Human Resource Management. Motivation. Maslow.
Motivation- Having the will or desire to go ahead and do something or to work that little bit harder. Why we need motivation? Motivation may come from a person’s own interest such as their safety or other things not so personal like praise or reward. Different theorists have proposed that there are many different ways to motivate people. Pay is considered a main type of motivation in a work environment and outside a work environment. Pay however is not the only way of motivation.
There are other ways that people may be motivated and things that will keep them motivated. These types of things are appreciation of work, opportunity to advance, responsibility and empowerment, a sense of achievement and the sense of challenge and enjoyment. A motivated workforce will work harder and together achieve more resulting in the whole workforce having a greater output in much less time, resulting in lower labour costs. It also doesn’t need much supervision. An unmotivated workforce will do the opposite.
This work affects the amount of work and its quality. How to motivate is a difficult topic with everyone looking for something in a job sometimes not just pay. So a number of theorists have researched how this should be done. Frederic Taylor motivation in the late 1800s at the Bethlehem steel company in the USA. He believed that employees could be working more efficiently using their shovels. He figured out that 21. 5 pounds of weight was the best weight of material for an employee to lift in order to work at their full potential creating the best output.
He recommended that they use shovels that could lift that amount. So Rewards that would be part of Taylor’s theory are things such as: * Pay :-For many employees the reason they go to work is for pay. They need money for bills and other expenses involved in everyday life. Some organisations will use pay as a reward for employees. They may be given additional pay in the form of a one off bonus or by giving employees a pay rise. However pay not be the key motivator to employees and some employees will work for low pay but may have job satisfaction.
Tesco uses this form of reward to all employees. * Performance related pay :- This is a way for employees to be rewarded dependent on their performance in the last three, six, or twelve months. Lots of types of businesses use this type of reward and so will Tesco to its higher job roles such as management and so on. It is very common for manufacturing and sales jobs where the more products or sales the employees make the more they are paid. Area managers at Tesco will be paid more if their area is performing faster and of a higher standard. Profit sharing :- Profit sharing is when a business gives its employees a share of the businesses profits depending on how well the business is doing. Shares are divided between employees depending on how many years the employee has worked at the organisation and their level in the organisation. If the business is doing well the employees will see great benefits but if the business isn’t doing too well the payment will be small. Tesco will once again offer this to much higher staff such as managers and directors. * Employee Share options – Share options, like profit sharing are a way to reward employees based on a company’s performance. Share options can be given to employees free shares that they can sell after a set period of time or as an option to buy shares at a lower fixed rate than what the general public would pay. It can be quite difficult for employees to see how their individual commitment will affect the overall running and company performance. * Staff discounts :-Businesses such as Tesco and other businesses in this type of sector may offer discounts on products to their staff. Elton Mayo.
In the 1920s and 30’s a theorist by the name of Elton Mayo set out about perfecting the ideas of Taylor and explored them in further depth he realised there was more to employee motivation than just pay. He created a study known as the Hawthorne Study, he carried out some experiments in the USA, Chicago to investigate motivation further. His study discovered a number of factors by testing incentive schemes, rest periods, hours of work, and changes in lighting and heating. Mayo’s whole study uncovered that rises in productivity were not only due to financial rewards, but also due to management involvement, team working and communication.
So Rewards that would be part of Mayo’s theory are things such as: * Company Vehicles :- Company vehicles may be given to employees as a reward. They can use these vehicles in both their working and their personal lives and do not need their own vehicles for evenings and weekends. This kind of benefit like bonuses is taxed. Higher employees in Tesco may receive a company car this is good for both employee and employer, because the employee feels a sense of belonging and the employer will usual have free advertisement because the company car will have the logo of the organisation just like Tesco’s does. Childcare :- childcare is another reward that employers may offer to their staff. The childcare may be within the building with something like a nursery or creche, whilst other employees may pay toward the fees of a private or council nursery. For older children after school activities or holiday clubs may be paid for or subsided Tesco offers childcare schemes to most Tesco staff. * Corporate clothing :- Corporate clothing may be a uniform that an employee wears during their working hours as part of their job. Employers might also offer their staff a discount on clothing they can buy from the business.
Some organisations use staff as Part of their identity, for example you can recognise staff from Tesco by their work apparel. * Flexible working :- Organisations like Tesco can offer employees special working hours which can be more motivating for staff helping them balance their working lives and their personal life. Work –Life balance can be very important to employees, especially if they have people to take care of or other personnel commitments. Flexible working hours usually makes employees feel more valued and less stressed. * Leave – offering yearly paid leave to employees is another form of a reward that is offered by Tesco. As of the 1st of April 2009 every full time employee is entitled to 5. 6 weeks paid leave per year as part of the working time regulation. * Cafeteria incentive schemes :- The name is a reference to the way you can pick what you want from a selection of different rewards and benefits and chose the ones they want. Making these rewards more personnel and motivating. The employer therefore, avoids spending money on rewards that are not wanted or needed. A sample of the type of benefits offered is things such as: Holidays * Company car * Bicycle loan * Insurance, e. g. medical cover * Loans * Childcare * Health screening * Season tickets for sporting events * Computers * Discounts * Pensions. Abraham Maslow suggested needs of individuals can be ranked into a hierarchy. The lowest ranking needs are basic needs and they must be fulfilled before any other needs can be fulfilled So Rewards that would be part of Maslow’s theory are things such as: * Pension schemes :- Some organisations like Tesco offer pension schemes such as rewards to employees these are usually one of two types.
Contributory and non contributory. A contributory pension scheme is one that both the employee and employer put into, whilst a non-contributory pension scheme is one where only the employer puts money in to. Tesco employees all have the option of opening a contributory pension scheme they can open but also have the choice not to have one. * Health care :- many employers offer free or subsided health care to their employees and often their families as well. This means that if they are ill they can claim from organisations such as BUPA to have treatment privately.
Health care may be given in the form of discount vouchers for treatments such as massages or beauty therapy. * Extended parental leave :- Extended parental leave is the amount of leave that can be taken by employees to look after their children in addition to what they are entitled to by law so tesco must offer leave however they also offer extended parental leave to higher management or skilled staff. – the work and families act 2006 ensures that all parents can take a certain number of weeks off work however it is not paid and neither is extended parental leave.
But some employees may choose to pay full wage or half wage to employees who are taken leave and the organisation must keep their job position open for them until they return. * Career Breaks :-Employees are not entitled to a career break and they are also unpaid. They cannot also be guaranteed that once they return they will be placed in the exact same Job. Some organisations such as Tesco can offer these types of breaks because they may also bring benefits to the organisation.
Key staffs are not lost, employees may return to work refreshed and happier and therefore more motivated also the organisation is seen to be caring for the well being of their employees. It is more common for employees over the age of 35 to take a career break rather than younger employees. * Salary Sacrifice schemes :- These schemes enable employees to give up some of their gross salary to receive a form of a reward or benefit instead. The advantage of using this scheme is that the employee or employer will not have to pay as much tax or national insurance.
Tesco can offer salary sacrifice schemes to all levels of employees for example the options for floor staff to have a pension scheme or not. Frederick Herzberg Frederick Herzberg had close links with Maslow and believed in a two factor theory of motivation. He argued that there were certain factors that a business could introduce that would motivate employees to work harder, these are called motivators. But on the other hand there were also factors that would de-motivate an employee these are called hygiene factors So Rewards that would be part of Herzberg’s theory are things such as: * Bonuses -Bonuses can be a god way of rewarding employees with extra money. When they are paid a bonus this doesn’t have to be done every year. They are a reward that many employees like to receive however bonuses like pay do require tax and national insurance to be paid. Other forms of rewards that tesco do not offer but could are things such as * School Fees :- some employers will offer to cover or contribute to school fees as areward to the employee. This happens especially if the employee teaches or works for the school that their child attends.
If an employer had a number of employees that’s children went to a particular school the employee may be able to gain a discount. Loans/ advances :-sometimes employees may have large expenses they have to pay for in their personal life so employers may offer part of their future wages (an advance) to be paid in to their account. Employers may also offer loans, often with a special low rate interest. * Mortgage subsides :- mortgage subsides are payments that are given to employees to pay toward their mortgages.
This reward scheme is usually used in areas where the housing is very expensive. Some organisations such as banks offer mortgage subsiders as part of their employee’s benefits. * Relocation Fees :- A relocation fee is the money that is paid to relocate an employee as part of their new or current job. There is no automatic right to receive relocation fees and some organisations will willingly pay for all expenses. This option will be placed on the type of position that the employee has in the organisation and how long they have worked for the organisation.
