In order to increase employee productivity
The human resource management department of every company develops motivational factors in the form of rewards. This is because the department's primary goal is to ensure that employees' output is at a level that generates profit. This study is based on the fact that there is a positive association between employee motivation, work satisfaction, and performance.
Employee motivation closely relates to performance
This was demonstrated by a study done by the current director of the Cape Regions and professor of human resource management, Mr. Vartikka Indermum. His claims were published in the article: An Analysis of Organizational Behavior and its Impact on Organizational Success. He showed the importance of organizations motivating their employees for them to perform at their optimum level, as a way of earning a competitive advantage. The professor engaged in studying the moods of employees, whereby he found out that happy employees display more enthusiasm, which translates into high performance and productivity. On the other hand, employees who were disgruntled showed high tendencies of turnover and frequent absenteeism. He, therefore, recommended internal organizational research as a way of finding out the motivating factors that work for various employees, since they differ depending on one's personality. This study identified one of the sources of demotivation as poor working conditions, whereby he recommended that the management should ensure that employers should create a favorable working condition for their employees to produce maximally. He discovered the formation of a bond that takes place between employees and the organization in which they work. He went further to describe that the relationship occurs as a result of motivation and right, rewarding systems. The crafting of duties was also found out to be an essential determinant of employee's job satisfaction and performance. However, the professor made it clear that the responsibility of motivation lies on the hands of both the management and the employees. The management must discover the motivating factors and avail them to the employees, while the employees must be more productive once they are motivated. It is, therefore, the duty of the management to determine their co-operative staff and motivate them to work more to achieve the profit objective of the company, (Judge et al., 2001).
Description of How the Issue Creates a Performance Problem for the Organization Using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is normally represented using the shape of a pyramid. It shows the different levels of needs that employees go through, with the most fundamental and essential need covering the most significant area at the bottom and the need for self-actualization and self-transcendence being at the top, (Gagné & Deci, 2005). It is the discovery of the layer at which employees are based that can help the management to determine their needs, and on meeting them, the management would have motivated the employees. The layers of Maslow's hierarchy of needs are as described below:
Physiological Needs
This is the lowest layer which represents the physical needs that human beings require for survival. A failure to meet these needs lead to improper functioning of the body, and the body will eventually fail. These needs include water, air, food, clothing, and shelter. Enabling employees to meet these basic needs is a requirement for their lowest level of motivation.
Safety Needs
Once employees are capable of meeting their physiological needs, their safety becomes a concern and starts taking precedence. The human brain is built in a way that once one requirement is met; it desires a higher need. Safety needs include economic safety, physical safety, and health well-being. Lack of safety diminishes employees' job satisfaction hence leading to low performance, (Pinder, 2014). For instance, economic crisis leads to the absence of economic safety which results from a lack of work opportunities. The employees, therefore, prefer job security and insurance policies, which if met by the management, then the employees will be willing to put their best input at their workplaces.
Social Belonging
Human beings tend to need to belong once their safety needs are met. This is what leads to the formation of informal working groups, whereby they meet to share their experiences with each other, hence developing a sense of belonging. The management should allow employees to enjoy the privilege of belonging to informal working groups as one of the ways of meeting this need since it gives employees a sense of acceptance. Other social groups should also be encouraged in a way that does not negatively interfere with the organization's day-to-day activities.
Esteem
This entails the need for employees to feel respected, which in most cases is dependent on an employee's self-esteem and self-respect. This layer displays the need for employees to be valued by the organization. In cases where employees have low self-esteem, they tend to go out of their way to earn glory from others, an effort that would have otherwise been directed on other productive organizational activities. The poor working conditions that were previously mentioned as the leading cause of demotivation according to Prof. Vartikka Indermum made employees feel devalued by the management, hence lowering their motivation, (Gagné & Deci, 2005).
Self-Actualization
This is one of the high needs that cannot be met through the provision of money. One employee meets the previously mentioned needs; they tend to need self-actualization. This refers to the realization of an employee's full potential, and Maslow defines it as the need to accomplish the most that one can. This need is mostly found in the management, who have met and mastered the previous layers of needs.
Self-Transcendence
Abraham Maslow explored this level of needs during his later years, whereby he stated that a person achieves actualization only through giving oneself to a higher goal, outside oneself, that is in spirituality or altruism. It is characterized by the desire to reach infinite. At this level, the human brain attains a holistic and most inclusive level of consciousness. It is the highest layer of the Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Action to Change the Behavior and Correct the Performance Problem
According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the best action that the management can take in its quest to motivate its employees is the discovery of their level of needs on the hierarchy and help the employees in meeting them. In the study as mentioned above, the professor realized that the primary demotivating factor was poor working conditions. Through the use of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, working conditions fall under the "esteem" layer. By improving the working conditions through the provision of what employees needed at their working places on time, then the management would have encouraged the employees to perform better. Studies have shown that employees who work under ideal working conditions exhibit low levels of stress, hence being more enthusiastic. This makes them happy in doing their duties, hence developing job satisfaction. By so doing, employees become more committed to their works, hence giving it their best. This, in turn, increases their productivity and the overall performance of the organization. Lack of motivation, on the other hand, leads to the dissatisfaction of employees. The effort that would have otherwise been directed at production is spent on activities such as looking for a better job. Dissatisfaction can also lead to employees' go-slows and strikes. This leads to low employee's output, which leads to reduced productivity and low performance, (Cerasoli et al., 2014). It is therefore crucial for the management to take actions in determining the motivation methods that suit each employee. This can be done through the collection of data that pertains employees' personal traits in the quest to determine whether they are intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. Once this is determined, the employee's respective needs should be determined, followed by the formulation and implementation of strategies that can enable the organizations to meet them, (Cerasoli et al., 2014).
Conclusion
Employees play a major role in determining the performance of the organization, which also defines its sustainability. It is, therefore, important to ensure that the organization benefits maximally from the employees through motivating them. This study has proved that a strong relationship exists between employee motivation, job satisfaction, and performance. Well-motivated employees get a sense of belonging hence being satisfied by their jobs, which in turn leads to more productivity and translating into better organizational performance.
References
Cerasoli, C. P., Nicklin, J. M., & Ford, M. T. (2014). Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives jointly predict performance: A 40-year meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin, 140(4), 980.
Gagné, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self‐determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational behavior, 26(4), 331-362.
Judge, T. A., Thoresen, C. J., Bono, J. E., & Patton, G. K. (2001). The job satisfaction–job performance relationship: A qualitative and quantitative review
Pinder, C. C. (2014). Work motivation in organizational behavior. Psychology Press.
