Motivation is an interesting, challenging, and complex area of
Human Resource Management studies which is rapidly changing both in terms of
its nature, understanding, functions, purpose, as well as mode of
application.
Traditional motivation theories focus on specific elements that
motivate employees in pursuit of organizational performance. For example,
motives and needs theory (Maslow, 1943) states that employees have five levels
of needs (physiological, safety, social, ego, and self-actualizing), while
equity and justice theory states that employees strive for equity between
themselves and other employees (Adams, 1963, 1965). However, current research
on employee motivation is more cross-disciplinary and includes fields such as
neuroscience, biology and psychology. It seems that current research is aiming
to bring together and revolutionize traditional motivation theories into a more
comprehensive theory that encompasses the traditional perspectives of
management, human resources, organization behavior with new perspectives in
neuroscience, biology and psychology. For example, Lawrence and Nohria (2002)
use cross-disciplinary perspectives to explain how human nature is the foundation
of employee motivation.
They argue that it is human nature for employees to possess four drives the drive to acquire, bond, comprehend and defend and these drives are the foundation for employee motivation. Their research also specifies organizational levers that fulfill these drives. Reward systems fulfill the drive to acquire, culture fulfills the drive to bond, job design fulfills the drive to comprehend, and performance management and resource allocation processes fulfill the drive to defend (Lawrence & Nohria, 2002; Nohria, Groysberg, & Lee, 2008). When these organizational levers are used to fulfill employee drives and motivation, organizational performance is maximized.
As per the below video (Video 01) shows simple techniques that encourage employees to perform better. Rather, it’s about how to maximize the ingredients to create hundreds of recipes that are customized and authentic, that provide long-term continuity and impact. This video will teach how to inspire teams to optimally perform.
Video 01
I’m currently employed in a Business Process Outsourcing company (BPO) where the same methods are used as illustrated and be sensitive to individual differences, treat everyone with dignity and people-focused on their come up to and consider that the best motivation they can give their employees is the career. Motivated employees care for happy clients which in turn will absolutely affect the company performance..
Reference
- Adams, J. S. (1963). Towards an understanding of inequity. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(5), 422–436.
- Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 2, 267–299.
- Lawrence, P. R., & Nohria, N. (2002). Driven: How human nature shapes our choices. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Michael, T. L., Robyn, L. R.(2016). Understanding employee motivation and organizational performance: Arguments for a set-theoretic approach. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge.
- Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370–396.
- Nohria, N., Groysberg, B., & Lee, L. (2008). Employee motivation: A powerful new model. Harvard Business Review, 86(7/8), 78–83.
- Tracy, B. (2014). How to Motivate and Inspire Employees [online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8TzmG-Pr40[Accessed on 8 September 2019].
