The Importance of Motivation

A major goal of management is to help employees satisfy their needs in ways that benefit both the individual and the organization. The impact of dissatisfied employees can be costly, through decreased productivity and possibly high turnover. The cost to hire and retrain individuals is high in many firms.

Motivation is more than a tool that managers can use to foster employee loyalty and boost productivity. It is a process that affects all the relationships within an organization and influences many areas such as pay, promotion, job design, training opportunities, and reporting relationships. Fundamentally, employees are motivated by the nature of the satisfying relationships they have with their supervisors, by the nature of their jobs, and by characteristics of the organization (Figure 7). In particular, supervisor qualities that support motivation include honesty, supportiveness, empathy, accessibility, fairness, and openness. Companies can motivate employees by paying equitably, rewarding dedication, and recognizing exceptional performance and creativity. These elements are in turn influenced by the nature of employees' motivation in a dynamic relationship.

Efforts to motivate employees should consider organizational and individual needs to be successful. A recent trend has been to empower or give employees greater autonomy in decision making within the organization. However, research has found that certain occupations, such as service representatives (for example, hotel personnel), dislike increased empowerment. Perhaps these employees have found that with increased decision-making autonomy comes increased responsibility that they do not want.

Managers certainly recognize the importance of motivation. In a survey, top business executives were asked to rank their top company concern: Service quality and product quality ranked at the top. Of those surveyed, 85 percent felt that product quality could be enhanced by improving employee motivation. The current economic environment and financial pressure have firms look for more creative methods to motivate their employees. Many public relations and advertising firms, for example, are offering employees who would otherwise be given rises the opportunity to work with an experienced and respected specialist instead of a salary increase.

Efforts to motivate employees may have negative effects on the organization. When Sears Auto Centers in California implemented an incentive system tied to sales quotas, the result was that employees tried to meet their quotas by selling customers more repair service and parts than requested or warranted. The resulting scandal not only harmed Sears's image, but also cost it $8 million to settle a lawsuit as well as an additional $1.5 million to finance automobile repair training programs at community colleges throughout the state. What seemed a straightforward link between pay and performance to motivate

employees failed, in part, because the quotas imposed were higher than could readily be obtained in normal service situations. Thus, managers need to evaluate all motivation plans carefully to ensure that they are realistic and will generate the desired results.

1. Which of these statements expresses the main idea of the text?

a) A major goal of management is to help employees satisfy their needs.

b) Employees are motivated by the nature of the satisfying relationships they have with their supervisors, by the nature of their jobs, and by characteristics of the organization.

c) Companies can motivate employees by paying equitably, rewarding dedication, and recognizing exceptional performance and creativity.

d) Managers need to evaluate all motivation plans carefully to ensure that they are realistic and will generate the desired results.

3. Are these statements true or false? Correct the false ones.

a) Decreased productivity and high turnover may be the negative consequences of inattentiveness to employees’ needs.

b) Such important matters as pay, promotion, job design, training opportunities, and reporting relationships are independent of motivation.

c) To support motivation, a supervisor should be frank, helpful, sympathetic, friendly, and reasonable.

d) Giving employees greater autonomy in decision making must be common practice in all organizations.

e) Some service representatives do not like increased empowerment because it involves increased responsibility.

f) The present-day economic situation and financial pressure make firms seek more productive techniques to motivate their employees.

g) Many employees prefer the opportunity to work with experienced and respected specialists to a salary increase.

h) An incentive system tied to sales amounts, which was put into practice at Sears Auto Centers, turned out to be very successful because employees tried to meet their quotas by selling cus­tomers more repair service.

i) Such a result was brought about by high sales quotas, which could be easily obtained in normal service situations.

4. Answer the questions.

a) Why must management help employees satisfy their needs?

b) What does figure 7 show?

c) What kind of needs should be taken into account when motivating employees?

d) How can product quality be enhanced according to the majority of top business management?

e) What expenses did Sears Auto Centers in California incur due to a scandal caused by an incentive system tied to sales quotas?

5. Write a summary of the text.

Figure 7

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Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1038