Managing People and Systems: Motivational Theories in the Modern Workplace

Managing People and system-Individual Essay

Assessment 2: Essay

Introduction:

This report will be discussing the motivational theories within an organization and does it help in increasing organizational productivity. Employees are the core of every organization and if the employees are dissatisfied the productivity of the firm will decrease and that will hamper the organizational success, hence it becomes really important to motivate the employee to work better. The theories of motivation and its application in a new era of organization will be studied in this report.

Discuss theories of motivation and how to apply them in the modern workplace:

Maslow’s theory of motivation:

Maslow’s theory is based on the idea of prioritizing the needs of people and what people want to achieve in their life. This theory revolves around employees’ needs and the factor that satisfies the employees (Hopper 2020). These needs comprise of social, biological, physical, and psychological needs of people. Maslow designed a 5 staged theory that states the needs of an individual in different categories and priorities. The needs are framed by decreasing the order of priorities which are required for an individual. Maslow states that individuals need to meet their basic needs initially and then later strive to meet higher-level needs.

Physiological needs are the lower needs in Maslow's hierarchy which comprise of most basic needs such as food water clothing shelter and reproduction.

Safety needs are the needs that include protection from health security financial security violence theft emotional stability etc. Love and belonging need the third level of mass loss hierarchy of motivation relates to human interaction and this includes the needs which are dependent on the relationships like friendship and family bonds.

Esteem needs -the higher needs which are ego-driven are called as estimated the primary factor of this need is self-respect and self-esteem. According to mass low in within any organization is it important that an individual is respected and acknowledged by others.

Self-actualization-this needs to describe the fulfillment of a potential person. This is the highest spot in my slows hierarchy of motivation which includes education skill development and different talent areas which as music design cooking etc this need also includes having a good knowledge of other cultures and learning a new language etc.

Figure 1-Maslow's hierarchy of needs

[Source- Researchgate,2022]

Application of Malow’s theories in today’s modern workplace:

The increasing not of Maslow's motivational pyramid is accepted and followed by every organization today. This hierarchical structure is less rigid and Maslow himself emphasized how an individual can move back and 4 between every level of this pyramid. The first set of physiological needs is the basic need which must be applied by every organization like the basic pay and eating area sanitized and clean toilets and water stations everywhere within the office.

Security needs are the psychological needs that keep the employees motivated and also feel safe within the workplace. The organization must and sure the job security physical safety and jobs stability of every employee. For example, the workers working in oil industries or some other industry will feel high level of stress and also feel satisfied with their work and this kind of work is dangerous for them full stop in the situations the employees might feel internally emotional so the organization must ensure the security needs of the employees (researchleap,2022).

Social needs these needs are not less important they play a huge role in the motivation and well-being of the employees. During this pandemic, feeling such as loneliness and isolation have been highlighted. This physical isolation affects the people and makes them field disconnected. When an individual is working from home using social media helps the employees feel less lonely during this situation.

Every workplace must promote a culture where friendships are important for ensuring the mental well-being and motivation of the employees. The esteem needs can be implemented within the organization so that every employee is respected and human dignity is maintained. This can be achieved by giving feedback to the pears and congratulation them on the job.

Self-actualization also is referred to as self-satisfaction in the job where the employees feel fully satisfied with their work and also work more for their future growth. Every organization must provide the needs which are required for the employees to ensure a positive environment within the workplace and also increase the productivity of the employees.

Herzberg’s Two factors theory:

This theory is also called motivator hygiene theory. The basic idea of this theory is to determine what makes an individual feel satisfied or dissatisfied with the job (Bevins 2018). The motivators are the factors which are also referred to as satisfiers which motivate the employees resulting in job satisfaction such as achievement recognition, the job itself, promotion, rewards, etc. The other factor which is the hygiene factors are responsible for making a person feel dissatisfied with the job. Herzberg identified the factors which are responsible for demoralizing or demotivating the employees such as institutional politics the management approach pay relationships at workplace working conditions and supervision. The organization needs to adopt this motivation within the firm because this creates opportunities for personal growth as well as recognition among the employees. Employees are the core factor of any organization and should be promoted after some time in their career and also received rewards and recognition for special achievements. The main idea of this motivational theory is motivation is important ensuring that the employees do not face any of the day satisfying or demotivating factors is the responsibility of the organization. One of the basic examples is providing payment or increasing the payment of employees after a certain period.

Figure 2-Herzberg two-factor theory

[Source- Researchgate,2022]

Application of Herzberg’s in today’s modern workplace:

It is important that every organization shares that they are motivating their employees by motivators and also considering the hygiene factors such as pay, safety measures, etc. The organization can give employees more autonomy that is the employees will feel more responsible and have a sense of achievement with their work (researchleap,2022). Providing feedback is also important for the employees to understand what are they doing and what can they do better in the future. This will ensure that there is an interpersonal relationship between the employer and employee. Improving working conditions is most important in today's world because people are becoming more health-conscious Hygiene can be provided by cleaning the organization and providing the employees with a safe and pleasing workspace. Motivational theory can be applied within an organization by providing facilities to the employees and also ensuring safety in the workplace

Analysis:

The motivational theories which are discussed above prove to be beneficial within any organization, especially in today’s modern workplace. This will help in increasing the job satisfaction among the employees and the outcomes of this contribute to the organizational success and growth. Job satisfaction can be referred to as a sensation that employees have about their work environment and the expectations of their work. The basic needs which are stated by Malow play an important role in motivating employees because humans work to fulfilling their basic needs and if the organization is not paying enough then the workers can quit their job. After this pandemic, it has become more important for the organizations to consider the basic needs and increase the salary, and also ensure the health security of the employees. The hygiene factors which are stated by Herzberg are essential to ensure that the employees do not feel dissatisfied with their jobs. The most important thing in today’s world is safety, cleanliness, and sanitization at the workplace. The use of technology is rapidly increasing, the organizations must provide enough pays so that the employees afford that.

Recommendation/Conclusion:

Help the employees to understand self-motivation- Employees work happily and are more engaged while doing the work which alliance with what motivates them. So it is important to explain to the employees what is self-motivation so that they get more aligned with the motivation and passion for the work.

Caring about the employees is one of the most important factors that are the managers of the organization must care about the well-being of the employees of the organization employee engagement drives employee motivation so employee engagement must be used in any organization.

The difference between engaged employees and employees is the lack of motivation but the reason is the quality of motivation.

A leader must ensure that employees are engaged within the organization. Employee relationships must be maintained within the organization which reduces the risk of conflicts and also increases the productivity of employees this can be achieved when the organization is authentic.

Authentic leadership is vital in employee engagement which results in increased productivity. The third most important aspect which must be ensured within any organization is minimizing the organizational politics and promoting fairness.

The leader or any management team cannot discriminate against the employees depending on their age-sex gender etc and also promote fairness within the organization. Organizational politics must be eliminated from the form because a highly political environment leads to deidentified employees and decreases the internal motivation of the employees.

Figure 3-Important organizational attributes for employee engagement

[Source- Statista.com,2022]

References:

Bevins, D.T., 2018. Herzberg's two-factor theory of motivation: A generational study.

Hopper, E., 2020. Maslow's hierarchy of needs explained. ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 24.

Researchgate,2022 [Online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Maslows-Hierarchy-of-Needs-Theory-model_fig19_322888120 [Accessed on 19 April 2022]

Researchgate,2022[Online] Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Herzberg-two-factor-theory_fig1_320946627 [Accessed on 19 April 2022]

Researchleap,2019 [Online] Available at: https://researchleap.com/theories-motivation-application-organizations-risk-analysis/ [Accessed on 19 April 2022]

Statista.com,2022 [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1246966/job-satisfaction-factors-worldwide/ [Accessed on 19 April 2022]