Effective Management and Motivation of Employees

Introduction to Management and Motivation

Management is the administration of a company, a not-for-profit organization, or government body. Personnel management has been formulated over the years and includes staff motivation as a part of the science. Therefore, motivation is a process of persuading a person (especially an employee) to do something in a particular way. Widespread methods of it are tangible and intangible; tangible motivation is by money, and intangible is by other means. These concepts have been extensively discussed in the book "The Engaging Manager: The Joy of Management and Being Managed" (Furnham, 2012). The primary reason to use motivation principles is to save a company’s financial resources by using social recognition. This implies that a manager will save the organization’s money by encouraging employees to perform their jobs through other means, such as public recognition in front of co-workers. The main principles of staff motivation formulated by personnel management and outlined in the book include motivation by achievement and recognition, which can help to improve efficiency.

Effective Management and Motivation of Employees

Some employers think that increasing wages is the only possible way to stimulate an employee to do their job. However, the Hierarchy of Needs by Maslow will help managers understand what the employee really needs, which is very useful in managing. Taormina (2013) developed Maslow’s theory further and found that “the more each lower-level need was satisfied, the more the next higher-level need was satisfied.” Self-actualization is at the highest level, influencing employees to achieve goals. In management, this phenomenon is named motivation by achievement and gives a personal fear of failure. Employees must be energized and inspired by the manager to develop creativity and feel satisfaction from their job. Moreover, a person who feels good in a workplace will not look for another job even if the salary is insufficient. Achievement motivation works as a support for personal goals to manifest themselves, as noted by Ratcliffe (2013) in The Guardian magazine. Furnham (2012) shares a similar perspective, writing that job enrichment is defined as an attempt by management “to design tasks in such a way to build in the opportunity for personal achievement, recognition, challenge, and individual growth.” Possible methods to improve achievement motivation include developing competition among the staff, creating a website with a list of the best employees, designing a book of complaints and suggestions, or even providing a free parking place to outstanding individuals. When the employee correlates the achievements of the company with their own, it leads to success for both.

The Role of Recognition in Employee Motivation

Managers are respected by every employee. However, the company should allow employees to be recognized; otherwise, people will feel useless. The best way to do this is to create special criteria to receive awards. The staff should take part in a discussion about these criteria, and the administration can allow them to share some problems and solve them together. As Bersin (2013) states in his article, the administrator must be a good listener, because “sometimes your employees just need someone to talk to.” This model of partnership affects employees, creates a feeling of usefulness, and inspires them to work hard. Other methods include publicly naming employees, placing employee names in a newsletter, or sending out a company-wide email announcement. When workers do not feel confident and satisfied, they are more likely to leave the company, or their job performance will be unproductive. Novak (2016) researched the influence of motivation by recognition and found visible results: “82% of employed Americans do not feel that their supervisors recognize them enough,” and another important finding was “40% of employed Americans say they would put more energy into their work if they were recognized more often.”

Conclusion

Many experts suggest that personnel management is an important science that can help to develop every company if it has a professional manager. Furthermore, using management positively influences the relationship between the worker and employer and motivates the former to work hard to gain some advantages. People should understand that they are important to the company and that their responsibilities are meaningful, engaging individual attitudes. Personnel management formulates specific principles of staff motivation: motivation by achievement, which works in fear of failure, and motivation by recognition, which recognizes every member as a part of a team. In conclusion, understanding and implementing these motivational principles can significantly enhance organizational performance and employee satisfaction.

References:

• Bersin, J. (2013). "The Importance of Employee Recognition." In his article on employee engagement, he highlights the role of communication in management.
• Furnham, A. (2012). "The Engaging Manager: The Joy of Management and Being Managed." Routledge.
• Novak, D. (2016). "The Influence of Motivation by Recognition." Research on employee motivation in the workplace.
• Ratcliffe, R. (2013). "Achievement Motivation in the Workplace." The Guardian.
• Taormina, R. J. (2013). "Maslow and the Motivation Hierarchy: Measuring Satisfaction of the Needs." American Journal of Psychology.