Introduction
The working environment plays an essential role in fostering employee motivation and group cohesion among employees. As a result, the organization is provided with optimum performance from the employees and significantly helps in the profitable achievement of organizational goals and objectives.
The objective of this assignment is to analyze and describe the working environment at FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For. In order to do so, the elements that foster employee motivation along with unity have been taken into consideration. The findings have been related to the chapters assigned.
Analysis of 100 Best Companies – Work Environment and Elements
Working for Fortune’s 100 Best Companies has always been a dream of every individual. Fortune 100 companies not only provide its employees with significant career growth opportunities but also the work environment that significantly helps in the enhancement of motivation and job satisfaction. The elements that were analyzed during the assessment of work environment that help these companies in fostering motivation and group cohesion among employees are as follows;
The culture and the working environment at Fortune 100 companies set is apart from the rest of the organizations in the world. For instance, the culture at Google is highly unique, and unlike other organizations, the corporate culture at Google looks more like a playground for adults and not a place to work (Stewart, 2013). At these 100 companies, it has been observed that these organizations have people whose sole job is to keep the employees happy to enhance their productivity and performance from time to time.
In addition, the perks offered to the employees working at Fortune 100 companies are by far greater than any organization across the globe. These perks are offered to the employees so that employees’ dissatisfaction and turnover rate could be reduced to minimal. Although, these perks come at a cost for such organizations but considering the motivation and enhanced performance of the employees organizations tend to bear such costs.
For instance, Google developed three wellness centers along with seven-acre sports complex just for the sake of its employees (Google, 2013). Meanwhile, SAS introduced organic farms for the four cafeterias. In order to ensure that the employees at CHG Healthcare services are motivated, extra paid time off to teams that have accomplished their sales goals. In the year 2013, the CHG Healthcare Services introduced two on-site health centers for its employees (CNN, 2013).
Furthermore, the analysis revealed that these organizations favor ability over experience. By doing so, the organizations effectively encourage employees to participate and feel comfortable in sharing ideas and opinions. The concept of open-culture has always been a part of such successful organizations as it helps the employees to share their ideas and opinions in an effective manner. The assessment revealed empowerment of employees to be one of the dominant elements in the motivation and unity among the employees. The employees are provided with an authority to make decision due to their expert judgment and analytical skills. This has significantly helped the organization in reaching the employees for their advice to tackle critical problems.
Communication between the management, teams and individuals is the core reason for organizations to achieve their desired success. These organizations have acknowledged the importance of communication due to which the management tends to listen and share information with the teams and individuals. To achieve the goals of the organization, the management tends to be on the same page as employees and helps them in connecting the dots. In addition, such companies have always encouraged communication and dialogue. As a result, the organization is well aware of the issues and concerns of the employees.
Career development has also played an essential role in motivating the employees. Providing employees with training and development sessions from time to time has significantly impacted the behavior of the employees. As a result, the employees work dedicatedly for the achievement of organizational goals rather than personal goals. In addition, the concept of succession planning has deeply influenced the motivation of the employees. The Fortune 100 companies’ entire focus has always been on people that can take over the duties rather than personalities. Due to this fact, these organizations tend to bear millions on the effective training and development programs (Strohmeyer, 2011).
The analysis of Fortune 100 companies provided significant information regarding the elements affecting the motivation and unity among the employees. This motivation of employees can be reflected through a variety of theories. For instance, ERG theory proposed by Clayton Alderfer clearly indicates that employees should be provided with opportunities for growth. The career development opportunities at these companies can be linked to this theory. On the other hand, incentive theory supports the provision of perks to employees to significantly enhance their level of motivation and positive attitude towards work.
The theory presented by Elton Mayo also supports the elements presented within the work environment of FORTUNE 100 Companies. Some of the prominent elements supported include; communication, involvement of the organization’s management and empowerment of employees. Lastly, the theory presented by Herzberg reflects the idea of open-culture and empowerment of employees so that the employees could be presented with an opportunity to make their own decisions related to their expertise. The motivating factors in these companies are far greater due to which the employees work towards the achievement of organizational objectives over their personal objectives.
Conclusion
The motivation of employees plays a significant role in the achievement of desired success. Although, the companies have to bear significant cost to motivate the employees but the benefits significantly outweighs the costs due to which organizations are continually enhancing the motivating factors within the working environment. Some of the factors that made these organizations superior over other in terms of work environment are; two-way communication, favor of ability over experience, career development and succession planning, empowerment of employees, open culture, and perks offered to employees.
References
CNN. (2013). Fortune: 100 Best Companies to Work For. Retrieved August 24, 2013 from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2013/snapshots/3.html?iid=bc_lp_arrow2
Google. (2013). Our Culture. http://www.google.com/about/company/facts/culture/
Great Place to Work. (2013). Your Company Can be a Great Workplace. Retrieved August 24, 2013 from http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best-companies/100-best-companies-to-work-for
Stewart, J. (2013). Looking for a Lesson in Google’s Perks. NY Times, Retrieved August 24, 2013 from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/16/business/at-google-a-place-to-work-and-play.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Strohmeyer, R. (2011). 5 Succession Planning Lessons From Steve Jobs. Information Week, Retrieved August 24, 2013 from http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/interviews/5-succession-planning-lessons-from-steve/231600242
