Motivating Employees: An Essential Management Responsibility - Essay Sample

Introduction

The motivation of employees is an important responsibility of the management in all organizations. It is the force that forces one towards achieving a common goal. Motivation can be achieved by activities that surround a person or from forces confined in a person. Motivation can only be deduced from an individual's behavior.

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In an organization, the management has a role in identifying incidences when employees are demotivated. The administration has to find out the reasons behind a change of behavior too to establish ways of motivating them. This will, in turn, increase output and stir up employees towards achieving the common goal. Very motivated employees can sometimes wane due to intrinsic or extrinsic factors. Lack of job security is among the top causes of lack of motivation. Job security is when an employee has guaranteed that he has low chances of losing the job and can improve his/her financial stability (Lazaroiu, 2015). Employees who do not find long term jobs mostly do not seem to put in much effort in the position since they are out looking for other sources of financial support.

Lack of appreciation in the workplace may wane motivation among employees. Just like any other social being, employees need to receive tokens of appreciation during work. Tokens can be in terms of non-monetary incentives can be given to recognize exemplary performance, create favorable working conditions, to point out a significant achievement, or to motivate good deeds. Incentives can be in terms of public appreciation, giving vouchers, or even written appreciation notes. Sub-standard work positions are other causes of impacting motivation. Employees would prefer to hold positions that merge the skills and experience they have. Employees prefer working well with all the professionalism to reach their maximum potential. By achieving their potential, they will have gained self-actualization.

Goal setting theory of motivation explains the importance of a goal connecting it to task tackling. This is where the employer sets goals for the company, and each employee work towards achieving the same purpose (Locke & Latham, 2019). VP Thomas should set a clear and specific goal for the employees. The goal should be measurable and time-based. Each employee should be assigned a particular role according to their interests and expertise. The goal set by VP Thomas should be achievable and demanding. A challenging goal brings about enthusiasm and a feeling of commitment towards achieving it. The tougher the goal, the higher the input it will require. In addition to setting a goal, VP Thomas should create good relations with the employees. The connections enable them to gain self-efficiency, raising their confidence, and giving their best towards achieving the set goal. Believing in the employees and tasking them with the objective of the organization can make employees trust him creating good job relations, and this will, in turn, motivate them.

Employee motivation is critical in any organization. Employees can be motivated using various strategies or by giving them incentives. VP Thomas can apply the method of giving them incentives. VP Thomas can offer employees monetary incentives, such as bonuses. Money has proven to be a source of satisfaction among beings. Increasing monetary value for a job well done satisfies holistic needs. This will motivate them hence improving productivity - non-monetary incentives such as public recognition or offering job security. Job security enables one to establish financial stability leading to self-actualization, thus increased motivation. Public appreciation soothes one's ego hence thrive to achieve the highest performance.

References

Lazaroiu, G. (2015). Employee motivation and job performance. Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations, (14), 97-102.

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2019). The Development of Goal Setting Theory: A Half Century Retrospective. Motivation Science, 5(2), 93.