Addressing Employee Motivation Essay

Executive Summary Tom was seen to have a loss of motivation at work which was investigated. An analysis showed the main cause to be a lack of communication from his manager, a need for role definition, and a lack of publicity for the success of his project initiative. Recommendation is for Tom’s manager to be informed so they are hopefully able to address these issues and retain and develop Tom’s skills. A problematic work situation relating to a HRM concept in Book 2 1.1 A description of the work problem Tom has a well paid job as a project manager. He created an idea and initiated a project to design and implement a website. After setting up the design and defining the stakeholders, without discussion, another person was brought in to chair the project meetings and keep track of actions for the software team. He felt a lack of clarity in his role and without clear guidance and credit did not feel motivated to push the project as hard as before. Weekly work hours fell back to a normal 40 hours from 50 or 60, and his other ideas were not pushed to management with the same enthusiasm. Motivation was clearly falling. This example relates to motivation and Session 1 of Book 2 can be used to analyse what motivates Tom to go to work. See more:  First Poem for You Essay 1.2 Analysis of my experience using my chosen concepts To understand Tom’s motivation level’s I have analysed his situation using Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs (1954) from session 1 (The Open University, B120 Book 2). According to Maslow, â€Å"a satisfied need is not a motivator†. Matching which needs are met on the pyramid of five categories will give an indication of which unmet need should be a motivator. Figure [ 1 ] Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs pyramid, and summary of Tom’s status within it. Figure 1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs pyramid, and summary of Tom’s status within it. According to Maslow’s theory, Tom has reached the 3rd level, but the lack of communication and feedback has stopped him achieving ‘Esteem’. Maslow states that â€Å"Not meeting these needs has a negative effect on our mental health† and this could explain the low motivation that Tom’s behaviour indicates. Tom was also under the impression that his idea and the quick success of the project would be publicised by his manager and would open up opportunities to be involved in other senior projects within the business. This did not materialise, and the senior management was not made aware of any plans to utilise Tom’s skills. In fact Tom’s manager was based in another country and was often not reachable for consultation either by phone or email. This expectation and its failure to materialise also causes low motivation, as explained in the concept of a ‘psychological contract’ from The Open University (2012). By applying this concept, we can understand that Tom had reason to believe that a successful project would lead to acknowledgement and higher esteem within the company, and even though this was not part of a formal employment contract. When this did not occur Tom felt his psychological contract had been violated, and that his hard work was inconsequential, leading to his low motivation to keep working hard. 1.3 Proposed solutions to the problem The analysis above has identified possible causes of Tom’s low motivation. With this understanding of these reasons, each can be addressed with the right actions. . * Problem : Low motivation, * caused by : Perceived low likelihood of achieving Esteem (on Maslow’s hierarchy) * caused by : lack of communication about tasks. * Classified as : Broken psychological contract If we can determine the cause for the broken contract, we may be able to restore Tom’s motivation to work hard. Also relevant is the Job Characteristic Model from Hackman and Oldham cited by The Open University (2012) which lists five core job characteristics that contribute to satisfying work. If Tom’s work is missing any of the core characteristics his attitude to his job could be affected. Figure [ 2 ]. Hackman & Oldham JCM The lack of regular communication between Tom and his manager suggests that there is insufficient â€Å"Feedback from the Job†. B120, Book 2, Study session 4, highlights the importance of â€Å"Constructive feedback†, which â€Å"involves praising strengths and achievements†. Arranging another person to chair project meetings could also mean that â€Å"Task Identity† was not clear. To solve these items, Tom’s manager should take the following actions: * clarify Tom’s role and tasks within the project * Provide regular opportunities for feedback and communication, including praise of achievements when applicable. * Publicise Tom’s contributions to raise his profile in the senior management team and allow development of his career. Relevant Web sites http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/tesco/motivational-theory-in-practice-at-tesco/maslow-and-herzberg.html (accessed 28-Nov-2012) This shows how a successful company has used Maslow’s hierarchy and Herzbergs two factor theory to try to keep employee motivation high. Herzberg could be summarised as â€Å"If you want people to do a good job for you, then you must give them a good job to do.† The Times is a reputable publisher which lends credence to this site, but this is a case study utilising the theories in this report, and not and original source. http://gmx.xmu.edu.cn/ews/business/management/chapter16.htm#what (accessed 28-Nov-2012) This site was chosen because it contains some interesting definitions of motivation factors, and summarises a collection of different theories on analysing motivation in employees. The information is not verified but some theories corroborate with other sources. References The Open University (2012) B120 An introduction to business studies, Book 2 ‘An introduction to human resource management in business’, Milton Keynes. Web source 1: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/tesco/motivational-theory-in-practice-at-tesco/maslow-and-herzberg.html dated unknown (accessed 28-Nov-2012) Web source 2: http://gmx.xmu.edu.cn/ews/business/management/chapter16.htm#what dated unknown (accessed 28-Nov-2012)