Employee motivation essay

Employee motivation essay

The examples of these factors are punishments and rewards system. Intrinsic motivational factors can be accomplished by job design that encompasses job simplification, job rotation, employee motivation essay, job enlargement, and job enrichment. Likewise, when a reward is given to those workers employee motivation essay meet an objective, they will be motivated to work harder to reach the target and get the award. Organizations that have proven to have the power to thrive in the current economy are those that balance the needs of employees and the organizational dynamics. Managers should also solve problems in the workplace to create a peaceful environment that will motivate employees.

Types of Employee Motivation

This website uses cookies in order to provide you the most relevant information. Please accept cookies for better performance. Read more ». Every business is expected to yield profit. However, employee motivation essay, raising profits can only be possible if the managers and workers perform their duties with their best efforts towards achieving a common goal. A workplace where the employers and employees are dedicated to their work and meet their deadlines without being supervised can score better proceeds. In the competitive business world, each organization yearns to succeed and improve the quality of its services and raise performance levels.

It is divided into intrinsic motivation internal factorssuch as a feeling of enjoyment brought by the work, and extrinsic motivation external factorsemployee motivation essay, such as rewards. This paper will research on employee motivation types, factors affecting it, its importance, and techniques applied in motivating employees. Intrinsic motivation is a feeling that comes from within a person. It is self-driven and comes employee motivation essay the inner feeling of an individual rather than being imposed by someone or being triggered by a particular reward Kovach employee motivation essay When a worker feels motivated by the work, it is referred to as intrinsic motivation.

It is the job itself that motivates a person, especially employee motivation essay it is enjoyable and includes an understanding of the reasonable goals, employee motivation essay. One can be intrinsically motivated by the work environment. On the contrary, if the environment is unfriendly, the employee is more likely to be discouraged to work. Intrinsic motivation may be generated through job satisfaction. Most employees feel gratified with their job when they are permitted to have control and liberation and to contribute to innovations on their job.

Intrinsic inspiration can also be prompted by an environment that emboldens the exploration and learning. Intrinsic motivational factors can be accomplished by job design that encompasses job simplification, employee motivation essay, job rotation, job enlargement, and job enrichment. Save your time for something pleasant! Extrinsic motivation is a type of motivation that is affected by the external factors to self-motivate an employee Kovach These factors usually drive an employee to reach a particular goal either willingly or unwillingly. They originate from the management, and the employees can either react to them positively or negatively.

Thus, employers should use external motivators that generate a positive response from the workers. The examples of these factors are punishments and rewards system. When a punishment is set for not achieving a particular target, employees tend to do their best to hit the target. Likewise, when a reward is given to those workers who meet an objective, they will be motivated to work harder to reach the target and get the award, employee motivation essay. Employee motivation essay, in some cases, a punishment produces a negative result; for example, some employees may cheat in their results when they are given a precise target to achieve, making the organization calculate its performance rate employee motivation essay false information.

This information will include data that supports the improvement but no financial proceeds to support it, employee motivation essay. Employee motivation is important because it facilitates the sustainability of the business organization by enhancing its employee motivation essay. Without motivation, whether intrinsic or extrinsic, it will be challenging for a business to succeed and prosper in the future. Thus, a key to the development of any company is motivation. People cannot be forced to work well but rather be motivated to perform better than before, employee motivation essay. The following are techniques used to create and increase motivation of employees: fashioning a positive work environment, celebrating achievements made by employees, offering job security, providing incentives, training, surveys on employees, and promotions to best performers, and, lastly, sharing profits with the workers.

A positive work environment motivates the employees because they feel free, employee motivation essay and welcomed at the workplace. Bonding is employee motivation essay at the workplace because employees will learn to work together to achieve a common goal and promote healthy competition among workers. Employee motivation essay manager should be a good mediator when a conflict arises at the employee motivation essay and eradicate conflicts as soon as they arise. As much as teamwork creates a positive work environment, employees should be reminded to work independently to perform their assigned task. Naturally, people like to be recognized for their achievements; the same regards a workplace setting. Awarding workers with the certificates of accomplishment, vacation days, and employee of the month or year titles, giving trophies and gift vouchers are ways of recognizing and celebrating the efforts of the employees, employee motivation essay.

There is no need to make a success if you are not going to be known for it. Professional goals encourage competition between workers thus motivating them to reach a particular objective. However, the goals should be employee motivation essay that is an employee can achieve that. When goals are not set, it is difficult for employees to know what is expected of them; thus, they will feel relaxed at their job. On the contrary, when a goal is set, they are made aware of what is expected of them. Setting specific goals and time limits will motivate the employees.

Those include cash prizes, gift cards, employee motivation essay, parking spot and office space, employee motivation essay. Employees are more likely to be motivated if their efforts are rewarded. Conducting surveys to get feedbacks on employee motivation essay employees feel about the management if they face any problems will provide possible solutions to the problems. This technique can determine if there is a barrier in the workplace and allows the managers to solve the problem. A survey can be facilitated with questionnaires. These questionnaires should be filled by employees anonymously for the protection of their identification and making them feel free to share their feelings and ideas. A promotion granted on performance motivates employees to perform better.

When an employee sees a reward or promotion for good job performance, they will be motivated to work their best. Promotions come with a monetary increase in the salary, bigger office and better rank in the office. It also encourages other employees to copy the behavior of the promoted employee to achieve the same success. The managers should motivate their employees by encouraging them to get more knowledge by sending them to seminars and workshops. This technique enables the employees to acquire new knowledge that helps them advance in their job. Training is very important because it employee motivation essay that employees are knowledgeable about new technology or any new way of performing a job.

Providing job security also motivates the workers to employee motivation essay better. A worker who is at a company that offers job security is calmer, employee motivation essay, relaxed and has trust in the business, unlike an employee who is working in an organization with no job security. The more profits they make, the more money they get. That is salary plus profits made by the company, employee motivation essay. Financial gains mostly motivate employees. When they release an input, employee motivation essay expect an output to them by the management. These theories support the techniques of motivating the employees and are divided into process and content theories.

Dissatisfiers include working conditions, policies, employee motivation essay, job security, and status while satisfiers include recognition of achievements, responsibilities, and growth, employee motivation essay. Dissatisfiers do not have the same impact on job satisfaction but rather influence job dissatisfaction. The most fundamental needs are physiological, for example, shelter, food, air, and clothing Maslow They are the key needs to sustain life, and when they are not met, it affects a person employee motivation essay. Employees should be able to afford these necessary basic needs with their salaries to be motivated to get to the next level.

Safety needs are the next level, where employees feel a sense of having security, feeling peaceful and orderly at the workplace Maslow Social needs comprise of friendship, a sense of belonging to a certain group, love and acceptance in a certain environment, employee motivation essay. Employees usually want to fit in a particular group at a workplace or feel accepted and loved by the others. To satisfy these needs, they tend to work harder to reach a target that will allow them to be identified and accepted by others. A person will strive to reach that rank. Esteem needs generate motivations only when the lower needs are satisfied. They include self-esteem, freedom, and self-confidence.

However, if the needs are not met, an employee will lack esteem and will feel inferior to the others. This process serves as a continuous motivational fact because when an individual completes one need another need arises. Alderfer agrees with Maslow that human needs can be arranged in levels but instead of categorizing them in five, he reduces them to three levels of existence, growth and relatedness. According to Alderfer, two levels can be achieved at the same time. A person can attain the highest level of need without fulfilling the lower needs. The fewer existence needs are met, the more desire a person will feel to fulfill employee motivation essay. Code: MYCOUPON In McGregor X-Y Theory, X stands for autocratic management while Y is participative management.

X theory assumes that external motivation is achieved through punishment or threat while Y theory believes that an employee is internally motivated with a good environment, employee motivation essay. Y implies that although punishment can motivate a worker to work, it is not the only way because employees are self-motivated. Employees can get motivation from within themselves because of good environmental factors surrounding them at a workplace. In his research, McClelland found out that businessmen have a desire for achievement motivation. Workers will set reasonable and attainable goals since they are the ones expected to reach the objective unlike when employers set unreasonable goals.

In this theory, for a goal to be achieved, there has to be an effort to achieve it. When the goals set are unreasonable, there will be no motivation to attain them. Thus, it is important to involve the staff in setting the goals, employee motivation essay. The change can either be positive or negative. Skinner advises managers to use positive reinforcers such as promotion and salary increment to promote motivation in the workplace. Managers should also solve problems in the workplace to create a peaceful environment that will motivate employees. The staff can only be motivated if there is a positive reinforcer. Positive rewards motivate employees while negative rewards do not motivate them.

explanation essay

This technique can determine if there is a barrier in the workplace and allows the managers to solve the problem. A survey can be facilitated with questionnaires. These questionnaires should be filled by employees anonymously for the protection of their identification and making them feel free to share their feelings and ideas. A promotion granted on performance motivates employees to perform better. When an employee sees a reward or promotion for good job performance, they will be motivated to work their best. Promotions come with a monetary increase in the salary, bigger office and better rank in the office. It also encourages other employees to copy the behavior of the promoted employee to achieve the same success. The managers should motivate their employees by encouraging them to get more knowledge by sending them to seminars and workshops.

This technique enables the employees to acquire new knowledge that helps them advance in their job. Training is very important because it ensures that employees are knowledgeable about new technology or any new way of performing a job. Providing job security also motivates the workers to work better. A worker who is at a company that offers job security is calmer, relaxed and has trust in the business, unlike an employee who is working in an organization with no job security. The more profits they make, the more money they get. That is salary plus profits made by the company. Financial gains mostly motivate employees. When they release an input, they expect an output to them by the management.

These theories support the techniques of motivating the employees and are divided into process and content theories. Dissatisfiers include working conditions, policies, job security, and status while satisfiers include recognition of achievements, responsibilities, and growth. Dissatisfiers do not have the same impact on job satisfaction but rather influence job dissatisfaction. The most fundamental needs are physiological, for example, shelter, food, air, and clothing Maslow They are the key needs to sustain life, and when they are not met, it affects a person physically. Employees should be able to afford these necessary basic needs with their salaries to be motivated to get to the next level. Safety needs are the next level, where employees feel a sense of having security, feeling peaceful and orderly at the workplace Maslow Social needs comprise of friendship, a sense of belonging to a certain group, love and acceptance in a certain environment.

Employees usually want to fit in a particular group at a workplace or feel accepted and loved by the others. To satisfy these needs, they tend to work harder to reach a target that will allow them to be identified and accepted by others. A person will strive to reach that rank. Esteem needs generate motivations only when the lower needs are satisfied. They include self-esteem, freedom, and self-confidence. However, if the needs are not met, an employee will lack esteem and will feel inferior to the others. This process serves as a continuous motivational fact because when an individual completes one need another need arises. Alderfer agrees with Maslow that human needs can be arranged in levels but instead of categorizing them in five, he reduces them to three levels of existence, growth and relatedness.

According to Alderfer, two levels can be achieved at the same time. A person can attain the highest level of need without fulfilling the lower needs. The fewer existence needs are met, the more desire a person will feel to fulfill them. Code: MYCOUPON In McGregor X-Y Theory, X stands for autocratic management while Y is participative management. X theory assumes that external motivation is achieved through punishment or threat while Y theory believes that an employee is internally motivated with a good environment. Y implies that although punishment can motivate a worker to work, it is not the only way because employees are self-motivated.

Employees can get motivation from within themselves because of good environmental factors surrounding them at a workplace. In his research, McClelland found out that businessmen have a desire for achievement motivation. Workers will set reasonable and attainable goals since they are the ones expected to reach the objective unlike when employers set unreasonable goals. In this theory, for a goal to be achieved, there has to be an effort to achieve it. When the goals set are unreasonable, there will be no motivation to attain them. Thus, it is important to involve the staff in setting the goals.

The change can either be positive or negative. Skinner advises managers to use positive reinforcers such as promotion and salary increment to promote motivation in the workplace. Managers should also solve problems in the workplace to create a peaceful environment that will motivate employees. The staff can only be motivated if there is a positive reinforcer. Positive rewards motivate employees while negative rewards do not motivate them. Ensuring the staff expects a pay rise and promotion will motivate them to work harder on achieving the set goals. When there are no reward expectations, a minimum effort will be put since there is no potential gain at the end of it.

No one wants to work for free unless it is charity. Work is believed to have some payment after its completion; thus, an extra work of achieving a goal should have an extra bonus to the salary. If the management considers bonuses, its staff is more likely to be motivated. Employees base their judgments on comparing themselves with people around them or with persons of the same profession. They will feel undermined if they realize that they are contributing more than the other employees and are not being rewarded the same way. The level of motivation is based on the percentage of fairness that has been found out by the employees.

When employees believe they are treated equally, they will be motivated; but when they believe there is unfairness; they will be discouraged. Unfairness can cause the staff to be hostile, disruptive and silent. The best way to know how to write good essays is by getting a sample of an essay from competent experts online. We can give you the essay examples you need for future learning. One of the main differences between the classical theories and the contemporary theories is that the contemporary theories of motivation are applied within the spectrum of human resource management. This implies that the contemporary theories are more responsive to organizational change compared to the classical theories, which were based on the principles of personnel management Hoffmann There is another category of employee motivation theory known as content motivational theories.

These theories are often based on the needs of the workers in organizations. The needs of employees keep shifting and so do these theories seek to explore how employee motivation can be attained within such an environment. Motivation is mostly seen as a factor that comes from the internal drive of the employees, which comes from the satisfaction of the demands of the workers. The role of managers is expansive under these theories. Managers are charged with an extra role of ensuring that employees air out their views about the developments in the external and internal environment of the organization. Changes in the internal and external environment of the organizations result in shifts in the demands and needs of employees.

The change may be positive, meaning that it has a minimal impact on the employees and their needs. The change may also be negative, meaning that it attracts new demands and needs of the employees. Most of the contemporary theories of employee motivation mentioned in the above paragraph can also fit in this category of motivational theories Naoum Ankli and Palliam 7 observed that the most critical question that comes to the mind of people when talking about employee motivation is whether employees can be motivated. According to Meyers et al. This is one of the sources of difficulties in comprehending the issue of employee motivation.

The other concern about the applicability of employee motivation comes from the fact that the operational environment in which organizations prevail is quite dynamic and often results in changes in the needs of employees. The dynamics of the environment can result in scenarios where the needs of employees override the capacity of the organization to fulfil or respond to the needs and demands. An example is the recent global economic recession where the financial needs of employees rose significantly, yet most organizations suffered massive financial losses and could not meet the financial needs of their employees. According to Ankli and Palliam 8 , the needs of employees may be satisfied directly or indirectly, which means that motivation is exercised irrespective of the conditions that are facing the organization.

In fact, the real test of the potential of human resource managers to motivate organizations is seen during times when organizations are facing tough economic times. This implies that other tactics, other than the direct fulfilment of the employee needs and demands, have to be applied. A lot of uncertainties take course in organizations during tough times. This raises the level of anxiety among employees, who worry about the potential of the organization to meet their needs. In such events, organizational managers are forced to reassure the employees through application of motivational models that are meant to retain the employees.

This is a daunting task, considering the fact that other organizations may be offering attractive opportunities to the skilled employees. This can come out clearly when trying to explore the relationship between motivation and employee retention. In their exploratory research, in which they sought to establish the sources of employee motivation in organizations, Ankli and Palliam 8 found out that motivation is directly linked to the behaviour of employees. Therefore, motivating employees entails the effort to change the behaviour of employees. By factoring the aspects of organizational behaviour in organizational performance appraisal, it comes out clearly that motivation is a complex process since it is not only bases on changing behaviour, but also a set of behaviours.

In a number of circumstances, the behaviours may be generative and circular. According to Beswick 1 , the linkage between employees and rewards, on the other hand, depicts a broader picture of the concept of motivating employees. The rewards go hand in hand with motivation. However, it is not clear whether all rewards fulfil their intended purpose. Rewards may fail to achieve the desired objectives, especially in scenarios where organizational managers have not fully inspired the employees to bring out their needs and demands Management Study Guide n. As noted earlier in this paper, organizational performance management is one of the most critical parameters that determine the ability of an organization to compete with other organizations in the industry and the collective economy in which an organization operate.

Performance management cannot be fully explored without the explication of performance appraisal. According to Benson and Dundis , one of the key components of organizational appraisal systems is motivation. By extension, it can be said that motivation lies at the centre of performance management. One of the strategies of managing employees, which receives a vast amount of attention in most organizations, is motivation. This can be understood by factoring in the theory of hierarchy of needs by Abraham Maslow. Evidence across a substantial number of organizations across the globe reveals that motivation often begins with the unearthing of the needs of the employees and the devise and the implementation of plans to satisfy the needs of the employees. The question that should be posed at this point is whether motivation is only founded on the needs and satisfaction of the needs.

This is not the truth; however, it is evident that motivation cannot be fully attained in any organization without satisfying the needs of employees. Having noted that the modern operational environment is very dynamic and challenging, it is apparent that modern managers ought to be proactive in the application of motivation in organizational functioning. There are a lot of changes in the functional environment of modern organizations. These changes include the emerging technologies and the need for organizations to adopt the technologies, mounting competition between firms and the dynamic economic conditions. Organizations that have proven to have the power to thrive in the current economy are those that balance the needs of employees and the organizational dynamics.

Benchmark organizations like Apple Incorporated, Microsoft Corporation and Tesco among others are often reported to invest vast amounts of resources in human resource development. Müller 2 argued that the rise of the Apple Incorporated into the scale of production that it enjoys today is largely attributed to the motivating factor in the organization. One can simply inquire about the mode of organizational motivation that is utilized in Apple Incorporated. An exploration of the theories of motivation reveals that no organization can rely on a single source of motivation. Apple embraces both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.

The balance between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation is crucial to the balancing of performance in the company. According to Adair 43 intrinsic factors of employee motivation include job design and the culture of the organization, while extrinsic factors include positive and negative incentives. Most organizations, Apple included, are trying to draw away negative incentives, such as threats. The argument behind this development is that negative incentives have proven to be unsustainable since they only shape behaviours and actions of employees in the short-run.

According to the motivational crowding theory, extrinsic motivational factors undermine the worth of the intrinsic factors of motivation in organizations. Müller observed that the organizational culture of Apple Incorporated is moulded around innovation. As part of the intrinsic factors, the company often ensures that the employees are presented with all the possible resources that are required to advance the projects of the company. A similar practice is embraced in Microsoft Corporation. This is justified by the billions of dollars that are spent by these companies in enhancing research and development. Once the intrinsic factors have been accomplished, it becomes easy for Apple to factor in the extrinsic factors of motivation.

Not all attributes of extrinsic motivation give attention to the motivational practices in the Apple Company. The company ensures that all its employees are retained in order to enhance organizational projects, which results in innovation. The company has an elaborate benefit scheme that ensures that its employees are remunerated accordingly. The company also offers its employees other non-performance driven incentives like insurance cover and product discounts. This creates an enabling room for a competitive organization Müller 4. Motivation is, thus, one of the main success factors for Apple Incorporated. The company has demonstrated its ability to sustain organizational motivation, thus remaining to be one of the most flexible organizations in the world today.

This gives the company an upper hand when it comes to competition and attraction of employees in the competitive global labour industry. Organizations keep competing for employees who have outstanding skills; therefore, lack of motivation among employees in one company can be used as an attracting factor in another company. Organizations value experienced employees and they are often willing to go an extra mile to maintain skills and experience Müller 3. While a substantial number of organizational management researchers argue for tangible rewards as one of the most embraced ways of motivating employees, the reality on the ground shows that both the tangible and intangible rewards are utilized by organizational managers. The most common tangible reward that is used to motivate employees in organizations is financial rewards.

However, it has been noted that employees do not only value financial rewards. However, the other level of motivation, which is the fulfilment of the psychological needs of the employees, is also critical. Employees value the sense of belonging and feel more motivated when they are appreciated by the organizational management. This is better understood through an exploration of the psychological theories of organizational behaviour. Employee motivation if one of the most valid practices in organizational management. Most theories of organizational management point to the critical relevance of organizational employees to the existence and sustainability of organizational operations.

This paper has explored the topic of employee motivation deeply. The paper sought to answer three main questions, which are: What is employee motivation? Can employees be motivated? How can employees be motivated? As observed in the paper, there are positives and negative to each side of the questions posed. It can be concluded that the concept of employee motivation is one of the critical features in the management of performance in organizations. The definition of employee motivation brought about the aspect of needs, demands and aspirations, which must be guarded in order to propel the organizational employees towards attainment of the goals of organizations.

In an attempt to factor whether employee motivation is a possible exercise, it came out that employee motivation is an activity that has been implemented by organizations for a long period, ranging from the pre-classical times to the contemporary managerial era.