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CASE STUDY ANS (1) Employee motivation is the level of energy, commitment, and creativity that a company's workers

apply to their jobs. In the increasingly competitive business environment of recent years, finding ways to motivate employees has become a pressing concern for many managers. In fact, a number of different theories and methods of employee motivation have emerged, ranging from monetary incentives to increased involvement and empowerment. Employee motivation can sometimes be particularly problematic for small businesses, where the owner often has spent so many years building a company that he/she finds it difficult to delegate meaningful responsibilities to others. But entrepreneurs should be mindful of such pitfalls, for the effects of low employee motivation on small businesses can be devastating. Some of the problems associated with unmotivated workers include complacency, declining morale, and widespread discouragement. If allowed to continue, these problems can reduce productivity, earnings, and competitiveness in a small business.

On the other hand, small businesses can also provide an ideal atmosphere for fostering employee motivation, because employees are able to see the results of their contributions in a more immediate way than in large firms. Besides increasing productivity and competitiveness, a highly motivated work force can allow a small business owner to relinquish day-today, operational control and instead concentrate on long-term strategies to grow the business. "Workers really do want to be inspired about their work, and when they are, they work better, smarter, and harder," business coach Don Maruska told Entrepreneur.

Moreover, a business that institutes effective wayswhether tangible (such as a financial bonus) or intangible (say, a plum assignment for an upcoming project)of rewarding employees for good work can be an invaluable tool in employee retention. "People enjoy working, and tend to thrive in organizations that create positive work environments," one business researcher told HR Focus. "[They thrive in] environments where they can make a difference, and where most people in the organization are competent and pulling together to move the company forward. Appropriately structured reward and recognition programs are important, but not exclusive, components in this mix."

WHAT MOTIVATES?

One approach to employee motivation has been to view "add-ins" to an individual's job as the primary factors in improving performance. Endless mixes of employee benefitssuch as health care, life insurance, profit sharing, employee stock ownership plans, exercise facilities, subsidized meal plans, child care availability, company cars, and morehave been used by companies in their efforts to maintain happy employees in the belief that happy employees are motivated employees.

Many modern theorists, however, propose that the motivation an employee feels toward his or her job has less to do with material rewards than with the design of the job itself. Studies as far back as 1950 have shown that highly segmented and simplified jobs resulted in lower employee morale and output. Other consequences of low employee motivation include absenteeism and high turnover, both of which are very costly for any company. As a result, "job enlargement" initiatives began to crop up in major companies in the 1950s.

On the academic front, Turner and Lawrence suggested that there are three basic characteristics of a "motivating" job:

1.

It must allow a worker to feel personally responsible for a meaningful portion of the work accomplished. An employee must feel ownership of and connection with the work he or she performs. Even in team situations, a successful effort will foster an awareness in an individual that his or her contributions were important in accomplishing the group's tasks.

2.

It must provide outcomes which have intrinsic meaning to the individual. Effective work that does not lead a worker to feel that his or her efforts matter will not be maintained. The outcome of an employee's work must have value to himself or herself and to others in the organization.

3.

It must provide the employee with feedback about his or her accomplishments. A constructive, believable critique of the work performed is crucial to a worker's motivation to improve.

While terminology changes, the tenets of employee motivation remain relatively unchanged from findings over half a century ago. Today's buzzwords include "empowerment," "quality circles," and "teamwork." All of these terms demonstrate the three characteristics of motivating jobs set forth in the theory of Turner and Lawrence. Empowerment gives autonomy and allows an employee to have ownership of ideas and accomplishments, whether acting alone or in teams. Quality circles and the increasing occurrence of teams in today's work environments give employees opportunities to reinforce the importance of the work accomplished by members as well as receive feedback on the efficacy of that work.

In small businesses, which may lack the resources to enact formal employee motivation programs, managers can nonetheless accomplish the same basic principles. In order to help employees feel like their jobs are meaningful and that their contributions are valuable to the company, the small business owner needs to communicate the company's purpose to employees. This communication should take the form of words as well as actions. In addition, the small business owner should set high standards for employees, but also remain supportive of their efforts when goals cannot be reached. It may also be helpful to allow employees as much autonomy and flexibility as possible in

how their jobs are performed. Creativity will be encouraged if honest mistakes are corrected but not punished. Finally, the small business owner should take steps to incorporate the vision of employees for the company with his or her own vision. This will motivate employees to contribute to the small business's goals, as well as help prevent stagnation in its direction and purpose.

MOTIVATION METHODS

There are as many different methods of motivating employees today as there are companies operating in the global business environment. Still, some strategies are prevalent across all organizations striving to improve employee motivation. The best employee motivation efforts will focus on what the employees deem to be important. It may be that employees within the same department of the same organization will have different motivators. Many organizations today find that flexibility in job design and reward systems has resulted in employees' increased longevity with the company, improved productivity, and better morale.

EMPOWERMENT Giving employees more responsibility and decision-making authority increases their realm of control over the tasks for which they are held responsible and better equips them to carry out those tasks. As a result, feelings of frustration arising from being held accountable for something one does not have the resources to carry out are diminished. Energy is diverted from self-preservation to improved task accomplishment.

CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION At many companies, employees with creative ideas do not express them to management for fear that their input will be ignored or ridiculed. Company approval and toeing the company line have become so ingrained in some working environments that both the employee and the organization suffer. When the power to create in the organization is pushed down from the top to line personnel, employees who know a job, product, or service best are given the opportunity to use their ideas to improve it. The power to create motivates employees and benefits the organization in having a more flexible work force, using more wisely the experience of its employees, and increasing the exchange of ideas and information among employees and departments. These improvements also create an openness to change that can give a company the ability to respond quickly to market changes and sustain a first mover advantage in the marketplace.

LEARNING If employees are given the tools and the opportunities to accomplish more, most will take on the challenge. Companies can motivate employees to achieve more by committing to perpetual enhancement of employee skills. Accreditation and licensing programs for employees are an increasingly popular and effective way to bring about growth in employee knowledge and motivation. Often, these programs improve employees' attitudes toward the client and the company, while bolstering self-confidence. Supporting this assertion, an analysis of

factors which influence motivation-to-learn found that it is directly related to the extent to which training participants believe that such participation will affect their job or career utility. In other words, if the body of knowledge gained can be applied to the work to be accomplished, then the acquisition of that knowledge will be a worthwhile event for the employee and employer.

QUALITY OF LIFE The number of hours worked each week by American workers is on the rise, and many families have two adults working those increased hours. Under these circumstances, many workers are left wondering how to meet the demands of their lives beyond the workplace. Often, this concern occurs while at work and may reduce an employee's productivity and morale. Companies that have instituted flexible employee arrangements have gained motivated employees whose productivity has increased. Programs incorporating flextime, condensed workweeks, or job sharing, for example, have been successful in focusing overwhelmed employees toward the work to be done and away from the demands of their private lives.

MONETARY INCENTIVE For all the championing of alternative motivators, money still occupies a major place in the mix of motivators. The sharing of a company's profits gives incentive to employees to produce a quality product, perform a quality service, or improve the quality of a process within the company. What benefits the company directly benefits the employee. Monetary and other rewards are being given to employees for generating cost-savings or process-improving ideas, to boost productivity and reduce absenteeism. Money is effective when it is directly tied to an employee's ideas or accomplishments. Nevertheless, if not coupled with other, nonmonetary motivators, its motivating effects are short-lived. Further, monetary incentives can prove counterproductive if not made available to all members of the organization.

OTHER INCENTIVES Study after study has found that the most effective motivators of workers are nonmonetary. Monetary systems are insufficient motivators, in part because expectations often exceed results and because disparity between salaried individuals may divide rather than unite employees. Proven nonmonetary positive motivators foster team spirit and include recognition, responsibility, and advancement. Managers who recognize the "small wins" of employees, promote participatory environments, and treat employees with fairness and respect will find their employees to be more highly motivated. One company's managers brainstormed to come up with 30 powerful rewards that cost little or nothing to implement. The most effective rewards, such as letters of commendation and time off from work, enhanced personal ful-fillment and self-respect. Over the longer term, sincere praise and personal gestures are far more effective and more economical than awards of money alone. In the end, a program that combines monetary reward systems and satisfies intrinsic, self-actualizing needs may be the most potent employee motivator.

ANS 2 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory In the year 1943 a Psychologist Maslow suggested his Theory of Human Motivation. His theory is one popular and extensively cited theory of human motivation. Maslow's theory is based on Hierarchy of Human Needs. According to Maslow, human behavior is related to his needs. It is adjusted as per the nature of needs to be satisfied. In hierarchy of needs theory of motivation, Maslow identified five types / sets of human need arranged in a hierarchy of their importance and priority. He concluded that when one set of needs is satisfied, it ceases to be a motivating factor. Thereafter, the next set of needs in the hierarchy order takes its place. These needs in hierarchy can be compared to a pyramid. At the lowest level, there will be first set of needs which can be described as basic needs or Physiological needs and are universal in character. This will be followed by other sets of needs. Abraham Maslow organized five major types of human needs into a hierarchy, as shown in Figure. The need hierarchy illustrates Maslows conception of people satisfying their needs in a specified order, from bottom to top. The needs, in ascending order, are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Physiological needs Safety needs Love belonging Self-Esteem Self-actualization

Physiological Needs : The Physiological needs are the basic needs for sustaining the human life. These needs include food, clothing, shelter, rest, water, air, sleep and sexual satisfaction. These basic human needs (also called as biological needs) lie at the lowest level in the hierarchy of needs as they have priority over all other needs. These needs cannot be postponed for long time. Unless and until these basic physiological needs are satisfied to the required extent, other needs do not motivate an person/employee. A hungry person, for example, is just not in a position to think of anything else except his hunger or food. According to Maslow, 'man lives by bread alone,' when there is no bread. The management attempts to meet such physiological needs through payment of fair wages. Security / Safety Needs : These are the needs connected with psychological fear of loss of job, property, natural calamities or hazards, etc. An employee wants and needs protection from such types of fear. He prefers adequate

safety and security in this regard i.e. protection from physical danger, security of job, pension at old age, insurance coverage for life, etc. The safety needs come after meeting the physiological needs. Such physiological needs lose their motivational potential when they are satisfied. As a result, safety needs replaces them. They begin to manifest themselves and dominate the human behavior. Safety needs act as motivational forces only if they are unsatisfied. Facts [+] A job satisfaction study compiled by CareerJournal.com asked satisfied workers to describe their jobs. The study found that highly satisfied employees consistently listed four factors: intellectual stimulation, job security, high levels of control and autonomy, and direct contact with clients and customers. Demographers have labeled the generation born from 1982 to 2000 as "Millennials". Millennials were raised in a climate of high self-esteem, rapid changes in technology, and more focus on lifestyle. They are taking longer to finish school, launch careers, get married and form families. In the workplace, millennials may challenge traditional corporate boundaries more than previous generations. Social Needs/Love belonging : An employee is a human being is rightly treated as social animal. He desires or likes to stay in group. Human being feels that he should belong to one or the other group and the member of the group should accept him with the love and affection. Every human being desires to be affiliated to such groups. This is treated as basic social need of an individual. He also feels that he should be loved by the other persons. He needs friends and interaction with his friends and superiors of the group such as fellow employees or his superiors. Social needs occupy third position in the hierarchy of needs. Esteem Needs : This category of needs include the need to be respected by others, need to be appreciated by others, need to have the power and finally prestigious position. Once the previous needs are satisfied, a human being feels to be held in esteem both by himself and also by others. Thus, esteem needs are two fold in nature. Self esteem needs include those for self confidence, self-respect, competence, etc. The second groups of esteem needs are those related to one's status, reputation, recognition and appreciation by others. This is a type of personal ego which needs to be satisfied. The Organisation can satisfy this need (ego) by giving recognition to the good work of employees in organisation. Esteem needs do not assume the motivational properties unless the previous needs are satisfied. "Recognition is like a small drop of oil in the machinery of business. It just makes things run a little smoother." - Obert Tanner Facts [+] A recent poll of over 1,000 full-time employees by Maritz Research found over half believed the quality of their company's recognition efforts impacted their job performance. Respondents who were "completely satisfied" with their employer's recognition programs were more satisfied with their jobs, more likely to remain with the company, and more likely to recommend their workplace to others Self-actualisation Needs : This is the highest among the needs in the hierarchy of needs advocated by Abraham Maslow. Self actualisation is the desire to become what one is capable of becoming. It is the 'growth' need. A worker must work efficiently if he is to be ultimately happy. Here, a person feels that he should accomplish something in his life. Human want to utilise his potentials to the maximum extent and desires to become what one is capable of becoming. A person desires to have challenges and achieves something special in his life or in the area of his specialization. Though every one is capable of selfactualization, many do not reach this stage. This need is fully satisfied rarely. How does the Hierarchy Work?

A person starts at the bottom of the hierarchy (pyramid) and will initially seek to satisfy basic needs (e.g. food,clothing and shelter) Once these physiological needs have been satisfied, they are no longer a motivator. the individual moves up to the next level Safety needs at work could include physical safety (e.g. protective clothing) as well as protection against unemployment, loss of income through sickness etc) Social needs recognise that most people want to belong to a group. These would include the need for love and belonging (e.g. working with colleague who support you at work, teamwork, communication) Esteem needs are about being given recognition for a job well done. They reflect the fact that many people seek the esteem and respect of others. A promotion at work might achieve this. Self-actualisation is about how people think about themselves - this is often measured by the extent of success and/or challenge at work

Maslow's model has great potential appeal in the business world. The message is clear - if management can find out which level each employee has reached, then they can decide on suitable rewards.

Implications for Management If Maslow's theory holds, there are some important implications for management. There are opportunities to motivate employees through management style, job design, company policies, and compensation packages, some examples of which follow:

Physiological needs: Provide lunch breaks, rest breaks, and wages that are sufficient to purchase the essential goods for human life. Safety Needs: Provide a safe working environment, retirement benefits, and the job security.

Job insecurity creates dissatisfaction: Study MADRID [Spain]: Fears of losing a job erodes commitment to work, besides casting a shadow over many areas of life, including family, health, finances and leisure, a study reveals. As the fear of unemployment increases, "the level of work insecurity rises, people are less satisfied with their personal, work and family lives and they are less committed to their work," said Amparo Caballer, psychology researcher at the University of Valencia, who co-authored the study. This analysis also reveals that the consequences of job insecurity are different in each occupational group, the Spanish Journal of Psychology reported. Three different groups have been identified: blue collar workers, white collar workers and 'professionals'. The first group included people with positions that do not need high qualifications, such as supermarket shelf-fillers or hospital attendants, according to a university statement. The second group includes office and administration workers and supermarket assistants and check-out staff. The 'professionals' group includes doctors, engineers and nurses. When there is uncertainty about employment, blue collar workers "are less satisfied with life and they work less productively than the other groups studied", Caballer explained.

White collar workers are the ones who display the most dissatisfaction at times of instability. Upon examining the results of the study, not all employees react to insecurity in the same way. Some groups are more prone to react more negatively to perceiving insecurity at work. Therefore, the study authors advise against approaching the problems in the same way as with different groups in the company. The data was based on 321 worker's answers to a questionnaire, which includes 51.4 percent people who worked in hospitals, 25.7 percent had positions in supermarts and commercial distribution companies and 22.9 percent were temporary work agency employees.

Social Needs: Create a sense of community via team-based projects and social events. Esteem Needs: Recognize achievements to make employees feel appreciated and valued. Offer job titles that convey the importance of the position. Self-Actualization: Provide employees a challenge and the opportunity to reach their full career potential and achieve top positions in their life.

However, not all people are driven by the same needs - at any time different people may be motivated by entirely different factors. It is important to understand the needs being pursued by each employee. To motivate an employee, the manager must be able to recognize the needs level at which the employee is operating, and use those needs as levers of motivation.

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