Bangladesh University of Professionals

Term Paper on
Impact of Workplace Motivation On Employees: An Analysis
Course Name: Organizational Behavior
Course Code: PA-5105
Submitted to

Md. Nasir Uddin

Lecturer
Department of Public Administration
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)
Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP)

Submitted by

Md. Abubokkor Siddik

ID:2016311014 (MSS)
Dept. of Public Administration
Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (FASS)
Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP)

Submitted
Table on: 15 May, 2020
of Content

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 Table of Content

Topic Page No

Abstract 3

Introduction 3

Concept of Motivation 4

Techniques of Employee Motivation 4-6

Popular Theories of Workplace Motivation 6-9

Conclusion 9

Reference 10

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 Impact of Workplace Motivation on Employees: An Analysis

Abstract
Most employees need motivation to feel good about their jobs and perform optimally. Some
employees are money motivated while others find recognition and rewards personally motivating.
Employee motivation has always been a central problem for leaders and managers. Unmotivated
employees are likely to spend little or no effort in their jobs, avoid the workplace as much as
possible, exit the organization if given the opportunity and produce low quality work. There has
been a lot of research done on motivation by many scholars. Employers need to get to know their
employees very well and use different tactics to motivate each of them based on their personal
wants and needs. This study investigates the relationship between employee work motivation and
their performance in the workplace and business productivity. It examines the main and common
motivation theories and different approaches to motivate employees. The main aim is to find a
correlation between employees work motivation and their performance and the performance effect
on business productivity. In this paper we would like to emphasis on the importance of motivation
in the workplace to improve employee performance and productivity. Even though we would like
to present the theories and techniques of motivation in the workplace.

Introduction
Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors such as the
intensity of desire or need, incentive or reward value of the goal, and expectations of the individual
and of his or her peers. These factors are the reasons one has for behaving a certain way. An
example is a student that spends extra time studying for a test because he or she wants a better
grade in the class. Many employees need recognition from their employers to produce quality
work. Recognition and employee reward systems identify employees who perform their jobs well.
Acknowledging a job well done makes employees feel good and encourages them to do good
things. Employers recognize workers by tracking progress and providing feedback about how they
have improved over time. Many workers are self-disciplined and self-motivated. Incentive and
rewards have little effect on employees who feel motivated only when they are confident in their
abilities and personally identify with their role within the organization. An employer may
implement a daily "spiff" that pays cash instantly to employees who meet short-term production
goals. To achieve long-term production goals, an employer could implement a program that
encourages friendly competition between workers to meet production numbers. At the conclusion
of the program, employers can publicly recognize top performers for a job well done.

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Concept of Motivation
The word motivate is frequently used in the context of management as a transitive verb: motivation
is by implication something done by one person or group to another. A further implication of this
usage is that the motivated parties need to be induced to perform some action or expend a degree
of effort which they would not otherwise wish to do. Employee motivation has always been a
central problem for leaders and managers. On the other hand, employees who feel motivated to
work are likely to be persistent, creative and productive, turning out high quality work that they
willingly undertake. There has been a lot of research done on motivation by many scholars, but
the behavior of groups of people to try to find out why it is that every employee of a company does
not perform at their best has been comparatively unsearched. Many things can be said to answer
this question; the reality is that every employee has different ways to become motivated.
Employers need to get to know their employees very well and use different tactics to motivate each
of them based on their personal wants and needs. Inspiring employee motivation requires much
more than the old-fashioned carrot- and-stick approach. Today’s manager needs to understand the
reasons why employees work and offer the rewards they hope to receive. Motivated employees
have a drive to succeed no matter what the project. Managers cannot “motivate” employees, but
they can create an environment that inspires and supports strong employee motivation.

Techniques of Employee Motivation

Increasing motivation in your workplace can help improve performance, raise morale and boost
productivity. While different motivators work for different types of employees, there are several
common techniques for getting employees excited and energized for their jobs. If in doubt, ask
employees what you can do for them to help them feel more motivated about their professional
setting.
1. Job Enlargement:
Job enlargement involves expanding the job of an employee that has them doing more work of a
similar nature to what they already do. This may be allowing them to complete the whole task
instead of just part of it, for example, packaging the products as well as manufacturing them. This
process ideally removes the boredom out of the job by eliminating the repetitiveness out of tasks
and allowing them to complete the whole process, further increasing their responsibility.
2. Job Enrichment:
Job enrichment is an attempt to give workers more control over their tasks and more responsibility
for design, execution, and output. The worker assumes some of the functions previously carried
out by his or her immediate supervisor or by other staff.
3. Job Rotation:
Job rotation is a practice whereby each employee learns several operations in manufacturing
process and rotates through each in a set period. Job rotation has important implications for firm
learning. On one hand, when employees rotate, the firm receives information about the quality of

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various jobs - employee matches. On the other hand, without rotation, the firm receives only direct
information about one match, but the information it gets about this one match is very reliable.
4. Creative a Positive Work Environment:
Motivate employees by giving them an upbeat, positive work environment. Encourage teamwork
and idea-sharing, and make sure staffers have the tools and knowledge to perform their jobs well.
Be available when employees need you to be a sounding board or a dispute mediator. Eliminate
conflict as it arises, and give employees freedom to work independently when appropriate.
5. Set Goals:
Help employees become self-motivated by helping them establish professional goals and
objectives. Not only does this give employees something to strive for, but your business benefits
when goals are tied to corporate contributions. Make sure goals are reasonable and achievable so
employees don’t get discouraged. Encourage them when they hit notable milestones.
6. Provide Incentives:
Increase motivation by providing incentives to work toward. You can create individual incentives
for each employee or team incentives to motivate employees as a group. Financial incentives can
include cash prizes, gift cards or restaurant gift certificates. Nonfinancial incentives can include
extra vacation days, compressed work weeks or choice office space or parking spots.
7. Recognize Achievements:
Celebrate employee achievements through employee-of-the-month or star performer awards.
Make a big deal out of accomplishments by celebrating at staff meetings. Print certificates or
engrave plaques, issue a press release or post a notice on your company website. Recognize team
accomplishments as well as individual efforts.
8. Share Profits:
Motivate employees with the incentive of a profit-sharing program. In this way, employees
increase their earnings when they help you increase yours. This approach simultaneously promotes
collective goal-setting and teamwork. It also gives employees a sense of pride in ownership and
can improve performance and reduce turnover as well as raise morale.
9. Solicit Employee Input:
Regularly survey employees about their levels of satisfaction. You can conduct anonymous polls
or hire an independent party to conduct a formal focus group. This will help you catch potential
morale breakers before they get out of hand. Soliciting employee input also shows staffers that you
care about their opinions and want to continually improve working conditions.
10. Provide Professional Enrichment:
Encourage employees to continue their education or participate in industry organizations. Provide
tuition reimbursement or send employees to skills workshops and seminars. If an employee is
motivated to an upward career path, offer mentoring and job shadowing opportunities to keep them

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focused. Promote from within whenever possible, and create opportunities to help employees
develop from a professional standpoint.

Popular Theories of Workplace Motivation

Many theories have been propounded to examine the factors that contribute to employee
motivation in organizations. These theories are important because they provide explanations to the
reasons why employees are motivated, therefore, if properly applied, could lead to having better
motivated employees which ultimately may lead to increased productivity in organizations
employees’ behavior and provide understanding to both managers and employees of how to
motivate others and become more involved in one’s own motivation.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow’s theory on the hierarchy of needs is one of the most popular theories of motivation and
this forms one of the bases of the model for this study. A need is something that a person requires
and satisfaction occurs when a need is fulfilled, and motivation is the attempt to satisfy a need.
Maslow (1954) identified that employees had five levels of needs and that human needs are in the
form of a hierarchy ascending from the lowest to the highest. Maslow emphasize that no need can
be fully gratified and that when a need is substantially satisfied, it ceases to be a motivator. This
makes a person seeks a higher level of need (Drummond, 2000). According to Maslow (1954),
listed from the lowest level of needs to the top is categorized as follows:
• Physiological needs: These are needs that focus on sustaining human life such as the need for
oxygen, food, water and sex. Maslow stated that until these basic needs are satisfied to a large
extent, no other motivating factor can operate (Armstrong, 2010).
• Security or Safety Needs: These are the next in hierarchy and focus on being free of physical
danger and the fear of losing a job, property, food or shelter as well as protection against emotional
disappointment.
• Social Needs: These are the needs that deal with the social aspect of man such as the need to
belong and be accepted by others. It is the need for love, affection and acceptance as belonging to
a group.
• Esteem needs: Maslow identified that as soon as people satisfy the need to belong and be
accepted by others, the next higher level of need is the need to be held in high esteem by themselves
and others. It goes on to state that these kinds of need produce satisfaction through power, prestige,
status and self-confidence. It includes internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy,
achievements and external factors such as status, recognition and attention.
• Self- Fulfilment (Self-actualization): This is the highest need in the hierarchy. It is the drive to
become what one is capable of becoming, to maximize one’s full potential and to accomplish
something. It includes needs such as growth, achieving one’s potential and self-fulfillment.
Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

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The two-factor model of satisfiers and dissatisfiers was developed by Herzberg et al. (1959)
following an investigation into the sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction of accountants
and engineers. It was assumed that people have the capacity to report accurately the conditions
that made them satisfied and dissatisfied with their jobs (Armstrong, 2010).
Based on the two types of motivators, thus factors that result in satisfaction with one’s job and
those that result in dissatisfaction for employees at work, Herzberg (2003) stated that intrinsic
factors are related to job satisfaction while extrinsic factors relate to dissatisfaction. The theory
was based on the question- What do people want from their jobs? Hygiene factors on the other
hand are extrinsic and describe the conditions of work rather than the work itself (Armstrong,
2010). These include job security, salary, work conditions, company policy, administration,
supervision, interpersonal relations with subordinates and supervisors (Bhattacharyya, 2009).
Herzberg (2003) concludes that employers should be concerned with the job itself and not only
with the work conditions.
Theory X & Theory Y
Theory X and Theory Y were first explained by McGregor in his book, 'The Human Side of
Enterprise,' and they refer to two styles of management – authoritarian (Theory X) and
participative (Theory Y).
1. Theory X: Theory X managers tend to take a pessimistic view of their people, and assume that
they are naturally unmotivated and dislike work. As a result, they think that team members need
to be prompted, rewarded or punished constantly to make sure that they complete their tasks. Work
in organizations that are managed like this can be repetitive, and people are often motivated with
a "carrot and stick" approach. Performance appraisals and remuneration are usually based on
tangible results, such as sales figures or product output, and are used to control staff and "keep
tabs" on them. This style of management assumes that workers:

● Dislike their work.

● Avoid responsibility and need constant direction.
● Have to be controlled, forced and threatened to deliver work.
● Need to be supervised at every step.
● Have no incentive to work or ambition, and therefore need to be enticed by rewards to
achieve goals.

According to McGregor, organizations with a Theory X approach tend to have several tiers of
managers and supervisors to oversee and direct workers. Authority is rarely delegated, and control
remains firmly centralized. Managers are more authoritarian and actively intervene to get things
done.

Although Theory X management has largely fallen out of fashion in recent times, big organizations
may find that adopting it is unavoidable due to the sheer number of people that they employ and
the tight deadlines that they have to meet.

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2. Theory Y: Theory Y managers have an optimistic, positive opinion of their people, and they
use a decentralized, participative management style. This encourages a more collaborative, trust-
based relationship between managers and their team members. People have greater responsibility,
and managers encourage them to develop their skills and suggest improvements. Appraisals are
regular but, unlike in Theory X organizations, they are used to encourage open communication
rather than control staff. Theory Y organizations also give employees frequent opportunities for
promotion. This style of management assumes that workers are:

● Happy to work on their own initiative.

● More involved in decision making.
● Self-motivated to complete their tasks.
● Enjoy taking ownership
● of their work.
● Seek and accept responsibility, and need little direction.
● View work as fulfilling and challenging.
● Solve problems creatively and imaginatively.

Theory Y has become more popular among organizations. This reflects workers' increasing desire
for more meaningful careers that provide them with more than just money. It's also viewed by
McGregor as superior to Theory X, which, he says, reduces workers to "cogs in a machine," and
likely demotivates people in the long term.

McClelland's Theory of Needs

In the early 1940s, Abraham Maslow created his theory of needs. This identified the basic needs
that human beings have, in order of their importance: physiological needs, safety needs, and the
According to McClelland, these motivators are learned (which is why this theory is sometimes
called the Learned Needs Theory). McClelland says that, regardless of our gender, culture, or age,
we all have three motivating drivers, and one of these will be our dominant motivating driver. This
dominant motivator is largely dependent on our culture and life experiences.

These characteristics are as follows:

1. Need for Achievement

● Has a strong need to set and accomplish challenging goals.

● Takes calculated risks to accomplish their goals.
● Likes to receive regular feedback on their progress and achievements.
● Often likes to work alone.

2. Need for Affiliation

● Wants to belong to the group.

● Wants to be liked, and will often go along with whatever the rest of the group wants to do.
● Favors collaboration over competition.
● Doesn't like high risk or uncertainty.

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3. Need for Power

● Wants to control and influence others.

● Likes to win arguments.
● Enjoys competition and winning.
● Enjoys status and recognition.

Conclusion

Manager’s duties in today’s corporate world are multi-faceted. Not only do managers need to be
versed in finance, economics, and information systems; it is now essential for them to have a firm
grasp on organizational behavior and psychology. They must know how their people think and
what makes them do so. Making sure managers are aware of this psychology is the job of the
human resource department, but all managers of the organization have a responsibility to
understand it. A key aspect of organizational psychology is motivation. Managers must know why
their people behave the way they do, so that these buttons can be pushed at the manager’s
discretion. A motivator is that which impels or compels an individual to act toward meeting a need.
Some major motivational theories will also be explored. Practical ways of applying these theories
to real people will be considered. In conclusion, motivated employees not only influence their
work performance but also the whole organization performance and business productivity. Every
member in the organization has some requirements and expectations from the organization from
the first day he/she join the company. He/she might not be aware of how to achieve these needs
and goals, and here the role of the line manager and the division manager comes in the picture. To
be a motivator, it is important to be a leader in order to discover what really motivates employees
and it is necessary to discover the fundamental needs of the employees.

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