Abstract
This essay was written on Employee motivation in Apple company. I pointed out couple motivation theories that were developed in order to show people the ways of motivating. First and base theory is Maslow’s hierarchy pyramid then there are Equity theories and Two factor theory. The most popular and efficient motivation theory is goal seeking motivation theory. This theory was made in order to motivate staff to seek new opportunities how to solve a problems or reach their goals.
In the second part I introduced the apple company and their motivation standards and behaviour. I applied the rest of theories that i picked for this essay and company. Some motivation strategies were already a part of this company but some were not. As far as some motivations are part of ourselves. How do we react and what do we do to make ourselves better. Apple Inc. is one of the most developing company in human resources and management. In the first part of my essay I would like to point out couple theories that are often mentioned by many people as a main motivation at work.
In second part I will apply theese mentioned theories to an Apple company in order to compare and evaulate the difference of their processing motivation standards and theories of employee and human motivation. Employee motivation is one of the main concernes of corporations theese days because of the main focus of employees on what can employer offer for my hard and efficient work. How do they motivate in order to reach higher standards and profits. What if I create a great added value for the company and they treat me the same without any bonus or raised wage? Same questions but in different ways has our future employer.
Company theese days need mature, efficient, motivated and high-performance employees. Since the business has taken place on our planet. Came up a question? How do I motivate people? So now I am going to mention couple theories that are most likely often used by companies to motivate their employees. Motivation forces within the individual forces that account for the direction, level, and persistence of a person’s effort expended at work. Direction is the way where you channel your motivation. How do you apply the motivation. Then there is a level of motivation that meassures how much effort someone puts in motivating staff.
Motivating persistence is the length of time a person or manager sticks with a given action. How long does it take to reach a goal. Types of motivation theories Content theories Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory Abraham Maslow first inctroduction of his theory took place in 1943 paper „A Theory of Human Motivation“. There are basically five levels of what humans need. Some are more important than others but basically follows a flow of certain needs that needs to be satisfied first before you can worry about other needs. The Maslow’s theory is often displayed as a Pyramid of needs.
The bottom of the pyramid are the primary human needs (Psychological) such as breathing, eating, sleeping, drinking water, sexual needs. Second floor of the pyramid also known as secondary needs are safety needs which means security of our body, health, the family or our employment. Third floor is named Love or belonging this floor includes friendship, family and sexual intimacy. Fourth floor of pyramid is called Esteem it covers self esteem, confidence,achievemtn, respect of others. Fifth floor is self actualization, this top of the pyramid is made of morality, creativity,spontaneity,problem solving.
Another theory is Acquired need theory. Need for achievement. The desire to do something better or more efficiently, to solve problems, or to master complex tasks. Need for affiliation. The desire to estamblish and maintain friendly and warm relations with others. Need for power. The desire to control others, to influence their behaviour or to be responsible for others. Two factor theory also known as Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory and dual-factor theory was developed by Frederick Herzberg in 1959. Herzberg in study of individual needs and motivation developed this theory.
The theory identifies two different factors as primary causes of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction. Hygiene factors Sources of job dissatisfaction that can be found in context of our job or in the work we got set. Job dissatisfaction occurs when hygiene factors are poor. Improving the hygiene factors only decreases job dissatisfaction doesn‘t make profit in sales or financial sphere. Motivator factors Sources of job satisfaction to job content. Presence or absence of satisfiers or motivators in people’s jobs is the key to satisfaction, motivation, and performance.
If we want to build more motivator factors in the job content we call it a job enrichment. Equity theory was developed by John Stacey Adams in 1963 this theory means that any percieved inequity becomes a motivating state of mind. Foundation of equity is based on social comparison. People are motivated to behave in ways that restore or maintain equity in situations. Individual outcomes and individual efforts must be equal to other’s outcomes and other’s efforts then equity is in place once the equality comes outbounced then inequity can occur. Equity theory prediction: Felt negative inequity
Individual feels thath he has recieved relatively less than others in proportion to work inputs. Felt positive inequity Individual feels that he has recieved relatively more than others have. Equity restoration behaviours. Reduce work inputs Change the outcomes reciever Leave the situation Change the comparison points Psychologically distort things Try to change the efforts of the comparison person Organizational justice How fairly and equitably people see the practices of their workplace at the time. Every employees motivation is a multiplicative function of valence, expectancy and instrumentality.
Goal seeking theory motivation was developed by Edwin A. Locke in the middle of 1960’s. Goal setting The process of developing, negotiating, and formalizing the targets or objectives that a person is responsible for accomplishing. Difficult goals are leading to more efficient and lasting performance than low goals. Specific goals are leading to a slightly raising performance than vague or giving ourselves a general goal. Feedback more likely task feedback is motivating people to produce a higher performance by setting of higher performance and more sophisticated goals.
Goals are leading to higher performance when people have the abilities and the feelings of self-efficacy required to accomplish them. Goals are motivating people toward higher performance when they are accepted by the individual, and there is commitment ot them. Management by objectives (MBO) Process of joint goal setting between a supervisor and a subordinate. Firstly I would like to briefly introduce the Apple company and then their standards in staff motivation in progress. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in 1976 in order to develop and sell PC’s.
Steve Jobs died in 2011. He was the main engine of Apple Inc. and he showed them the way they should go in the future. Even though he had a cancer he was a fighter and solver. Apple Inc. and employee motivation and relationships. Apple shows the world its greatness for a period of time now. They are leading electronics market worldwide. And firstly I might want to point out the negative part of suppliers behaviour. Since the supplier’s employees are not an Apple’s employees they dont care about unethical behaviour in their suppliers factories in China or India.
Particulary in China-Chenzen there is a supplier of many electronic selling brands called Foxconn. Foxconn employs about 500. 000 employees. And the suicide rate is about 60 employees per year. That is alarming number. But for worldwide leading companies that sells electronics it’s just a good business of low cost makeing of their product and high profit by selling it to consumer. This is the main issues of almost every corporation that founds it’s place or cooperates with already existing factories with employee base. While the economy is flowishing they expand to other socialy low parts of China or India.
Employees at Foxconn for example are 12 old children that work from 12 to 16 hours a day. So in 2013 Apple Inc. which was making almost 70% of their devices in Foxconn in Chenzen China has made a statement and showed the world their suppliers. Foxconn was mentioned as an problem facility that has to take steps forward to eliminate unethical behaviour. Apple wants his suppliers to set the working hours to 60 hours in 6 days that makes maximum of 10 hours a day. Only 38% of suppliers commited to this. Foxconn wasn’t one of those companies.
So that was the negative experience I have with Apple impact on ethical behaviour of the coutrnies of third world. I studied Apple Inc. since middleschool. I made many eassays and reports about their business and internal functions like staff motivation, appreciation, development. Mainly Apple was built and carried through the rough times by legendary messiah Steve Jobs. Now its Tim Cooks turn to take over the vessel and head for the goals of the number one company in the world. If you look at apples employee motivation culture you can see that the theory of goal seeking took place here as a main push factor.
The pull factor was the internal share sale for employees. Employees could buy shares for the lowest price given by apple. They couldn‘t participate on meeting or participate on strategical and main decisions of the headquarters. This is ment as a kind of benefit, bonus, incentive. Apple is mainly working on the management by objectives management and goal seeking theory. They give their employees the feeling of higher good. They give them a purpose to proceed to better performance. Often in Apple Inc. employees were scared to walk in hall ways because they could meet Steve Jobs.
When someone met with him, he always asked couple questions and sometimes he fired someone spontaneously that was called „to get Steve“. So employees even though they didnt know Steve but only their supervisors were scared of him, because of his changing behaviour. There are many operating teams that are working on the same things without knowing it. Thats the main advantage of motivating them. They solve the problem, but other team solved it in a better way. Their motivation rises because of competition made betweens those teams. They are doing alot of brainstorming with their supervisors even Steve was attending those.
That gives employees a chance to present their ideas and even to protest the changes or procedures taking place. If I would implement the equity theory in Apple Inc. I would say that this motivating factor is always hidden. It’s individual need but most people do care if another person gets a higher bonus for the same work with better effort or performance. So it’s highly motivating and won’t affect the other methods of motivation. Maslow’s needs theory is already in everybody. Every person has his needs. We have the same primary needs like sleeping, eating and drinking.
But others have higher goals to improve themselves for themselves and their environs. This is also very individual basic employee has different needs than a manager or owner. Another theory that i mentioned in the first part of my eassay was goal seeking motivation theory that is already in text above. Apple Inc. esxists on this type of motivation since it was developed. Even though Steve Jobs died. And the last theory mentioned is Herzbergs two factor theory based on measuring the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of employee in their workplace also know as motivator-hygiene theory.
I would like to say something negative about apple’s motivation procedures but I can’t because it is just brilliant. The two factor is also part of the company management. Apple Inc. is recruiting only the best of best and they benefit those people and take care of them. Those people don’t need to change employers or sell the information to media. They are satisfied and often they are strongly commited to the company. Apple is like a big happy family that profits out of its shares and company salaries. Apple Inc.
is strong company that has strict rules and motivates their staff to improve their skills and inovative thinking. They grow their own profesionals in electronics and management. Apple deserves the main position on worldwide market of electronics. They have the best design and marketing in the world. They employ thousands of people all over the world. The key strategy of Apple was always to maintain on path that Steve Jobs showed them. I hope that in the future Apple will set a standard even for their suppliers of how to behave to their employees in ethical and fair way that should be human being treated. Figure 1. 1
