WHAT REALLY MOTIVATES WORKERS 1 People management at the workplace what really motivates workers

WHAT REALLY MOTIVATES WORKERS 1

People management at the workplace what really motivates workers

Douglas Injugu


Abstract

People management and innovation is a major emergence factor in management and

improving on efficient profit maximization and wealth maximization policies and

procedures within the industries by simplifying management theories. When initiating

change towards an entity efficiency and patience should be taken as at most times

management are pressured towards profit maximization, most decisions based on pressure

at times tend to reduce the profit. Blue-chip companies like Google or Microsoft, which

produce record breaking end year profits at. By setting up the end of each financial year.

They have managed the ability of setting an atmosphere which combines creating order,

discipline and fun in the working environment. It’s all about creating systems and

structures of management which would eventually change the attitude around the

workplace. By combining work and fun as a key factor in the working environment,

since fun motivates behavior, it indicates usefulness which brings about joy within the

workers, initiated together it will lead to curiosity. Though curiosity might be considered

harmful or unpleasant, it does give an evolutionary advantage to those who possess it. It

will prove to be rewarding since they up bring intellectual change and discovery with

moral.


The power of progress

Illustration from the Kenya Wildlife Services, director Dr. Julius Kangogo Kipng’etich

shows how innovative management can deliver great results. Kaizen meaning improvement

is a gradual progress of improvement and mostly focuses on the people aspect of

improvement and acceptance of change. There is no doubt that creativity and motivation

is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity and motivation there

would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns. By

promoting people with these basic skills we enhance expertise, creative thinking, skill and

motivation = creativity.

According to C.K Prahalad, managers must remember that they are the custodians of

society’s most powerful institutions. They must therefore hold themselves to a higher

standard. Managers must strive to achieve success with responsibility. Leadership is about

self-awareness, recognizing your failings, developing modesty, humility, and humanity.

Management should always consider their employees first, even before their customers,

they should remember that happy employees make great products and developments

which will satisfy the customer.

According to Teresa M & Steven J.(2010). Progress is the most important factor in

motivation of workers, when workers have the sense they’re making improvements in

their jobs, or when they receive support that helps them overcome obstacles, their

emotions are most positive and their drive to succeed is at its peak. (What Really

Motivates Workers) , (M & J., 2010).


Management should clarify overall goals, and ensure that people’s efforts are properly

supported, as well as to refrain from exerting time pressure so intense that minor

glitches are perceived as crises rather than learning opportunities. They should cultivate a

culture of helpful-ness.

According to Teresa M & Steven J.(2010). The key to motivation turns out to be largely

within your control i.e. the management control, They can provide meaningful goals,

resources, and encouragement, and they can protect their people from irrelevant demands.

(What Really Motivates Workers). (M & J., 2010)

Incentive schemes don’t have to be the key importance when it comes to motivation as

a factor towards better work results, management should learn that when an employee or

worker feels he or she is making progress, they have a high motivational drive and with

a high spirit of success. Excellence automatically proceeds. Management should avoid

scrupulous changing of goals since this would impede the growth of progress and the

changing of goals without any form of order.

Negativity usually has a much stronger effect to persons, in terms of emotions and

motivations as compared to positive ones, setbacks are demotivating not only to the

persons day to day operation but to also their knowledge. Management should take note

that unnecessary pressure at the workplace usually inhibits any form of good results,

such pressure usually contribute to employee silence, how? When a company starts to

report low profits or are in the threat and race of maintaining their market share or

profits, the goals that are set out by management usually turn out to be high or

unrealistic or involving a lot of time consumption of an employee, such pressure usually


makes employees negligent or fail to spot a problem or important issue. By any chance

an employee detects a particular goal would lead the company to a much further turmoil

most become afraid to speak with the thought it could get them into trouble.

Most employees feel there is no purpose because there is no chance of success rather

than fear of retribution.

According to James R.; Ethan R & David A (2010). Brings out 4 myths perceived from

employee silence and their results.

1. The only issues employees are scared to raise involve serious allegations

about illegal or unethical activities, most employees fear holds them back

from giving out suggestions, and in the long run there will be a decline in

performance of the company, as the silence did not pave way for opinions

towards the managers so as to prevent a decline in performance.

2. If employees aren't speaking up, it's because they don't feel safe doing so,

despite all my efforts, Majority hold up on routine problems and opportunities

for improvement to avoid wasting their time, because some organizations have

made routine problems to seem like a bump in the road, rather than

opportunity. It’s not because employees fear consequences.

3. If my employees are talking openly to me, they're not holding back.

Employees tend to withhold information when they feel they have nothing to

gain-or something to lose by sharing what's on their minds. It is advisable for

organizations to have more surprises for employees, small gifts that would

encourage employer employee relationship, It doesn’t have to be in monetary


forms, It would cost the organization much less, if they invested on the

happiness of the employee.

4. Women and non-professional employees withhold more information than

men and professional staffers because they are more concerned about

consequences or more likely to see speaking up as futile. There are no

statistically significant differences between workers of different genders,

education levels, or income levels every employee is more afraid of their

future in the organization, when they speak or criticize a certain method. By

management creating an environment that is open for interaction between the

employers and employees and by making employees feel they are part of the

organization, will make them to work for the organization not only as an

obligation, but they will get to put their organization first like a part of their

lives.

(Debunking Four Myths about Employee Silence) (R., Ethan, & A., 2010)

Briefly the above myths are trying to focus on the negative effect of employee silence

at the workplace, if management could embrace the power of progress, they will indirectly

create a perfect working environment for their workers boosting their working moral,

working progress and behavioral aspects when it comes to working conditions. A little

pat in the back or acknowledging mistakes done will make a worker strive harder

towards perfection and also save lots of cost when it comes to incentives. Because an

employee will focus much better at work, when they feel appreciated.


According to John P.Kotter (1999) managers who limit their interactions to orderly,

focused meetings actually shut themselves off from vital information and relationships,

and how seemingly wasteful activities like chatting in hallways and having impromptu

meetings are, in fact, quite efficient. (What Effective General Managers Really Do)

(Kotter, 1999).

When the key to motivation lies greatly within your control, the recognition of progress

as a reward or a means of incentive will prove to be cheaper and show further

improvements in terms of an entity’s growth within its market. I believe what John

Kotter was trying to illustrate in his article was the power in interaction with your

employees. How? simply by parting the office sweeper on the back for a job well done

or to asking an employee how their family is doing greatly increases the

communication between you as a manager or individual and the employees.

According to Hrvard business Review, managers should celebrate progress, even the incremental

sort. But there will be nothing to recognize if people aren’t genuinely moving forward and as a

practical matter, recognition can’t happen every day. You can, however, see that progress

happens every day.

Recognition of progress by mangers will eventually lead to better and far much

efficiency when it comes to management, It will enable you to develop happy employees

and happy shareholders which will reduce your cost and challenges. Effective general

managers develop flexible agendas and broad networks of relationships. Their agendas

enable them to react opportunistically to the flow of

events around them because a common framework guides their decisions about where

and when to intervene, their networks allow them to have quick and pointed


conversations that give the general managers influence well beyond their formal chain of

command. (Kotter, 1999).

The benefits of the progress as a motivation factor

Great results would emerge from using progress as a factor for motivation, simply by

the retaining of employees and also the development of leaders within your entity,

According to an article by Mwaura Kimani (2009) on business daily was focusing on

employee retention by companies and he was focusing on Equity Bank one of the most

expanding banks in kenya,where the banks director of strategy Mary Wamae stated that

they retain upto 90% of their workers despite the bank having one of the longest

working banking hours. That is opening doors at 8.30am and closing at 4.30pm.as i have

already emphasised on the importance of progress recognition, equity bank address their

psychological needs first, then proceed to meeting their economic and social demands.

Psychological needs could be addressed at workpoint first by creating the most out of a

companys strategy.how?

A companys strategy is best worked about by focusing on 5 key steps;

1. State your intent: Essentially drafting a statement outlining what the people above the

manager expected his group to do and why, If you were a soldier, you would recognize

this intent as your mission. Getting to the right statement is not easy; it will have to take

you and your team several tries. But a clearly defined intent unifies a team’s effort, after

the employees have finished generating a lot of activity and once they have agreed upon a

certain statement, they will be able to see which activities supported their intent and stop

the rest. That produces a degree of calm in an overworked department or entity.


2. Try Again, ThisTime in Context: Before a group or an organization can arrive at the

right statement of intent, their leader needs to set a context. Context setting requires

understanding the goals and constraints of both the people above you and the people

above them, as well as those you are working with, Going some levels up and below

helps you to see how your own actions fit into the bigger picture and to determine your

priorities. Keep in mind that revisions are critical to the briefing process. Progress is

made only through an iterative process of formulation, critique,and readjustment.

3. State your measures: You need measures to monitor whether or not you’re achieving

your intent. Sometimes, if your briefing is going well, you will find that the activities you

see as most appropriate to your intent are not the ones you are actually assessed on. If that

is the case, it becomes the responsibility of the team leader to go back to the people above

him or her and negotiate new performance measures, or to simply interact with your

employees and let them be able to tell you what it is being done wrong.

4. Describe the tasks implied by your intent: An organizations next job would be to

prioritize the tasks that seem will help them meet their intent. By identifying the highest

priority, or “main effort,” because it would have the largest impact on the company’s

overall intent of halting any decline in market share. Looking at what the group of

particular inividuals are actually doing you will need to focus on the companys critical

goals,which is to be the first of tasks


5. Define the boundaries: To execute a strategy,employees need to be able to adapt as the

situation changes.Boundaries give them the freedom to do that.as much as it sounds

paradoxical,if they’re not given boundaries, people create more rigid ones for themselves.

In the process, they tend to list things that are getting in their way or might go wrong.

Those are not sboundaries but difficulties we want them to overcome. A boundary puts

limits on possible alternative objectives.so in any p[articular case time costs and quality

should be a part of potential objectives.

The effiency of individuals at their workplace can only improved by the management

willingness to improve to some of this new methods of management. The more an employee is

motivated to their work, they improve in their work ethic, they are at work early, and leave late.

With the application of this simple principles, the companys success will be able to be build

around its employees, and happy employees make happy customers.

Bibliography Kotter, J. P. (1999). What Effective General Managers Really Do. Harvard Business review.

M, T., & J., S. (2010). What Really Motivates Workers. Harvard Business Review.

R., J., E. R., & A., D. (2010). Debunking Four Myths About. Harvard business Review.

WHAT REALLY MOTIVATES WORKERS 1 People management at the workplace what really motivates workers

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