Employee Motivation and Business Productivity

This assignment delves into the crucial connection between employee motivation and its impact on organizational performance and business productivity. It requires a thorough examination of existing research studies, theories, and real-world examples that illustrate how motivated employees contribute to enhanced productivity. The analysis should encompass various motivational techniques employed by managers and their effectiveness in driving positive outcomes within businesses.

Article critique 1
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND MANAGEMENT
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Table of content

Article critique 2
Introduction...................................................................................................................3
Thesis statement and research question........................................................................3
Article strength.............................................................................................................3-4
Article weakness...........................................................................................................4
Critical reflection...........................................................................................................4-6
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................6
Reference.......................................................................................................................7-8

Article critique 3
Introduction
Organizational efficiency is a much sought after stage by organization and yet it’s an
understudied driver of organizational success. Every organization strives to hire employees
with optimum competencies; still many fail (Guclu and Guney, 2017). It is recognized that
employee motivation has a direct relationship with the employee productivity and
organizational innovation (Tomar and Sharma, 2013). Even as HR department in the
organizations acts as a connecting link between the employees and the organization, they
alone are not responsible for motivating employees (Tomar and Sharma, 2013). As per a
review conducted by Trever et al. (2015), within an organization, a number of subsets exist.
These individually and collectively impact the interaction and engagement of the
stakeholders. The complexity of the variables impacting the employee engagement in the
organizations continues to rise. This creates a need to study the role of the managers in the
employee motivation. Through the present framework, the article, “The Effect of the
Motivation Techniques Used by Managers to Increase the Productivity of their Workers and
an Application”, by Guclu and Guney (2017) is critiqued. The relevance of the article in light
of the increased workplace diversity, globalization, and variation in the motivational
techniques at the workplace is recognized and critically analysed.
Thesis statement and research question
The study is based on the "Maslow’ hierarchy of needs model" where it is countered
that the level of motivation is directly related to the need of the individual. The study reflects
that the participants with improved educational standing, and socio-economic background are
more likely to apply the motivational techniques and suggestions in practice positively
(Guclu and Guney, 2017). In this context, the present study confers that “an understanding of
the employee’ socio-economic, educational, and psychological profile will allow a manager
to create an improved motivational model. This will increase the employee productivity and
efficiency”.
Article strength
Most articles study employee engagement and motivation in the relationship with
the human resource department or managerial responsibilities. In the first step, this study
denies this assumption and reflects upon the situation in a comprehensive light. This is
recognized as a primary strength of the research. It is also noted that the theoretical
integration and contextual settings in the present research provides an added depth to the

Article critique 4
research topic, thus enabling an improved learning outcome for the readers. Furthermore, the
association of the Maslow’ hierarchy of needs and other social theoretical models accentuates
research with a socialistic perspective. Lastly, the presence of research participants and the
research analysis through the primary data enhances the credibility and validity of the results
(Kumkale et al., 2010). The study utilized “Economic Tools, Psycho-social Tools and
Organizational and Managerial Tools” as motivating tools for the employees, thus suggesting
the relevance of multi-factorial intervention for enhancing employee motivation (Guclu and
Guney, 2017).
Article weakness
The primary weakness of the study is its subjective application to the participants and
the weaving and fabric dying factories (Guclu and Guney, 2017). This raises the question
regarding the universal application of the study results in generalized settings (Kumkale et
al., 2010).
Critical reflection
Employee efficiency is a much-accepted reality of the business world. Irrespective of
the employee demographics, every organization at some point or another face variables
which dampens the employee productivity and engagement (Burton, 2012). As per Guclu and
Guney (2017), efficiency in the workplace can be impacted negatively by the organizational
environment, office politics and employee relations, low motivation, low compensation, and
employee job inconsistency. This perspective is further reflected by Trever et al. (2015) as
they recognize the presence of motivation killers in each organization. Citing findings based
on the Vroom Expectancy Theory, Tomar and Sharma (2013) note that people see the
relation between performance and outcomes. In which sense it can be concluded that the
employees that are under-satisfied in an organization, are more likely to underperform.
Efficiency of the employee within an organizational framework is impacted by,
 Intra-Business Factors: Organizational Structure and System, Factory, Machine,
Equipment etc., and
 Extra-Business Factors: Equipment and Energy, Business Practices, Management
Approach, Technology etc.” (Guclu and Guney, 2017, p.3).
In this sense, Dobre (2013) notes that there are varied aspects that impact the
motivation of an employee in the organization, however, not all directly impact their

Article critique 5
efficiency. As per Guclu and Guney (2017), the efficiency of the employees is not measured
by any standardized tool, rather it is recognized as an intangible entity. As a result, it is a
subjective entity, which is recognized as the maximum potential or productivity of an
employee within the organizational setting (Osabiya and Osabiya, 2015). While most studies
reflect that high performance has a direct relation to the motivation of the employee;. Guclu
and Guney (2017) noted that high performance is associated with the role perception of the
individual and their competencies and should not be confused with the efficiency of the
individual. Nevertheless, the efficiency of an employee continues to be the driving factor for
the collective and individualistic productivity and performance. Hence, motivation is
recognized as a vital business practice in most settings (Trever et al. 2015).
When an employee enables maximum productivity in their performance, they
achieve a sense of job enrichment that further relates to the job satisfaction, improved
involvement, organizational innovation and a sense of contentment (Solomon et al. 2012). In
order to assess these variables Guclu and Guney (2017), studied the application of job
satisfaction and enrichment, business enlargement, and work-study (hours of effective
business practice) as instruments for the employee efficiency within the organization (Al-
Jasmi, 2012).
In their study, Guclu and Guney (2017) assessed various drivers of motivation to
note that the concepts such as satisfaction, employee growth, success, ego satisfaction,
financial satisfaction, and a collective sense of growth motivated employees towards
improving their performance. These findings are supported by extensive literature support,
where the presence of variables such as incentives, empowerment, engagement, tangible
financial rewards, and promotions, amongst other are associated as positive reinforcements
for improved employee performance (Al-Jasmi, 2012; Burton, 2012; Cetin, 2013; Tomar and
Sharma, 2013). In their study, Guclu and Guney (2017) have avidly noted that the
organizations which do not punish unwanted behaviour, rather support the favourable
practice are more likely to have improved efficiency and productivity.
The author has supported this perspective through an extensive theoretical
background. In my personal opinion, this can be true, as the negative reinforcement can often
be misunderstood for punishment, and threaten the autonomy of the employees. This
perspective is shared by Redmond (2010), as they note that negative reinforcement can pave
the need for concealment. It can be further foreseen as inappropriate or unjust, and impact the

Article critique 6
workforce environment negatively (Redmond, 2010). Predominately, Guclu and Guney
(2017) noted that open communication, flexible perceptions, creative and tolerant business
framework, growth opportunities and economic consideration all account for improved
motivation, and possibly efficiency of the employees.
As per Solomon et al. (2012), the social construct of each being is different, and
hence, their needs or drivers for motivation will also be different. While this aspect is
recognized by Guclu and Guney (2017) as well; it is noted that the authors individually
assessed varied tools for different motivation frameworks for the organization. In the light of
which, the study found differentiation in the motivational tools for employees based on the
managerial implications. Since efficiency is also recognized as the task of driving maximum
productivity from the resources available, the present findings make sense to me (Tomar and
Sharma, 2015). The study reflected that the educational background of the employees
impacted their perception regarding the Economic Tools, Psycho-social Tools, and
Organizational and Managerial Tools of motivation (Guclu and Guney, 2017). Personally, I
found this finding to be correct, yet incomplete. The social cognitive behavioural theory
proposed by Bandura reflects that the cognitive behaviour of the person is impacted by their
environment (Redmond, 2010). In which sense the reaction towards the motivation technique
used by a manager should also be subjective.
Conclusion
Through the means of the present review, a critical analysis of the study proposed by
Guclu and Guney (2017) was done. While most perspective shared by the researcher were
supported through a critical review; the finding reflective of dominance of educational
background as a variable for the acceptance of motivational tool alone by the employees was
questioned. It is reflected that the focus of the managers within the organization should be on
understanding their workers, and based on their settings they should deploy a tailored
motivational program, to enhance the organizational and employee performance collectively.
Even as this analysis is not refuting the perspective shared by Guclu and Guney (2017), it is
countering, that education alone cannot be the driver for the acceptance and application of
motivation in the workplace. Through this paper, focus on varied drivers and challenges of
organizational environment has been placed. The paper supports the findings of the article in
accordance with the use of reinforcement as a motivational tool.

Article critique 7
Reference
Al Jasmi, S. 2012. A Study on Employees Work Motivation and its Effect on their
Performance and Business Productivity. Available at:
https://bspace.buid.ac.ae/bitstream/1234/275/1/90040.pdf
Burton, K. 2012. A study of motivation: how to get your employees moving. Available at:
https://spea.indiana.edu/doc/undergraduate/ugrd_thesis2012_mgmt_burton.pdf
Cetin, I. 2013. Motivation and its impact on labour productivity at Hotel business: “a
conceptual study”. International Journal of New Trends in Arts, Sports & Science Education.
2 (1): 70-79. ISSN: 2146 – 9466.
Dobre, I. 2013. Employee motivation and organizational performance. Review of Applied
Socio- Economic Research. Available at:
ftp://ftp.repec.org/opt/ReDIF/RePEc/rse/wpaper/R5_5_DobreOvidiuIliuta_p53_60.pdf
Guclu, H. and Guney, S. 2017. The effect of the motivation techniques used by managers to
increase the productivity of their workers and an application. Business Management
Dynamics. 6 (7): 1-18. ISSN: 2047-7031
Kumkale,T., AlbarracÍn, D and Seignourel, P. 2010. The Effects of Source Credibility in the
Presence or Absence of Prior Attitudes: Implications for the Design of Persuasive

Article critique 8
Communication Campaigns. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 1; 40(6): 1325–1356. doi:
10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00620.x
Osabiya and Joseph, B. 2015. The effect of employees’ motivation on organizational
performance. Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research. 7(4): 62-75, DOI:
10.5897/JPAPR2014.0300
Redmond, B.F. 2010. Reinforcement Theory: What are the Rewards for My Work? Work
Attitudes and Motivation. The Pennsylvania State University; World Campus.
Solomon, T. 2012. Employee Motivation and Organizational Performance in Multinational
Companies: A Study of Cadbury Nigeria Plc. International Journal of Research in
Management & Technology (IJRMT), 2 (3): 303-312. ISSN: 2249-9563
Terver, C., Terfa, M and Asibi, I. 2015. The Effects of Motivation on Staff
Productivity/Performance at the Francis Sulemanuu Idachaba Library, University Of
Agriculture, Makurdi-Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education. 2320–
7388, 5 (2): 01-07. DOI: 10.9790/7388-05230107
Tomar, A and Sharma, S. 2013. Motivation as a tool for effective staff productivity in the
public & private organization. Journal of Indian Research. .1 (3): 122-129. ISSN No. : 2321-
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