The Concept of Professional Motivation
Professional motivation is a concept that is at the heart of organizational productivity. Kearney-Nunnery (146) finds that motivation is the expression of the internal and external factors within the person and the work environment in which the individual works that elicit certain responses when people are faced with various situations. This would imply that when these factors within the individual and the environment have a negative connotation, the most expected reaction when the individual is faced with a situation is negative. This is because motivation entails the elements that influence behavior, some of which include needs and drives. However, there is a caution against perceiving motivation as an issue of just needs and drive. Kearney-Nunnery (146) sees that motivation is more than needs and drives. It considers the interpretation of the prevailing situation by and individual and the ability of the individual to start and sustain positive behavior in response to the situation.
Organizations are aware of the importance of professional motivation to organizational performance. Kutz (566) argues that organizations must assess the motivation forces, both to the positive and negative effect that lie in an organization. This is because the needs of the employees in the organization should be satisfied on a sustained basis as a contingent for achieving high-performance levels. Kutz (566) singles out fields of engineering and other fields where technology is a constant presence in the delivery of work. Kutz (566) finds that organizational performance in these fields is positively and strongly correlated with employee motivation and satisfaction. This implies that employees who are sufficiently motivated and satisfied will deliver at an improved level.
Kutz (575) makes a specific request to engineering managers to cater to the professional interests of their human resource during the allocation and execution of tasks. The rationale offered by Kutz (575) is that this approach helps motivate by enhancing employee commitment, and ownership of the projects the result of which is increased creativity, improved communication, a cohesive workforce, reduced conflicts and negative group dynamics, all of which lead to improved performance. In addition to the approach proposed by Kutz (575) for engineering managers, there are other formalized ways through which professional motivation is applied in an organization with an aim of improved productivity and performance. These include employee recognition programs, skill-based pay plans, variable-pay programs, and flexible benefits.
Employee Recognition Programs
The tenet of this approach is that excellence in performance in an organization should be recognized as a way of encouraged sustained and improved performance. Kusluvan (434) argue that the role of employment recognition program, in addition to acknowledging excellence in performance is to motivate creativity and innovation in the labor force. Employment recognition also serves to empower the employees by telling them that the organization is aware of the excellent performance. The recognition of performance can be done in several ways, some of which include personally relaying the congratulations, the issuance of hand written note, and through e-mail messages that highlight the improved performance of the employees (Robbins, Aletta and Roodt 155).
A significant consideration in employee recognition programs is that even though the performance of individuals may stand out, the delivery of projects is hardly the accomplishment of a single individual. It is for this reason that it is necessary to recognize and celebrate the success of project teams. In addition to motivating the entire team, the recognition of the contributions and the success of the entire team also, enhance cohesion within the team.
Employment Involvement Programs
The concept of employee involvement has taken various forms in organization management. Some of the approaches to employee involvement in an organization include employee participation, employee ownership, participative management, employee empowerment and workplace democracy (Robbins, Aletta and Roodt 154). The application of employee involvement programs in the professional motivation of employees entail the use of their entire capacity as well as influencing their increased commitment to the objectives, goals and the successes of the organization (Robbins, Aletta and Roodt 154).
The rationale behind the use of employment involvement programs as a way of professional motivation is that the involvement of the personnel in workplace decisions for which they bear the consequences and by encouraging increase control and autonomy on the execution of their duties will enhance the motivation of the employees, increase their commitment to the charted path for success by the organization and also increase employee satisfaction and productivity (Robbins, Aletta and Roodt 193).
Examples of employee involvement programs used in organizations include representative participation where the employees in the organization take part in the decision-making process through representatives elected by the employees. Some of the forms that are used in the organizations are the election of employees into the board of governors or directors and the election of employees into working councils (Robbins, Aletta and Roodt 195).
Variable Pay Programs
The concept of variable pay programs is different from the other two discussed above. In this approach to professional motivation, the remuneration of the employee is determined by a predetermined measure of performance of the individual in question or the entire organization. There are various variants that are employed by organizations with this program. One of the variants is the piece-rate pay plans. In this approach, the employees in an organization are paid a fixed amount of money for every predetermined unit of production that they complete. The idea is to use the prospect of increase pay to motivate the employees to be more productive. Alternatively, organizations can use profit-sharing plans for professional motivation. In this approach, the profitability of a company is used to determine the compensation given to the employees. This program is rolled out to the entire organization and uses a predetermined formula to determine how much is distributed to each employee. Given that profits are a product of efficiency and not just productivity, this approach is aimed at motivating the employees to use the resources available efficiently in order to reduce the cost of production while also increasing their productivity in order to produce more units.
Skill-Based Pay Plans
This professional motivation plan rewards the acquisition of skills by employees. Robbins, Aletta, and Roodt (203) argue that skill-based pay plans are very relevant to the contemporary business environment. There is a need individual and organizational learning in order to respond to the challenges of the new technological business environment adequately. Skill-based pay plans reward and motivates the development of skills, professional growth, and learning. Robbins, Aletta, and Roodt (203) find that the change to develop one’s professional skills can be an ardent motivator for low cadre employees. This approach is also supported by theories such as the reinforcement theory where employees are motivated to enhance their flexibility, to foster cooperation in the delivery of work, and to train in a variety of skills.
Flexible Benefits
Flexible benefits plan is a responsive approach to professional motivation. Robbins, Aletta, and Roodt (204) argue that flexible benefits plans are an acknowledgment that different employees have different needs. It negates the idea of giving similar benefits to all the employees. Instead, they are allowed to choose from a pool of options the benefits that best meet their needs. Robbins, Aletta, and Roodt (204) argue that the approach is supported by the expectancy theory where the central idea is tying the benefits given to an employee to their individual goals. The prospect of achieving individual goals makes the flexible benefits potent motivators for improved performance.
Challenges of Motivating Professional Employees versus Low-skilled Employees
The challenge in motivating low-skilled employees is that they are paid low wages for the tasks to which they are assigned, and they do not have chances to significantly improve their income with their current skills at their current job station or through promotions (Robbins, Aletta and Roodt 207). The other challenge is that they labor force that typically fills these low cadre jobs are characterized by limited skills and low education levels. The professional motivation for the low-skilled employees would require significant increases in their pay and benefits which might not be economically tenable for the employers.
Motivating professionals has different challenges compared to those discussed above. The difference in the challenges is brought about by the fact that unlike the low-skilled workers, the commitment to the professions for the professionals is longer and stronger. They are more loyal to their careers than to the organizations the employ them. Thus, the organizations can exploit this characteristic by helping them develop their careers, a situation which would allow the organizations also to benefit. Robbins, Aletta, and Roodt (205) find that this can be achieved by updating the knowledge and skills of the professionals so as to influence an even firmer commitment.
Additionally, further motivation can be capacity-building them to exercise more control and autonomy in structuring their work, offering challenging projects, and rewarding their performance with incentives such as the opportunity to advance their skills and education such as conferences, workshop, and skill training. Professionals who are engaged on a temporary basis can be motivated by offering them permanent employment (Robbins, Aletta and Roodt 206). Even the prospect of achieving this status will motivate the professionals engaged on a temporary basis.
Works Cited
Kearney-Nunnery, Rose. Advancing Your Career: Concepts of Professional Nursing. , 2016. Print.
Kusluvan, Salih. Managing Employee Attitudes and Behaviors in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2003. Print.
Kutz, Myer. Mechanical Engineers' Handbook. Hoboken. New Jersey. 2015. Print.
Robbins, Stephen P. Organizational Behavior: Concepts, Controversies, Applications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996. Print.
Robbins, Stephen, Aletta Odendaal, and G Roodt. Organisational Behaviour: Global and Southern African Perspectives. Cape Town: Pearson Education South Africa, 2003. Print.
