Modern Management 5_ITC

Let’s look at the challenges of providing motivation, the managers at Bristol-Myers Face.  The company has several over-the-counter brands and cosmetic products and its sales throughout the World exceed $ 18 billion.  Jack Cooper is the frontline manager of the company and has adopted an effective internet strategy to market the company’s products.  He finds this strategy very difficult has it may be hard to motivate the staff members.  Internet strategy would mean implementing several projects simultaneously.  The managers have to allocate the adequate resources, set targets and control the budgets of implementation.

Motivation of the staff is very difficult as the managers have to convince the staff that their internet strategy would be effective and successful.  Frequently, the staff members perceive that the internet strategy would fail.  In case of any adversity, the managers should be able to step in and create solutions so that the strategy would work.  Cooper also feels that the technical issues should be appropriately sorted out by the managers along with solving the human resources problems (especially with motivation).

The behavior of the staff should be appropriately altered to enable proper development of the internet strategy.  Motivation levels of the staff members need to be high for creative and efficient outputs.  Studies have been seen that if the staff members are not properly motivated, the creative expressions and the efficiency would suffer.  Motivation should be considered as an instrument required as a resource to enable a strong digital strategy.  Five specific principles about motivation should be kept in mind.  These include:-

1.      If a need is felt by a person, behavior would be brought about to reduce the need.

2.      The person’s feeling of the value of the outcome of conducting a particular behavior and the felt chances that the behavior would be successful, helps to bring a desire to perform a particular behavior.

3.      The value of reward for generating a particular behavior depends on certain internal and external factors that create satisfaction when the behavior is demonstrated.

4.      Only if the individual understands that the task is possible and he/she has the skills and know-how to perform a particular activity, would he/she be effective in completing the activity successfully.

5.      When the reward is received, the fairness instituted in this process, helps to generate satisfaction.

Feedback is a set of responses generated by one person to another so that the quality and effectiveness of the work (or output generated) could improve in the future.  It includes corrections, approvals, additions, positive remarks, negative remarks, etc.  It may be given by the manager, but can also be given by other individuals.  The feedback provided by the manager should be highly specific and relate to the particular situation it should be utilized in.  Feedback should enable a particular behavior and not on attacking a particular individual or his/her objectives.  Feedback should be administered sincerely and honestly, so that the staff member feels that he is being helped in difficulty.

The individual receiving feedback should have trust in the person giving feedback.  The individual should give permission to the manager to give the feedback.  The individual receiving the feedback should be capable of utilizing the feedback or using it for improving his/her efficiency.  Feedback also includes giving out data and observations, and not only giving advice.  The feedback should be given out only in an appropriate situation.  The person being provided the feedback should understand each and every piece of data that is being communicated.  The manager should be able to demonstrate the manner in which the work has to be done effectively whist providing feedback.  It is preferable to communicate feedback on a regular basis, rather than irregular.

References:

Cresto, S. C. and Cresto, S. T. (2006). Chapter 5: Motivation, Modern Management, (10th ed), New Jersey: Upper Saddle River.

Cresto, S. C. and Cresto, S. T. (2006). Chapter 17: Group, Teams and Corporate Culture, Modern Management, (10th ed), New Jersey: Upper Saddle River.