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WORKER MOTIVATION & PERFORMANCE.
Term Paper ID:22687
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Role of managers in creating productive environment & satisfied workers. Theories, communication, evaluation & counseling techniques. Abstract.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Role of managers in creating productive environment & satisfied workers. Theories, communication, evaluation & counseling techniques. Abstract.
Paper Introduction:
Abstract
Understanding why employees are motivated to perform their jobs is one of the more challenging aspects of a supervisor's career. Individuals have different motivations for why they work, and a motivational technique which works well for one individual may not work well for another. To understand how employees are motivated, it is necessary to understand various need theories and determine which of these theories is appropriate in any particular situation.
Supervisors must also be able to clearly communicate their needs and the needs of the organization to employees, and also receive communication back from employees regarding their performance. Employees offer information (both verbal and nonverbal) regarding their skills, abilities and incentives, and supervisors need to understa
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More serious than a single task that is performed badly is a series oftasks which are performed badly, which may encompass most of what anemployee is expected to perform during the course of his job. Preferential treatment must be based on ability andcannot be based on overtly subjective determinations by employers thatmight indicate an unfair bias (such as only promoting white males, orhaving only minority workers in menial positions). The growth needs begin with the need for esteem, including self-respect and the esteem of others. Abraham Maslow developed a more complete view of individualmotivation, also based on needs, at approximately the same time that Murrayand McClelland were formulating their views. Centralized networks more oftenhave a single leader, and may subject their members to an excess ofinformation. (1987). E. Organizational behavior. Gordon, G. Negative consequencesare covered by a variety of regulations and laws, including regulationsregarding how people are laid off, what must be done to document poorperformance before a worker is dismissed, and the number of hours thatindividuals can work. Weisbord, M. Thesetheories are concerned with the dynamics, or process aspects, of workmotivation (Gordon, 1991, p. Thus supervisors have todetermine whether an employee's deficiency in a particular area is one thatthe employee can rectify with proper training, or whether the deficiency isone that requires more serious attention. Employees can be compared against each other using the ratingtechnique, which may help the supervisor form an effective team by usingeach employee's strengths and weaknesses to full advantage. Or,the employee may not clearly understand the tasks, which is a communicationproblem. Forexample, an employee whose work may be outstanding might have been absentdue to a prolonged illness or surgery. 51-1 . To do this, the supervisor must again practice effectivecommunication, which is also required from the employee. To understandhow employees are motivated, it is necessary to understand various needtheories and determine which of these theories is appropriate in anyparticular situation. Financial remuneration as a motivator has only limited effectin the work environment, as employees are also motivated by recognition andthe overall work environment. Two kinds of expectations are key to the expectancy model: effortwill lead to performance and performance will lead to reward. Theabsence of friends or loved ones can lead to serious maladjustment ofindividuals and prevent the individual from meeting higher-order needs. (May 1988). In anycommunication profess, there are specific steps: generating an idea,encoding the idea, transmitting it, receiving it, decoding it,understanding it and responding. 191-192). Similarly, addressing hygiene factors would result in littlemore than neutral feelings from employees, while failing to meet hygienefactors would result in strong dissatisfaction. Chicago: DrydenPress. Organizational attitudesand behaviors as a function of participation in strategic and tacticalchange decisions. Management and organizationalbehavior. (1983). For example, in an accounting department, one employee mightexcel at preparing financial statements and manipulating data, whileanother employee is outstanding at interpreting that data and formulatingstrategy based on the information. Active listening. Instead, individual employees respond to different types ofmotivation in different ways, and successful supervisors developcomprehensive understanding of each of their employees and the corporateenvironment in which they operate. There are a number of approaches to improving communication within anorganization. Obstacles to this process include noise,barriers and filters, and may affect the communication at any stage.Common forms of communication in organizations include oral communication,written communication (including electronic mail) and nonverbalcommunication (DuBrin, 1984, p. Downward communication travels from the upper to lowerlevels of an organization, generally one level at a time. By evaluating an employee's strengths and weaknesses, and byconsidering the needs of the organization in the future, a strong managerwill be able to help develop employees who are able not only to help theorganization meet its current needs, but also to fulfill the organization'sfuture needs. San Francisco:Jossey Bass. Herzberg held that the absence of motivator factors wouldnot make employees unhappy, but would leave them feeling neutral abouttheir jobs. (January 1994). Summary Motivation in the workplace is a complicated issue that depends onwork in the behavior science field in order to build a foundation.Understanding how individuals are motivated, and determining how differentindividuals are motivated in a specific environment, is what determines asupervisors success in motivating his subordinates. A good motivational environment has clear consequences for actions byemployees. Consequences cut across both positive and negative work performance.The most often used consequence is that of pay: strong performers arerewarded with increases in their wages; weak performers receive no suchincreases. This evaluation and counseling is important not only to the immediatejob at hand, but also in anticipating the needs of the organization in thefuture. If employees are neither rewarded for good performance norpenalized for poor performance, the motivation within the environment islikely to be nonexistent, and supervisors and employees are likely to havehigh levels of anxiety and frustration in trying to accomplish their tasks. If the task hasbeen performed poorly once, it is up to the supervisor to try a differentway of explaining what is to be done. 24). R. There are other issues which may prevent an employee from performing atask in a satisfactory manner. Industry determinants of organizationalculture. In a ranking environment, employees are rankedagainst each other in a hierarchical fashion. Individuals with a highneed for affiliation tend to be warm and friendly in their relationships,but may be ineffective if their need for affiliation is not balanced withtheir needs for achievement and power. The need for achievement determines how employees will respond tochallenging job assignments because task persistence and the acceptance ofchallenge are closely related to this need. Academy of management review, pp. Fundamentally, it is the manager's responsibility toevaluate the performance of the subordinate, and counsel the subordinate onhow best to improve that performance. (April 1994). At this point, it can be important that supervisors understand how tospot areas which employees can improve, and areas which they cannot.Skills can be taught; ability cannot be learned. It is not enough for asupervisor to identify an area of weakness, perhaps a lack of professionalskill on computers, for example, and not offer suggestions on how theemployee might improve that skill. Keeping an employee on staff whois not able to perform the requisite tasks results in a demoralization notonly for the employee, who is frustrated, but for other members of theorganization, who resent having to do the employee's work for him. 396-415. This approach issignificant in that it suggests that the issues that lead to satisfactionand dissatisfaction are not the same (Lu, 1988, p. Understanding what the appropriate consequences should be requiresthat supervisors understand their employees, and also the legal environmentin which they work. (1987). Murray as anoutgrowth of his research on instinct theory. Managers also need to create the perceptionthat effort will lead to rewards, and design jobs so that increased effortleads to high performance. Over the long term, the result can be a decrease in motivationthat can be difficult for even the most effective supervisor to overcome. This becomes an issue of communication, inwhich it is critical that the supervisor communicate the task and its levelof significance to the employee (Edwards, 1994, p. A good evaluation process not only identifies an employee's strengthsand weaknesses, but also has a mechanism for improving the weaknesses andplaying on the strengths. Safety needs relate to obtaining a secure environment in whichan individual is free from threats. Reduced work schedules (such as a day off),a free lunch or dinner, or even trips can be strong work incentives whichcan be used to reward those employees who meet or exceed their supervisors'expectations. Factors that led to satisfaction were termed motivatorfactors, while factors that contributed to dissatisfaction were deemedhygiene factors. Sagie, A. If the employeeanticipates that increased effort will not lead to increased performance,motivation becomes difficult. The ranking technique has the advantage of enabling one employee to becompared to another, but results in a hierarchical ranking that does nottake into account the different tasks that employees are called upon tocomplete. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Process theories focus on how rewards control behavior. Scanlan, B. NewYork: McGraw-Hill. Industrial engineering,pp. Workers who know that they will receive anincrease in pay if they perform well are likely to do so than if no suchincrease is on the horizon. Communication Communication is key to organizations, and ineffective communicationscan result in poor productivity and a loss of competitive edge. Employees offerinformation (both verbal and nonverbal) regarding their skills, abilitiesand incentives, and supervisors need to understand this information inorder to effectively motivate employees. Lu, D. Introduction A supervisor's job includes many different types of roles, includingcounselor, manager, administrator and leader. Across theBoard, pp. Generally, downward and upwardcommunication is processed formally, while horizontal communication isoften informal. There is also reward for the subordinate who, with theassistance of his manager, is able to cultivate skills which will helpbuild his professional skills and which serve to enhance his self-esteemand self-worth. In D. Vecchio, R. E. Organizational behavior & human decisionprocesses, pp. However, if the situation proves tobe beyond salvation because the deficiencies of the employee are tooextreme, supervisors should not refrain from dismissing the employee ortransferring him to another department. Personal development may beexpressed in many different ways, but some individuals may never experiencethe desire to develop their own potential (Keys, 1991, p. Lower-order needs he termed deficiency needs and must be satisfied tonsure anindividual's very existence and security. S. Chief among these are obstacles over whichthe employee has no control. R. Adeficiency in skills relates to an employee's unfamiliarity with computersin general, or with a computer program in particular, for example. The human side of enterprise. In other situations, the supervisor mayspeak to other supervisors to determine where the problem is and how bestto fix it. For example, each employeecould be rated with regard to quality of work, dependability, cooperationand knowledge of the job. 7 ). M. Another performance area that is critical to supervisors is that oftask understanding. Horizontal communication travels between employees who occupy thesame level of an organization. The study of congruence inorganizational behavior research. By using the performance appraisal processeffectively, supervisors can create a work environment which is conduciveto high levels of productivity and employee growth. Most organizations have thisformal process in place so that it occurs annually, and it is often tied topay increases. P. While it may be that the workers do notpossess the requisite skills (which can be remedied through training),there may be other factors involved which are more complicated and whichreach to the heart of effective management. 1 ). Inthis way, all members of the organization practice similar approaches tothe process. Productive workplaces. Effective supervisors work with employees to help them overcome suchobstacles. A., Rowland, K. Esteem needs include the desire forachievement, prestige and recognition as well as appreciation and attentionfrom others. This assumes that the employee has the skillsand ability to perform the task, and understands the task which is to beperformed, but that there are external influences which prevent theemployee from accomplishing the task. Another view of work motivation, developed by Fred Herzberg, is thetwo-factor theory. McClelland took the story-telling approach further byuncovering three dominant needs: the need for achievement; the need foraffiliation; and the need for power. Expectancy theories attempt to explain worker motivation in terms ofanticipated rewards. Upwardcommunication reverses the process and travels from lower level to upperlevels. Managers also need to hire qualified employees,and train them adequately for the tasks to which they are assigned. 1 4). Evaluating subordinates is most often accomplished through the use ofa formal performance evaluation strategy. Some individuals haveweak spatial relationships, for example, which is not a skill that can betaught. (1984). According to Maslow, needscan be classified into a hierarchy, with the needs that are lower in thehierarchy being more essential to survival than higher order needs. Understanding all of the factors which influenceperformance, including skills, abilities, task understanding, obstacles andthe consequences in place, is critical if a supervisor is to be effective. Subordinate influence and the performance evaluationprocess. Abstract Understanding why employees are motivated to perform their jobs is oneof the more challenging aspects of a supervisor's career. The more strongly the employee believes that this is the case,the easier the motivational task (Ferris, Judge, Rowland & Fitzgibbons,1994, p. These theories have gainedmuch attention because they stem from the idea that personal andsituational influences are important in employee motivation. Tasksshould be designed so that performance is measurable in an objective andquantifiable way, and base rewards on the performance of these tasks.Rewards also need to be perceived both as fair and equitable. R., Judge, T. Similarly, if workers understand the penaltiesfor failing to meet their objectives or failing to perform to standard,they are likely to take steps necessary to correct poor performance beforethe performance becomes a serious problem. R., & Farson, R. This feedback, or counseling, can be a criticalpart of the evaluation process and one which can be highly effective indeveloping professional skills among workers. & Keys, B. Critical incidents(informally known as management by exception) makes notes of actual jobbehaviors and are evaluated as to whether these behaviors constituteeffective or ineffective behavior. There are a number of different approaches to work motivation, most ofwhich can be broken down into either content theories or process theories.Content theories focus on what motivates people to perform, and areconcerned with identifying the different rewards that people seek in theirwork. However, therating technique does not allow for subjective evaluation by the supervisoroutside of exceptional cases, and employees may be rated in such a way thatdoes not accurately reflect their situation during a specific period. (April 1991). & Koslowsky, M. Failing to recognize obstacles can result in employees beingblamed for situations that are out of their control, which is demoralizing;failing to correct recognized obstacles can be equally demoralizing.Helping employees solve the problems that obstacles present, and helpingemployees to develop the skills to help prevent obstacles from arising inthe future, not only assists the organization in achieving its objectives,but also builds the professional skills of the employee and their self-esteem as they take on more responsibility for their own job environment(Ferris, Judge, Rowland, & Fitzgibbons, 1994, p. While the employee would receivehigh marks for quality of work, he would receive low marks for attendance,although the illness was a one-time event. Following this type of strategy placestoo much responsibility on the employee for trying to figure out how bestto develop skills that meet the employer's needs (Fournies, 1987, p. References DuBrin, A. Consequences work most effectively when they are known to allparticipants ahead of time. The rating technique is used to evaluateemployees in a number of specific categories. Since performance has already been aproblem, having the employee restate the task in his own words can helpidentify where the communication breakdown is occurring. Performance Problems Managers with even the best understanding of motivational processesare likely to encounter situations where their expectations and theperformance of their subordinates fail to coincide. In some cases, the employee can speak directly with those whopresent the obstacles and work with them to create processes which make theobstacles less likely to occur. Five critical barriers to successfulimplementation of JIT and total quality control. Both parties mustengage in active listening, making sure that the supervisor's needs areclearly communicated and understood by the subordinate. Decentralized networks are preferable for complex tasksthat require the sharing of information. Appraising performance helps supervisors spot potential problemsbefore they become serious, and also help supervisors spot the strengthsamong their employees. This theory holds that the factors which contribute tojob satisfaction are different from the factors which contribute to jobdissatisfaction. If a person is reasonably safe andsecure, the third set of needs can be considered. A.Kolb, I. This research examines types ofmotivation and the components the go into successfully motivating employeesto meet their goals and objectives. Another consideration by the employee iswhether a given level of performance will result in reaching a particularoutcome. Determining these issues is not an easy task for most supervisors, andrequires awareness on their part as to what the critical issues are. Thiscan be improved by sending the employee to training classes or by otherwisehelping the employee learn the skill that is lacking. New York:McGraw-Hill. Other evaluation methods, such as MBO, have the advantage ofevaluating employees based on the needs of the organization, which is asignificant factor when evaluating employees. The rating method does nottypically allow for such exceptions. Finding the key to motivating employees is not a lesson easilylearned, nor is it a lesson which, once learned, can be consideredmastered. There may be some problems whichthe employee simply will not be able to change no matter what steps thesupervisor takes. Assuming that the workers arebeing willfully disobedient or unproductive is to put responsibility whereit does not belong (McGregor, 1985, p. 37-47. Coaching for improved work performance. Often, these obstacles come fromother departments on which the employee depends. Maslow's deficiency needs are identified as physiological needs,including the need for food, water, sleep and freedom from pain. However, effective managers recognize that informalevaluation performed more frequently helps keep staff members apprised ofwhat is expected of them, and how they are measuring up to thoseexpectations. J. 187-199). As withhedonistic approaches, the instinctual approach is best used to describeactions after they occur rather than as predictors of specific behavior(Vecchio, 1991, p. These include using language (including nonverbal language)that is appropriate to the receiver's level of understanding.Communication can be thought of as empathetic, with the receiver's frame ofreference understood by the communicator. Keys, D. To begin to solve this problem, the supervisor should beginby verifying that the employee's skill level and ability are what thesupervisor thinks they are. Murray created a test forestablishing the presence and strength of various personal needs.Specifically, he used a set of drawings from magazines that, when subjectsdescribed them, could be used to highlight the needs that were dominant inthe subjects. The critical incident technique is one of the most subjective ways toevaluate employees, and depends largely on other factors than merelyperformance. Edwards, J. 268). (January 1991). Effective managers also understand the importance of spottingperformance problems before they become significant issues, and understandtheir employees' strengths and weaknesses. Within an organization, communication can travel downwards, upwards,or horizontally. The highest level set of needs, self-actualization needs,includes the desire for self-fulfillment. For example, an employeemay need to send certain items to customers, but depends on the itemscoming from production in a timely manner in order to be sent out. M., & Fitzgibbons, D. Oncethese needs are met, the second order needs, safety needs, can beaddressed. Recognizing this limitation helps supervisors determine the bestway to help employees meet their own potential as well as meet theobjectives of the organization (Weisbord, 1987, p. Instead of assuming thatthe workers in question are lazy or unskilled or unwilling to perform thetask at hand, the wise manager seeks to understand why the workers are notperforming to his expectations. Freud and others focused on the role of unconscious motivation forhuman behavior. An employee who has a difficult personal relationship withhis supervisor may find that the critical incident technique leads to lessfavorable reviews since tardiness and other minor problems may be construedas significant problems by the supervisor. Effective motivationdepends on understanding need theories and which needs are important towhich individuals, and then communicating how those needs can be effectiveaddressed in the work situation at hand. Both tasks are important to thedepartment's function, but a ranking of employees would not take thedifferences in employee strength into account. E.(April 1994). High achievers are driven bythe prospect of performance-based satisfaction rather than by monetarygain. The Thematic Apperception Test was developed by Henry A. (1991). Supervisors must also be able to clearly communicate their needs andthe needs of the organization to employees, and also receive communicationback from employees regarding their performance. (1991). The hierarchical ordering in terms of potency (prepotency)means that a deficiency in a lower-order need can supersede a higher-orderneed (DuBrin, 1984, p. Organizational behavior & human decision processes, pp. Higher-order needs, growthneeds, are concerned with personal development and the realization of one'spotential. Such understanding often comesfrom a formal performance appraisal process, but may also involve informalapproaches, as well. These theoretical models assume that individuals makerational decisions based on economic realities. 114). To be aneffective listener, an individual should practice active listening, which,according to Rogers and Farson, requires listening for total meaning,responding to feelings behind the speaker's comments, and noting all cues,including nonverbal ones (1991, pp. 22-25. G. Osland (Eds.), The organizational behaviorreader (pp. One of the first attempts at developing a motivational theory focusedon the principle of hedonism, which finds that people will seek pleasureand avoid pain. 1 1-135. Under this environment, managersshould offer valued rewards, and these rewards should be based on personaland institutional perceptions. The more group members must depend on each other for information anddecision making, the less satisfied they are. Effective supervisors will work with an employee in order to helpthem overcome the problem since it can be expensive to recruit and trainnew personnel, and since there can be a significant increase in moraleamong other employees if they recognize that the employer is willing tohelp them overcome their difficulties. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. 175). 73). Advocates of this approach hold that individuals makerational choices based on a careful evaluation of costs and benefits.While hedonistic approaches are useful for describing behavior after thefact, it has proven to be vague in terms of predicting behavior, and oflimited practical use. 4 3). This led to the development of the instinctual theory thatwas based on inborn or innate predispositions. Other methods use different criteria,but often center around techniques similar to management by objectives(MBO) in which employees are judged against objectives that they, theirsupervisor, or the two acting in common have developed. Rubin, & J. Negativeconsequences vary, but generally include a limiting of potential careergrowth or the final action of termination if performance does not improve. Generally, performance evaluation techniques can be divided into fourcategories: rating, ranking, critical incidents and other methods (Sagie &Koslowsky, 1994, p. Rogers, C. (1985). Fournies, F. McGregor, D. 14).Instead, supervisors who work with employees to identify areas that can bestrengthened and who offer ways in which to build skills will find thattheir employees are much more motivated to take the steps necessary toacquire the skills in question. Journal of organizational behavior, pp. 23 ). For these individuals, money is primarily a source of feedback onpersonal performance rather than an end in itself. Ferris, G. The advantages of the rating technique is that each employee is judgedusing the same criteria, and it is a more objective technique than theothers. Successful managers are those individuals who are able to communicateeffectively with their subordinates and superiors, which includes effectivelistening, effective feedback, and paying attention to potential problemsbefore they become serious. If the supervisor rules outthat it is a deficiency in ability or skills that is the issue, then themost likely remaining cause is that the employee does not understand thetask as the supervisor does. Feedback should be encouraged sothat the communicator is certain that the receiver understood the message.Effective listening is also key to successful communication. In these situations,it is up to the manager to determine what the problem is, and how best toremedy the situation. Additional regulations can be imposed by unions andother organizations, and today's human resource professional must keepapprised of the vast sea of regulations that form the business environment. The issue of consequences is one that must be handled very carefullywithin an organization. Employees who perform well need to feel that theyare valued within the organization. One of themost widely cited versions of expectancy theory is the Vroom model, whichholds that the psychological force on an employee to exert effort is afunction of his expectancies of the future, and the attractiveness offuture outcomes (Scanlan & Keys, 1983, p. The Porter-Lawler model, developed by Lyman Porter and Edward Lawler,seeks to combine content and process theories and incorporates many of theelements of the theories discussed above. 57). Motivation, Satisfaction and Performance Understanding motivation and performance begins with understandingthat the workers are not necessarily to be blamed if their performance ormotivation is not what the supervisor envisions. 57-6 . A good manager isable to motivate employees to perform their best work on behalf of thecompany. A deficiency inability might be the result of a learning disability, or just eachindividual's tendency to excel in different areas. Thesesituations are difficult to overcome because the magnitude of the problemcan be large. Foundations of organizational behavior.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Centralized communicationnetworks are most effective for quickly and accurately accomplishing simpleand routine tasks. One of the most importantroles that a supervisor fulfills is that of motivator. If objectives are carefullystructured, the organization and the individual both profit from achievingthe objectives; however, carelessly developed objectives can be difficultto attain and may result in a decrease in motivation by the employee. If theitems come from production late, the employee will miss the deadline, evenif he performs his own tasks at or above the supervisor's expectations.While most supervisors are willing to take such obstacles into effect whenperforming evaluations, it can be demoralizing to employees who mustconstantly face missing deadlines (or otherwise not completing theirtasks). An employee may have the skills to complete a task,and may have the ability to complete the task, but the task may not beperformed to the supervisor's satisfaction. 42). It may be that the employee is, in fact,deficient in an area which is critical to the performance of the job. The endless recycling of goodness. Individuals havedifferent motivations for why they work, and a motivational technique whichworks well for one individual may not work well for another. 38). These are social needs,and include the need for affection, love and sexual expression. F. Formal communication effortsshould also complement the company's overall communication strategy. The firstexpectation, that effort will lead to performance, refers to an employee'sassumption that increased effort on his part will lead ton increase inproductivity (or another desired accomplishment). Instinctual views gainedacceptance to the point that the number of proposed instincts were toonumerous to render the theory applicable to real-world situation. In this way, effective evaluation of an employee canprovide the basis for strong motivation in the future, and help theemployee develop the skills necessary for his own career growth. J. This may mean that positiveconsequences are increased responsibility, additional compensation,recognition within the organization, or a clear promotional path.
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