Performance in an organization

What people actually do at work is critical to organisational success, and it is no accident that the field of the organisational behaviour, the study of the structure, functioning of performance of organizations and the behaviour of groups and individuals within them(Derek Pugh,1972,p9), has become an important area of organization management.(John Arnold,1998,p221) . A person’s performance in an organization is influenced by several individual factors(Personality, attitudes and beliefs, perception, motivation) but in particular, by Motivation.

The dictionary defines motivation as “the reason why somebody does something or behaves in a particular way”(Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, 2000, p1128). Essentially the word motivation as used in the business management means the natural desire to get the job done(www.teambuilding.co.uk). This essay will illustrate the importance of work motivation and analyse some motivators which can increase personal performance and organizational productivity or efficiency.

1.1 General theories of motivation Maslow (1943), McGregor (1960), Herzberg (1966), the three people indicated their own theory on motivation and how it could be achieved, respectively. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs (Fig.1.1) – He proposed five classes of human need, physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem and self-actualisation(John Arnold,1998,p247) . In Fig.1.1, from bottom to up, when one need is realized in certain extent, the next one turns to the most important motivator to derive people’s behaviour. For example, hungry, cold people will seek food and shelter first. Once they are well fed and comfortable, they will turn their attention to higher needs, for example the pleasure of being with colleagues.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Sauce: Andrzej Huczynski ; David Buchanan, 2001,p242 Herzberg hygiene factors- He proposed two categories for the needs of workers, one hygiene and the other motivating factors. He thought if the hygiene factors were poor, the motivating factors would not work. The hygiene features contain mainly of good working conditions and a sufficient break. The motivating factors include responsibility and career advancement for those who deserved it.

For instant, at Ford Motor Company, workers are given a 15 minute break to play football or various other activities because the company provides these facilities( www.ford.com.cn ). This obviously motivates the workforce. It helps them to relax before they must continue their duty. This also occurs in the Japanese firms which have a high motivation rate. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y – We can look his theory as that two different managers motivate people in different ways. Manager X thought workers were motivated by money rewards and threats of punishment. While manager Y assumed people were motivated by needs. Both of them can be correct in adequate extent and certain ways.

All these theories describe an overview of motivation and provide us possible explanations for some human behaviour. 1.2 The importance of work motivation A key to a successful firm is a motivated workforce. Staff motivation should be a high priority to most business organizations, because low motivation can cause many problems. First of all, with low motivation nothing will improve without anything being done, therefore the situation will gradually deteriorate.

Secondly, low motivation could cause a poorer level of customer services. Problems regarding quality, high staff turnover causing recruitment problems and ultimately sales will drop. For a retail company, as more and more customers are affected, its brand reputation is damaged. ASDA’s statement regarding motivation is “Getting things done, with and through others, willingly and well.” ( www.ASDA.co.uk) To a travel agent, if they were not stimulated to communicate and explain to customers’, sales could fall. Customers would identify these firms as unreliable or inhospitable.

We know now work motivation is an essential aspect of organizational behaviour. However, how the work motivation influence employees’ performance and productivity in actual work? Through analysing the factors which impact motivation and job satisfaction, we will find out how to motivate our staff at work. 1.3 The factors impact work motivation and job satisfaction Long-term research has found that the single greatest predictor of longevity is job satisfaction. Work is one third to one half of a persons’ lifetime. If failed, the mental and physical effects are enormous.

Job characteristics including skill variety, task identity, and task significance, lead to psychological conditions in which leads to increased motivation, performance and then job satisfaction However, motivation at work stimulates the interest of a person in an activity. Goals motivate and guide workers’ behaviours. Specific goals are better than general goals and little difficult goal is better than easy ones (John Arnold,1998, p258).

The degree of expectancy determines how much effort is paid. People will work hard if they expect the effort will pay off. Increased job enrichment leads to high motivation. For example, in factories, it is important to have an enthusiastic staff because most job are generally very repetitive. On the contrary, stress on the job reduces motivation and productivity. The specific needs to achieve and accomplish motivate people. Recognition and responsibility also help in motivating people to perform at their maximum ability. Actually, motivation at works is very complex because there are multiple relevant elements operating at the same time. We will emphasize to analyse some motivators applied in practical organization management in chapter 2.

2.1 Explanation of managers’ task from aspect of motivation “Manager work involves a double essential task: managing others at the same time as managing themselves” (Watson.1994, p12). As a manager, managing others means serious administration work, such as holding the confidence of the people who you have authority over, showing your people how to do things in right way, keeping your team in high efficiency (www.isma.org.uk ). When you executive your management strategy, you are managing yourself as well. From the aspect of motivation, it also can be described as when they motivate their employees, they need have themselves motivated at the same time.

2.2 Motivators Many people believe that they are motivated simply by money, however this is not entirely true. There are many other factors like the workplace and the need to be appreciated for their work. For Malsow’s theory (Malsow 1943), pay is the motivator only when people stay at the lower levels of the hierarchy of needs. I believe that motivation is having a clear gap between getting employees to do something and getting them to want to something. So here I want to illustrate motivators in increasing staff motivation and result higher productivity or efficiency in two aspects of financial and non financial.

2.2.1 Financial Motivators Money, and the way it is paid, can affect motivation to work(see Figure 2.2.1) When people’s needs stay at the lower level ,such as food ,drink and house, money no adult is the best motivator to increasing their performance in work. . Performance-related pay (PRP) has been tried in many organisations( John Arnold, 1998, pp264). Paying extra money for jobs with difficult hours will usually encourage people to apply for the work.

A fair bonus can be used to persuade workers to stay in the organisation for a long period of time(see figure 2.2.1). Though employees may not want to work longer than their contracted hours, they can often do so by receiving a higher rate of overtime pay(see figure 2.2.1). A perk is a payment instead of giving money, the employer might provide: cars, health insurance ,discounted products ,first class travel. It is often cheaper for the employer to provide goods rather than the money to buy them with. A good perk will make an employee reluctant to leave the business. In some major companies, human resource department prefer to reward the staff by perks to meet their motivating target when they are informed there will be no wage increasing that year.