Employee Motivation Note.docx

1. It is hard to argue with the accepted wisdom – backed by empirical evidence – that a motivated workforce means better corporate performance. But what actions, precisely, can managers take to satisfy the four drives and, thereby, increase their employees’ overall motivation? - Completed two major studies aimed at answering that question. - To define overall motivation, we focused on 4 commonly measured workplace indicators of it: + engagement: energy, effort, initiative + satisfaction: does the company meet their expectations, does it satisfy its implicit and explicit contracts with them? + commitment: extent to which employees engage in corporate citizenship + intention to quit: employee turnover - Results of 2 studies: + individual managers influence overall motivation as much as any organizational policy does - Examples of satisfying employees’ emotional needs + reward system, culture, management systems, design of jobs + emphasis individual and store performance, enhance the spirit of camaraderie among employees and their dedication to technical expertise + create a hostile environment that interfered with the drive to defend 2. The four drives that underlie motivation 2.1. The drive to acquire - Physical goods: food, clothing, housing, money - Travel and entertainment - Promotion - Relative and insatiable -> Care about both their own compensation packages and others’ 2.2. The drive to bond - Strong positive emotions: love and caring - Negative: loneliness and anomie - Boost in motivation when feeling proud of belonging to the firm - Loss of morale when the institution betrays - Care more about the firm than about their local group with it 2.3. The drive to comprehend: - Make sense of the world, produce theories and accounts – scientific, religious, and cultural -> Explain for reasonable actions and responses - Frustrated when things seem senseless - Work place: the desire to make a meaningful contribution, motivated by jobs that challenge them and enable them to grow and learn - Demoralized by those that seem to be monotonous or to lead a dead end 2.4. The drive to defend: - Defend the ideas and opinions

- Feeling of security and confidence if be fulfill - If not -> fear and resentment - Resistance to change -> to fully motivate employees, must address all four drives 3. The organizational levers of motivation Each drive is best met by a distinct organizational lever 3.1. The reward system - suitable for the drive to acquire - how effectively it discriminates between good and poor performers - give the best people opportunities for advancement 3.2. Culture - suitable for the drive to bond - create a culture promoting teamwork, collaboration, openness, and friendship 3.3. Job design - the drive to comprehend - designing the job: meaningful, interesting, and challenging

3.4. Performance-management and resource-allocation processes - the drive to defend - fair, trustworthy, and transparent processes for performance management and resource allocation - make decision processes clear - employee can understand the rationale behind the decision 4. How to make big strides in employee motivation

- improve the effectiveness in fulfilling all four basic emotional drives, not just one. 5. The role of the direct manager - Managers decisions = organizational policies - employees recognized that a manager has some control over how company processes and policies are implemented.

- managers can link rewards and performance in areas such as praise, recognition, and choice assignments. - they can allocate a bonus pool in ways that distinguish between top and bottom performers - can take actions that encourage team-work and make jobs more meaningful and interesting - supervisors foster a highly motivating local environment - employees look to different elements of their organization to satisfy different drives but expect their managers to do their best to address all 4 within the constraints that the institution imposes. - how employees thought about their managers affects to the degree they rate them

1. Does the “new model of motivation” (Nohria, Groysberg, & Lee, 2008) apply to a particular type of work (e.g., professional, administrative, technical, unskilled)? Why or why not? No. It applies to any type of work. Reasons: - The four drives are common for any employee working in any area - How managers and organization make actions does not rely on the positions or particular type of work 2. How should organizations allocate their resources among the different influences on performance: the direct manager, rewards, culture, job design, and performance management systems? It depends on: - the situation of the organization - the size - objectives and goals - strategies