Student Publications


Author: Ghadeer Rashid Al Wahaibi
Title: Motivation and Rewards
Area: Business and Economics
Country:
Program: Doctorate
Available for Download: Yes
View More Student Publications Click here

Sharing knowledge is a vital component in the growth and advancement of our society in a sustainable and responsible way. Through Open Access, AIU and other leading institutions through out the world are tearing down the barriers to access and use research literature. Our organization is interested in the dissemination of advances in scientific research fundamental to the proper operation of a modern society, in terms of community awareness, empowerment, health and wellness, sustainable development, economic advancement, and optimal functioning of health, education and other vital services. AIU’s mission and vision is consistent with the vision expressed in the Budapest Open Access Initiative and Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. Do you have something you would like to share, or just a question or comment for the author? If so we would be happy to hear from you, please use the contact form below.

For more information on the AIU's Open Access Initiative, click here.

Executive Summery

After detail study about Motivation and Rewarding from many sources more than 20 papers and books for the related subject, I am going to summarize the most of the study and researches, finding the related subjects, differentiate them in the separate forms and then I will analyze the most useful information, then I will give my conclusion.
In this course you will find the good explanation of the different studies and I will make clear points about the main role of the Management and Leadership in our modern life especially in these days where every think is going more and more sophisticated and how this can play the most important factor and play the major role in the market influence in the strategy of the investment.

3- Principle of Motivation
Today's workforce wants more than money – the traditional currency. Workers are looking for a "new currency" that can be found in the 5 Rs: Responsibility, Relationships, Respect, Recognition, Rewards. Managers have many options for implementing the 5 Rs in the workplace, and using them for planning, managing and evaluating performance

A- Responsibility

Typical job descriptions look like extensive to-do lists ending with a catchall phrase such as "…other duties as assigned." The underlying message can be seen as "Do whatever I tell you." Today's workforce is much more interested in flexibility to add value in creating desired outcomes. Employees want to feel that what they do is important

What can managers do? Make sure jobs are properly profiled for employees and describe outcomes that are relevant to the unit's work. Eliminate tasks and activities that are unessential to your primary mission and talk to employees regularly about ways to increase alignment between what they do and where the unit is headed.

B- Relationships

Motivation is an inside job – something in each individual that is unleashed under the right circumstances. Effective managers can create these circumstances by building relationships and creating supportive environments. Coaching, teaching, supporting and guiding all are strategies for producing the right outcomes. Above all, managers need to be authentic, honest and ethical. Building trust is essential to helping employees be motivated to take risks and perform to their highest levels

C- Respect

In a respectful environment, employees are valued and respected for the intellectual capital they contribute. Performance management and review systems are aimed at building confidence and competence. Feelings, ideas and actions are valued and attended to.
As a supervisor, you may be part of a larger organization that has its "major league" rules, but how you manage your team is largely up to you. After all, you are the coach. Your expectations will shape the environment. Build on the concept of teamwork – respecting differences, solving problems collaboratively, and supporting one another. Avoid negative energy, such as gossiping or harassing. Ifthe larger environment isn't supportive, engage employees in developing operating principles or defining a vision that expresses how everyone will work with one another, how customers are to be served, and how communications are to flow

D- Recognition

For many employees, recognition is not so much about getting credit as it is about being appreciated. Focus on creating intrinsic rewards (genuine opportunities to contribute, become more knowledgeable and develop professionally) in addition to extrinsic rewards (prizes, incentive contest).
Special assignments can be an effective form of recognition, but it can't just be more work. Offer more challenging work or work that utilizes the employee's strengths. It's essential to make sure the assignment is something the employee welcomes. If employees feel taken advantage of, special assignments will generate resentment and frustration rather than positive motivation

 

 

 

 

4- Key to Motivate Employees

  • Use appropriate methods of reinforcement.
  • Eliminate unnecessary threats and punishments.
  • Adequately recognize accomplishments.
  • Allow employees both flexibility and choice.
  • Increase employee responsibility through delegation.
  • Institute a program of goal setting.
  • Clarify your expectations making sure that employees understand them.
  • Design tasks and environments to be consistent with employee needs.
  • Individualize your supervision.
  • Provide immediate and relevant feedback that will help improve employee performance.
  • Show that you have confidence in your employees.
  • Show interest in each individual under your supervision.
  • Allow individuals to participate in making decisions that affect them.
  • Establish a climate of trust and open communication.
  • Minimize the use of formal regulations and rules.
  • Listen to and deal effectively with employee complaints.
  • Point out improvements in performance, no matter how small.
  • Criticize behavior, not people.
  • Encourage employees to engage in novel and challenging activities.

A certain level of stress is basic to motivation, so don't eliminate it completely

 

 

 

 

5- How to Motivation the employee
The following  points they measure the core elements needed to attract, focus, and keep the most talented employees

  • To know what is expected from the employee at work
  • To have the materials and equipment which the employee need to do the related work in good and right way
  • At work, to check the opportunity to do the best and quality job every day
  • In the last seven days, to check the employee have received recognition or praise for good work
  •  Supervisor, or someone at work need to be caring about the employees as a person
  • we need to put someone at work who encourages the employees development all the time
  • At work, do my opinions seem to count?
  • Make the mission/purpose of the organization or company make the employee feel like the task or giving work is important
  • Always make sure the co-workers committed to doing quality work all the time
  • Make the work environment encourage to make a best friend at work
  • Every six months, talk to the employees about the company progress
  • At work, always make the learning culture and make the opportunities to learn and grow

 

 

 

 

6- How to reward employees
Rewarding employees doesn’t have to be costly. There are many things that supervisors can do to let staff members know that their efforts are noticed and their good work is appreciated. The key is to be timely, creative, and authentic
Remember that each employee is different. Match the reward to the interests and goals of the employee whenever possible. Make sure you know your employees well enough to be sure the reward will be appreciated
Here are some low cost suggestions:

  • Take time to personally thank employees for doing a good job. Do it regularly, specifically and sincerely.
  • Vary your approach when thanking employees. Some efforts merit formal letters of recognition with a copy to the employee’s file. For others, a timely and specific e-mail message can be effective. A few sincere words of thanks delivered in person is almost always appreciated.
  • Low-key recognition activities can be very effective. Take a few minutes during a staff meeting to recognize a successful project and present the participants with an appropriate token such as a certificate, a "congratulations" cake, or their favorite candy bar. Or bring in ice cream treats for everyone at the end of a particularly stressful week.
  • When someone has been successful, offer them a chance to teach others what they did. This will allow the unit to learn from the successful experience, and will acknowledge the person’s unique contribution to the work.
  • Keep a supply of treats to be delivered with a short note. For example, a roll of Lifesavers saying "You were a lifesaver today" or a can of Orange Crush soda with a note saying "Thanks for helping out in the crush."

Create a travelling trophy to be passed among team members whenever someone successfully completes a difficult task

7- Why extrinsic motivation does not work
In the laboratory, rats get Rice Krispies. In the classroom the top students get A’s, and in the factory or office the best workers get raises. It is an article of faith for most of us that rewards promote better performance.
However, a growing body of research suggests that this law is not nearly as ironclad as was once thought… If a reward — money, awards, praise, or winning a contest — comes to be seen as the reason one is engaging in an activity, that activity will be viewed as less enjoyable in its own right.

  • Alfie Kohn (source)
  • Alfie Kohn has studied motivation extensively, and his excellent book Punished by Rewards shows in detail that extrinsic motivation has some serious drawbacks:
  1. It’s not sustainable - As soon as you withdraw the punishment or reward, the motivation disappears.
  2. You get diminishing returns - If the punishment or rewards stay at the same levels, motivation slowly drops off. To get the same motivation next time requires a bigger reward.
  3. It hurts intrinsic motivation - Punishing or rewarding people for doing something removes their own innate desire to do it on their own. From now on you must punish/reward every time to get them to do it.

In one of Kohn’s examples, children in a small town were given points for every books they checked out of the local library during the summer vacation. The points could be redeemed for a free pizza, in an attempt to encourage reading.

8- Finding:
The way you motivate someone is by showing them results. Showing someone the results of their labours can inspire them to desire more of those results. For example, Kjerulf says if a salesman in your store talks to customer one day, and then the next day the customer walks into the store and buys 10,000 pounds of hi-fi stereo equipment without the original salesman’s knowledge, you should let the previous salesman know, because the results will inspire the salesman to do more sales
  Many people don’t feel motivated at work, and there’s a very simple explanation for this: The motivational techniques used by most managers don’t work.
While few companies use rubber chickens (fortunately), most of the standard motivational tools like promotions, bonuses, employee of the month awards, pep talks and free-pizza-nights are downright harmful to the drive, energy and commitment of employees. It only leaves them feeling manipulated, cynical and de-motivated.
The result: According to one Gallup study, 60-80% of workers are not engaged at work. They feel little or no loyalty, passion or motivation on the job. They are putting in the hours, but they are not doing a great job and they are certainly not happy at work!
As the illustration above shows, there are four different kinds of motivation. Only one of them works and unfortunately, many managers focus exclusively on the other three. Kinda silly, huh?
These are the four different kinds of motivation:

1- Motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is when you want to do something. Extrinsic motivation is when somebody else tries to make you do something.
2- There is positive and negative motivation. Positive motivation is when you want to get something - motivation towards some goal. Negative motivation is away from something you want to avoid.
Combine these two dimensions and we get four kinds of motivation. Let us see why three of the quadrants are useless for creating motivation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9- Recommendation:
1- Display a very strong management organization with a below-average motivational environment. This is a successful, but the negative motivational environment has created a low level of personal satisfaction. Your dislike makes it possible that management skills will deteriorate in the future. You have a solid basis for financial success in the future, but a change in attitude is required for your expectations to be fulfilled.

  • Management Recommendations: Personal life skills counseling, short courses in motivation and human relations.

 2- Well-managed operations with low stress levels and a good motivational environment. There are some uncertainties about the future. It is important to maintain a positive attitude toward your high expectations for your farm.

  • Management Recommendations: management conferences and short courses emphasizing motivation, review management bulletins on human resource management

 3- low-stress, no-problem operation. You enjoy and have managed well. The superior management, positive attitude and strong planning environment make this a model farm.

  • Management Recommendations: No training required, keep up the good work, continue to access information and developments in farm management.

4- Negative attitude and low morale make this a high-stress.
 Financial returns and farm security are adequate but real satisfaction is dependent upon a change in attitude. An extensive effort in human relations is required. The present situation is not a realistic option, so evaluate all available options.

  • Management Recommendations: Personal life skills counseling, review of basic farm management skills.

5 - Characterized by average rewards and motivational environment.  with future success dependent upon improvement in existing management and personal skills.

  • Management Recommendations: Short courses in farm management, home study course in general farm management, greater attention to human relations and personal skills.

 6- Strong motivation and adequate rewards combine to create a pleasant work environment with normal stress levels. There may be specific areas of farm business management, which require upgrading, but this farm has strong potential for future growth and development.

  • Management Recommendations: Use short courses, home study and farm bulletins to review and improve farm business management skills

 7- High-stress, low-success farm operation. The extremely low ratings given to both the rewards and work environment indicate that radical change is needed for this farm to survive. Better times could improve the current situation, but a change in attitude and major upgrade in farm management skills is required for real improvement. You derive little enjoyment from the current farm situation, and change is essential.

  • Management Recommendations: Intensive classroom training in all phases of farm business management and personal skills, professional counselling required, consider alternative careers if options are available.

 

 

8- Stress levels on this are quite high and the current situation is not viable. You have a positive attitude towards, but the management environment is weak.

  • Management Recommendations: Classroom training in farm management skills, farm management conferences and short courses on human relations.

 9- Good working environment but may be under stress due to low levels of farm rewards. Many fall into this category during hard times. Although the future is uncertain and present rewards are unsatisfactory, you will succeed when general farm conditions improve. Your positive attitude provides hope for future improvements.

  • Management Recommendations: Short courses in specific areas of farm management, homestudy of general farm management.

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 - References:
1- Management and Organizational Behavior by laurie J.Mullines
2- Web site (http://www.learnerassociates.net)
3- learning Experience from MBA study
4- some recommendation from the following Website http://www.managementhelp.org/
5- Crainer, S. Key management ideas: thinkers that changed the Management World, third edition, financial times Prentice Hall (2003)
6- Drucker, P.F. the Practice of Management Heinemann Professional Management, Pan Books(1986)  
7- Knights, D. and Willmott, H. Management lives: Power and Identity in Work Organization (1999)
8- Taffinder, P. the New Leaders: achieving Corporate Transformation Through Dynamic leadership, Kogan (1995)
9- Fullan, M. Leading in a culture of change, Jossey-Bass (2001)
10- Watson, C.M leadership Management and the Seven keys Business (1983)


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

List of contents:
 


Title

Page

 

1- Executive Summery…………………………………………..

 

2

2 - Introduction …………………………………………………….

           4

 

3 -  Principle of Motivation ………………

 

5

 

4-  Key to Motivate Employees …………..

 

7

 

5 - How to Motivation the employee ………………………….

 

8

 

6- How to reward employees ………

 

9

7- Why extrinsic motivation does not work
8 - Findings ……………………………………………………

10

           11

9- Recommendations  ………………………………………

13
 

10 - References ……………………………………………………

16
 

 

 

 

 

2- Introduction:
 Motivation is a behavior that you can influence but not create. Even highly motivated individuals can get frustrated, discouraged, or tired on a project. Team members need to know they are valued, their efforts noticed, and their good work appreciated. Remember that each employee is different and motivated or rewarded by different things.
The key is to be timely, creative, and authentic and that the motivation or reward matches the interests and goals of the employee, whenever possible.
The main problem in the real live when it comes to management, "motivating people" is a popular topic. Managers often talk about implementing various reward systems and motivational techniques.
I do not think managers should approach people by trying to "motivate" them. Instead, I think we should be trying to engage them.
When considering any kind of "reward structure," remember that "rewards" place a lot of emphasis on the hierarchy system. You do not "reward" a superior. You do not "reward" a friend. You "reward" people who are beneath you in the hierarchy, and everyone knows it. Therefore, "rewards" can be a subtle way of reminding people of their "place."
If you want your direct reports to put their best foot forward, you are not likely to get there by trying to buy their enthusiasm--or their loyalty.

AIU Quick Search

Contact Us Today!

We understand how busy adults do not have time to go back to school. Now, it's possible to earn your degree in the comfort of your own home and still have time for yourself and your family. The Admissions office is here to help you, for additional information or to see if you qualify for admissions please contact us. If you are ready to apply please submit your Online Application and paste your resume and any additional comments/questions in the area provided.

Pioneer Plaza
900 Fort Street Mall 905
Honolulu, HI 96813
800-993-0066 (Toll Free in US)
808-924-9567 (Internationally)
808-947-2488 (Fax)