Employee Motivation

Employee Motivation:A Key Factor in an Organisation.

The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through employees. To do this the manager should be able to motivate employees. But that's easier said than done! Motivation practice and theory are difficult subjects, touching on several disciplines.In spite of enormous research, basic as well as applied, the subject of motivation is not clearly understood and more often than not poorly practiced. To understand motivation one must understand human nature itself. And there lies the problem!Human nature can be very simple, yet very complex too.An understanding and appreciation of this is a prerequisite to effective employee motivation in the workplace and therefore effective management and leadership.

Why study and apply employee motivation principles?

Quite apart from the benefit and moral value of an altruistic approach to treating colleagues as human beings and respecting human dignity in all its forms, research and observations show that well motivated employees are more productive and creative. The inverse also holds true. The schematic below indicates the potential contribution the practical application of the principles this paper has on reducing work content in the organization.

Motivation is the key to performance improvement

There is an old saying you can take a horse to the water but you cannot force it to drink; it will drink only if it's thirsty - so with people. They will do what they want to do or otherwise motivated to do. Whether it is to excel on the workshop floor or in the 'ivory tower' they must be motivated or driven to it, either by themselves or through external stimulus.Are they born with the self-motivation or drive? Yes and no. If no, they can be motivated, for motivation is a skill which can and must be learnt. This is essential for any business to survive and succeed.Performance is considered to be a function of ability and motivation, thus:

Job performance =f(ability)(motivation)Ability in turn depends on education, experience and training and its improvement is a slow and long process. On the other hand motivation can be improved quickly. There are many options and an uninitiated manager may not even know where to start. As a guideline, there are broadly seven strategies for motivation.

• Positive reinforcement
• Effective discipline and punishment
•  Treating people fairly
•  Satisfying employees needs
•  Setting work related goals
•  Restructuring jobs
• Base rewards on job performance

These are the basic strategies, though the mix in the final 'recipe' will vary from workplace situation to situation. Essentially, there is a gap between an individual’s actual state and some desired state and the manager tries to reduce this gap.

Motivation is, in effect, a means to reduce and manipulate this gap. It is inducing others in a specific way towards goals specifically stated by the motivator. Naturally, these goals as also the motivation system must conform to the corporate policy of the organization. The motivational system must be tailored to the situation and to the organization.

In one of the most elaborate studies on employee motivation, involving 31,000 men and 13,000 women, the Minneapolis Gas Company sought to determine what their potential employees desire most from a job. This study was carried out during a 20 year period from 1945 to 1965 and was quite revealing. The ratings for the various factors differed only slightly between men and women, but both groups considered security as the highest rated factor. The next three factors were;

             advancement

                           type of work

                           company - proud to work for

Surprisingly, factors such as pay, benefits and working conditions were given a low rating by both groups. So after all, and contrary to common belief, money is not the prime motivator.

Employee education, training and development

In general, education is 'mind preparation' and is carried out remote from the actual work area, training is the systematic development of the attitude, knowledge, skill pattern required by a person to perform a given task or job adequately and development is 'the growth of the individual in terms of ability, understanding and awareness'.Within an organization all three are necessary in order to:

                Develop workers to undertake higher-grade tasks;

            Provide the conventional training of new and young workers (e.g. as apprentices, clerks,   etc.);

                        Raise efficiency and standards of performance;

                Meet legislative requirements (e.g. health and safety)

            Inform people (induction training, pre-retirement courses, etc.);

From time to time meet special needs arising from technical, legislative, and knowledge need changes. Meeting these needs is achieved via the 'training loop'. The diagnosis of other than conventional needs is complex and often depends upon the intuition or personal experience of managers and needs revealed bydeficiencies. Sources of inspiration include:

•  Common sense - it is often obvious that new machines, work systems, task requirements   and    changes in job content will require workers to be prepared;
• Shortcomings revealed by statistics of output per head, performance indices, unit costs,     etc. and behavioral failures revealed by absentee figures, lateness, sickness etc. records;
• Recommendations of government and industry training organizations;
•  Inspiration and innovations of individual managers and supervisors;
• Forecasts and predictions about staffing needs;
• Inspirations prompted by the technical press, training journals, reports of the experience of others;
• The suggestions made by specialist (e.g. education and training officers, safety engineers,             work-study staff and management services personnel).

Designing training is far more than devising courses; it can include activities such as:

• Learning from observation of trained workers;
•  Receiving coaching from seniors;
• Discovery as the result of working party, project team membership or attendance at  meetings;
• Job swaps within and without the organization;
• Undertaking planned reading, or follow from the use of self–teaching texts and video tapes;
•  Learning via involvement in research, report writing and visiting other works or organizations.

So far as group training is concerned in addition to formal courses there are:

• Lectures and talks by senior or specialist managers;
• Discussion group (conference and meeting) activities;
• Briefing by senior staffs;
• Role-playing exercises and simulation of actual conditions;
• Video and computer teaching activities;
• Case studies (and discussion) tests, quizzes, panel 'games', group forums, observation        exercises and inspection and reporting techniques.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of training is done to ensure that it is cost effective, to identify needs to modify or extend what is being provided, to reveal new needs and redefine priorities and most of all to ensure that the objectives of the training are being met.In making their judgments senior managers will question whether the efforts expended have produced:

• More effective, efficient, flexible employees;
• Faster results in making newcomers knowledgeable and effective than would follow from            experience;
• More effective or efficient use of machinery, equipment and work procedures;
• Fewer requirements to implement redundancy (by retraining);
• Fewer accidents both personal and to property;
• Improvements in the qualifications of staff and their ability to take on tougher roles;
• Better employee loyalty to the organization with more willingness to innovate and accept change.

Employee Rewards

The previous section dealt with motivation theory and practice. There is no doubt that motivation is the crux for good performance, but there is no clear cut answer to the question of how to motivate. The previous pages gave a glimpse of the answer through various theories and practices.

Money is a factor in motivating people and this section concentrates on this.

Employee reward systems are discussed in general and later in specifics in terms of payment by results. Various schemes for financial motivation are also described.

Money is important!

This is, perhaps, saying the obvious. But it still needs to be said, for a perusal of the previous section may give the impression to the contrary, at least judging from Maslow's concept. Refreshing as it is, if the theory was completely valid then, at least in affluent countries, economic incentives should have lost all their force. This we know is not correct.

There is no doubt that we live in a money-motivated world. Any amount of human relations cannot compensate for a lack of monetary reward. If the reward is right, good human relations will give that extra zest to a team, motivating them to give of their best efforts. Insufficient monetary reward cannot be compensated by good human relations.

Even dedicated footballers do not think of the honour of playing for England, they merely pay 'lip service' to it; the financial rewards of playing for their clubs far exceed those recieved from playing from their country. Cricketers and rugby players no longer play for their own country but opt for the 'highest bidder'. Professional tennis players have refused to play at Wimbledon, the 'Mecca' of lawn tennis, because the rewards were not attractive.

Self-motivation can go only so far and it needs to be constantly reinforced by rewards. In particular, merit must be measured and rewarded regularly, if it is to be encouraged and sustained. The 'gold banana' in Foxboro has its origin in just an ordinary banana which one of the pioneers could muster on the spur of the moment when he discovered extraordinary performance by one of the employees in your business.

Ten Tips on Improving Employee Motivation

When people lose their motivation, however, their job performance suffers -- they become less productive, less creative, less of an asset to the company. The bottom line: You pay a heavy price when employees have motivation issues. How then to light a fire under an employee who has lost his or her motivation, whether a former hard worker whose performance has declined over the years, or a long-term problem employee who has failed to improve? Here are 10 useful pointers on getting your employees enthused, productive, and ready to give their all:

1. Build a foundation. It’s important to build a solid foundation for your employees so they feel invested in the company. Tell them about the history of the business and your vision for the future. Ask them about their expectations and career goals, as well as how you can help them feel part of the team. When any new employee starts, make sure he or she receives a thorough welcome orientation.
2. Create a positive environment. Promote an office atmosphere that makes all employees feel worthwhile and important. Don’t play favorites with your staff. Keep office doors open and let folks know they can always approach you with questions or concerns. A happy office is a productive office.
3. Put people on the right path. Most employees are looking for advancement opportunities within their own company. Work with each of them to develop a career growth plan that takes into consideration both their current skills and future goals. If employees become excited about what’s down the road, they will become more engaged in their present work.
4. Educate the masses. Help employees improve their professional skills by providing on-the-job training or in-house career development. Allow them to attend workshops and seminars related to the industry. Encourage them to attend adult education classes paid for by the company. Employees will feel you are investing in them, and this will translate into an improved job performance.
5. Don’t forget the fun. Once in a while you have put work aside and do something nice for the people who work for you. Treat the office to a pizza lunch or take everyone to the movies. Reward employees with an unexpected day off or by closing the office early on a random Friday afternoon.
6. Acknowledge contributions. You can make a huge difference in employee morale simply by taking the time to recognize each employee’s contributions and accomplishments, large or small. Be generous with praise.
7. Provide incentives. Offer people incentives to perform well, either with something small like a gift certificate or something more substantial such as a performance-based bonus or salary increase. Give out “Employee of the Month” awards. Such tokens of appreciation will go far in motivating employees.
8. Honor your promises. Getting people to give their all requires following through on promises. If you tell an employee that he or she will be considered for a bonus if numbers improve or productivity increases, you’d better put your money where your mouth is. Failure to follow through on promises will result in a loss of trust -- not only that person’s trust, but the trust of every employee that hears the story.
9. Provide career coaching. Help employees reach the next level professionally by providing on-site coaching. Bring in professionals to provide one-on-one counseling, which can help people learn how to overcome personal or professional obstacles on their career paths
10. Match tasks to talents. You can improve employee motivation by improving employee confidence. Assign individuals with tasks you know they will enjoy or will be particularly good at. An employee who is successful at one thing will have the self-confidence to tackle other projects with renewed energy and excitement.

TV & People

Recently, when volcano erupts in Iceland, television becomes one of the most effective ways of communicating information through broadcasting the event live. The value of television even goes farther when its other importance on broadening people’s horizon is considered. Television as already stated is easy means of visual communication to know events and news throughout the world. Similarly, television also acts as a good teacher as it becomes easier for the people to learn through it than form books. Likewise, It is one of the most used –easy means of- entertainment. Hence, television has great role on broadening people’s horizon than its any other use.

Television is one of the easiest and reliable means of communication and sharing information. Although two way communications are not possible through television, television provides one of the easiest ways to transfer message from one place to the other. Any kind of information it broadcasts among people is reliable because it broadcasts visuals along with message and news. It obviously becomes one of the good proofs when people can see what they hear. Most of the other time, people can enjoy the information about different places, cultures, countries and different activities around the world. One recent study shows that people of all age prefer television for news because it is not boring to watch things. Therefore, television is one of the best and easiest reliable communicator to communicate news, activities around the world broadening the people’s horizon of knowledge.

Similarly, television is also one of the good teachers for people. When people see things, its videos and pictures leave great impact on mind. As a result it becomes easy for viewers to learn things more easily than reading books. ‘A picture paints thousand words’ is an old saying. That is why most schools and college prefer audio visual classes at least once in a week. Small students can learn alphabets on television. The life cycle of different plants and animals broadcasted by television channels as Discovery and animal planet becomes good source of knowledge for thousand of viewers. Housewife can learn different recipe of food items. So, every people can learn more easily though television because of visuals and pictures it broadcasts along with its information. And that has been an important aspect to broaden the people’s horizon.

Likewise, the use of television on viewing entertaining programs has made it the good source of entertainment. The use of television is not limited on viewing news and information but has also been extended to entertainment. One American study shows that there are more televisions than bathrooms in an average American’s house. This shows the popularity of television. Entertainments through television include viewing dance programs, song videos and movies. Some also use it on playing video games. Furthermore television is widely used invention to pass the leisure time viewing varieties of programs through television channels. Thus, the use of television on entertainment can never be neglected as a major way to broaden the people’s horizon.

However if television teaches good things it can also teach bad attitudes and behaviors. Most of the teenagers copy the attitudes as smoking and drug activities through television shows. Video games played on television are mostly responsible for poor performance of students. But again this does not show the negative attitudes of television but shows the carelessness of viewers associated with television. Excessive is everything is bad. Therefore, it is not television that harms people rather it is careless behavior.

Hence the use of television on different sectors have made it good source of knowledge. People are always learning through television. It does not matter how it broadens the horizons of knowledge whether entertaining people or giving information but the hand of television on widening the knowledge is very important.

Power Of Numbers

I believe in the power of numbers and mathematics. Numbers are used to deceive people and to assist people. The ten digits that constitute the entire world’s numeral system are the alpha and the omega of the present day economy. Mathematics, unlike science, is not a fickle discipline where theories and laws can be changed. The unchanging manner of numbers and mathematics attracts me because of its stability.
Numbers puts everything into perspective. Recently, my economics teacher used numbers to demonstrate how pure silicon wafers are. I don’t get a good comparison or an idea if he says “This is the purest substance known to mankind.” He tells us first that the wafers are 99.99999% pure, and then compares it to a string of green tennis balls connecting the Moon and Earth. Only four or five of these tennis balls are a different color other than green.

Numbers are used to emphasize facts. I did an essay on the state of education a couple years ago, and used numbers to my advantage. Numbers give authority to otherwise undeserving facts. For example, in that same essay, numbers helped me better than: the quality of the US education system is declining. Instead, I added some meat to the underfed statement: The SAT scores of students have fallen seven percent since the 1950’s.
Math has always been something that I am good at. It is dependable and never changes when my back is turned. There is a flow of logic that can’t be proven wrong. Mathematics itself never changes. Yes, there might be some additions to the area of mathematics, such as the new level named Calculus, but once mathematics is created, it is set in stone.

The versatility of mathematics stretches beyond the normal realm of addition and subtraction, of integrals and derivatives. It is the foundation of computers and computer languages. I wouldn’t be able to check my email or play videogames without the computer solving complex algorithms that enable me to see the screen. I would be lost and afraid in High school without the familiarity of mathematics.
I believe in the power of numbers and mathematics. Numbers put perspective and emphasis into my life while mathematics is Yoda who guides me and the rock that I build my house on.

An uncensored press is dangerous

Violence ignited in Nepal against Indian film industry when an Indian bollywood movie ‘Chandi Chowk to China’ state that lord Buddha was born in India. Actually, such uncensored movies, books, plays, that spread wrong and false ideas among people have always been one of the main causes for religious and social conflicts that rise between two groups of people. In fact, uncensored press increases vulgarity in society. An uncensored press can circulate hoaxes around a nation; stab a person of a particular ethnicity or religion; probe into a person’s privacy and also creates cultural, lingual and religious conflicts. The whole humanity has to suffer if the deterioration of cultural ideas occurs due to such press. So, the subjective views, wrong and unreliable ideas are the main characters of an uncensored press that imposes a serious threat to the national integrity and disrupts religious harmony in the world.

The main danger that spreads through an uncensored press is vulgarity. An uncensored press is potentially dangerous via electronic media. Vulgarity and absentee would be on top of the television and other means of press. The young minds of children would be affected by crime scenes as killing, drug abuse, smoking, etc, shown by an uncensored press. The cultural and moral aspect of society would come in danger because the adults would not be able to decide what is, actually, correct. The vulgar scenes rapidly increase on television channels, newspapers and other means of press in order to earn profits. The Greek Philosopher Plato said that-“Art that cannot be used to inculcate the moral principles in people should be banned.” Thus, censorship is inevitable. The uncensored press, eventually, disintegrates the moral aspect of society through vulgarity and shatters the society like a glass.

Uncensored press,also, raises the violence in country and even in the world. Salman Rushdie, an Anglo-Indian novelist, was condemned to death by former Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhallan Khomeini on February 14, 1989, accusing him of mocking Prophet Muhammad in his book called Satanic Verses. Rushdie was praised for his work by his admirers but at the same time, it enraged the Muslims across the globe. This shows how even an award winning novel can trigger violence due to lack of censorship. The articles published in books or in newspapers that pin-points the particular ethnic group should be prohibited. An uncensored press usually cites violence between groups of people creating a gap between them. Therefore, uncensored press is dangerous.

Uncensored press puts the whole civilization in danger. The violence, gap between people, vulgarity, that is caused by an uncensored press always deteriorate culture. The way people behave with each other changes because of cultural and religious violence. Many civilizations in history- including Mayan- were lost somewhere in one corner of the time because of conflicts between people. The idea that is suitable in one culture may not be suitable for the other. For example, sex before marriage is the idea which is widely accepted in western culture but not in Eastern culture. Such ideas should be censored on press before it enters the other society where such idea causes cultural or any type of threats to civilization. This is also a reason to say that uncensored press is dangerous.

The point of view differs from person to person, nevertheless, that an uncensored press draws more evil and negative aspects in society. The censorship under an autocratic regime destroys the knowledge. People would be deprived of reality as in the 20th century Russia and Poland where press was controlled and ran by communist government. But the necessity of censorship far outweighs its negative side. Hence, an uncensored press is dangerous as the inter-racial harmony, peace and co-operation in the world may be on the brink of disrupting in the absence of proper censorship.

Globalisation

Globalization: Pros and Cons

Globalization is not just coming together and the integration of people; it is more likely the integration of ideas and cultural values. Obviously, the effects of globalization in Nepal range from good to bad in different aspects. Telecommunication, culture and education are some of the important fields that have been mostly benefitted due to globalization. But the negative effects of globalization as fast food chain, job insecurity and increased risk of terrorism are mostly affecting my country as other in today’s globalized world. In fact, it is difficult to analyze globalization from only one side and as other country globalization has affected my country and its citizen in both ways.

The first and important positive effect of globalization is on communication field. The easy communication all over Nepal has made Nepalese people able to talk at any time with their relatives even at geographically difficult places where there is no possibility through any means. Internet facility has made people able to send and receive message at any time. Communication through internet has made people able to transfer messages with very low cost. In fact, even poor Nepalese people can transfer message with each other. So communication is one of the important positive sides of globalization.

Similarly, cultural flaws of Nepal are deleted to some extent due to globalization. The process of sharing cultural ideas and values as cooking style, dress up, language and even art forms have removed the superstitious belief to maximum extent. Dowry system and evaluating people through the cast are two examples that are reduced in most of the places in Nepal. It is the influence of western culture in Nepal and due to increasing literacy rate. Women mortality rate is also decreasing which used to be mostly because of internal familial conflicts.

Likewise, education is another field that is being mostly benefitted because of globalization. Yearly more than 20% of Nepalese students go to foreign countries for higher education. This is has made students able to achieve higher education more easily. Even different foreign institutes and boards as CIE are providing international level of education in Nepal. So analyzing the positive side education is important field.

However, the danger of terrorism is also increasing because of this global process. Since, Nepal is developing country and there is a not danger of terrorism compared to other country as India, Pakistan and China. But again this kind of activity as threatening people and bomb blasting in public areas are frequently heard. It is mainly because of easy accesses form other country to Nepal.

In list of negative effect, increasing rate of fast food chain is another main affects. People are leaving traditional Nepali foods as popcorn because in increasing fast food chain. KFC and Mac Donald are common examples that are affecting the traditional foods of Nepal. Foods as “Dhido” are being replaced because of such culture. Nepalese citizen is being unhealthier compared to Nepalese ancestors. One recent study done by ‘Himal’ Magazine shows that 17 different new diseases have spread in Kathmandu in last 50 years. Recent technological means have also been able to cure some of the diseases in Nepal as leprosy among people however there is still main danger of spreading disease among citizen. For example, Bird flu and Swan flu are two diseases that threaten Nepalese people for long time. So, globalization has also main danger of spreading diseases which significantly affects lifestyle.

In conclusion, Globalization has major effect on Nepalese life style in today’s context. It has significantly affected the way people communicate, eat foods, think and live. Globalization is tool that should benefit all aspects of mankind and one cannot ignore its negative sides. All these sides must be addressed for peace and prosperity.