Introduction:

People have their own needs and desires. These needs and desires have been
constructed and prioritized as a result of two main effects and measures. The first
one is an instinct, natural causes which originate for survival. The second effect is
the inherited and acquired values, beliefs, knowledge, culture, and experience.
These needs and desires are mapped and translated into objectives, plans, and
eventually behaviors.
Basically, any action done or decision made by a mature human or a group of
unified people is based on a requirement or a need that forms a defined goal or a
basic purpose to pursue. Based on the perceived importance of the goal and
objective, a person will behave and act adhering to a set of personal beliefs and a
set of legal and ethical rules that fit the situational context of the behavior and
actions.
Similarly, the establishment and management of an organization or a business
require setting clear goals objectives and goals of this organization. Both goals and
objectives are reflections of the stakeholders' needs and desires that value their
opportunity costs of investing the money in this particular business and
organization. Upon defining the general goals and objectives, management can
articulate a strategic plan for some time.
"Motivation is a psychological condition which affects a person’s behavior"
(Laegaard & Bindslev, 2006, p. 44). Motivation is an inner process in which a
person’s energy and willingness to act and perform the change. Motivational
behavior is a direct result of the motivational process which consists of three basic
elements (initiation, direction, and intensity). These three elements define the need
or desire in a specific direction to achieve the specific most favorable goal and
objective.
There are many theoretical studies and approaches related to motivation and its
factors which are divided into two main groups inner and outer motivation. All these
theories are detailed and explained based on the factors affecting the motivation
process.
As a plain fact, the motivation factor is a relative matter and it is not an absolute and
general thing. It changes from one person to another. The motivation factors can be
characterized and prioritized based on social, functional, and cultural factors.

The Case scenario:

Melodie Stewart is an innovative, hardworking, and dedicated young woman. She

had her own needs and based on these needs, she set several apparent and short-
term goals along with several long-term goals and objectives. She was working as an
employee at Atlantic Women magazine when the magazine went bankrupt in spring
1996. She received many job offers at that time, but she decided to pursue her goal
of being an entrepreneur and maintaining her economic interdependence.
In the case of Melodie Stewart, she was motivated by the need of being
economically interdependent as she was emotionally dependent on her family. She
decided to establish a private business related to information networking. She
decided to use the skills, competencies, and business connections, and relationships
that she developed and gained during her previous job.
During the early planning and launching phases of the business, Melodie has gone
through many setbacks and challenges. She had to make some decisions about her
business, goals, strategy, and funding. There were a set of inner; rational and
irrational, and outer motivational factors that have affected and directed the
behaviors and decisions of Melodie starting from the partnership with her friend
Kim Doherty and ending with the decision that both partners need to make about
keeping their business small and to focus only on training section.
There have been some setbacks in the establishment of the organization such as
getting the funds needed, preparation of the business plan, managing the stress of
the workload, balancing the work-life, and maintaining a good health situation for
both partners.
Applying the concepts of Maslow's theory of needs, Alderfer's needs theory, and
McClelland's motivational theory, we can see that Melodie has passed the
hierarchical framework of needs and her decisions and behaviors were directed and
guided to fulfill the needs in the hierarchical order.
Identify the problem(s):
Melodie's ultimate goal for the company is to be the first company that people think
of when they need information. And so the company's business idea was to provide
a matchmaking service for business, government, and non-profit organizations. To
do this, the company would produce a newsletter to highlight local networking
events, the company would have each customer fill out a detailed profile outlining
the networking needs. The third activity was the company would provide seminars
and training on effective networking techniques. These services will be provided to
customers in exchange for subscription fees (Hurst, n.d.).
Melodie and her partner Kim started to feel overwhelmed with all the workload and
activities that the Pro-Net is performing and offering to its customers. They were
exhausted and losing their health and wellbeing. Both Melodie and Kim were feeling
unfocused and confused with the increasing demands on the time and logistics of
their activities. Both Melodie and Kim started to experience some disagreements.
Both Melodie and Kim have decided the jurisdictions of each one of them. And they
are considering keeping their business small and focus on providing the training to
customers only as this service is the most profitable service among other services
provided.
Melodie and Kim were afraid of losing control over their established business and
wanted to maintain their sustainable business without badly affecting their health,
wellbeing, and work-life balance.
Diagnosing the causes:
Melodie and Kim are innovative, creative, and hardworking young women who have
a passion for success in their lives. Besides their strong passion, they have been
motivated by their inner irrational needs to overcome the obstacles and gender
issues they have faced during the launching and planning phases of their projects
along with the need to succeed and achieve economic interdependence. All these
causes have led Melodie and Kim to indulge in heavy assignments and activities to
ensure their success. They were interdependent and wanted to keep doing the work
by themselves. They pushed themselves until they reach the edge that they can not
handle the stress more. They were harming their health and their wellbeing. Their
passion has stopped them from asking for help or assistance from others. They do
not ask for more funds from a funder or a new partner. They wanted to keep the
success for themselves.
For that, they have faced the challenges of work-life balance and wellbeing. They
experience overwhelming stress and workload. They started to experience conflicts
and disagreements.
Prescribing alternatives:
Upon the evaluation of the situation that Melodie and Kim have reached both
personally and professionally, they have three main alternatives. The first one is the
decision that they have made which is focusing on the training services and
stopping other services provided by Pro-Net.
By doing this, they will keep their business small and they will maintain their market
segment and customers for now. They will be facing the possibility of losing the
competition with other available stronger competitors which have more resources
and will offer a range of networking services including the training and will be
offering more perceived values to customers and Pro-Net will eventually lose its
market segment and customers.
The second option is to search for more funds via a bank loan. This new funding will
grant Pro-Net the needed resources to expand the business and maintain the
success and services provided to customers. This will allow Melodie and Kim to
organize the work properly and not lose their health and wellbeing. They will be
capable of hiring the needed staff to organize the logistical and administrative
activities for Pro-Net. They have to consider moving forward in their career based
on the success they have achieved.
The third alternative is to seek the needed funds from a strategic partnership with
an interested partner, either an individual or a company. This partnership will grant
Pro-Net the needed resources in terms of funds and human resources. This
partnership may also grant Pro-Net access to a new market segment and new target
customers. However, with this partnership, Melodie and Kim will lose a certain level
of power and control over their own company.
Making decisions and implementation:
The best decision based on Melodie and Kim's passion, motivational factors, and the
success and situation that Pro-Net has achieved will be to prepare a new strategic
plan to ask for a bank loan as a fund to be able to maintain the success of Pro-Net
and even expand the market and services without affecting the health and
wellbeing of Melodie and Kim. They have to move forward in their careers and start
staffing people to be capable of maintaining the ultimate goal of the establishment
of Pro-Net since the beginning.
Conclusion:

The organization must have a plan or strategy, which is “a plan of action designed to
achieve a specific goal or series of goals within an organizational framework”
(Boundless Business, n.d.).
There are many definitions for the strategy of an organization based on many
researchers and their scopes of focus. “Strategy involves the action plan of a
company for building competitive advantage and increasing its triple bottom line
over the long-term” (Boundless Business, n.d.). The strategy of an organization must
be adaptable to the rapidly changing business environment and the current
situation of the organization. And so, the owners of a business must always
consider adapting their business strategy to maintain sustainable planned success.

References

Boundless Business (n.d.). Strategic Management. Retrieved

from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-business/chapter/stratedgic- m
anagement
Hurst, D. (n.d.). Young entrepreneurs -- Seizing opportunities and new directions.
Acadia Institute for Case Studies. Acadia University. Retrieved
from https://my.uopeople.edu/pluginfile.php/1600675/mod_book/chapter/
359471/U1%20Pronet%20Case%20Study.pdf?time=1633549741734
Laegaard, J. & Bindslev, M. (2006).Organizational Theory. Retrieved
from www.Bookboon.com
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