Management MotivationEssay Preview: Management MotivationReport this essayTaking into account all the many “Work Motivation Theories” that you have learned, read and analyzed, state how some of the leading theories and studies have contributed to the objective of “Sustainable Personnel Output” for organizations to realize profitability and growth.
To discuss motivation in this paper, it is essential that we establish a straightforward definition for what we wish to analyze. I will use Stephen Robbins’ definition of motivation in his book “Organizational Behavior” (2001, p. 155) “[…] the processes that account for an individuals intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal”. Thus, Robin uses intensity as something concerned with “how hard a person tries” and direction implies energy “towards attaining the organizational goals.“ Finally, persistence refers to “how long a person can maintain his or her effort”.
Previous to the emergence of work motivation theories, employees were considered simply another input into the production of goods and services. However, upon the realization that employees are not motivated solely by money and the realization that firm survival is entirely dependant upon levels of employee motivation, managers began to think like psychologists. Because, motivated employees help organizations not only to survive AND thrive, but to be prosperous, they are absolutely required in our rapidly changing workplaces. To be entirely effective, managers need to be aware of what motivates employees within the context of the roles they perform. Of all the functions a manager or leader performs, ironically, motivating employees is arguably the most complex! This is due to the fact that what motivates individual employees changes constantly and may even differ from person to person. What motivates employees today, may not work tomorrow. Also, as employee needs become fulfilled, they are no longer useful as motivators. However, it IS so important to apply motivation theories to maintain employee focus; this is one of the keys to running a successful business. Motivated employees work harder and more productively, thus intensifying business dynamics and growth and adding to profits.
Research has suggested that older employees are motivated more by interesting work than by income. Research has also suggested that as employee’s salaries rise, money becomes less of a motivator thus pushing managers to look for other unfulfilled needs of employees. This contradicts the old school beliefs about employees being money hungry, greedy and lazy, which they aren’t. Theories like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Alderfer’s ERG Theory point out that employees want more than money. They want interpersonal relationships, they want to make useful and productive contributions in their place of employment and they also want opportunities for personal growth.
Work motivation theories are also valuable because managers need to maintain top performers in an organization and this can be done by keeping staff motivation levels high. Often, discontented employees will leave if they feel that their efforts are going unappreciated. If they perceive a certain lack of recognition for their efforts, they may resign and look elsewhere anticipating a feeling of belonging and appreciation in their next position. This is a loss to an organization which may have trained, developed, empowered and basically �produced’ a superior employee. However, if an employee loves his job and has been told on several accounts that he is indispensable, he will think twice about leaving his place of employment. Employees love to feel needed and a part of a team or �family.’
Because a motivated employee works harder, longer and more efficiently, managers need to value and apply research and theories of work motivation. The high cost of not applying such knowledge is one that organizations simply cannot afford. Low motivation in the work place wrecks havoc on organizations with negative disease like symptoms; low performers (low performance), high levels of absence, repeated and wasted work, loss of profits, high employee turn-over rates, and etc. Therefore, a wise manager will invest his time and effort into employee relations. He will take concern over the wants and needs of employees and value them, exploiting them in return for higher productivity, profitability and growth.
Everything that organizations do should be sustainable.Whatever good work employees do, they should be able to sustain it, to keep going on and to even improve upon that performance level, continual improvement. For this to happen, organizations need to know how to motivate their employees to keep work up to a certain par. In business, sustainability is everything; it is the key to success and it sets standards. Motivating employees and developing a sustainable personnel output helps organizations to building a name for themselves, a reputation for which they are known. Sustainability also eases growth and innovation in business organizations.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs TheoryMaslows Hierarchy of Needs is a theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Maslow attempted to formulate a needs-based framework of human motivation based upon his clinical experiences with humans. Basically, the theory holds that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower factors need to be satisfied before higher needs can be satisfied. According to Maslow, there are general types of needs-physiological, survival, safety, love, and esteem that must be satisfied before a person can act unselfishly. These needs are called “deficiency needs.” As long as we are motivated to satisfy these cravings, we are moving towards growth, toward self-actualization.
The Problem
Maslow’s theory of human need describes the human need for desire. Maslow asserts that human desire is “a complex, self-organizing system of external needs, such as happiness, the enjoyment of leisure, the feeling of pleasure, and the need to satisfy external needs and desires.” In doing so, he seeks to create a system of human needs that will guide and guide society throughout its existence. In the process, Maslow seeks to create a system that will enable a healthy society to thrive. He suggests that society must be capable of achieving some basic, societal or cultural goals—including, in the case of children and teens, the provision of proper nutrition to ensure the health of children. When we choose to pursue that first goal, the goals of society will depend on our ability to do so. Maslow concludes that the goal of society, at its core is to help people thrive. He concludes that,
The goal of society must remain: first, that all of us pursue our “personal self-determination”.
Second, that the goal of society must be to create and sustain a society that enables people to thrive even if their life is a miserable one, that is, if they do not survive.
Third, that societal outcomes must be guided by the goals of society, which include: • providing food, housing, clean water and clean, safe facilities for the people. • providing educational support to the people. • creating clean bathrooms and better sanitary facilities for the people. • improving the environment. • securing better schools and other public education programs.
Mashdown
It can be said that most of that has gone unquestioned over the years, and no one really gives a crap about it. That said, if you believe that all human goals are built on the basis of our ability to satisfy those needs as often as possible, I highly recommend you think about making some small but important change here; you will find that you actually can develop better and more well-rounded human personalities in your life, even if you never put it into action for real. Rather than worrying when you fail yourself, do not feel like you do. You can still become better at it, and improve on your own personality and the ones it comes with, if you do not go around trying to fool some people into thinking you are the best candidate.
With that said, it should be taken with a grain of salt that these steps are the first of many steps that you must take in order to begin the transition out of your high hopes in life and into high goals. Many of you may be wondering, however, if there is anything you can do to change your trajectory and put your hopes in your life toward the goal you are looking for today. The thing you need to do immediately is to seek some kind of change to your life. Change is the best way to truly bring about true change in our lives as a society. It might be very simple,
(Image taken from:For adequate workplace motivation, it is important that managers understand the active needs for individual employee motivation. Maslows model indicates that fundamental, lower-order needs like safety and physiological requirements should be satisfied in order to pursue higher-level motivators like self-fulfillment. As depicted in the following hierarchical diagram, sometimes called Maslows Needs Pyramid after a need is satisfied it stops acting as a motivator and the next need one rank higher starts to motivate.
Maslow’s