Motivation and Job Performance in Companies, Business Proposal Example

Introduction and Rationale

Motivation is one of the most powerful tools that make companies effective in achieving their organizational goals. Management’s ability to solicit the best performance from their employees is one the driving factors that control the company’s profitability and overall success (Boachie-Mensah & Dogbe, 2011). Work environments in which employees are not being respected, are discriminated against, and lack meaningful ways of communication detract from employees’ self-esteem, decision-making abilities, and motivation, which impacts overall employee performance (Pershing, 2006). While motivation is necessary to achieve any goal, studies have determined that outcomes resulting in emotional well-being and professional achievement are linked to satisfied psychological needs (Latham, 2007).

The globalization of professional environments through the advancement of technologies has expanded the multicultural dimensions of large and small businesses. Globalization entails the extension of business practices or commercial trade to the international level, which has permanently changed the manner in which commercial enterprises conduct their business, and many products are manufactured as well as sourced through the global supply chains of international trade (Castells, 2010). These dynamic interchanges, diverse economies, currencies, and customs present various possible points of contention to the formation of successful business relationships.

Although the notion of international trade through global integration has been historically applied, the aspects that are new today include the degree and intensity with which the world is being tied together into a single globalized marketplace (Polanyi, 2004). Globalization of trade and the technological advances of the 21st century have presented numerous opportunities for cross-cultural exchanges within the business economy (Castells, 2010). This has made it necessary for managers to expand their concept of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that determine employee motivation to ensure that the company is operating at optimal performance levels. The effect of globalization necessitates specific scrutiny regarding how employee motivation influences job performance with particular attention to how the relationship between employees and their managers impact job performance and motivation.

Literature Review

Motivation is the chief component that guarantees various administrations are able to achieve organizational goals (Boachie-Mensah & Dogbe, 2011). The key indicator of extraordinary motivation is the incessant determination to consistently improve performance outcomes and this attribute is a major indicator of emotional intelligence (EQ) (Goleman & Boyatzis, 2008). Many analysts believe that there are various philosophies of motivation that indicate specific factors contributing to occupational gratification, including theories based on situational models, intellectual principles, personal differences, requirement concepts, and transitional prototypes (Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy, 2012). This literature review will discuss the numerous motivational theories as a means of illustrating the diverse approaches that can be used to inspire motivation or appeal to intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors in cross-cultural professional environments.

Motivational Theories

Many organizations develop models that examine behaviors relative to employee motivation to classify the influences that give workers direct satisfaction, and as result, are comparative to administrative accomplishment (Konstantinos, Glykeria, & Georgios, 2013). There are numerous theories postulated to explain the factors associated with motivation such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Locke’s Goal-Setting Theory, Vroom’s Expectancy Theory, ERG Theory, Adams’ Equity Theory, and Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory (also known as Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory) (Reilly, Minnick, & Baack, 2011; Udechukwu, 2009).

Maslow hierarchy of needs “…suggests that human actions may be accounted for by two systems of needs: the basic needs, and the metaneeds” (Lefrancois, 2011, p. 176). Additionally, this theory indicates that human conditions have several phases of requirements that should be periodically satisfied in order to maintain high motivation (Udechukwu, 2009). There are five levels specified in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that must be met, which are physical, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization needs (Baack, 2012). Maslow’s theory states that humans progress through these stages in a sequential fashion and must achieve fulfillment in one level before they will become motivated to progresses trough the remaining stages (Udechukwu, 2009). The first stage specifies satisfying our physiological need for food, shelter, and water followed by satisfying the need for safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization, which are the basic needs and the metaneeds (Youssef & Noon, 2012).

Locke’s Goal-Setting Theory and Vroom’s Expectancy Theory both indicate that the power to perform relates to a multiplicative mixture of projected gratification; the confidence that performance will lead to payments; and the understanding that determination will lead to the performance necessary to accomplish the objectives (Reilly, Minnick, & Baack, 2011). These theories assume that people follow leaders that inspire them by delineating a clear and compelling vision, which motivates employees to act with unquestionable dedication and loyalty (Latham, 2007). Frequently, unmotivated staff can indicate that the company will be overextended externally regarding their confines, decline in incentive due to the prolonged days of labor, and ultimately result in exhaustion from their employees, which might potentially be disadvantageous for the resourcefulness and welfare of the workers as well as the corporation (Boachie-Mensah & Dogbe, 2011).

An additional needs-based theory is the ERG Theory, which is a simplification of Maslow’s theory, equating the existence paradigm to the physical and safety needs in Maslow’s model and is structured through the patterns (Baack, 2012). Primarily, this theory compares relatedness to social needs and growth fulfills esteem and self-actualization needs (Baack, 2012).

Adams’ Equity Theory indicates that inequalities perceived in the workplace have a strong impact on the levels of motivation demonstrated by employees (Reilly, Minnick, & Baack, 2011). Additionally, this theory is based on the perception that people will desire acts to restore perceived damages to equilibrium with others to help resolve what is reasonable and equitable in an interchange (Reilly, Minnick, & Baack, 2011). Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory is based on the expectation that incentives will generate an effective performance. Adams’ theory can be incorporated into the expectancy theory because it also stipulates that there are perceived expectations of fairness that should prevail within the workplace.

Herzberg’s theory integrates two factors to define diverse challenges, which are motivators and hygiene factors where the first influences workplace satisfaction and the latter is related to work dissatisfaction (Baack, 2012). Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory displays an association between worker stimulation and the actualization of a comprehensive variation of demands that are labelled concerning the motivational and sterility elements (House & Wigdor, 1967). The criterion in Herzberg’s theory describes motivators and hygiene factors as influences that define diverse challenges where workplace satisfaction and work dissatisfaction are driving forces (Baack, 2012).

Corresponding Theories to Employee/Manager Relationships

Understanding cross-cultural differences in affective communication is an important attribute of leaders possessing EQ and integral to establishing an organizational environment that facilitates high motivation (Bertsch, 2013; Farth, Seo, & Tesluk, 2012; Suliman & Al-Shaikh, 2007). Content applications such as personal development planning; goal setting; identification of priority learning and training needs; receiving feedback; strategies and techniques for self-development; and cross-cultural relations are all factors that influence the level of motivation employees demonstrate with the core concepts including intra- and interpersonal exchanges between individuals (Shi & Wang, 2011). The increasing complexity of the management paradigm is driving the great demand for leadership in this role (Antonakis, Ashkanasy, & Dasborough, 2009). In today’s rapidly changing business environment, a manager’s objectives include not only managing global, virtual, and multicultural personnel, but also establishing a direction that aligns with the organizational vision while simultaneously increasing productivity through heightened motivation by correlating the organizational goals to those of the employees (Konstantinos, Glykeria, & Georgios, 2013).

Primarily, the goal-setting theory of Locke appears to complement Vroom’s expectancy theory because both indicate that the power to perform is a multiplicative mixture of projected gratification; the confidence that performance will lead to payments; and the understanding that determination will lead to the performance necessary to accomplish the objectives (Reilly, Minnick, & Baack, 2011). Expectancy is said to be linearly and definitely interconnected to performance and goals are deemed to be equally integral to provoking a strong sense of motivation (Silvia, McCord, & Gendolla, 2010).

Diversification has significant implications within professional paradigms due to the rapidly changing demographics of society and the lack of responsive changes within businesses can detrimentally impact all employees (Malone, 2015). Successful leadership requires both cognitive and emotional competencies and EQ provides supervisory staff with the ability to perceive, recognize, and manage the emotions of the self and others (Goleman, 1995; Farth, Seo, & Tesluk, 2012). Extensive research regarding EQ has indicated that leadership style along with EQ facilitates successful implementation of complex global initiatives and makes good managers even better since those possessing high EQs demonstrate qualities such as communication, problem solving skills, team building, and conflict resolution skills, which are considered critical for modern professionals (Downey, Papageorgiou, & Stough, 2006; Sigmar, Hynes, & Hill, 2012). Diversity in executive staff is especially important because it enables supervisory staff to demonstrate competent behaviors that makes them more effective in establishing rapport with subordinates to inspire the dedication that is present in highly motivated individuals (Singh, Svensson, Wood, & Callaghan, 2009).

Generally, because of the way we learn, people basically hold implicit attitudes that are instilled and communicated by society (Goleman & Boyatzis, 2008). Explicit and implicit attitudes are obtained through different systems, such that explicit attitudes are typically based either in language, logic, or some other symbolic representation (Bertsch, 2013). Explicit and implicit attitudes or impressions can both predict behavior, but generally do so for behavior in different realms (Rundle-Gardiner & Carr, 2005). In order to put these elements together we must consider these three theories. The first theory is the theory of planned behavior, which includes three steps that are the attitude toward that behavior, subjective norms that are related to that behavior, and perceived behavioral control (Baack, 2012). The second one is the cognitive dissonance theory, which can be helpful in understanding or promoting behavior change (Baack, 2012). The third one is the self- perception theory, which involves figuring out attitudes by observing individual behavior (Baack, 2012).

Nonetheless, since difficult objectives are harder to achieve than simple goals, the expectancy of goal achievement would seemingly be adversely connected to performance when challenging tasks are presented (Silvia, McCord, & Gendolla, 2010). Locke previously established that when the objective stage is continuous, which is indirectly supposed by the valence-instrumentality expectancy model, developed anticipations produce greater performances (Reilly, Minnick, & Baack, 2011). Setting small, achievable goals that are related and easily measured is more encouraging when first using this method to establish and maintain motivation. Fundamentally, this high-quality difference is typically not a problem concerning social-cognitive theory and task-self-efficacy, which is distinguished by receiving productivity rankings through a complete understanding of potential illustrational results relatively than from an unsocial conclusion (Reilly, Minnick, & Baack, 2011).

Advantages and Disadvantages of Motivational Theories

Advantages of using motivational theories like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs suggests that companies realize numerous benefits for the employees as well as the organization in that these techniques help attract new workers because the organizations appears more attractive to job candidates, it lowers organizational expenditures through reduced turnover rates, and it allows for easier, more effective management, which has a positive effect on productivity, job satisfaction, and reduces employee absenteeism (Youssef & Noon, 2012). Disadvantages of theoretical paradigms presents in that some managers may integrate tactics intended to be motivational can be counteractive since most motivators are intrinsic and not extrinsic (Shultz, 2014). While factors such as higher pay rates are appreciated, other aspects of employment such as empowerment, promotions, and accolades tend to motivate people on an intrinsic level because the individual feels appreciated (Boachie-Mensah & Dogbe, 2011).

Research Objective and Hypotheses

Organizational leaders have to understand the many factors related to motivational and occupational satisfaction in diverse contexts so they can integrate these paradigms as appropriate when conducting business (Konstantinos, Glykeria, & Georgios, 2013). Some aspects relative to poor motivation include high employee turnover rates, low productivity, lateness, stealing, and other situations that show employee dissatisfaction, which can lead to the company failing (Ferris, Johnson, Djurdjevic, & Chang, 2013). Based on this, the objective of this research is to explore how employee motivation influences job performance with particular attention to how the relationship between employees and their managers’ impact job performance and motivation, distinguishing the approach used to integrate motivational incentives into their business models to facilitate cooperative organizational settings.

To achieve this objective, the primary research question addressed will be: What are the motivational techniques adopted by companies? The potential for broad interpretation of this primary research question will be narrowed in scope by addressing this sub-question: Does employee motivation represent a real performance boost for business?

Through the examination of the research question and sub-question, this study will seek to prove or disprove the following hypotheses:

1. Motivation is a significant factor that influences employee performance
2. Methods to improve motivation among employees include improving the corporate culture, communication, associated work benefits, and the degree of competitiveness among employees
3. The manager plays a key role in the performance of the staff

Addressing these primary and sub-questions through the course of the research will provide new knowledge concerning how managerial influence impacts employee motivation as reflected within the workplace. The addition of this new knowledge to research contexts will assist managerial professionals in their efforts to forge strong groups capable of interacting successfully in the modern globalized business world.

Proposed Research Methodology

This research will use mixed methods to gather and analyze the primary and secondary research data where qualitative methods will be used to gather the primary information and quantitative methods will be used for data analysis. It will therefore be necessary to explain employees’ attitudes and opinions regarding motivational methods used in their workplace. The respondents’ experiences and expectations will be necessary in explaining the trends. This will enable the reader to understand the study better.

The method of data collection that will be used in this study for the primary research data is questionnaires with mainly open-ended questions that allow respondents to input their direct thoughts and opinions. These shall be appropriate in obtaining the required information from the respondents as well as capturing authentic impressions of the motivational tactics used and their implications. The target participant demography shall include 40 subordinate respondents and 20 managerial level respondents that have direct input regarding the types of motivational incentives implemented within the workplace.

Data Analysis

This study will use the content analysis method to evaluate the data collected. While using this method, all raw data collected will be carefully analyzed by the researcher and various themes that are common in the questionnaires will be determined. The researcher will then compare the themes and discuss them to identify any similarities. These similarities will be coded and classified under the appropriate themes. The selection of this method is motivated by the nature of descriptive data to be collected and the study’s qualitative nature as well.

References