Introduction
The company in question is a small manufacturing firm that produces widgets. The widgets produced by the company are clones, but they are liked by very many people in the market. The products are similar to the one that is nationally known. The widgets are known as WooWoo in the market. The company has employed a total number of fifty employees and is looking for ways of motivation its employees because there are a number of cases being reported relating defective products and a lot of delay in production. This is making the company face a number of costs. There is need foe coming up with ways of motivating the fifty employees in order to make them committed to their work. Motivating them will also increase the production level of the company (Nuttin, 2014).
Elements of the organization motivational plan
The employees within the company are not satisfied with their positions and the work. This is due to the delays being seen and production of many defective products. This means that the quality of work has drastically reduced. A good motivational plan is required for this company. The motivational plan should be characterized by the following significant elements:
I. Flexibility
Operation within the company should be informal. The employees are not only supposed to be fixed to one job description, but they should be free to multitask. The employees should be allowed to make their decisions regarding the operations of the departments. There should be the introduction of job rotation since this will reduce boredom. This element encourages productivity of the staff.
II. Training
The company needs to provide a thorough extensive training to its employees. The employees should not only be trained in one area, but in many. This training will enable them to provide quality work and multitask without any difficulty.
III. Recognition
It is a belief that the key to a company’s success lies with its employees. The attitude in the company, especially in the corporate office should consider everyone in the company to be as important as the products it is producing. (Hwang, Kettinge & Yi, 2013). The employees should be valued and respected. This motivational plan reduces employee turnover.
Motivational theory
The motivational theory that is to be used to support the motivational plan is the Herzberg’s two-factor theory. Fredrick Herzberg coined the theory, which offers an understanding of the implication of motivation in the workplace. In his theory, Fredrick provides two factors that play a big role in determining the motivation of employees (Nuttin, 2014). The two factors are:
• Hygiene factors – the absence of hygiene factors can make the employees be dissatisfied with their jobs. Examples of these factors are job security, salary, organizational policies, quality of supervision, and working conditions.
• Satisfiers or motivators – these are the major factors to job motivation and satisfaction. Examples of this factor are achievement, responsibility, recognition, and growth opportunities. Managers can make improvements in the company while observing the needs of employees.
Ways of motivating minimum wage service worker
Managing employees who are earning low wages is difficult because they have low motivation. However, there are various ways that can be used by employers to motivate these employees. The ways are:
I. Rewards – the employees will feel their effort is being recognized and appreciated by the company through rewards they will be receiving, such as T-shirts, shoes, or trousers (Hwang, Kettinge & Yi, 2013). The rewards fall under Herzberg two-factor theory, especially in the hygiene factor.
II. Positive work environment – the work environment should contribute to encouraging the employees to work hard (Hwang, Kettinge & Yi, 2013). It should be designed to make the staff have fun. This condition will help reduce boredom and monotony. This motivational plan it categorized under Herzberg two-factor theory (Sheeran et al, 2014).
III. Career advancement opportunities – a low wage employee can be motivated through the possibility of career advancement. The management can achieve this by training and helping the employees climb the ladder. This plan falls under the Alderfer’s ERG theory.
IV. Good communication with the workers – good communication and regular meeting with the employees will enable the staff to know what is to be done at all time. This will make employees feel important. Good communication relates to relatedness need, which falls under the Alderfer’s ERG theory (Sheeran, Harris & Epton, 2014).
Team performance
Having knowledge relating to interpersonal dynamics, especially in teams can help leaders and managers to establish the optimal arrangement of people to ensure team high performance and success (Bradley, Klotz, Postlethwaite & Brown, 2013). However, a number of factors affect team performance. Examples are:
I. Communication – poor communication will hinder a group from achieving its goal because group members will not understand the scope of a goal.
II. Attitude – negative attitude hinders group cooperation. It will be hard to interact with a person having a negative attitude.
III. Behaviors – undesirable behavior will cause a rift in a group. Group members will group themselves according to their behaviors, and this will reduce group productivity.
IV. Culture – according to a number of researches done, it has been proved that groups with individuals from different cultural diversity are likely to perform well.
Leading a work team
It is essential for a team leader to develop a guide for leading his/her group. The guide will propel a group towards achieving its goals (Dyer, Dyer & Dyer, 2013). The following vital skills are necessary for leading a group:
• The team leader should establish clarity in every task.
• Team connection should be properly built.
• Be able to resolve issues.
• The group needs to focus on team action.
• Increasing the strength of group capabilities.
• Improve and increase team performance.
In the team that I was part of, the team leader was selected to give the group direction, and the leader was selected through voting by members. The team met twice in a week, and the major challenge was members used to arrive late for meetings. The success of teamwork is lies participation of every team member.
- Bradley, B. H., Klotz, A. C., Postlethwaite, B. E., & Brown, K. G. (2013). Ready to rumble: How team personality composition and task conflict interact to improve performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2), 385-410.
- Dyer, W. G., Dyer, J. H., & Dyer, W. G. (2013). Team building: Proven strategies for improving team performance. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
- Hwang, Y., Kettinger, W. J., & Yi, M. Y. (2013). A study on the motivational aspects of information management practice. International Journal of Information Management, 33(1), 177-184.
- Nuttin, J. (2014). Future time perspective and motivation: Theory and research method. London, UK: Psychology Press.
- Sheeran, P., Harris, P. R., & Epton, T. (2014). Does heightening risk appraisals change people’s intentions and behavior? A meta-analysis of experimental studies. Psychological bulletin, 140(2), 511-570.
