Strategies to Motivate Employees

Strategies to Motivate EmployeesINTRODUCTIONMotivation of employees in the piece of educate is one of the fundamental responsibilities of a manager, in order to achieve mellow take aims of productiveness, to satisfy the ever changing customer need, and to withstand the increasing globose competition. Management reminds the organizational members to make up the most of the scarce resources by distributing awards to outstanding employees and perhaps punishing those showing unacceptable writ of execution.Steers (1987) stated that A large theory of motif at work must address itself to at least three classic sets of variables which constitute the work situation, i.e. the characteristics of the individual, the characteristics of the business organization and the characteristics of the work environment. (Blue)Motivation is a tool, often used by the managers to catalyse the avidness of the employees to work without pressure. Various motivational theories have been used since d ecades to puddle the workforce in achieving extraordinary results in all palm of work. To motivate the employees, the managers should understand that divers(prenominal) multitude have different set of necessitate and understanding, and therefore, should be able to use the right mix of motivational theories depending on different individuals, different societies, and different organizational levels. Use of analogous motivation methods may continue to frustration, resentment and a perception of inequity for employees from a diverse culture. (cited from CULTURAL VALUES IN RELATION TO uprightness SENSTIVITY at heart AND ACROSS CULTURES, KENNETH G. WHEELER) Taking this into consideration the managers should apply their knowledge of the various motivational theories to improve the workplace work.It would depend on different societies, different individuals, and different organizational or undertaking levels. There is not probably a universal motivator for all mankind, nor is th ere a single cue force for any one individual. It is a problem of what mixture of needs for what kind of people in what kind of society. In Hong Kong, for example, there is no doubt that money is a predominant motivator with regard to two the lower level need satis pointion and the fulfilment of status and work goals.Employee motivation or motivation of organizational members is one of the critical functions of a manager, because there is a persistently increasing pressure for increased productivity in order to meet competition, to best utilize the scarce resources, and to nominate goods and services to more and more people at little and less cost Organizations motivate their workforce to perform effectively by pass them rewards for satisfactory performance and perhaps punishing them for unsatisfactory performance.Motivation is the throttle valve that spurns employees eagerness to work without pressure. To motivate is to provide employees with a motive to do some tasks. It is to cause or provoke somebody to act both positively or negatively.Motivation has been used by effective managers to prompt ordinary people to achieve uncommon results in all fields of endeavours People work because they have goals to achieve which surpass financial gains from their employment. Maslow (1943) verbalize that people work to survive and live through financial compensation, to make new friends, to have job security, for a sense of exercise and to encounter important in the society, to have a sense of identity, and most peculiarly to have job cheer. All employees that have job atonement ar high performers in their respective workplaces.Theories of MotivationMotivational theories atomic number 18 in the main segregated based on two grounds. The one dealing with the scientific approach such as Equity and Expectancy theory atomic number 18 called process theories and those showcasing the inner drive of an employee that motivates them to work such as Maslows (1 954) power structure of needs and Herzbergs (1959) two factor theory are called content theories. The infra mentioned section lead highlight more about these theories.MOTIVATION THEORIESMaslows power structure of NeedsAbraham Maslow (1954) presented the power structure of needs and divided them into two groups deficiency and incremental needs. The deficiency needs includes the biological, safety, belongingness and social needs whereas the incremental needs comprises of the watch and self actualization needs (Citation Huitt, W. (2004). Maslows hierarchy of needs. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA Valdosta State University. Retrieved date from, http//chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/regsys/maslow.html. Return to). Maslow proposed that as an individual develops they work towards achieving these needs, set in a certain hierarchy and unless the deficiency needs are agreeable the growth needs leave alone have less or no relevance (http//home.ubalt.edu/tmitch/642/Article s%20syllabus/steers%20et%20al%20future%20of%20wk%20mot%20Ac%20Mgt%20rev%202004.pdf). According to Maslows Needs Hierarchy Theory, as the person satisfies a lower-level need, the next higher need in the hierarchy becomes the primary motivator and remains so even if never satisfied (McShane and Travaglione, 2007, p. 140). An urge to satisfy these needs motivates an employee to bring out the best performance in all endeavor of work.Although Maslow theory of Motivation received a lot of attention , however most of Maslows work has been criticized by people who applied the theory practically for work motivation( hall and nougaim 1968, cited in The exclusive In The economic system A Text Book Of Economic psychological science by S.E.G. Lea, Roger M. Tarpy, capital of Minnesota Webley). Also there is deficiency of evidence that the level of hierarchy precedes each other and will increase the importance of the next one if the latter is satisfied (wabha and Bridwell , 1974 cited in The I ndividual In The Economy A Text Book Of Economic psychology by S.E.G. Lea, Roger M. Tarpy, Paul Webley). Finally there is an increasing evidence that Maslows Hierarchy of Needs are quiet unique and they cannot be applied universally because an individuals need will vary with location, values and beliefs (Haslam, Powell, and Turner, 2000, p. 319 339, Locke, 2000, p. 408-429 cited in McShane and Travaglione, 2007, p. 141). Davis and Filly comment, the exact order of priority may vary somewhat between persons. (Davis and Filly, 1963, cited in Dye, Mills, and Weatherbee, 2005, p. 1377).an example is requiredEQUITY THEORYAdams (1963, 1965) developed a motivation model based on to the comparison of oneself with others in context to the output input ratio at work. Equity is achieved when the input and output ratio is the same for different individuals. The employees of a firm discipline to compare their own ratio with that of others (Adams, 1963, p. 422-436, cited in McShane and Travag lione, 2007, p. 154). then get either get motivated if they think that the results are coherent or else they get de motivated if they think that there is a lack of fairness in the work outcome. The major challenge lies with the managers to allocate a right mix of input and output considering a diverse spherical workforce so as to maintain equity in the organization. For instance, Dutch researchers found that pay inequity leads to negative behavior and frustration ( caravan Dierendonck et al, 1994 Van Y Peren et al, 1992) whereas Australian studies show that the situation results in lower job satisfaction (Carr et al., 1996).EXPECTANCY THEORYExpectancy theory suggests that an individual acts through self interest and adopts a pathway of actions which he perceives will maximize the chances of desirable results for themselves (Isaac, Wilfred, and Pitt, 2001, p. 212). The theory is based on three components valence, expectancy and instrumentality. howl (1964, p. 15) defined valence as an affective orientations toward particular outcomes. Expectancy refers to a momentary belief of an individual that a stated level of performance will follow a particular outcome. Finally, instrumentality is related to an individuals expectations that if she or he behaves in a certain way, he or she will get certain things (Nadler and Lawler, 1997, p. 218). Expectancy theory is thus grounded on the fact that the work performance is directed towards individual behaviors that people perceive, will lead them to the desired outcomes (McShane and Travaglione, 2007, p. 146).HERZBERGS TWO FACTOR THEORYHerzberg s (1959) Motivation- Hygiene or two factor theory suggest that the intrinsic and the alien aspects of a job are different from each other. The theory breaks job satisfaction into two factors Motivation and Hygiene factors. Motivators relates to the intrinsic factors such as responsibility, recognition, achievement and the work profile. On the other hand hygiene factors are assoc iated with the extrinsic factors such as remuneration, working environment, policies of the organization and position ((Manolopoulos, 2008, p. 66). Herzberg(1959) suggest that job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are two different independent variables. According to the theory job dissatisfaction is an outcome followed by lack of hygiene factors. However, even their bearing dosent motivates or satisfies the work force. On the other hand motivation factors acted as elements to enrich an individuals job. Motivation factors had long term positive effects on the workforce performance whereas hygiene factors had a short term meet on the attitude and performance of the employees (Gawel Joseph E. (1997). Herzbergs theory of motivation and Maslows hierarchy of needs. mulish Assessment, Research Evaluation, 5(11). Retrieved August 18, 2009 from http//PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=5n=11 . This paper has been viewed 290,800 times since 11/13/1999..)eg is required.However, questions have been r aised about the application of Herzbergs theory on diverse workforce. A few of the motivation factors may lead to dissatisfaction and a few of hygiene factor may result in satisfaction (Gardner, 1977, p. 197). It is totally based on individuals or groups requirement.Implementation of Motivational TheoriesIt is an important aspect of a managers job profile to keep the employees motivated towards the organizational goals. A manager should understand the needs of both the organization and the employees and should try to align them so as to get favorable results. Despite having a lot of Motivation theories , managers still face a lot of problem in motivating their employees and one major factor behind this is the orbicular workforce having altogether different values and beliefs