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The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

MM2021, LGT2106

Marc K. ©
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MM2021 Management & Organization

Individual Essay


Topic: Motivation

Title: How Motivation Contributes to the Overall Performance of a Company?


According to the Business Dictionary (2017), motivation is defined as internal and external factors that energize, direct and sustain people to be continual to make an effort to attain a goal. In this highly competitive business world, every organization aims to be a success. They all target at maximizing their profits. One way is to improve the employees’ productivity.

Employees are the most valuable asset in a company. Employee satisfaction plays an important role in boosting a firm’s productivity. It can even affect the bottom line of a company. In fact, motivation is regarded as one of the essential elements which can increase employees’ productivity. This essay will analyze the theories of motivation, its impacts on organizations, the relationship between motivation and work performance and some ways to enhance motivation.


To begin with, there are plenty of theories about motivation and this essay will focus on a few of them including the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory and Expectancy Theory.


Generally, needs, behavior, and satisfaction are the three basic elements of motivation. In other words, you have certain needs, and this makes you do certain things, which satisfy those needs (Stephen, 2002). They have an inseparable relationship. In the workplace, employees who have certain needs try working harder, which result in getting rewards set up by their boss, which satisfy their needs, and so on.


Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory is one of the most famous examples that people use to describe motivation. Maslow (1943) categorized needs as five levels with lower- to higher-order. Higher-order needs include social, esteem and self-actualization and lower-order needs include physiological and safety. The theory mentions that we start looking for higher-order needs after we satisfy the basic one.

The main concept is that lower-level needs no longer serves as a motivator once it is satisfied. For example, the most basic needs of a human are air, water, and food, which are physiological needs. When you are extremely thirsty, all your behavior may be directed at finding water. But once you drink, you will stop finding water and the promise of water cannot motivate you anymore (Baumeister & Leary, 1995).

Such principle can also use for safety and love or belonging. Conley, the founder of Joie de Vivre hotel chain, took the Maslow Pyramid and made it as an employee pyramid which saved his own company (KERMIT, 2010). He instills a culture of recognition in his company. He emphasized that it is more important to focus on lower levels of the pyramid instead of struggle with the abstract concept of self-actualization.

Letting staffs understand the meaning of their roles help them realize the significance of their job, and they are able to feel respected and motivated to work harder. According to Emad (2014), non-financial factors such as recognition and positive feedback help increases energy, excitement, loyalty and motivation.


Unlike Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory approached the question of motivation in a different way. Herzberg stated that Job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are created by different factors. He discovered that the aspects of the work environment that satisfy employees are not the same as aspects that dissatisfy them (Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 1959).

The theory mentions that hygiene factors including company policy, salary and working conditions create job dissatisfaction and motivators including achievement, recognition and increased responsibility create job satisfaction. Different from traditional view only separate factors into satisfied and dissatisfied, Herzberg further classified hygiene factors into dissatisfaction and no dissatisfaction, and motivators into satisfaction and no satisfaction.

Base on this theory, in order to have a more productive workforce, we need to work on improving both the motivators and hygiene factors so as to increase satisfaction and reduce dissatisfaction. William Louey, the Non-Executive Director of the Kowloon Motor Bus Company can be a good example. In the recent interview, he said that a good leader needs to let your staffs feel appreciated and supported (Mark, 2014), “Leader should not only sit in the office but work with all members.” He always tells his employees what they can improve and what they did well. “To prevent job dissatisfaction, we need to make sure we treat everyone in the firm fairly, no matter he is the CEO or the cleaner,” he said. “Paying more attention to the frontline staffs help form supportive relationships and can provide them more momentum which results in an increase in productivity.”


Other than those need-based theories of motivation, Expectancy Theory states that individual will decide what they behave depending on the outcomes they expect to be. Expectancy, instrumentality, and valence are the three elements of Expectancy Theory (Porter & Lawler, 1968). It shows an equation that motivation equals to the product of the three elements. When an employee believe his effort will result in the desired goal, when he trusts he will receive rewards if he meets the target, and when the value of the reward satisfies what he wants, he will tend to pay more effort on work.

The more commission you get; the more rewards you have. Moreover, not only a large amount of cash bonus is involved, but also banquet or even trips around the world. In order to receive those abundant rewards, everyone in the firm tries their best to find more and more client which gives huge benefits to the company. It is found that rewards in organizational communications demonstrate reinforce achievement (Emad, 2014).


The three theories on top introduce different aspects that affect employees’ motivation of a company. Actually, motivation is one of the indispensable factors that impact the overall productivity of the firm. It is indicated that motivation forces us to action, which drives us to work harder and pushes us to succeed (Booth, 2004). According to Ibrahim and Brobbey (2015), motivation helps to improve the level of efficiency of employees.

It is suggested that effective use of motivation creates a productive workforce. However, lack of motivation factors can also give a chance to employees to search for reasons to give maximum effort by themselves (Miller, 2007). As a manager of an organization, it is a good news that we can enhance employee motivation to boost the overall productivity. Managers can tailor job assignments and rewards if they know what drives their staffs to work.

In this case, motivation is conceived of as the things it takes to encourage workers to perform well by fulfilling their needs. “It is goal-directed, and therefore cannot be outside the goals of any organization whether public, private, or non-profit” (Olajide, 2000).


Therefore, as this essay has mentioned, organizations aim to be success and motivation is a key point to achieve this goal. Then, the next step is to find ways to increase employees’ motivation. There are plenty of methods to meet this target. Base on the Expectancy Theory, giving rewards is a typical way to encourage workers to perform better. Examples including attendance award and achievement award.

Those rewards can be a cash bonus, airline tickets or a certificate, which should meet employees’ expectations so as to motivation them to work. Not all the rewards are essential. Refer to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, higher-order needs are always psychological needs. As the result, recognition of good performance is a great way to inspire employees. Recognition costs nothing as it can be just a few words or actions, but is able to make them feel respected and motivated to work., since non-financial factors help increases energy, excitement, loyalty and motivation.

From the Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory, working condition is one thing that may lead to dissatisfaction. Fulfilling some basic criteria such as creating a work environment that encourages positivity, harmony, and recognition is important for motivating employees. The effect of fulfilling such low-order needs may not last so long according to the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, but it is better not to let staffs be dissatisfied because of them.


In conclusion, the findings indicate that increase of employees’ motivation result in the increase of a firm’s productivity. This essay sought to assess how employees’ motivation affects job performance. Based on the findings, motivation is an important factor in determining employee satisfaction and performance. The three theories are introduced in order to analyze how motivation impacts on organizations.

Only when the organizations and their employees act in concert can this challenging problem be dealt with effectively. Otherwise, our dream jobs will surely continue to be an elusive dream for us.


Words Count: 1641


Reference:

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R., 1995. The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529.


Booth, K., 2004. Management. Houghton: Miffling Company.


Emad R., 2014. 5 essential elements of increasing workforce productivity. Available at: <


Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B., 1959. The motivation to work. New York: Wiley; Herzberg, F.,1965. The motivation to work among Finnish supervisors. Personnel Psychology, 18, 393–402.


Ibrahim, M. and Brobbey, V. A., 2015. IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE THE CASE OF SOME SELECTED MICRO FINANCE COMPANIES IN GHANA. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, [e-journal] 3 (11). Available at: <


KERMIT P., 2010. Chip Conley Took the Maslow Pyramid, Made It an Employee Pyramid and Saved His Company. Available at: <



Mark F., 2016. How Small Business Can Motivate Employees to Boost Productivity. Available at: <


Maslow, A. H.,1943. A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370–396; Maslow, A. H., 1954. Motivation and personality. New York: Harper.


Miller, S., 2007. Human resource management practices in organizations. London: Senro Press.


motivation. BusinessDictionary.com. Retrieved March 25, 2017, from BusinessDictionary.com Available at: <


Olajide, A., 2000. Getting the best out of the employees in a developing economy. A Personnel Psychology Guest Lecture Series. Department of Guidance and Counselling, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.


Porter, L. W., & Lawler, E. E., 1968. Managerial attitudes and performance. Homewood: IL: Irwin; Vroom, V. H., 1964. Work and motivation. New York: Wiley


RSW, 2016. The Need for Employee Recognition, and How to Do It Right. [PNG] Retrieved from


Stephen P. B., 2002. Theories of Motivation. Available at: <


LGT2106 Principles of Operations Management

Case Study


The three different product ranges of M&S serve plenty of market segments.


To begin with, I would like to introduce what market segmentation is. Market segmentation defines and subdivides large homogeneous market into identifiable segments having similar demand (BusinessDictionary.com, 2017). In order words, it is a division of the market into consumer groups.


In fact, each market segment is unique. There is plenty of ways to segment the market, so marketers may try to use various criteria to create target market for their goods or services. After understanding the needs of target consumer, they approach each segment differently. There are four bases for segmenting consumer market including demographic segmentation, geographic segmentation, psychographic segmentation and behavioral segmentation.

From Wedel and Kamakura (2000),“ a segmentation basis is defined as a set of variables or characteristics used to assign potential customers to homogeneous groups.”


In M&S case, a demographic segmentation is used to select its targets market for its products. Demographic segmentation divides a market into groups based on variables such as age, gender, income, education, occupation, generation and nationality (SAAD, 1995). For the Perfect and Classic ranges, M&S targets the customers by income and occupation. It focuses on classically stylish merchandise, having ‘plain, white shirts, black roll-neck sweaters and jeans’ which value at a reasonable price, functional and serve both women and men.

Apart from Autograph range, Per Una range segments the market with age, gender and income also. Its target customers were women aged between 25 and 35 that are fashion-conscious. It is mentioned that the products are made of high-quality materials, designs inspired by very latest trends which the production runs were short with no repeats and 10% expensive than other M&S ranges.

Base on the following data, it is believed that the Per Una range serves mainly high to middle-income customers who are willing to pay a high to stay close to new fashions.


Geographic segmentation is another base used by M&S. Geographic segmentation divides the market into geographic units such as nations, states, regions, countries, cities or neighborhoods (SAAD, 1995). M&S is an international company having stores all over the world. The three product ranges, Perfect and Classic ranges, Autograph range and Per Una range actually focus on the same segment, which using regions, countries, and cities to separate the market.


Besides geographic segmentation, behavior segmentation divides customers into groups based on their knowledge, attitudes, uses or responses (SAAD, 1995). For Perfect and Classic ranges, the products are made from high-quality fabrics and many of its items are washable, non-iron and tumble-dry friendly which are convenience and suitable for busy customers. For Autograph range, the products have cutting-edge design by some top designers, which is suitable for customers that want to show social status and wearing style different from others.

For Per Una range, as the products are made of high-quality materials and designs inspired by very latest trends, also with limited edition, it serves customers who stay close to new fashions and want to show high social status. More than that, M&S’s products emphasize on lower pricing with high quality, in order to get confidence and trust from customers, result in positive responses.


The final one is psychographic segmentation. Buyers are divided into different groups based on social class, lifestyle or personality characteristics (SAAD, 1995). In Perfect and Classic ranges case, its products are functional and with standard design which is suitable people who have a busy lifestyle. For Autograph range, the products are designed by top designers.


To conclude, the three product ranges of M&S serve various segments of customers, from men to women, low income to high income, Europe to Hong Kong, busy lifestyle to trendy lifestyle.


First of all, order winners are the criteria that differentiate the products and services of one firm from another. It can be considered to be a competitive advantage for the firm. Order qualifiers are the basic criteria that permit the firms products to be considered as candidates for purchase by customers.


For the case of M&S, in Perfect and Classic ranges case, the reliability and functional design are the order winners. Perfect and Classic ranges focus on classical style and standard design. Different from the other two ranges, its products do not need to face the problem of being outdated as they are timeless collections. The selling points of them are a good quality and the value-for-money pricing.

The ranges carry on the M&S tradition of reliability, buying experience and low cost of production. Many of its items are washable, non-iron and tumble-dry friendly which are practical for busy lifestyle customers. The functional part ensures customers can find the suitable products. The order qualifiers are its high quality and reasonable pricing.


Therefore, competitive high street pricing with high quality becomes the order qualifier of Autograph range.


For Per Una range, trendy design and limited edition are the order winners. Per Una range aims to serve customers aged between 25 to 35-year-old women who are fashion-conscious. It provides very trendy products and has short production runs with no repeats. Per Una items present in very small numbers which make each style special and exclusive. That makes limited edition becomes an order winner of Per Una range.

However, limited edition, high-quality materials, individual cuts and latest trend also lead to a higher price than other M&S ranges. In this case, high quality and affordable pricing become the order qualifiers.


Overall, it is believed that M&S puts high quality and affordable pricing as the order qualifiers for all the ranges. It tends to provide high quality of products which are value-for-money and affordable for most of the customers.



Perfect and Classic ranges

Autograph range

Per una range

Product range

Classical style, standard sizes and colors, functional

Designer wear trend

Trendy design with high quality

Design changes

Standard, basic design

Seasonal design, focus on spring/summer

Very latest trend, change monthly

Price

Reasonable pricing, value-for-money

High street pricing

High street style, affordable pricing, 10% expensive than other M&S ranges

Quality

Practical materials, high-quality fabrics

High quality

High quality

Sales volume/SKU

Large volume

Small volume, available in selected stores

Very small volume and limited edition

Order winners

Reliability, functional

Seasonal design

Trendy design, limited edition

Order qualifiers

Quality, value at reasonable pricing

High quality, competitive high street pricing

High quality, affordable pricing

Operations priorities

Cost

Quality

Speed, Flexibility

Reference:

market segmentation. BusinessDictionary.com. Retrieved March 26, 2017, from BusinessDictionary.com website:



Smriti C., 2014. Top 4 Bases for Segmenting Consumer Market. Available at: <


Wedel M. & Kamakura W. A., 2000. Market Segmentation: Conceptual and Methodological Foundations 2ND Edition. [e-book] Available at: <



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