One of the most essential elements of organization management is to ensure that all employees are motivated to work toward the course of the organization. An organization’s success depends on the commitment of the people inside. As such, motivation or the lack of it will affect the rest of the organizations activities. Every organization worth its salt must weigh its options for delivering a suitable environment that encourages motivation. There is no perfect environment for motivating all employees in every other organization as the ideal situations in the corporate world are difficult to achieve (Bond, 08). However, realizing a favorable motivation environment for the organization may be dependent on several factors that are integral to choosing the right approach. This paper is an analysis of the situation in which a motivation problem has occurred within an organization. The paper diagnoses the problem using the goal setting theory and provides possible ways of solving the problem.
Admiry Apparels is an upcoming clothing line in New York’s Metropolitan area. Over the first one-and-a-half year, the business performed well producing at the highest level. However, the human resource manager noticed a few weeks ago that productivity was gradually dropping low. After going through the possible causes, she realized that the workers in the production line were no motivated enough to work as hard as the first year despite increasing their salaries. As a matter of fact, the human resource manager worked a plan that improved the worker’s per hourly rates for every overtime hour they work. This, she says cost the organization a substantial amount of money which was intended to motivate the employees. Currently, the employees are unwilling to work extra hours despite the good rates. She now posits “the employees work long hours, but they are paid for each hour they work, where is their motivation?”
Focusing on the problem at hand, there are both elements of motivation in this situation; goals and rewards. The human resource manager set a general basis of reward for all employees. The goal was to complete extra job tasks by working longer than normal hours. The reward was getting a higher than normal per hourly compensation. So, where does the problem lie? It is important to remember one aspect of goal setting which makes the approach work; a linkage between the goal and the reward. The diagnosis in this situation is a lack of connection between the goal and the reward associated with a gradual lack of interest. The organization invested in the framework of monetary compensation of employees using the per hour rate of overtime. The problem is that the goal of working more hours is nothing different than working the normal hours except the extra revenue. The goal setting theory requires a good connection between the goal set for the employee and the reward which need not necessarily be monetary. Bond et al. (08) argue that it is a costly mistake in an organizational context to get lost in the misleading theory that more money for employees in the organization equals happiness. Believing in this notion they posit is tantamount to cost the organization valuable time and revenue.
On what the human resource manager needs to do is a question of ensuring that there is some connection between the goals set and the rewards. Of course, cash is and will always be a crucial factor in any organization as far as motivating people is concerned (Warner, Dale & Jill, 08). However, a solid compensation plan must be drafted to ensure that the motivation realized is long lasting. A goal-and-reward system can go a long way in attracting employees’ positive attitude and maintaining a positive environment at work. The problem in Admiry Apparels seems to be the mentality that additional money is the answer to the employees’ lack of morale in working extra hours. One alternative setting money rewards directly is to provide a system of rewarding the employees based on a catalog that lists the goals of the employee and rewards against each goal achieved. The catalog system can be modified such that it comprises a point system in which each task completed is awarded points (Warner, Dale & Jill, 08).
The organization ought to provide employees with catalogs enlisted with job responsibilities broken down to targets, price sheets, and equivalent point checks. In this case instead of extra hours, the employees would have extra responsibilities associated with rewards. The points gained can then be redeemed with rewards ranging from money, gifts, travel plans or any other suitable reward. In conclusion, motivation should not be viewed as a channel for compensating employees or pumping money to produce extra output. Money does not always motivate employees. There is a wide array of factors that contribute towards employees’ attitude (Warner, Dale & Jill, 08). Organizations must focus on creating a suitable linkage between the job responsibilities assigned to employees and the targets they set. This would create a good basis of rewarding employees to improve their motivation. If and when this is done, it can go a long way in sustaining the right behavior at work.
Works cited
Bond, S.D., Carlson, K.A. and Keeney, R.L. Generating objectives: Can decision makers articulate what they want? NY: Management Science, 2008
Warner, B. W., Dale, G & Jill, W. P. Organization Change: A comprehensive Reader. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2008
