HUMAN RESOURCES AND MOTIVATION

QUESTION

Guide to Assignment Three

Word Limit:   1500 words + 4Reference

A. THE ESSAY QUESTION

During this semester, many organisational behaviour topics are introduced in this course (for example, rationalisation, teams, motivation, emotions, perception, power, change, and so on). You are to select ONE topic only (either Topics 6 or Topic 8):

1. Motivation and Meaning, OR

2. The Emotional Organisation

Apply your knowledge of this topic to analyse critically a complicated situation in EITHER

1. an organisation in which you have worked, OR

2. an organisation with which you have had consistent personal encounters, OR

3. an organisational case study drawn from this course.

Your analysis should demonstrate how the topic and its relevant theories and perspectives have helped develop your understanding of the situation in an organisation.

B. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Choosing a Topic

Choose either the week 6 topic (Motivation and Meaning) OR the week 8 topic (The Emotional Organisation). Do not write on both topics as your essay will not be marked if both topics are answered.You will note from the lecture materials that within each topic different concepts are studied. You can select more than one concept within the topic you have chosen to discuss if it applies to the complicated situation you will be analysing critically.

What does a complicated situation mean?

Complicated in this context means a situation that requires the manager to resolve an issue related to the theme (Motivation, or Workplace emotions) that has arisen in the workplace. Therefore you need to think about a difficult or challenging situation that relates to the topic you have chosen. The complicated situation has to relate to either personal experience (an organisation in which you have worked, OR an organisation with which you have had consistent personal encounters); or a detailed organisational case study that has either been discussed in class during the semester or that you have read about in your research on the topic.

What does analyse critically mean?

Watch these two videos before starting this assignment as they will help your understanding of critical thinking and critical analysis.

Before you begin to look for additional reading and sources of information for your critical analysis, you should first acquire a good understanding of the topic and concept you have chosen from the lectures and readings we have given you in the Once you have increased your understanding you will then begin to recognise and have a better understanding of other information in your research for the essay.

It is required that your critical analysis be presented in essay format with a clear introduction, body and conclusion

Motivation and meaning itself includes :

Concept/s i have to cover:

ð       factors that affect motivation

ð       empowerment

ð       affect and affective commitment

to take note: all these points have to be covered in the essay

The complicated situation is in an organisation in

ð       which you have worked

ð       an organisation with which you have had consistent personal encounters

ð       an organisational case study

ð       Relevant theories and perspectives have been applied

ð       Situation has been analysed critically

ð       Correct essay format has been followed

ð       Evidence that literature has been researched from a wide range of sources

ð       Correct RMIT referencing techniques used  throughout the essay

ð       Correct RMIT referencing techniques used in the reference list.

ð       Turnitin Report included

Demonstrates:

SOLUTION

Motivation and Money

Motivation is the major force which drives an individual to do the work with utmost efficiency. It is also the same force which compels the worker to stay engaged, enthusiastic and productive. There are different factors that lure different kinds of individuals. It is imperative that the manager must find out ways to analyze and identify the factors that affect motivation for their subordinates. There are some employees who work well in teams while some are good at individual contribution. In this essay the motivational theories and the concepts of motivation are explored with the help of the case study of a US based company, Enterprise Rent-A-Car. In this case the managers’ perspectives are depicted where they explore what factors motivates the employees of Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

(BusinessCaseStudies.com, 2012) Enterprise Rent-A-Car is into providing the rental services to the customers. This company was founded by Jack Taylor in the year 1957 in St. Louis in the US. This was formed in the basement and today it grown immensely with more than 750,000 cars on rent and with operations worldwide. The company feels great pride in serving its customers efficiently and their employees are very well versed with dealing face to face with the customers via the different modes like telephone, mail, or internet mails etc.

The culture which is strictly followed at Enterprise is highly commendable. The customer service is taken into strict consideration and all the staff work hard to satisfy their customers. Culture is basically how a typical organization behaves in general terms and in its core day to day operations. The culture in this company heavily relies on their highly motivated staffs who work every day to excel in their delivery standards.

The definition of motivation can be said in easy terminology that it is the major driving force that drives an employee to perform well and achieve the pre decided goals and objectives.

Frederick Taylor, (Frederick, 1911) a motivational theorist has clearly stated in his work that the employees tends to perform well if they are under strict supervision and that money is the only motivational factor for them but in the case of Enterprise-Rent-A-Car it was analyzed that there are however a varied number of factors which though are non financial in nature yet provide greater motivational levels. These non financial factors are depicted in the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs formed by Abraham Maslow (Abraham, 1968).

These eights factors are crucial to human resource development. Abraham identified that at jobs which are at low level, the staff crave for basic needs which are primarily food, clothing, and basic essentials. (Saul, 2007) Supplementary to the basic needs the employee also needs safety needs, which is provided via security of the job; social needs, which is provided by a flexible and friendly atmosphere; self-esteem needs, offered via promotion, acknowledgement, and recognition; and self-actualization needs which is basically inclined towards constant learning and achievement of goals.
Within this company also there are varied number of de motivating factors like the lack of a proper organizational structure, the company lacks the feedback mechanism, importance of the task is often neglected, and the consequences are also cornered which results in a decreased productivity. Issues originated because of the above de motivating factors. Though money was not a concern here, yet the staff members were de motivated. This is contradictory to the to Frederick’s theory which states that money is the only motivating factor.

To set this right managers in Enterprise are properly trained so that these deficiencies can be removed and these can be converted to strengths. Herzberg’s motivator, Recognition, is taken into serious consideration in this company and the employees are recognized for their excellent customer service. The ‘Vote’ system introduced in enterprise which is designed to aim and support the contributors for excellent contributions and service is commendable.

There are several obstructions and barriers to bring about a change and to introduce a culture which is free from any disengaged worker and negativities. It does not happen overnight. The employees’ needs to be constantly encouraged and recognized and appropriate systems need to create so that it supports such kind of work environment and culture. They also need to be empowered and more involved into the culture.

The table above clearly depicts the different characteristics between an engaged, non engaged, and actively engaged worker. This is a clear distinction between them. The managers at Enterprise identify all of these categories and categorize the employees into these three categories. Once all the employees have fallen in to these categories, the manager analyze and take a closer look at those employees who are not engaged and then devise methods and plans to actively engage them into the company so that even they contribute to the company. They design a series of questions and ask the disengaged employee, then on the basis of their answers they frame an action plan to follow to convert the disengaged worker to engaged employee.

According to John Stacey Adams’ Equity Theory the work or the input that the staff put is a balanced effort which they do in accordance with the reward or the output. He states that employee is motivated only when the results of input to output ratio matches his expectations and when they feel that they are being treated fairly when compared to the other employees.

Taking this is as the basis Enterprise managers are given the task to endure that their staff are motivated constantly and to do that the managers develop good relations with them, provide then with the adequate materials and the right information that are needed, encourage them constantly so that they achieve the targets, and rewards and recognizes them. As part of the recognition process the company recognizes those staff who work with passion and put forward new and creative ideas on plate.

A positive environment is a must in a company if it wants to excel and make profit. To care such a positive environment in the company the managers, assistant managers and the team leaders emphasize and work on creating a positive culture. They do so by developing good relationships with their staff members; they work on analyzing what their employees need and they strive to fulfill them. There are many instances that occurred because

There were also issues in Enterprise where it was seen that . The managers provide two way clear, transparent, and effective communications amongst the staff members. They share the big strategic vision with them so that everyone is aligned and they do not become non productive while the change is being applied. The managers also make sure that all the adequate resources are supplied to their staff members. They encourage them from time to time for them to remain engaged and productive. They recognize and reward them well so that they stick to the company.

All said and done forming and developing such a culture is not an easy task at all and it requires a lot of effort and the direction and support from the top level management. During the development of such a culture and during the infusion of such kind of motivation in all the employees it is imperative that the managers should have patience because these kind of objectives are only fulfilled with proper training that it to be given to the employees. The in depth training offers them a strategic intent, a clear understanding about the company and about themselves with respect to their career objectives and aspirations. It also fosters an understanding how to better serve the customers.

All the staff members at Enterprise undergo trainings in motivation. This gives the staff a proper understanding of the simple principles and tips about motivation and how to achieve their set goals, individual, and team targets. Everyone at Enterprise takes part in Motivation Training. This gives employees an understanding of motivation principles and techniques, so everyone buys into business goals. This helps to raise standards of performance across the business. A highly motivated group of employees can be easily identified as they start their day by arriving early in the office, working enthusiastically, answering their phones, and checking mails and answering them, working in a team cohesively, organizing their work and working towards achieving their daily objectives.

Frederick Herzberg depicted that though external factors can be used to motivate the employees but the real motivating factor should come from within and so he stated that factors like a good pay and a healthy working condition which are termed as ‘hygiene factors’ prohibits the employee from being dissatisfied.

The managers at enterprise motivate their teams and subordinates constantly by setting very clear objectives. Not only do they set clear goals but they also make it a point to communicate it to them. Post communication they make sure that they properly train the staff and provide them with all the necessary information and resources that is required for them to perform their job with utmost efficiency. They then monitor the progress and control the operations of the day so that it meets the set objectives. The day then ends up with the appropriate appreciation and recognition and then stating the next day’s work.

Enterprise has made a commendable effort in motivating its employees by applying the various motivational theories and picking the right element from each of the important theories so that the organization performs excellently and retains the customer satisfaction level and is able to fight back competition in such a competitive scenario.

Reference:

Abraham, H., M., 1968, Toward a Psychology of Being, New York: D. Van Nostrand Company

BusinessCaseStudies.com, 2012, Motivation in action: An Enterprise Rent-A-Car case study, viewed on 5th April 2012, http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/enterprise-rent-a-car/motivation-in-action/introduction.html

Frederick, W., T., 1911, The Principles of Scientific Management, viewed on 5th April 2012, http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/economics/taylor/index.htm

Saul, M., 2007, Maslow Hierarchy of Needs, viewed on 5th April 2012, http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

JG35

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