What Really Motivates Employees? Research Paper Example

Employee motivation is a topic that has elicited a lot of interests among many scientists and business people as has been indicated by Robbins, Millett & Waters-Marsh, (2004). According to the perceptions given by Wan, Ong & Kok, (2002), motivation entails the development of some constructive desires among the employees in an organization that facilitates in the performance of some task to the greatest ability of the employee on the basis of an individual’s own initiative. It is usually very important to appreciate the fact that, in any business organization, the secret behind satisfied as well as happy employees lies in the potential ability of the employer to satisfy them and this subsequently leads to success in the organization. It is therefore prudent for the organization management to identify the real cause of employee motivation.

According to the traditional point of view, higher payments are likely to make the employees more loyal and thus be satisfied as they perform their duties in the organization (Kinicki & Robert, 2012). However, it is important to appreciate the fact that, motivation of employees is an issue that is associated with an extremely high degree of intricacy and it is a relatively highly complicated mix that encompasses autonomy, opportunities of leadership as well as praise. Motivation commonly entails a phenomenon can be interpreted in a number of ways by different individuals because of the diverse nature of different people. It is important to appreciate the fact that, different people tend to be unique in as far as their individual needs, attitudes, wants, beliefs and expectations are concerned. Consequently, it is prudent to authoritatively assert that no single motivational technique has been documented so far to have worked for every employee (Paul & Anantharaman, 2003). The owners of business and their managers therefore must not be deceived to conclude that the factors that motivate them on individual capacity are the same ones which can motivate their junior employees. In turn, things that motivate one employee are not the same as those for another employee (Paul & Anantharaman, 2003). In addition, the level of motivation between individuals also differs depending on the situation. It is therefore the responsibility of the business owners, their managers as well as supervisors to articulately determine the factors that are behind effective motivation of their employees. Job satisfaction, money, recognition, opportunities and benefits are all important when accorded to the employees and they are likely to appreciate. The importance of identifying what actually motivates employees is anchored on the importance of employees as the most valued assets in the organization in the face of academicians as well as practitioners. The satisfaction and motivation of employees is a crucial driver of continous improvement in the business just as a satisfied client is important to total quality management, TQM. There are two important factors that have been suggested as critical motivator of employees and thence increase in their productivity. Job satisfaction and money are the two most critical factors that enhance the level of motivation among employees. It is commonly mentioned that, improved pay increases motivation and productivity of employees. Additionally, happy employees have also been proven to be highly productive in the work place (Kinicki & Robert, 2012). For a substantially long period of time a good salary has conventionally been associated with a motivational factor for majority of the employees regardless of the industry that they serve as well as the type of job that they have been assigned to perform (Robbins, Millett & Waters-Marsh, 2004).

However, to the majority of the supervisors and managers of industrial workers, this has been construed as a misconception and has therefore misguided them for many decades (Robbins, Millett & Waters-Marsh, 2004). The situation has created a scenario of a discord between the employees and their managers with both groups therefore being forced to perceive dissimilarities in motivational factors in mind. Employee motivation is one of the most valued aspect in human resource management and sustainability of the organization highly depends on the identification of the factors that leads to employee motivation. It is therefore the responsibility of the employer and the management team in the organization to strive and understand the actual causes of employee motivation,. However, it is unfortunate that some employers and their managers fail to fathom the effect that are attributed to employee motivation and the implication that motivation has on their businesses (Robbins, Millett & Waters-Marsh, 2004). It is therefore prudent for business owners and the managers to identify potential determinants of motivation in their organization. Employees who lack sufficient motivation are likely to perform their duties with little or no effort, which results to low output.

Motivation of employees is attributed to an of individual psychological bond to the organisation. This therefore implies creation of a sense of loyalty, involvement in their duties as well as appreciation of the organisational values. This can also be perceived in three different ways: – identification of the situation that an employee cherishes another influence to maintain a sense of belonging together with self defining in the organisation, compliance to the fact that, a person is influenced by another in order to achieve a specific goal from the other person such as pay, and finally internationalisation, in which case an individual identifies the organisational value to be rewarding and corresponding to their value (Kinicki & Robert, 2012).

Employee motivation is also closely linked to job satisfaction which is an equally important consideration in the productivity and success of the business. This entails an important role in the commitment level of the employee. Employees are obligated to perform specific duties as well as tasks that enable the business achieve the set goals as well as objectives.

The cultural value in an organization is a very significant consideration as it can hinder organisation most productive employees. The human resource strategies that have been adopted in the organization can also bring about diverse levels of employee commitment and retention among the employees within the organisation and in diverse organisation. Some organization cultural values may tend to focus on the teamwork, weak performers and security for others. These values produce feelings of loyalty coupled with long- term commitment. The most constructive organizational value entails taking risk, working hard being creative and cautious and respecting authority while at the same time, maintaining high standards as well as coordinating with other. The organization values have the potentials of giving employees direction (Kinicki & Robert, 2012).

Employee motivation in this regard deals with enhancing the desires of the employees to perform the assigned tasks to the best of their ability. Identification of the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is very important consideration in any organization that aspires to achieve success.

References

Kinicki, A. & Robert, K., (2012). Organizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills, and Best Practices 5^th 12 edition McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 0-07-813720-9 or 978-0-07-813720-4

Paul, A.K. & Anantharaman, R.N., (2003). Impact of people management practices on   organizational performance: analysis of causal model, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14 (7), pp. 1246-1266.

Robbins, S., Millett, B., & Waters-Marsh, T., (2004). Organisational Behaviour. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia / Prentice Hall.

Wan, D., Ong, C.H., and Kok, V., (2002). Strategic human resource management and organizational performance in Singapore, Compensation Benefits Review, 34(4), pp. 33-42.