. As evident in the case of Texas Roadhouse, money is one of the best sources of motivation for employees. As an extrinsic motivation, money is widely accepted as the best source of motivation. Many people believe that, when one has money, he or she can obtain all what he or she needs. In addition, most of the transactions in life involve money. Use of money as an extrinsic motivation to employees also increasers intrinsic motivation. Intrinsically motivated employees have high chances of participating in the job to boost their skills. This argument confirms the increased profitability of Texas Roadhouse Company that has used the money for motivation following the many customers it has attracted based on the care it has accorded its employees (Noe et al., 2011). Therefore, when employees receive money or any other form of care, they perform their duties more willingly hence increasing customer satisfaction.
Texas Roadhouse uses money as a motivator for employees. In today’s economy, describe alternative methods that could be used to motivate their employees.
Money is a good source of extrinsic motivation. However, other sources of motivation have been widely adopted today. According Noe et al., (2011), Texas Roadhouse Company can also use other alternative motivation methods. To begin with, the company can use the reward and punishment strategy. The employer rewards good behavior to reinforce it besides punishing the behavior that he or she wants to limit. Punishment or threat to punish is a good motivation to behavior that one wants to discourage. In the same way, use of reward in reinforcing and initiating certain behaviors is effective.
When people expect a certain reward after performing certain duties, they spend lesser time and work with efficiency. Secondly, recognition and praise is another motivation strategy that works better than money. In fact, the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs places money below recognition. Employees prefer being recognized especially in the process of decision-making. Management should therefore involve them in making key decisions in the organization because they are the implementers of most decisions, which affect them directly. Thirdly, Texas Roadhouse can use job involvement as a motivation. Using this motivation, the company ensures that the employee feels that his or her role is important in the organization. This strategy motivates the employees especially when they begin to feel that the organization really needs them. The sense of pride that emanates from this motivation arouses other intrinsic motivations. When employees see the impact of their opinion on decision-making, they begin to own the process and hence the organization.
Discuss the possible effectiveness of each of your alternative method
The use of reward and punishment is an effective motivation. People like being rewarded for good behavior and performance. In fact, rewarding reinforces a certain behavior. If the employees of Texas Roadhouse are rewarded through promotions and better social and working conditions, they tend to be more satisfied, comfortable, and will to uplift the standards of the organization. Rewarding also arouses other intrinsic motivators and hence better results. People are likely to work better when they perceive rewards. As an alternative, punishment discourages a certain behavior or performance while reinstating the preferred behavior. Punishment may involve salary and benefits reduction, suspension, and demotion. When an employee perceives punishment for a certain behavior, he or she avoids it. Punishment deters bad performance.
However, employees prefer reward than punishment for motivation. Secondly, recognition and praise are intrinsic motivations that every employee desires. Everyone would like to be appreciated. Employee should be recognized through written letters of appreciation, praises during general meetings, and even through verbal appreciation. This strategy is effective because it triggers a repeat of certain behaviors, which boost performance. Thirdly, job involvement is an effective motivation. If the employees of Texas Roadhouse are involved in decision-making, they will feel motivated. Such employees would feel as part of the organization. They will thus appreciate being associated with it. Management should allow employees to contribute to key decision making via writing or speaking. The strategy makes them own the projects that the company wants to implement hence reducing turnover in the organization since every employee will appreciate the company.
Analyze how transferable the Texas Roadhouse way of motivating employees is in other organizations
The Texas way of motivating employees is transferrable to other organizations. Use of money as a motivation can be appreciated by many employees. In fact, researchers like Fredrick Taylor argue that employees in every organization besides Texas Roadhouse are solely motivated by pay. Most of the employees perceive money as the best source of motivation for them. It is also factual that most of employees in organizations feel that their pay is not sufficient. Hence, they would always require more. Therefore, Texas Roadhouse promotion strategy comes in handy in other organizations. In addition, money is a powerful tool of motivation in any workplace leave alone Texas Roadhouse company. It has made employees in other organizations perform at optimum production points. Motivation is imperative for the success of any company. Companies will therefore succeed if they implement such motivational methods as used in the Texas Roadhouse Company. Therefore, emulation of Texas Roadhouse strategies will improve employees’ efficiency, which will in turn enhance quality production.
Conclusion
In conclusion, motivation is important in every organization. The techniques of inspiration also differ from one business to the other. Some motivation methods are intrinsic while others are extrinsic. Although money is seen as the best motivation, other motivations like rewards and punishment, recognition and praise, and job involvement also exist. An organization that wants to perform best must invest in its employees by motivating them continually.
Reference List
Noe, A., Hollenbeck, R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, M. (2011). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.