Employee Motivation
Employee
motivation plays a pivotal role in present volatile market as the motivation is
directly linked with the performance of the organization and there is a
positive relationship between employee motivation and organizational effectiveness. Various
drivers contribute to the employee motivation towards high levels of
organizational performance (Dobre, 2013). There are many more theories pertaining to the
employee motivation and this blog attempts to discuss the employee motivation
highlighting Mcgregor’s X and Y theory which will be further elaborated.
The
term motivation has been derived from the Latin word “movere” which means to
move and accordingly motivation is what moves the employees of an organization
from boredom to interest (Islam and Ismail, 2008). As per Bartol and Martin (1998) motivation is a
powerful tool that reinforces behavior and triggers the tendency to continue.
And also, motivation is an internal drive which leads to satisfying an
unsatisfied need and to achieve a certain goal.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
Employee
motivation can be classified as intrinsic or internal motivation and extrinsic
or external motivation (Staw, 1976). According to Amabile (1993) individuals
are intrinsically motivated when they seek enjoyment, interest, satisfaction of
curiosity, self-expression, or personal challenge in the work. Individual pleasure
or interest in the work drives the intrinsic motivation and intrinsically
motivated employees do not carry out their tasks for the sake of external
rewards and these employees’ main concern is the feeling of inner pleasure. Intrinsic motivation drives
the employees to perform the organizational tasks without anticipating any external
incentive. I work for a leading diversified conglomerate in Sri Lanka and the senior
managers who have been there for more than 15 years in the company appears to
be intrinsically motivated due to the feeling of belongingness to the company
due to the long service.
Whereas, individuals
are extrinsically motivated when they are engaged in the work in order to
obtain some reward through goal accomplishment. Extrinsic motivation is the opposite
of intrinsic motivation and it is regarding performing tasks in anticipation of
external rewards or benefits. The source of extrinsic motivation is from an individual
physical environment and higher salaries, incentives and job promotions are
some of the external rewards which leads to extrinsic motivation (Amabile, 1993).
According to Deci (1972) extrinsic motivational factors are money and verbal
rewards which are mediated outside of a person. For example, the organization which I work, a leading
diversified conglomerate in Sri Lanka is trying to extrinsically
motivate the sales force of the company by way of offering external rewards
such as incentives, allowances, salary hikes and job promotions.
However,
Amabile (1993) argues that employees can either be intrinsically or
extrinsically motivated or even both. According to Story et al. (2009)
individuals who are high in intrinsic motivation mostly appear to be preferred
challenging cognitive tasks who are capable of self-regulating their behaviors
and there won’t be a significant impact on the performance by offering rewards,
settling external goals.
Phases of Theories of Motivation
During
the past years, many psychologists and management gurus have conducted extensive
research on various aspects of employees’ motivation and according to Bartol
and Martin (1998) the major theories of employee motivation can be classified
into three categories as follows.
- Needs theory
- Cognitive theory
- Reinforcement theory
The
most popular Needs theory is well known as Maslow’s motivation theory of
hierarchical needs which includes five basic levels of needs which should be
satisfied consecutively (Stephens, 2000).Alderfer (1972) proposed an
alternative to Maslow’s theory known as ERG theory which consolidated five
levels of Maslow’s hierarchy into three levels namely existence (E),
relatedness (R), and growth (G). Herzberg et al. developed the two factor
(motivators and hygiene factors) theory in employee motivation and Herzberg
argued that eliminating the cause of dissatisfaction (through hygiene factors)
would not result in a state of satisfaction (or motivation). But satisfaction
would occur only as a result of the use of motivators(Oscar,Ali and
Erdener,2005). In the meantime, McClelland (1985) studied three types of needs
namely achievement, affiliation and power.
As
far as the cognitive theories are concerned, one of the best known cognitive
theories can be mentioned as the expectancy theory of employee motivation by Vroom (1964) who initially
argued that the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the
strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and
on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual (Robbins, 1993). Hence,
Equity theory of motivation identifies that individuals prime concerns are not
only the actual rewards they receive for their efforts, but also with the
relationship of this amount of rewards what others get. Especially, when the
employees perceive that there is a mismatch or an imbalance in their outcome
versus input compared to the others, tension is created. Equity theory revolves
around three main assumptions and firstly, it is assumed that employees build
their own beliefs about constituting a fair and equitable return for their
contributions of their jobs. Secondly, it assumes that people tend to compare
what they perceive to be the exchange they have with their employers. The other
assumption is that when employees believe that their own treatment is not
equitable relative to the exchange they perceive others to be making, they will
be taking necessary measures which they deem appropriate (Carrell and Dittrich,1978).According
to the goal-setting theory, to motivate employees, they should be given specific,
measurable, challenging, time bound and attainable organizational goals for
which there should be rewards for the goal accomplishment (Locke and
Latham,2006).
The
reinforcement theories proposed by Skinner (1938) represents the inverse of cognitive theories which
suggests that the theories do not relate with human cognitive process.
According to reinforcement theory, employees’ behavior can be explained by the
consequences in the environment and owing to that it is not necessary to look
for cognitive explanations. Instead, it is highly relied on a concept called
the law of effect, which states behaviors having pleasant or positive
consequences are more likely to be repeated and behaviors having unpleasant or
negative consequences are less likely to be repeated (Bartol and Martin, 1998).
Theory X and
Theory Y
According to Mcgregor, organizations
especially which has a centralized decision-making process and a hierarchical
pyramid are based on several assumptions about human nature or the employees
and motivation. These assumptions are called Theory X and Theory Y by Mcgregor and
it is all about two different viewpoints about the employees by the superiors
or the management (Dobre, 2013).
Theory
X believes that employees want to be directed, they do not want to assume
responsibility by trying to evade responsibility and value safety above all (Dobre, 2013). Further, it is believed
that employees are motivated by financial rewards and by the threat of
punishment. Managers or superiors who possess Theory X viewpoint on their
subordinates tend to execute rigorous supervision and control over the employees
due to the belief that rigid external control should be executed when dealing
with irresponsible employees (Dobre,
2013). According to Dobre (2013) Theory X could be applicable to
employees whose physiological and safety needs are not satisfied. There
could be instances where a directive and controlling behavior is required to
assist in developing some employees until they become creative and self-directed.
Hence, there are employees who are motivated in the work with higher
commissions (Tietjen and Myers, 1998).For instance, the organization which I work, a leading diversified
conglomerate in Sri Lanka is having a Credit Controlling Division in which
there are several newly joined employees who do not have much working experience.
These employees are more sensitive for extrinsic rewards such as incentives and
salary increments and need to be closely monitored and guided until they are
self-directed.
However, Mcgregor
himself began to question the validity of Theory X, especially in the
contemporary context and democratic society. Consequently, Mcgregor has
concluded that Theory X is not universally applicable, as the assumptions about
human nature may not be accurate in all the circumstances (Dobre, 2013). In addition to
that, most of the management practices developed based on Theory X assumptions
were not able to motivate individuals to work for attaining the organizational
goals (Dobre, 2013). In a
leading trading company in Sri Lanka, imports and Procurement division’s head
heavily relied on Theory X and as a result of it the labor turnover of the
Imports and Procurement division went up.
Theory
Y practices concentrates on creating a pleasant work environment and aligning
the individuals’ goals with the organizational goals. Theory Y believes that
people are energetic, reliable and fond of work. It further assumes that people
are self-directed and creative if the employees are properly motivated. In this
context, employees become more productive since the employees are carrying out
their duties willingly and tend to take responsibilities (Dobre, 2013). According to
Theory Y, employees do wish to work and be productive and the act of doing well
at work is itself a strong motivator and employees look for responsibilities
and ways to be productive once the employees are allowed to work on their
own. The managers or superiors who
embrace the Theory Y are the effective
leaders who could fulfill the psychological contract of employees (Mohamed and
Nor,2013).One of the main
challenges for the management is to exploit the full potential of each employee
and the motivated employees will achieve their own goals by driving themselves
towards goal achievement (Dobre,2013).
Conclusion
and Recommendation
- Employee motivation is crucial for organization’s performance and employees should be motivated using different strategies. One employee may be motivated by an extrinsic reward such as higher commission, while another employee may be motivated intrinsically through job satisfaction or a better work environment.
- Many extensive researches have been conducted on various aspects of employees motivation during past and major theories emerged from these researches regarding employee motivation can be segregated into three main phases namely Needs theory, Cognitive theory and reinforcement theory.
- Theory X and Theory Y by Mcgregor describes two main attitudes towards employees and a conclusion cannot be drawn that Theory X is bad and Theory Y is good since all depend on the various circumstances.
- However, theory X has been considered as a negative way of dealing with employees since managers influenced by theory x generally tend to get poor results.
- Managers or superiors who embrace theory Y produce better performance and results whilst allowing people to grow and develop. Fulfillment of Psychological contract in employment is closely related to theory Y management style which has a positive impact on the performance and the productivity since employees become more productive when more trust and responsibility is delegated to them.
List of References
Amabile, T.M. (1993) Motivational synergy: toward new
conceptualizations of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in the workplace. Human resource management review, 3
(3) 185-201.
Bartol, K.M. and Martin, D.C. (1998) Management. 3rd edition. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Carrell, M.R. and Dittrich, J.E. (1978) Equity theory:
the recent literature, methodological considerations and need directions. Academy of Management Review, Volume 3
pp 202-10.
Deci, E.L. (1972) The effects of contingent and
non-contingent rewards and controls on intrinsic motivation. Organizational behavior and human performance,
Volume 8 pp 217-229.
Dobre,O.I. (2013) Employee motivation and organizational performance. Review of Applied Socio- Economic Research. 5 (1) 53-60.
Islam, R.and
Ismail,A.Z.H. (2008) Employee motivation: a Malaysian perspective. International Journal of Commerce and
Management, 18 (4) 344-362.
Locke,E.A. and Latham, G.P. (2006) New Directions in Goal-Setting
Theory. Current directions in
psychological science, 15 (5) 265-268.
Mohamed,R.K.M.H and Nor,C.S.M. (2013) The Relationship between Mcgregor's X-Y Theory
Management Style and Fulfillment of Psychological Contract: A Literature
Review. International Journal of Academic Research in
Business and Social Sciences, 3 (5) 715-720.
McClelland, D.C. (1985) Human Motivation. Glenview: Scott.
Oscar,W.D. Ali,K. and Erdener,K.(2005)Determinants of
business student satisfaction and retention in higher education: applying
Herzberg’s two-factor theory.
International Journal of Educational Management, 19(2) 128-139.
Robbins, S. (1993) Organizational
Behavior. 6th edition. Englewood Cliffs:Prentice Hall.
Staw, B.M. (1976) Intrinsic
and Extrinsic motivation. Morristown: General Learning Press.
Stephens, D.C. (2000) The Maslow Business Reader. Abraham H. Maslow. New York: John Wiley
& Sons.
Story, P.A. Hart, J.W. Stasson, M.F. and Mahoney, J.M.
(2009) Using a two-factor theory of achievement motivation to examine
performance-based outcomes and self-regulatory processes. Personality and individual differences, 46 391-395.
Tietjen, M. A. and Myers, R. M. (1998) Motivation and job satisfaction. Management Decision, 36 (4) 226-231.
Vroom, V.H. (1964) Work
and motivation. New York: Wiley.
Hi Dinuka fully agree with the content.According to Nguyen (2017), Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory, and Vroom’s Expectancy theory demonstrate a strong connection with each other.The three theories share a similar and concrete outcome that attitudes do have a huge influence on the administration of activities and results.The theories as well suggest that the most effective way to motivate a person is through intrinsic motivation, of which, if done correctly and successfully, leads to the state of organizational effectiveness.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Akila and as you have mentioned, the most effective way of motivating an employee is through intrinsic motivation. Consequently, extrinsic rewards such as pay does not boost the productivity in the long run and money does not improve performance significantly (Whitley, 2002). If the employees feel appreciated for their work and are involved in decision-making process, their enthusiasm and motivation levels will go up which will lead to higher levels of loyalty and productivity (Dobre, 2013).
DeleteHi Dinuka, in your blog it is clearly identifies the importance of employee motivation to an organisation. In addition a motivated employee is a valuable asset, who can deliver immense value to the organization in maintaining and strengthening it business and revenue growth. An internally satisfied, delighted and motivated worker or employee is actually a productive employee in an organization, which contributes in efficiency and effectiveness of the organization, and leads to maximization of profit (Mathew, Grawich & Barbar, 2009).
ReplyDeleteWell noted your comment with thanks Lasitha and as you have accurately mentioned a motivated employee is really an asset to the organization as it gives lots of benefits to an organization.As per Kalimullah (2010), a motivated employee’s goals are aligned with the goals of the organization and employees’ efforts are also directed in that direction towards achieving organizational goals. These type of organizations can be considered as more successful as their employees continuously look for ways to improve their work.
DeleteIn some ways, employee motivation affects employee engagement. An engaged employee is emotionally committed to the company. This commitment tends to influence his behavior towards the organization. And this attitude impacts his motivation to work.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with your comment as employee motivation and employee engagement go hand in hand. Employee engagement is something which is positive, fulfilling and work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption.Further,employee engagement is not a momentary and specific state, but it can be considered as a more persistent, pervasive and affective-cognitive state which does not only focus on any particular object, event, individual or behavior (Schaufeli et al, 2002).
DeleteHi Dinuka, it is evident that you have escalate employee motivation through several theories. There is no doubt that current business environment is rapidly changing in all organizations. Though business excellence is achieved through competent human capital, there are external factors too affecting the motivation. Aggravating circumstances such as economic crisis, high un-employement rate and inflation creates stress among employees which result in reduced work place performance. (Markovits, Boer and Van Dick 2014).
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments Samanthi and as you have correctly mentioned eventhough organizations’ main focus is to motivate the employees within the organization which can be controlled to a greater extent, there are various external factors also affecting the employee motivation which creates stress among the employees. According to Kalimullah (2010), one of the toughest challenges for the organizations is getting the employees to reach their full potential at work under stressful conditions and this challenge can be successfully arrested by motivating the employees of the organization.
DeleteHi Dinuka , Your blog is clearly identified importance of employee motivation thus Recognition and empowerment play an essential part in enhancing employee motivation towards organizational tasks.By appreciating the employees for their work done and giving them participation in decision making, internally satisfies them with their job, organization and organizational environment. Thus their enthusiasm and motivation towards accomplishment of tasks increases (Muhammad ,2011)
ReplyDeleteHi Ajantha.I agree with your comments and other than that leadership style prevails in an organization also plays a vital role in employee motivation and employee motivation is severely affected by the leadership style. For instance, path-goal theory is about how leaders motivate followers to accomplish designated goals set by the management of the organization and path-goal leadership theory concentrates on enhancing followers’ performance and followers’ satisfaction by focusing on the motivation of the followers (Northouse, 2016).
DeleteI highly agree with your statement regarding that the motivation is directly linked with the performance of the organization. Yes it’s true, the more you motivated and work will result a better output for the organization. I like to link the motivation with the performance appraisal as well. The reason is that, a positive performance appraisal report will also be a higher motivation factor for the employees. According to Akinbowale et al (2013), they further express that the performance appraisal creates a motivational factor within the employee to develop themselves and to improve their performances.
ReplyDeleteYes Vayanga.It’s true that performance appraisal is also very important as far as the employee motivation is concerned. The way managers perceive of what motivates their subordinates greatly influences their evaluations of employee performance. It appears that the performance appraisal is influenced not only by the objective performance exhibited by the employees, but also by what supervisors perceive about the motivations of the employees (Devoe and Iyengar,2004).
DeleteDear Dinuka, good attempt of presenting the subject employee motivation. As you clearly describe a motivated employee is an asset for the organization. According to Azeez (2017), performance appraisal based reward system is also a motivation factor for the employee. Employee recognition, promotions, training and development procedures can be some positive outcomes of a well-organized performance appraisal process.The theory X and Y also been clarify by you in a very professional manner.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Shiran and I agree with your content. Performance appraisal based reward system is definitely a motivation factor for the employees and performance appraisal ultimately aims at motivating the employees of the organization. Mani (2002) found that good pay and recognition are the most effective motivators and these two motivators can easily be linked to the performance appraisal process of the organization.
DeleteMcGregor, cited in Ogunna (1999, p. 287) highlighted that „people love to work if conditions of work are quite satisfactory to them and they are recognized as human beings, not machines.. The most common motivation to any workforce is that which is built on human relations philosophy of management (Olusadum and Anulika, 2018).
ReplyDeleteThanks for your valuable comments Ruwini and as you have precisely mentioned in you comment, people love to work if the working conditions are quite satisfactory and pleasant to the employees of the organization. However, Mani (2002) has concluded that working environment, co-workers and benefits also have effects on employee motivation but not as strong as good pay and recognition.
DeleteDear Dinuka, I strongly agreed the content, it is also important to know the components of motivation such as Direction, Efforts & Persistence where to motivate in an effective and efficient manner (Armstrong 2006). Whereas “Motivation” is about what we can give to a person now so that he or she will work better in the future (Trompenaars and Hampden, 1998),
ReplyDeleteHi Charith, thank you very much for highlighting the components of motivation namely direction, efforts and persistence as highlighted by Armstrong (2006). According to a study conducted by Kristensen and Westlund (2004) to ascertain the differences in intrinsic work motivation and job satisfaction among employees with different characteristics, it was found that job satisfaction and intrinsic work motivation have a nearly linear relationship with age and that the employees who possess higher educational background exhibit higher level of intrinsic work motivation.
DeleteHi Dinuka,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you findings on Theory X and Theory Y it’s very comprehensive and rich. Other than the theory X and theory Y. some scholars have discussed about Theory A & Theory Z as well.
Theory A explains a process by which managerial leadership in organizations accomplish task through a series of steps involving the employees influencing to accomplish desirable task efficiently (Sreeramana Aithal, 2016). Theory Z is built on the premise that it is not technology that is important in counting the efficiency of the organization. But the ‘special way of managing people’( Ouchi, 1978).
Hi Suresh, thanks for your comment and highlighting the theory A and theory Z which describes another important aspect of employees of the organization.All these theories revolve around the employee satisfaction, motivation and it’s all about keeping the employees happy and filling them with positive thoughts. Employees’ negative feelings to their immediate superiors has a significant impact on employee job performance and these negative feelings lead to employee dissatisfaction and lack of motivation (Hossain and Hossain, 2012). As suggested by Tyilana (2005), the main causes for job dissatisfaction of employees can be mentioned as unfavorable supervision, certain company policies and administration and interpersonal relationship with supervisor or superior.
DeleteMotivation of the employees is a necessity for performance in all organizations. The motivation is addressed in a more realistic way by Mulcahy (2018) which I think applicable for today’s organizations.
ReplyDeleteHe went on to say “Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just an employee – are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.” It is time for us to changeround what our perception of motivation.
Hi Amal, thanks for your comments and I fully agree with your remarks on employee motivation. Hence, motivation factor of employees who drives the results of an organization is being considered as one of the key factors for the success of any organization. Expansion of employee performance management perspectives is very high and the main reason for this view is that considering performance management systems of an organization as a tool for improving the employees’ motivation which ultimately leads to high performance and results (Cokins, 2009).
DeleteRobbins, Judge & Vohra defines Motivation as “the processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction and persistence of efforts toward attaining a goal. Intensity describes how hard a person tries. This is the element most of us focus on when we talk about motivation. However high intensity is unlikely to lead to favourable job performance outcomes unless the effort is channelled in a direction that benefits the organization. Therefore, we consider the quality of effort as well as it intensity. Effort directed toward, and consistent with, the organization’s goals is the kind of effort we should be seeking. Finally, motivation has a persistence dimension. This measures how long a person can maintain effort. Motivated individuals stay with a task long enough to achieve their goal (Robbins, Judge & Vohra, 2013,p.215).
ReplyDeleteHi Bernadine,I agree with your view on motivation of employees in an organization.However,there are misconceptions about the employee satisfaction and motivation as well. Managers typically make incorrect assumptions about the drivers of motivation and fail to understand what motivates their employees. Morse (2003) states that “managers are not as good at judging employee motivation as they think they are. In fact, people from all walks of life seem to consistently misunderstand what drives employee motivation”.
DeleteHi Dinuka I agree with your findings. The motivation plays a key role in terms of get the work done effectively. Accordingly The precise origin of performance appraisal is not known but the practice dates back to the third century when the emperors of the Wei Dynasty (221-265AD) rated the performance of the official family members (Banners & Cooke, 1984, Coens & Jenkins, 2000)
ReplyDeleteHi Mohan, Thanks for your comments. Hence, note that getting subordinates to take responsibilities can be considered as a way of motivating the employees. Especially when dealing with problem employees, superiors can engage the employees in the problem-solving process and work hard at resolving the problems rather than shunning the problems (Nicholson, 2003).
DeleteCannot agree more with you that motivation being the key to the success of any organization as very well described by you taking many a theories into discussion. For organizations especially in countries like Sri Lanka to excel, it is imperative to emphasize the fact that extrinsic motivational factors are crucial in motivating an employee as that is what enable them to afford the possibility of a better living.
ReplyDeleteMoney is the most inducing factor when it comes to motivating and influencing a worker (Sara et al, 2004)
Hi Saliya,I really value your comments on my blog and I would like to emphasize the fact that both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards contribute to employee motivation. Especially in Sri Lankan context, since there are different types of individuals in organizations from various backgrounds, managers need to understand these factors before making any decision on motivating empoloyees.A combination of factors lead to employee motivation and not merely one type of extrinsic or intrinsic reward contributes to employee motivation (Manion, 2005).
DeleteDinuka, it has been observed that you have greatly communicate the theory knowledge of the Employee Motivation. Motivation is the desire to achieve beyond expectations, being driven by internal rather than external factors, and to be involved in a continuous striving for improvement" (Torrington, Hall, Taylor & Atkinson, 2009, p276). According to Arnold (1991).
ReplyDeleteMotivation consists of three components;
1. direction
2. effort
3. persistence
Motivation theory tries to explain why people at work behave the way they do in terms of their efforts and strive for achievement.
When we apply this theory to the organistion, managers can motivate their employees through methods such as bonus, extra payment, promotion, praise, and awards. Employees can also motivate themselves by seeking work where individual goals, needs, and wants will be achieved.
Hi Udeni, thanks for your encouraging remarks and an organization especially the managers need to grasp the concept of motivation accurately in order to motivate their employees effectively. Studies clearly show that people are not born to motivate. Manion (2005) states that anyone can become an effective motivator and it is simply required to understand the concepts and basic principles of motivation along with the passion to develop these skills.
DeleteThe blog critically elaborates on employee motivation for a better out come of the organizational goals and objectives. As it is stated employee motivation is the key to engage the employee to its objectives. it is found through extrinsic motivational tools plays a key role in motivational factors that makes employees closer to high productivity (Kian and Yusoff, 2015).where as the blog success fully touches all aspects relevant to its title making it comprehensive an done grater justice to the title
ReplyDeleteHi Chaminda, thanks for your precious comments and employees are the major contributing factor towards the success and the development of any organization. Further, employee motivation can be achieved through the empowerment of employees and higher level of employee motivation and satisfaction can be seen when the involvement of the employees are high. Therefore, employees should be actively engaged and the employees should be made aware that their ideas and contributions are valued and appreciated (Nguyen, 2017).
DeleteHi Dinuka , Well explained Blog on Employee Motivation . I would like to state some drawbacks of Employee motivation process .1. Requires an instructor or a leader to have personal knowledge of each individual in the group (Keenum, 2011).Further Pointing out employees when they have not met their goals is demotivating, and it reduces future performance of the employee.
ReplyDeleteHi Kasun, thanks for your comments and as you have correctly mentioned there are negative aspects of employee motivation as well. Furthermore, a research conducted by Nguyen (2017) revealed that having repetitive tasks every day acts as a reason for demotivation, boredom, and a lack of enthusiasm. To arrest this situation, it is advisable for the companies to implement job rotation for keeping the employees’ interest and satisfaction with work.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePay has not been an effective mechanism to reflect workers' performance or to motivate workers, and poor performance has always been a problem haunting SOEs (Korzec 1992; Chiu 2002), if less so for the private firms. Chinese workers have often been criticized by managers of Ns, foreign and domestic private firms for their lack of motivation and pride in their work, with little interest in advancing themselves. There is a lack of a comprehensive and effective system that links long-term employee motivation and performance to reward.(Cooke, 2005).
ReplyDeleteHi Sheriff, thanks for your commenting and I agree with your comments. As you have mentioned, pay is not the only way to motivate the employees and not all the employees are motivated by pay. Not all individuals are the same and different employees should be motivated using different strategies. For example, while one employee can be motivated by higher commission, another employee may be motivated by providing job satisfaction or a better work environment (Dobre, 2013).
DeleteWell describe the importance of motivational background to exert effective workforce within the organization. Due to the current situation of the country it is influencing on employees demotivation that will directly impact on the sustainability of the organization
ReplyDeleteDewett (2007) suggests that intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between certain antecedents and one’s willingness to take risks and this willingness to take risks transmits the effect of intrinsic motivation on creativity of the employees of the organization.
DeleteThanks for your comments Shantha and motivation is a very important factor for most of the aspects in an organization especially when dealing with performance and productity. A company’s management should know how to motivate employees differently and successful application of motivators can improves job satisfaction which results in increasing the productivity of an organization (Islam and Ismail, 2008).
@Dinuka Perera According to “Goal Setting Theory” formulated by Latham and Locke in 2002, Employee engagement is at higher scale, which in return can increase the overall performance. Fundamentally, when leaders assign specific and difficult yet achievable tasks , alongside a feedback mechanism in place (Kiruja & Mukur, 2013).
ReplyDeleteHi Kasun, I agree with your comments and goal setting theory really helps to an organization to promote employee engagement as the goal setting theory enables the employees to be self-directive.As per Locke and Latham (2006), “Goals are related to affect in that goals set the primary standard for self-satisfaction with performance. High, or hard, goals are motivating because they require one to attain more in order to be satisfied than do low, or easy, goals”.
DeleteMotivation involves a constellation of beliefs, perceptions, values, interests, and actions that are all closely related. As a result, various approaches to motivation can focus on cognitive behaviors (such as monitoring and strategy use), non-cognitive aspects (such as perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes), or both. For example, Gottfried (1990) defines academic motivation as “enjoyment of school learning characterized by a mastery orientation; curiosity; persistence;
ReplyDeletetask-endogeny; and the learning of challenging, difficult, and novel tasks”.
Hi Dilshani,I agree with you and motivation has been looked at in different aspects by many researches. The level of employee performance is basically conditioned by correlation of three fundamental factors. These factors are knowledge and skills, workplace and organization conditions and motivation. Out of these factors, employee motivation represents an important constituent of this correlation to employee performance (Vanek et al, 2012).
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAs compared to financial resources, human resources have the capability to create competitive advantage for their organizations. Employee performance depends on a large number of factors, such as motivation, appraisals, job satisfaction.training and development and so on, Employee motivation has been shown to influence to a significant degree the organizational performance. As Kalimullah (2010) suggested, a motivated employee has his/her goals aligned with those of the organization and directs his/her efforts in that direction.
ReplyDeleteHi Dinuka, Nice blog related to Employee Motivation which is one the most important area in an organization culture. Barnard (1938) observes, there are a variety of formal and informal mechanisms through which organizations may shape the beliefs and behavior of their members.
ReplyDeleteHi Ruwanga.Noted your comments with thanks. As you have stated in your comment also, employee motivation can be considered as one of the most important factors in an organization. However, employee motivation has been a fundamental problem for most of the leaders and managers. It has been found that unmotivated employees in organizations are most likely to devote little or no effort in performing their respective jobs, shun the workplace as much as possible, produce low quality work and even leave the organization if an opportunity is given. Therefore, employers are required to study and understand their employees very well and apply different tactics in order to motivate each employee based on the personal needs and wants which will ultimately ensure a high level of performance (Ganta, 2014).
DeleteHi Dinuka,
ReplyDeleteYou have clearly described Employee motivation by taking the 03 classifications of motivational theories namely ,Need theory, cognitive theory and Reinforcement theory. The majority of organizations are competing to survive in this volatile and fierce market environment. Motivation and performance of the employees are essential tools for the success of any organization in the long run. On the one hand, measuring performance is critical to organization’s management, as it highlights the evolution and achievement of the organization. On the other hand, there is a positive relationship between employee motivation and organizational effectiveness, reflected in numerous studies(Dobre,2013).
Hi Dinuka, Its a very detailed blog about motivation and X-Y theories. In employee preference for a certain leadership style and the work that has to be done, a manager will either opt for Theory X or Theory Y. Theory X will sooner be implemented in industrial organizations where activities revolve around a high degree of productivity (Mulder, 2015). According to this it shows, the motivation factors implimenting will be different from leadership styles.
ReplyDelete