...Workplace Motivation Paper M. Singh University of Phoenix February 01, 2009 PSY/ 320 Workplace Motivation Paper Motivation plays an important part of every organization. Motivation in organizations can be accomplished by finding whatever gets everyone going. Motivation will not be the same for every organization but by finding out what that thing is, the company can be sure the organization will be successful at whatever they attempt (Fitness Equipment & Health, 2007-2008). Motivation is the inner power or energy that pushes one toward performing a certain action. Motivation is a dynamic process – always changing, always rising and falling – rather than a discrete event or static condition (Reeve, 2001). A person’s motivation can change quickly. Motivation is the force that makes individuals do things which results in an individual need being satisfied and in completing a task. Motivation strengthens the ambition, increases initiative and gives direction, courage, energy and the persistence to follow one's goals. A motivated person takes action and do whatever is needed to achieve his or her goals (Sasson, 2001-2009). Motivation results from actions that satisfy inner needs. Motivation is the intention of achieving a goal, an ability to change behavior, that inner directing drive, leading to goal-directed behavior towards the attaining goal. Motivation is intrinsic (internal); it comes from within based on personal interests, desires, and need for fulfillment...
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...different techniques that can be used to help managers motivate their employees. Some of the techniques to understand are positive and negative reinforcement, nonmonetary incentive programs, award programs, recognition awards and showing appreciation. Managers can motivate employees by understanding what motivation is and by discovering what drives each individual by using different techniques to motivate each employee. II. Motivation A. Definition of Motivation Motivation is “defined as the psychological processes that arouse and direct goal-directed behavior” (Kinicki, Williams 376). Motivation “is not a one size fits all”, each employee is their own person and what drives them to effectivley perform while on the job is an important factor for managers to be knowledgeable about (Broder). B. Why Motivating Employees is Important Employees within an organization play a key role in how the company runs. Knowing about the different techniques that are used can help managers succeed in keeping their employees motivated. Businesses today are successful because the company invests in their employees by offering them different incentives to keep them motivated (Caan). The average employee is only employed with an organization for about 4.6 years, so it is important to motivate employees, so the turnover rate does not increase (Bureau of Labor Statistics). It is also important because...
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...the key findings of your research? 8 How could the results of your research be used? 10 Bibliography 12 Investigating Woolworths Management Strategies to Improve Employee Motivation Provide a brief overview of your project? This project report will investigate a research problem in Woolworths which is staff moral, motivation and job satisfaction. The report will analyse the situation and determine the most effective way to solve the problem for the company. Employees are the main element in any organisation and it is crucial for a business’s success to understand what drives employees to work effectively and learn the best ways to manage them. This proposal will investigate the most effective way to motive employees to work at the best of their ability in the work environment of Woolworths. Currently the organisational culture creates low motivation and job satisfaction within the workplace with many employees having low morale. The proposal will analyse different methods of motivation, management techniques and ways to boost morale in the work place to ensure increased job satisfaction which will lead to increased productivity. To determine the current culture and feelings within the working environment, primary research will be undertaken using a self-administered survey to obtain quantitative data. These surveys will assess motivation of staff and current job satisfaction. Intensive research into motivation will be conducted to determine the most...
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...Employee Motivation and Career Development By Laura M. Davis Employee Motivation and Career Development Employee Motivation and Career Development is an essential concept of an organizations success. It is important to understand the effects of Employee Motivation and Career development and how it will utilize the success of an organization. Introduction The Career Development process can be used for many applications in an organization. It allows the employees to understand what skills they need to develop. The success of Career Development programs is to improve the competency of their employees and better utilize their KSA’s (knowledge, skills and abilities). It is important for employees to be trained in the skills essential for meeting the challenges an organization faces in achieving their goals and expectations. The purpose of this paper is to explain how Career Development plans are an essential part of enhancing the workplace environment and how an organization can develop their employees successfully. This paper will also explain how Employee Motivation can benefit an organization and what motivates employees to reach a higher potential in their work environment. It is important for employees to be motivated and encouraged to reach their full potential to prosper and grow in the organization. Employee Motivation Individuals have different reasons for working. Most individuals work because they need to obtain something they need from work. Whatever the employees obtain...
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...given outcome and its attractiveness. (Victor Vroom)” (Robbins & Judge, 2013) When I read that at first, I really didn’t grasp what the definition really meant. But, as we consider how employees are motivated, we can define the expectancy theory as not only what managers expect from the employees, it is also why employees are not motivated to do the jobs that they are assigned. When we take a deep look at the workplace today we can see some employees just do what it takes to get by in their given job. As we explore how the expectancy theory pertains to relationships on the job, we can learn some techniques to improve employee performance by using different types of motivation. There are three ideas that pertain to relationships in the expectancy theory of motivation. They are effort-performance relationship (Expectancy), performance-reward relationship (Instrumentality), and reward-personal goal relationship (Valence). The effort-performance relationship asks the question that if the employee puts forth the effort, will the employee believe that he or she will be able to complete the task satisfactorily? The performance-reward relationship asks if the task is completed satisfactorily, will the employee believe a reward will follow. The reward-personal goals relationship asks, will the employee perceive the reward to be important to personal...
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...Motivation Curt J. Howes Organization Performance Strategies Since the early 1900’s, organizations and behavioral scientists have studied how to improve the productivity of employees. During the Industrial Era of the early 1900’s Frederick Taylor became famous for his work on improving employee performance through time and motion studies. This proved to increase worker efficiency, but it had the downside of lower motivation and morale. Employees felt like machines required to leave their thinking and ideas outside the workplace. Later on it was discovered, somewhat by accident, (Hawthorne studies) that increased management attention to employees appeared to increase employee performance. This launched a revived era of employee motivation through what was called human relations. Better communication and open dialogue from managers accompanied by increased attention to the personal interests and needs of employees were thought to improve motivation and performance. These social based approaches did improve how employees felt about the workplace, but in the long run did little to sustain improved performance. Since that time, organizational research has confirmed several approaches that have a significant positive impact on employee motivation and performance. Goal Setting: Perhaps the most fundamental approach to improve employee motivation is by setting goals and holding individuals accountable for those goals. Goals not only align employee behavior to what is...
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...today, managers and leaders seem to ignore how this psychological aspect affects the workplace. In organisational settings, stress can generate very significant consequences on a number of different aspects, including employee motivation. For this reason managers and leaders must consider stress factors and provide effective stress management initiatives in the workplace (Nikkos et al., 2010). This paper will outline the main aspects of stress in the workplace and how it affect employers in organisational settings. The effect of stress in the workplace can have dramatic consequences within the workplace. Stress can affect the employee’s behaviour with other employees, Stress can significantly reduce employee concentration and even affect mood swings. Stress also reduces the likeliness of the success of any motivation techniques implemented by managers and leaders. Motivation plays a very important role in all organisations. Generally, high levels of employee motivation can have a positive effect for business entities, helping them to achieve success and organisational aims. Different experts have investigated the subject. The examination of the notion of motivation within work settings has become the focus of the work of several theories of management science. Employees must be motivated to work effectively and efficiently. Stress can lower the employee’s motivation levels. As Nikkos et al. indicated in...
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...workplace helps maintain a team’s motivation, satisfaction, and performance. Leaders in the workplace must ensure employees are properly inspired to complete the task at hand. This paper will show the importance and capacity motivation, satisfaction, and performance has on a team. Motivation Employee motivation increases employee satisfaction. Various ways managers and leaders can motivate employees are job security benefits, recognition of hard work, compensation, paid time off, and a safe work environment (Heathfield, para. 8). Different forms of motivation work for different people because everyone has separate interests so managers must keep this in mind when motivating teams to achieve the tasks or goal. Any team thrives on motivation and only good communication can foster motivation. According to (Robbins & Judge, 2011), “Communication fosters motivation by clarifying to employees what they must do, how well they are doing, and how to improve performance if it is subpar.” Motivation creates satisfaction and enhanced performance for employees and the team. Satisfaction A satisfied employee tends to perform better and brings more productivity to the team because a satisfied employee creates a good work environment. Employee satisfaction is defined as the individual employee’s general attitude toward the job (HumanResources, para. 2). Improving employee satisfaction is beneficial to the organization and managers can improve employee satisfaction by making an acquaintance...
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...* GM 591: Leadership and Organizational Behavior Course Project Outline Ashanta’ Savage 2331 Turnesa Avenue, Sacramento Ca, 95822 ashantasavage@hotmail.com 916-844-9269 GM591 ON/SEC V – Leadership and Organizational Behavior Professor Anne Hallcom February 19, 2011 DeVry University is an accredited nationwide University whose headquarters are based in Chicago, Illinois; there has also been global expansion to Belize and Calgary. DeVry University’s primary goal and focus is providing quality practitioner oriented education to students and has for nearly 80 years. “The Sacramento Center, as the campus is called, is booming. Marcela Iglesias, who has been dean since it opened in 2003, estimates that the campus will exceed its capacity of 825 students within a year, and DeVry officials have begun to search for more space.” (Keller, 2010). Along with DeVry University, Carrington College, Ross University, Keller Graduate School of Management, Becker and Stalla have also been acquired under the DeVry University Inc. umbrella and are affiliated with the brand. Advanced Academics is a school recently acquired that is targeted to middle school and high school students as a means of completing their middle school and high school degrees, to ensure a greater chance of success and continuing their education after they graduate; and also been acquired under the DeVry University Inc. umbrella and are affiliated with the brand. “DeVry's origins trace back to 1931...
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...satisfaction is essential for productivity. Introduction Worker attitude and job satisfaction deals with how an organization behaves. It involves the management directing employees into improving organizational and personal effectiveness. It plays an enormous role in determining the attitudes of employees and their job satisfaction. When an employee is happy, it is usually because they are satisfied with their work. This also improves the quality of their work. Attitude and job satisfaction may not fall completely on the management but also on the employees. If employees enjoy their work, they will not need external motivation from management, but instead the satisfaction they attain from completing their work will motivate them (Robbins, 2004). Job satisfaction is an individual’s contentment with their work. Its effect on productivity is either positive or negative. The relationship between job satisfaction and job productivity is however not consistent. An individual may still obtain high job productivity without having the satisfaction in the work. This happens mostly when money is their motivation. Another motivator is improving in his or her work in order to receive a promotion. Other employees may increase their productivity due to the satisfaction they get from their work. A reason for job satisfaction may also come from an employee getting a good salary. It improves job satisfaction as long...
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...Motivation Methods Paper Motivation by definition means to give an incentive for action. Motivation is a large factor in either the success or failure for a company. Unfortunately, motivating people is not an exact science. There is no one way, no worksheet to fill out, or no set formula or calculation. Money may motivate one employee of a company. Someone else may appreciate personal recognition for performing a job well done or may work harder if he or she has a type of equity in the business. Employee motivation comes down to one basic ideal: discovering out what the employees want and finding a way to give it to them or to enable them to earn it. There are many methods of motivating employees in today's global business environment. Still, some strategies are prevalent across organizations striving to improve employee motivation. What employees deem important will be the best place to focus motivation efforts. Employees within the same department of an organization will have different motivators. Many organizations that have flexibility in job design and reward systems have employees with better morale, improved productivity, and increased tenured with the company he or she works for. It is important that owners and managers communicate the company's purpose to their employees so that the employees know their contributions are important and that their contributions are valuable to the company. The communication between the two should take the form of words...
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...ALEXANDRIA UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF COMMERCE [pic] Organizational Behavior and Management Instructor: Dr. Aly A. Messallam Term Paper Impact of Motivation On Employee’s Performance & Turnover Prepared By: Amr A. Lotfy Table of content 1- Abstract ……………………………………………….3 2- Introduction………………………………………….4 3- Literature review………………………………….4 4- Motivation theories…………………………...…5 5- Turnover…………………………………..………….11 6- Performance Improvement and Appraisal for Employees……………..15 7- Existing situation………………………………..17 8- Conclusion and suggestions………………..18 9- References…………………………………………..19 1- Abstract In any organization employee motivation is the key factor for organizational performance. Since motivation influences productivity, managers need to understand what motivates employees to reach peak performance. It is not an easy task to increase employee motivation because employees respond in different ways to their jobs and their organization's practices. Managers pay a heavy price when employees have motivation problems. When high-performing employees have unresolved motivation issues, their performance either declines or they leave for another job. When poor-performing employees are not motivated to improve, they drag down results, reduce productivity among their team members and, worse, seldom leave because they have no place to go. Alexandria Mineral Oils Company (AMOC) is an industrial company working in the field of petroleum...
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...Question 1: Motivation Table of Contents Introduction 3 What is Motivation 3 Why is understanding motivation important for mangers 4 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs 4 Expectancy theory 5 Reinforcement theory 6 In relation to employee performance which theory should a Manager adopt 8 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction Motivation is a broad topic and is at times not clearly understood and often poorly practiced. There are many major factors that mangers conveniently use to escape majority or all the blame of their organisational problems. One would be that whenever things go wrong some managers tend to point out that the problem(s) have occurred due to lack of motivation from employees (“Employee-motivation strategies,” 1999). Theodore Roosevelt once said, "the best …[manger] is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it" (“Employee-motivation strategies,” 1999). Essentially the manager's obligation is to develop employee’s skill and harness their capabilities as much as possible for the development of the organisations they belong to (“Employee-motivation strategies,” 1999). The paper aims to provide an understanding in regards to the importance of human motivation. It will outline and discuss three motivational theories and how mangers may apply these theories to improve employee performance (Halepota, 2005). Having knowledge about motivation theories can...
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...Increasing Employee Motivation LDR 531 October 26, 2011 Increasing Employee Motivation Employee work ethic is an important part of a business. In some cases, success of the business depends on employee motivation. When employees are not pleased in the workplace, it can cause the company to suffer. Motivation is a vital key in obtaining successful work ethic from employees. Quality Support Coordination, Inc., is a company that assists individuals with physical, mental, and developmental disabilities. Other requirements include being recipients of Medicaid and a part of the Waiver program with the state of Louisiana. The company works with at least 5 different waiver programs that include NOW, Supports, Elderly and Disabled Adult, Children’s Choice, and EPSDT. Approximately, 50 men and women are employed at the Metairie office. The work a case manager does is often redundant. In order to increase employee morale, it is critical to take a look at the current state of the office. Once this is assessed, different approaches of how to increase employee motivation and self-motivation should be developed. Finally, after the details of how this can happen, a line of attack will take place that will explain exactly how management can motivate employees and encourage employees to self-motivate themselves. The organizational structure of Quality Support Coordination, Inc. has the chain communication. The office is split into the different waivers. Every waiver program...
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...Manufacturing Employee motivation is an issue that does not discriminate (UoP, 2008). “Motivation is the willingness to exert effort in a particular way” (Dreher & Dougherty, 2001, p.28). Two theories can be reviewed when examining motivation. The first is expectancy theory. Expectancy theory holds that people are motivated to behave in ways that produce desired combinations of expected outcomes (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004). Vroom’s expectancy theory is a mathematical model that looks at motivation. Employee motivation is influenced by expectation. If I get a raise at the end of the year for all my hard work I will work harder next year. If I work hard and don’t get a raise then my effort level will decrease. Porter & Lawler’s extension expectancy model identified people’s valences and expectancies and how effort connected to performance. “Valence refers to the positive or negative value people place on outcomes’ (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004, p. 300). This theory showed that job satisfaction was directly linked with how employees perceived their reward. Employees will alter their mind-sets only if they see the point of the change and agree with it – at least enough to give it a try (Lawson & Price, 2003). The second theory is equity theory. “Equity theory is a model that explains how people strive for fairness and justice in social exchanges or give-and-take relationships” (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004, p. 290). Adam’s equity theory of motivation looks at inputs and outcomes of employee-employer...
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