Motivation case study

All people are working for something: some strive to money, to glory, to power, and some people just love their job. These and many other circumstances that encourage people to active work are called motifs, and their application – motivation.
Reasons that lead a person to give the work maximum efforts are difficult to define, they are very diverse and complex. Various internal and external forces cause in people different reaction: some people perform light work and remain dissatisfied, while others do the hard work and get satisfaction.
In these sphere it is important to find answers to some important questions: What can be done for people to work better and more productive? How can we make work more attractive? What makes a person want to work? These and similar questions are always relevant in any business.
Management of an organization can develop excellent plans and strategies, to establish the most modern equipment, use the best technology, however all this can be negated if the members of the organization will not work properly, if they do not cope well with their responsibilities, will not behave in the team as appropriate, seek to achieve organization’s goals. (Robbins 2007)
If there is a good understanding of what motivates person, what prompts him to action and what he wants doing some work, the company can construct a control over the person so that he will strive to perform his duties well and effectively.
In this case study, in the company Belcher Ltd. workers just faced with the problem of interest in work and job satisfaction. Emily Linden has been good employee, but later lost her interest in the work, and has a constant dissatisfaction with the work, that could lead to her dismissal. This example is closely related to the theory of employee motivation, theories of human needs, as well as the theory of job satisfaction. Having considered all these theoretical approaches it will be possible to find a solution to the problem of Belcher Ltd., and determine how the company can increase the motivation of Emily Linden.case study

Theoretical aspects of personal motivation
One of the main challenges for enterprises is the search for effective ways to control labor, ensuring active work of the labor force. The decisive causal factor of the effective work of employees is their motivation.
Causes that determine the participation of person in the work are his willingness, capabilities and expertise, but in particular his motivation. The process of motivation involved needs and motivation factors. Need – is the internal motivation to act, and the process of finalizing the actual motivation is the motive, that determines readiness of the individual to perform the labor process with varying efficiency. In self motivation together with needs are also involved value orientations, beliefs, attitudes.
There is no one universally accepted definition of motivation, as different authors give the definition of motivation based on their viewpoints.
Motivation – is the stimulation of activity, that encourage to work, the impact on human behavior to achieve personal, collective and social goals. (Latham 2006)
Motivation – is a combination of internal and external forces that motivate a person to carry out activities aimed at achieving certain goals, with use of certain efforts, level of diligence, integrity and perseverance.
Need is shortage of something, causing the state of discomfort. The need makes a person work if his satisfaction is below an acceptable level, then the desire to improve it significantly increases efficiency. However, needs are not always able to get people to overcome their inertia, this requires a certain impetus or motive (from lat. Moveo – moving) – a reason, cause, circumstances that encourage people to be active. Motive may be some internal impulse, and difficult to logically explain, but may be due to external circumstances that drive people to act. (Beck 2003)
For example, an interesting work that brings satisfaction can motivate people to perform it at practically no costs. Otherwise, people sometimes agree to do anything to avoid an uninteresting job.
Human behavior is generally determined not by one motive, but a complex of them, that have impact on human behavior.
Kinds of motives to work:
1. The motif of sociality (the need to be in the team). This motif is especially common for the Eastern (Japanese) style of HR management “group morality”. Need to work in “good team”, according to many sociologists, is one of the leading factors of employee motivation in Europe.
2. Motive of self-assertion is typical for a large number of workers, mostly young and middle age. According to Herzberg, it is actually a motivating factor for qualified staff.
3. Motif of independence is common for workers with “host” motivation, who are willing to sacrifice stability, and sometimes higher wages instead of being ” the master” and independently conduct their business.
4. The motif of the reliability (stability) is present when person prefers stability in life and activity. For various reasons (historical, ethnic), the proportion of Europeans, oriented to the stability and reliability, is significantly higher percentages of those who prefer to risk and entrepreneurship.
5. The motif of learning and self-education that is especially important in an environment of highly skilled professionals and scientists.
6. Motive of justice. Every society sets its own understanding of justice, however, the failure of justice to employees leads to their demotivation. This motive is especially important for American employees, who pay much attention to discrimination at work.
7. Motive of competition, as the basis for organizing the competition in the company, is one of the strongest motives for acting at all times. This motive is very popular among American employees, and at low cost it provides a significant economic effect.