Concept Of Motivation

Concept Of Motivation This essay discusses the concept of motivation and its implications for the organisations. The author defines the theory of motivation and then reviews some of the theories (i.e. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, Expectancy Theory, McGregors Theory X and Y, Hertzbergs Two-Factor Theory) that are significant to understand the human behaviour in the organisations. Further the essay provides arguments for the existing value of the concept of motivation for the managers and discusses the alternatives that are available for the managers to use the knowledge and develop strategies for increasing motivation at the workplace. At the end of the essay the author mentions limitations that still exist. Introduction: what is Motivation? The world was interested in building and studying the theories of motivation from the early 1950s, with the development of industrialisation and an appearance of mass manufacture. At the start, theories were aimed to increase the levels of production at the assembly lin es and the employees were motivated by basic needs and did not possess any power. The processes were monotonous and a set of tangible factors drove the workers to perform. As the job design changed, new theories were built to support the concept of motivation. The studies of motivation mainly focused on what motivated people and how the employees were motivated. This led to the division of the theories in 2 formats: content and process theories. Before these theories will be discussed in this essay, the concept of motivation should be defined: Motivation is a process in which a person is triggered to work for the achievement of his own aims and goals. Persons determination to perform and his/her effort are designed to satisfy his/her needs, e.g. get tangible rewards (an extrinsic motivation), or alternatively, he/she is interested in the job itself and the tasks (an intrinsic motivation). Overview of theories of motivation: The motivation theories are significant in sociology as they give a rational explanation on five patterns of behaviour of people in the organisation, based on their needs, reinforcement, cognitions, job characteristics and feelings /emotions. (Kreitner Kinicki, 2001) To discuss the value of the motivation theories in understanding the behaviour of the employees at the workplace, some of them should be described further. Content theories The main theories that are studied and can be used in the working environment are Maslows Hierarchy of Needs (1943), McGregors Theory X and Y and Herzbergs Two Factor theory (1968). According to the Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, individuals are driven by five needs, which serve as a basis for their effort in work. Starting from the physiological needs, after the satisfaction takes place, the individuals move up the next levels of the hierarchy, which are safety, belongingness love, esteem and self -actualisation needs. Therefore this theory suggested that people are motivated by basic to complicated needs. The theory is still used today, though it does not cover all the aspects of the concept. (Maslow, 1970) Theory X and Y suggests that there are two patterns of behaviour in the organisation. Theory X says that the employees are not willing to work and do not show any interest in the job. They are forced and controlled by the management who may offer remuneration or alternatively leave without it. Therefore this acts as a motivator for work. Theory Y suggests that the employees can control themselves and can be driven by their own goals and are responsible for their work and efforts. (McGregor, 1987) Herzbergs Two-Factor Theory suggests that various factors exist that can motivate employees, however, there are other factors, named hygiene which may dissatisfy the employees and in that case must be altered. The motivating and hygiene factors have different meanings in the organisation, the absence of one of these factors can brea k the balance of being motivated and satisfied at the same time. The motivating factors include recognition, tasks and success, alternatively the hygiene factors are job conditions, remuneration and company policy. (Robbins, 2001) Process theories From the process theories, the focus of this essay will be on Expectancy Theory and Goal-Setting Theory. According to Robbins (2001), Vrooms Expectancy Theory, peoples motivation is activated only if the energy spent on the work leads to a good performance and consequently, the performance leads to bonuses and rewards. Therefore, this theory aids to understand why some workers do not put much effort in their work, as they are de-motivated from the beginning, knowing that good performance is not likely to be achieved and/or rewarded. Accordingly, the performance rewards link has issues when the individuals do not see themselves capable of receiving rewards due to factors as incompetence or personal relations with the management and co-workers. When eventually the rewards are received, they can appear unattractive to the individuals thus cause frustration at the workplace. Goal Setting Theory developed by Locke (1968) suggests that the individuals are greater motivated when the goals are set by managers or by the individuals themselves when they are closely engaged in the processes at the workplace, rather than when the individuals do not see clearly what their efforts are directed at and what the management expects from them. Thus, the employees behaviou r suggests that they like to be guided by the managers and they achieve greater results even if the work is complicated. Moreover, the theory suggests that a feedback should be provided for the work done, which makes the workers willing to do the job, as they appreciate being commented on their performance. (Robbins, 2001) Application of the theories to practice The existence of multiple motivation theories makes it difficult to find the ideal one that can be applied to the organisation. This is due to the limitations and irrelevance of some of them in the modern work environments. To derive the value of each of the theories, a contingency matrix is used by the managers as a guideline on which of the theories to apply at the workplace to enhance performance and provide job fulfillment. For example, the Expectancy theory applied in the organisation activates the employee for action, effort and can increase an employee turnover. One of the most applicable theories is Hackman and Oldha ms (1980) theory that is a content theory, as it affects both effort and routine work, fulfillment, employee turnover and the reasons for frustration, as the theory is based on the job characteristics and encourages the managers to create interesting jobs at the workplace. (Kreitner Kinicki, 2001) Most of the motivation theories that are adapted in the organisations have to be altered to fit into the organizational context. They are used by managers for the assessment of motivation at the workplace and to find means of improving it by satisfying the needs of the employees or alternatively trigger them to work and perform. It is a process that changes with the time and new tendencies. Therefore it is essential to alter the job designs and introduce new benefits, e.g. flexible hours, possibility to work from home, regular skills assessments, informal communication, and to prevent a strict top-down communication between the manager and the colleagues. Value for managers The studying of the theories of motivation bring a great value for managers as was discussed above, as the concept is used on practice to analyse peoples behaviour, despite of existence of some pitfalls. The theories work on practice, when supported by contemporary theories, and they serve as a foundation for building strategies to increase motivation at the workplace. The old theories are a base for new theories; therefore their meaning is not lost. E.g. the contemporary theory developed by Ritchie and Martin divide the employees in high-need and low-need level individuals and assess their desire to be motivated by both tangible and intangible rewards, an interest, achievement, recognition, self-development, variety change, creativity, social contacts, money, structure and others. This approach serves as a useful tool for the managers to assess performance in their organsiations nowadays. (Buchanan Huczynski, 2003) And moreover, improve the motivation by introducing the rewards an d recognition schemes. The employees may be rewarded either individually or as a part of the group. Individual rewards are limited by the skills that he person possesses and can be increased only if a persons productivity increases. Kerrin Oliver, 2002, suggest that rewarding the group may have concerns with the theories of motivation but people engage in the processes, collaborate with their colleagues, set their goals in a competitive environment, have a potential for their creativity to be developed and all of this can serve as motivators and bring satisfaction from the job performed. The rewards should be then based on a both individual productivity and the performance of the group. Alternatively, managers are capable of designing the job for the employees and thus motivate them to work. According to theory of Hackman and Oldham (1980) described by Kreitner Kinicki, 2001, the job must offer an application of different skills, the tasks must be engaging and important in the pro cess, a substantial level of autonomy should be allowed and the feedback available. This will lead to a greater willingness to accept responsibilities and give a satisfaction from the job and result in a high motivation. Managers have an opportunity to analyse their style of control and behaviour using McGregors Theory X and Theory Y approach and thus choose the way the work is facilitated at the workplace, either by strict control or collaboration and empowerment. Gradual development of the motivation concepts led the managers from the strict rules of the assembly line to the empowerment and allowance of an autonomy and creativity at the workplace, thus enhancing the performance of the organisation as a whole. Limitations However, the following limitations exist that cannot be avoided in the studies of the motivation theories: ? The development of negative behaviour in the organisation hostility, obedience and lack of innovation when every single individual is trying to achieve his own goals collectively to the goals of the organisation. The competition leads to hostility, de-motivated people do not have any potential to progress if they are not satisfied. Punishments as motivation to work leads to obedience and stagnation in the organisation ? It is a time-consuming process to understand what really motivates each individual at the workplace as the theories were initially developed for the assembly lines when motivation factors did not vary. The theories have to be altered and further developed to be applied in the organisations ? Motivation theories seem inapplicable as sometimes it is obvious that nowadays people are driven by tangible rewards, i.e. they are in a pursuit of wealth which makes all the theories irrelevant

A life of her own by Emilie Carles

About the Author Emilie was born in 1900 in a poor home in one of the poorest regions in France. It was very rare for her and her time that she became literate and was successful that she went on to become a teacher. For decades she used to write her own stories in her notebooks and when the right time came she turned her contents into an autobiography. She told her tale to a publisher Robert Dastenque in the time of her sickness who worked with his writing and the tapes recorded of her story to write this book. Book Review Emilie Carles wrote this autobiography book â€Å"A Life of Her Own† about the courage of a woman who made a huge difference in her society. This book was translated to English in 1988. The reader of this book is totally inspired by the life of Emilie Carles who lives a life in a small village on a mountain in France by the name of Val de Pres in between the two World wars. Emilie describes her village as a land of the mountain people who were unaware of everything but death, work and sickness. Emilie led a successful and fulfilled life. Emilie led an honest life and made a difference in the life of other people. She didn’t live a life of fame and wealth but stood up for things for which she believed in. Emilie’s strength came when she was just a child. Tragedy first struck when her mother died when she was very young. Emilie lived with her father, Joseph and four siblings of which three were older (one sister and two brothers) and a younger sister. Her father Joseph Carles was a hard man towards life and not towards his children. He used to set his own ways and was a worker who was a driven sort. Emilie wrote about her father that he was a charitable, good and generous man who had a good heart. Later in her book she wrote that he was not affectionate as he should have been. Joseph had a life, which was no different from the other poor people of the village. He was living a poor, tough life. Emilie writes that most of the things her father believed or did was all for the good for his children. He was a committed father and had a warm relationship with his children. All of her brothers and sisters at different times went away which left Emilie the only one who stayed near her father and her home. Later on she brought her husband to the village and raised her children there and also the children of her younger sister. Emilie married a very passionate anti war person. Her love for peace influenced by her husband and also by her brother many years ago who served in the army in WW1. Emilie went on to become a schoolteacher. She was the child out of her siblings who was given permission by her father to carry on her studies. She served in different villages but later on she was given a job in her own village. This book is mostly about the hard life of Emilie. She tried to help her father in her village. It was in her destiny to care for her father and her home. In assessing her life Emilie is honest, she writes about her self that she has never lived a young life. At first it was the deaths in the war, everyone left and the only thing she knows is work and trouble. But her story does have love and hope. When coming back from her younger sister’s place, Emilie meets the man whom she eventually marries. Jean Carles listened very carefully to what Emilie had to say about sacrificing everything for her family. The answer she gets was probably the most loving phrase, Jean Carles says that she has every right to live a life of her own and he will take care of all her problems. Emilie describes living her life with Jean Carles as the happy years. She thought of her him as a very attentive husband and very considerate who would do anything to please her. She than says that all of the earths gifts were given to her. He would give all the warmth he could give and gave all the gifts. Jean Carles was not a wealthy man, according to Emilie the only wealth he had was a smile which had all the promises, a head which had all the dreams and a heart which had the most goodness she had ever seen. Jean and Emilie during their marriage transformed the family estate into a better place. Though they had a meager income out of which most of the income came from the school teaching job, which Emilie had. Most of the guests who used to come to their house were anti war people like they were. These antiwar movements led them into the WWII. Because of these movements, at one time she had to leave her estate and hide into the mountains to keep away from being arrested for the anti war movements which she didn’t want to share with anyone. Conclusion This book speaks about the power of the women who lived much ahead of her time. She never claimed to be a feminist in the book but the fact that she lived a hard life and the battles she chooses to fight shows that she was a woman who led a life of her own. Bibliography Emilie Carles, A life of her own, published by Penguin (1992)

The Importance of Best Essays

The Importance of Best Essays You will be happy that you chose us over many more. Our writers and editors have several years of experience fulfilling several orders. There are a number of reasons why you ought to prefer our services. Just discover a great aid for students in need. Up in Arms About Best Essays? In any case, you'll certainly like our price policy. In any case, you wish to adhere to your price once decided to have the capability to receive that, even if it takes an extremely long moment. The purchase price depends upon the size and urgency. A number of our customers value price in the very first spot. Here's What I Know About Best Essays All you could have to do is place a purchase on the site, as well as the authors will most likely wind up. As a customized essay helper, our writers understand the significance of keeping your academic reputation. As a consequence, such students start looking for the best essay help to be sure their project is going to be produced at the maximal level in accord with all academic standards. Among the very first things that you can do so as to help to make your business letter sound more professional would be to fill in this issue line. An outline is a significant first step in the essay-writing practice. Our advanced reminder system and workflow management application was made to ensure your essay is going to be delivered in time. You have the ability to look at a great deal of case essays, but bear in your head that you ought to devote time in planning for the GRE composing. What's more, it has to be a road map for the rest of the Essay writing service reviews that you have to not explicitly announce exactly what and how you will be arguing. The tough part was that they had to join on the website to be able to vote, there were many essays and many people didn't have enough time or the patience for the entire process. The actual men and women highly praise our essay help site. The Basic Facts of Best Essays You won't ever have to be worried about anyone finding out that you're getting essay writing help from MyEssayWriting.com. When in college, you simply can't save yourself from getting in a scenario where you've got to compose an academic paper. Last ought to truly have a choice. It makes this customized essay writing service to draw its very best writers and editors for this kind of work. If it's so, then you might be having some challenging time for a student along with being a writer. Each writer enables students to obtain an original customized essay online which has been written from scratch and that's fully original with zero plagiarism. Our writers around the world are thoroughly trained in definite disciplines. Essay writers are a few schools that you're able to help on. At our essay assistance, essays are always delivered in a brief moment. Essay writing one would say it is actually a comparatively straightforward work. Writing any scholarship essay demands creative approaches, excellent writing abilities and perfect grammar. Top Best Essays Choices It's desirable to ponder over your individual qualities. Though cause and effect essays form another kind of essays, it may also be subdivided into four different types. The thing is that it can be found in several of the roiling papers having natural ingredients. Each one of your wishes concerning the order matters for the writers.

Critically Examine How Useful the ‘Sector Matrix’...

Critically examine how useful the ‘sector matrix’ framework is for analysing demand and supply linkages in all industries. Use two contrasting examples In recent years several frameworks have been developed for analyzing product markets and competitive advantages of companies. Many academic authors have tried to explain what gives competitive advantage in certain industries and how companies inside these industries should restructure in order to achieve greater profitability. This essay is firstly going to discuss the advantages of Porter Value Chain concept and its similarities to the Commodity Chain frameworks developed by Gereffi. Secondly the essay will contrast their concepts with the sector matrix frame work of Froud and†¦show more content†¦However at national context there are many small companies producing apparel and other simple technology products .There are also many apparel retailers who supply the market and create unregulated competition and supply determined by customer’s taste and preference. As a whole this industry is very flexible because of the big number of small manufacturers and retailers who sell simple relatively cheap products. On the other hand the car industry is more capital intensive and inflexible, driven by the big manufacturers like Mercedes, Toyota and BMW and other industry suppliers. An important feature in the Gereffi’s Commodity Chain is that, it explains the power concentration and interdependence between suppliers and customer. His theory opens new horizons for analyzing supply and demand linkages and competitive advantage factors, not only in one country but in global context .Gereffi argues that competitive pressure is concentrated in the peripheral countries because there are no well established companies there. Commodity Chain analysis is very appropriate for analyzing companies like Nike, which work in the apparel industry because they source their products mainly from poor countries and sells them in developed countries. However these companies like Nike do not produce their own goods, but just create the marketing, branding and distrib ution of products. Nike hires manufactures from different countries with cheap labour market to produce itsShow MoreRelatedCritically Examine How a ‘Sector Matrix’ Framework Is Useful for Analysing Demand and Supply Linkages2247 Words   |  9 PagesCritically examine how a ‘sector matrix’ framework is useful for analysing demand and supply linkages. Use two contrasting examples. From Industry Value Chain to Sector Matrix Introduction Deviating from the industry value chain first introduced by Porter (1985) and later adapted by Gereffi (1996), a fairly recent alternative has been established by Froud, Haslam, Johal amp; Williams (1998) called the ‘sector matrix’. Until about a decade ago competitive focus was on the production processRead MoreAn Evaluation Of Internal Control System2274 Words   |  10 Pagesthe use of the Nigerian banking sector would be used to ascertain information on how internal controls is being used in their organisation and if it’s able to detect and prevent fraud. This research study wishes to identify major sources of internal control deficiencies in detecting and preventing frauds. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1) Identifying types of internal controls systems established and applied in banks in Nigeria and how effective and efficient its. 2) Verify how competent are the staffs in chargeRead MoreHazard And Risk Management : Premier Inn2762 Words   |  12 Pagesup the first brewery. Eight year later, Whitbread PLC migrated to Chiswell Street in London and became the first huge brewery across Britain. In addition, Whitbread PLC was a famous brand in brewery sector up to 2001 when it sold off its brewery (Bill, 2007). Whitbread PLC diversified in various sectors such as wines and spirits but later concentrated its operations on hotels and restaurants (Bill, 2007). Premier Inn is a famous brand of Whitbread PLC other brands are Taybarns, Table Table, BrewersRead MoreHealth Care Management13705 Words   |  55 Pages................................................................................... 18 Unit 7.1 Organisational Behaviour ................................................................................. 20 Unit 6.12 Managing Finance in the Public Sector ........................................................ .. 24 Unit 6.13 International Healthcare Policy ...................................................................... 27 Unit 7.8 Manage Continuous Organisational Improvement ..............Read MoreStrategic Analysis of Tesco Plc9562 Words   |  39 PagesCompetitor Analysis 11 3.6 Degree of Turbulence 13 3.7 Opportunities Threats 14 4.0 Evaluation of the Internal Business Environment 16 4.1 Resource Audit 16 4.2 Value chain Analysis 17 4.3 Mc Kinsey 7-S Model 21 4.4 GE Matrix 23 4.5 VRIO Framework 25 4.6 Core Competencies Distinctive Capabilities 26 4.7 Critical Success Factors 27 4.8 Financial Analysis 28 4.9 Strengths Weakness 30 4.10 EVR Congruence 31 4.12 Strategic Fit 33 5.0 Strategic Direction 16 5.1 StrategicRead MoreStrategic Analysis of Tesco Plc9548 Words   |  39 PagesCompetitor Analysis 11 3.6 Degree of Turbulence 13 3.7 Opportunities Threats 14 4.0 Evaluation of the Internal Business Environment 16 4.1 Resource Audit 16 4.2 Value chain Analysis 17 4.3 Mc Kinsey 7-S Model 21 4.4 GE Matrix 23 4.5 VRIO Framework 25 4.6 Core Competencies Distinctive Capabilities 26 4.7 Critical Success Factors 27 4.8 Financial Analysis 28 4.9 Strengths Weakness 30 4.10 EVR Congruence 31 4.12 Strategic Fit 33 5.0 Strategic Direction 16 5Read MoreA Case Study of Performance Appraisal26392 Words   |  106 PagesA CASE STUDY OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL IN A SMALL PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATION: THE GAPS BETWEEN EXPECTATIONS AND EXPERIENCE JOHN MOONEY A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Chester for the degree of Masters of Business Administration CHESTER BUSINESS SCHOOL December 2009 1 Acknowledgements To my beloved wife Lesley, and children, Liam, Shaun and Hannah, who tolerated my regular withdrawals from normal family life throughout my MBA studiesRead MoreA Case Study of Performance Appraisal26386 Words   |  106 PagesA CASE STUDY OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL IN A SMALL PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATION: THE GAPS BETWEEN EXPECTATIONS AND EXPERIENCE JOHN MOONEY A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Chester for the degree of Masters of Business Administration CHESTER BUSINESS SCHOOL December 2009 1 Acknowledgements To my beloved wife Lesley, and children, Liam, Shaun and Hannah, who tolerated my regular withdrawals from normal family life throughout my MBA studies. AndRead MoreEden Project8040 Words   |  33 PagesStep 2: gathering the facts 7 2.1. Analysis of Eden’s strategic capability 7 2.1.1. Strategic capabilities and competitive advantage 7 2.1.2. Kay’s distinctive capabilities 8 2.2. Analysis of Eden Project’s environment 9 2.2.1. The PESTEL framework 10 2.2.2. The industry life-cycle 10 2.2.3. Market segments 11 2.2.4. SWOT analysis 11 2.3. Analysis of Eden’s Project strategic purpose 12 Step 3: alternative courses of Action 16 3.1. Five possible alternative courses of action 16 Read MoreEden Project8048 Words   |  33 Pages Step 2: gathering the facts 7 2.1. Analysis of Eden’s strategic capability 7 2.1.1. Strategic capabilities and competitive advantage 7 2.1.2. Kay’s distinctive capabilities 8 2.2. Analysis of Eden Project’s environment 9 2.2.1. The PESTEL framework 10 2.2.2. The industry life-cycle 10 2.2.3. Market segments 11 2.2.4. SWOT analysis 11 2.3. Analysis of Eden’s Project strategic purpose 12 Step 3: alternative courses of Action 16 3.1. Five possible alternative courses of action 16 3.2. Evaluation