All people have needs that they want satisfied so the search for that satisfaction/ desire Coccid be classed as motivation. It must also be noted that motivation can’t be directly observed. Instead, motivation can only be observed by looking at a person’s or team’s behavior. If they can be observed to have the desire to work towards their needs they must have motivation. 1. 2 Describe the factors that may affect motivation levels in the workplace. There are four basic factors that will affect motivation levels within a workplace. The Leadership Style.
This key factor will influence how people feel about the many and how motivated they are in there role. Changing the leader changes the feel of the company and can either enhance or detract from the performance of people within the organization. The leadership style implemented depends on the goals and objectives of the company, the people working in the company, and external environmental factors. In the armed forces, directed and dictatorial leadership would be preferred, people are told what to do and follow orders and people will act quickly with no emotional comebacks.
This leadership style would not work so well in an average office environment as employees want o speak out, be heard, and have an influence on their own work. A second leadership style is collegial, where one person may be in charge of a department but functions at the same level and with the same knowledge and skill as his co-workers. In this type of company, people are respected for their knowledge, skill, and ability to do the job.
Other leadership styles that have been identified are telling, selling, persuading, and participating. Each of these styles is appropriate depending on whether the employee is new or experienced, and whether there is ample time or urgency in completing the task. Sometimes, he manager is required to use different leadership styles for different people under differing circumstances. The Rewards. Every organization has a particular type of reward structure, this can differ from person to person and from department to department.
It is common practice for organizations to identify their most profitable products and services, and then increase the percentage of commission that salespeople will receive for selling those specific products and services, this will also work in the opposite way by offering lower commissions for less profitable items. It is fair to state that workers and managers, respond very quickly to increase or decreased financial rewards that are directly linked to specific behaviors or for achieving specific goals. The Organizational Climate.
This is the working environment that is deliberately created and maintained by management. The largest influencing factor for this is the way that people interact with each other both up and down the management chain. The organizational climate can be found within any company’s core values and people’s policies. The way that this information and guidance is implemented has a dramatic effect on the group’s employees. IBM has a specific policy, the Renville of “respect for the individual”, this was adamantly enforced at every level of the organization, both nationally and internationally.
You could make almost any mistake at all at MM, except one. You could not disrespect, demean, or insult another person, either inside or outside of the organization. Treating people badly, especially people under your authority, was grounds for dismissal, no matter how long you had been with the company. As a result of this element of organizational climate, not only did people compete vigorously to get into IBM in the first place, but once there they were some of the happiest, most reductive, and creative people in any company in any industry.
The Structure of the Work. An enormous amount of work must be standardized, and made relatively unexciting in order to get the job done efficiently and cost effectively. It is hard to motivate factory workers who work on a production line all day and whose activities are carefully monitored. To motivate factory workers on a production line is inherently hard and must be regulated to ensure maximum levels of productivity. Some work is usually highly rewarding and is very motivational, requiring creativity, imagination, and high levels of energy.
Work that involves communicating, negotiating, and interacting with other people in order to gain their cooperation brings out the best energies of the individual. It is exciting and challenging within its nature. Good companies will try to structure the work so as to match the nature of the work with the nature of the employee this helps make the work as interesting and enjoyable as possible for the individuals involved. The leadership style of an organization, is the one factor that can be changed quickly, and this change can make a major difference almost overnight.
The reward structure, the organizational climate, and the Truckee of the work can be changed, but usually slowly; everything must be thought through carefully and in detail. 1. 3 Explain how individual differences affect levels of motivation in the workplace. Frederick Herbert offers a model for understanding the motivational implications of work environments. In his two- factor theory, Herbert identifies two sets of factors that impact on an individual’s motivation levels in the workplace: Hygiene factors, which include salary, job security, working conditions, organizational policies, and technical quality of supervision.
Although these actors do not motivate individual to say, they can cause dissatisfaction if they are missing. Something as simple as adding music to the office place or implementing a no-smoking policy can make a person less dissatisfied with these aspects of their work. However, these improvements in hygiene factors do not necessarily increase an individual’s satisfaction. Motivators include such things as responsibility, achievement, growth opportunities, and feelings of recognition, and are the key to an individual’s job satisfaction and motivation.
For example, managers can find out what people ally do in their jobs and make improvements, thus increasing job satisfaction and performance. 1. 4 Explain the potential impact on organizational performance if employee motivation levels are low. Motivation is a very important for an organization because the following benefits will not be realized. Performance The effect of low employee motivation can take several different forms. In most cases it leads to some type of poor performance. Employees who lack motivation may stop caring about the quality of their work.
Those who don’t expect recognition are likely to feel comfortable passing on blame for failing to meet objectives or producing low quality work, leaving them little reason to devote additional time or effort to their tasks. Productivity While performance losses cover the qualitative effect of low motivation, decreases in productivity are among the quantitative effects of the problem. For example, low motivation encourages absenteeism, including unexcused or unplanned absences and chronic lateness.
Employees who lack motivation may also spend more working hours attending to personal issues or socializing, both of which contribute to decreased productivity. All of the above factors re detrimental to a business resulting in overall loss of efficiency and so not releasing the full potential of the company’s money making capabilities. 2 Understand how a theory of motivation can be used to improve performance levels. 2. 1 Describe a recognized theory of motivation. One of the best known models of motivation is “Measles Hierarchy of needs”.
Mascot grouped human needs into five hierarchical categories, typically depicted as a pyramid. At the bottom are the most fundamental, physiological needs, such as hunger and pain avoidance. The next level up is the need to feel safe, for example, from physical harm or illness. Social needs are above that, generally stated as a need to feel accepted by others. Self-image needs, such as a need for self-respect and also the respect of one’s peers occupy the next level. Finally, the top level is acclimatization, or those needs that deal with personal growth and development.
All of this is represented in the below diagram. Mascot argued that the most important needs are at the bottom, meaning that the upper-level needs only come into play when the lower-level needs are fulfilled. In other words, a starving person is more concerned with finding food than meeting her personal growth potential. But as the fundamental needs are increasingly fulfilled, meeting her personal growth potential becomes increasingly important. 2. 2 Describe ways in which knowledge of a theory of motivation can be used to improve performance in the workplace.
If we consider Measles hierarchy of needs as our example of a motivational model we can see that it can help leaders hone their styles to suit the needs of their followers. In most situations, business leaders don’t have to worry about the most basic needs like hunger and thirst, unless employee wages are so low or their individual financial situation so precarious that those concerns are armament in the minds of your workforce. But on the next level up, helping improve worker safety, for example, fulfills important needs.
On the level above that, promoting cooperation fulfills social needs, as does letting an employee know she is integral to the company’s mission. Then, when a leader has done all she can to meet the needs of the lower levels, she can commit to fostering personal development. Career guidance, for instance, helps employees meet their potential, as does empowering them by offering increased responsibility and authority. Leaders tend to self-actuality more than non-leaders, according to the book. In other words, in their own lives, leaders tend to focus on the upper, or more mature, needs as laid out in Measles hierarchy.
The fact that leaders drive themselves to fulfill their potential makes them effective role models, especially in business, where an owner can set the tone of the entire organization by demonstrating a strong work ethic and a commitment to the business’ objectives. 2. 3 Explain how to use employee engagement to increase motivation levels. So, how can we use employee engagement to motivate people thus improving businesses? Engaged employees are in the game for the sake of the game; they live in the cause of the company. Motivated employees are in it for what they can get out of it.
When the carrot is taken away, the effort of the motivated employee decreases. Engaged employees are resilient – they continue to work toward accomplishing the task and supporting the mission of the organization, despite the challenges thrown at them. They keep both feet in the boat and paddling hard toward the destination. In contrast, when times get tough, motivated employees start looking for other boats to jump into or put their heads down and hope not to get noticed. Another important difference between titivated and engaged employees is the quality of their work.
Motivated employees want to get to the finish line to get their carrot. In contrast, engaged employees want to “win” and do the best job possible, meaning taking their time and getting things right. It also means paying attention to their surroundings, in contrast to motivated people, who are like racehorses wearing blinders. Engaged employees are truly passionate and thoughtful about their work. Below are a few ways to help build that engagement. Consult your staff Involvement in projects help people feel like a part of the solution.
If you have a problem, why not ask staff to help you overcome it. Collective solutions increase the chance that your employees buy into what you are planning and helps them feel as though they have contributed to the solution. This will bring enthusiasm to the task and the team. Praise them Use praise and recognition as motivators. They are more powerful motivators than money if your workforce is paid enough. Again employees want to feel as they are doing a good job and contributing. They will value the feeling of praise and be willing to speak up with ideas and suggestions.
Give them feedback and lace versa Give your employees the ability and tools to talk about what they can do better but also what you can do better. They will be better motivated if they can see that you are helping them progress and develop but also if they have a say on what the manager can do to help. This will only work if the manager and the employee act upon the feedback. Empower Give your employees responsibility. People thrive on responsibility. Let them run with ideas and projects give them the ability to prove themselves. No person sets out to fail and you may find that employees are able to step up and take hat responsibility.
