Employee Motivation and Team-Building

Employee Motivation and Team-Building

Joseph A. Jackson

Wayland Baptist University

MGMT 6306

December 15, 2016

Dr. Dan Jacobson

Employee Motivation and Team-Building

Introduction

        There are many factors of motivation, what may or may not motivate individual members of organizations.  In motivational terms, there are common questions asked need to be asked when trying to motivate individuals, what needs must be met for members to remain motivated? What can motivate individuals to grow and improve themselves?   We are reminded that Organizations are not just robotic entities but a complex social system in which we must all live and work in.  Finding out why people tune in or out at work is a difficult task.  This research paper gives a clear review of important theories of motivation and explains that motivation is a Pot of Gold that we may never fully understand or unlock its mysteries.

         Since, the beginning of the industrial period and prior to the Hawthorne studies discipline and motivation was a big problem confronting managers. Workers had to work a schedule not of their own choosing which affected individual motivation and organizational production. During this phase of the industrial evolution individual needs were not addressed but over time things changed.  Society’s basic concept of humans changed with the shifting economic base, workers were paid for production output rather than for the hours they worked. Motivation methods were rooted with this concept, in other words, people worked for money which ties into production, pay employees more money, and they in turn would produce more.

Findings

       The Hawthorn study team begin its work identifying environmental changes that would increase worker productivity. Humidity, illumination levels, room temperature all were factors. We were shown that complex, interactional variables make a difference in motivating people, something simple attention paid to workers as individuals with control over their own work made differences. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and McGregor’s Theory X and Y stand alongside Hawthorne’s experiments as a catalyst for motivational studies of socio-psychological aspects of human behavior in organizations.

         Cognitive dissonance theory added understanding of motivation.  It is a simple concept and rings true. When two or more people or things around a person are in a state of disharmony, the imbalance causes dissonance (discomfort). People will act to do something to reduce or eliminate that dissonance.  Managerial applications could be applied; for example, management could require workers to do certain things in the hope that attitudes or beliefs will follow.  

          Hu and Linden (2015), emphasized the importance of team motivation, focused on prosocial motivation. Integrating the process of team cooperation is as important as team viability, and team effectiveness and team performance.  He found that Team voluntary turnover is indirectly affected by team prosocial motivation through team viability. Bottom-line, management attention should be directed toward enhancing team prosocial motivation, as teamwork is a coordinated action and showing concern for other may bring about smoother interactions and more effective cooperation with the team promoting motivation. They found out that when Team members are motivated toward promoting the benefits of other, they produce higher performance also and stay in their teams longer.