The Relationship Between Effective Management and Productivity, Research Paper Example

Introduction

In order for a business to be run effectively, it is important to consider the relationship between managers and employees. Since managers are responsible for delegating work to their workers, they are also uniquely able to provide motivation to their employees to enable them to perform well. It is therefore necessary to determine how the relationship between effective management and productivity can be strengthened in order to produce the best result possible for organizations. To do so, professionals would benefit by searching the literature to determine the most effective ways to motivate their employees, thereby increasing productivity.

Financial Motivation

While there are many ways that managers are able to motivate their employees, it is possible that providing them with a financial incentive is the most effective way to do so (Bloom et al., 2011). Financial incentives are typically related to ensuring that the employee is rewarded for good work and may appear in the form of raises, promotions, or bonuses. This is a form of positive reinforcement that indicates to an employee that if they perform well at their job, they will continue to be rewarded. It also motivates them because it makes them feel that their ideas are valued by the company, and they come to believe that their own personal success is tied into the success of the company.

Many studies have shown that businesses have grown by providing the human resources sectors of privately owned organization with the ability to reward employees with financial incentives. Ensuring that employees are well motivated means that they are less likely to leave their place of work and a lesser employee turnover means that the organization will save money that it would have otherwise needed to train new employees. A particular success story was indicated in an empirical study conducted to determine the benefits of human resources involvement of this aspect for Saudi Arabian businesses. It was found that although different organizations had different definitions concerning productivity, businesses thought that this new use of human resources was advantageous (Al-Ghamdi et al., 2011).

Management Style and Motivation

Many business professionals have been studying the particular management styles that contribute to employee motivation, which in turn fosters productivity for the company. Studies that have been conducted across the world indicate the most effective managers are typically those that utilize transformational leadership. In contrast, laissez faire transactional leadership is not effective (Chaudhry et al., 2012). This is important because it indicates how individuals who wish to become leaders in their management position should behave.  A second study indicated that management style contributes to an employee’s likelihood to be satisfied with his or her company and position. Employees were more likely to be motivated if their employers utilized inspirational motivation transformational leadership (Line, 2014).

Employee Participation and Motivation

Research has shown that employee involvement contributes to motivation. It is important to ensure that employees feel that they are actively contributing to the success of their organization. These studies have determined that motivation has several levels including global, contextual, and situational, and managers can work to ensure that their employees are motivated according to each of these aspects (Cadwallader et al., 2009). Additional studies have shown that individuals that participate in physical activity are more likely to perform well in work. While in some cases this comes into play in regards to the exercise that these individuals participate in at home, one can also extend this theory to the physical labor they do while at work (Lynda, 2014). Individuals that feel like they are moving around a lot are more likely to feel that they are working hard, which will leave them feeling more satisfied with the work that they’ve done. Therefore, for employers to motivate their employees, it is important for them to give them enough work for them to feel like they are making a contribution to their organization.

Additional Factors that Contribute to Employee Motivation

While it is important to consider the more obvious factors that contribute to employee motivation, such as leadership style, there are many variables in the workplace that are also important to take into consideration in order to truly understand the relationship between effective management and productivity. One of these additional factors that help employees perform better is by providing them with assessments of their work that provide them with constructive feedback. If employees are failing at what they do, they will become unmotivated. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the manager to determine how they can best help their performance. Effective managers therefore understand how often it would be beneficial for them to provide their employees with reviews and to hold meetings so that they can ensure their employees have the resources necessary to do their work.

Researchers also point out that it is important to determine that employees could be rewarded for good behavior by providing incentives other than raises and promotions. Providing them with the potential for better welfare overall, which could include the provision of benefits, such as health insurance, paid vacation days, and sick leave, will improve the performance of many individuals. Furthermore, it is important to ensure that these incentives are given purely on the basis of performance, so that the employees do not believe that their employer is discriminating against them on the basis of age and gender (Jiang et al., 2014).

Conclusion

It is important to consider that may aspects play a role in determining the relationship between management and productivity. The most important thing that managers could do to increase the productivity of their organization is to ensure that they are taking on a leadership role that facilitates motivation. Ultimately, this typically involves utilizing transformational leadership and properly providing incentives to effective employees. These individuals can be rewarded by providing financial gain and benefits, in addition to being provided with a greater sense that they are contributing to their workplace overall. Furthermore, managers should ensure that their employees are always busy and that their skills are being maximized so that they continue to be satisfied.

It is important for managers to base much of their actions on existing research because there are tried and true methods that they should be employing in their daily practices. When managers are posed with a problem, doing so will help them effectively determine how to act to counter these issues or stop them from occurring altogether. Managers must be proactive in order to ensure that their employees are maximally productive, and resourcefulness is an additional trait of a good leader. Therefore, these individuals know how to behave as a consequence of research and practice, and this is what helps their employees understand what is necessary for them to succeed as well.

References

Al-Ghamdi SM, Kazmi A, Banaemah MS. (2011). Corporate management of productivity in private sector firms across Saudi Arabia. Journal for Global Business Advancement, 4(2): 118-142.

Bloom N, Reenen JV. (2011). Chapter 19 – Human Resource Management and Productivity. Handbook of Labor Economics, 4(B): 1697-1767.

Cadwallader S, Jarvis CB, Bitner MJ, Ostrom. (2009). Frontline employee motivation to participate in service innovation implementation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28(2): 219-239.

Chaudhry AQ, Javed H. (2012). Impact of Transactional and Laissez Faire Leadership Style on Motivation. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(7): 258-264.

Jiang X, Zhang Y. (2014). Employee satisfaction and work motivation in Chinese small and medium sized enterprises. Retrieved from http://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/84463

Line T. (2014). The relationship between leadership styles and customer service employees’ job satisfaction in a multinational company. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10788/2169

Lynda C. (2014). Impact of Self-Monitoring Comprehensive Body Measurements on Employee Motivation and Physical Activity. Retrieved from http://gradworks.umi.com/36/28/3628943.html