Motivation, Performance and Employees

Motivation
Case of Starbucks

Motivation, Performance and Employees
Motivation is an important tool for the organization to survive in the fiercely competitive market
where human resource is also subjected to intense competition. Cost cutting is an important
organizational operation and here a high rate of turnover is going to add to the cost. Hence, it is
quite evident that when organizations fail to keep the employees motivated, it is going to incur
more cost in the form of recruitment and training expenditure.
Here, the case of Starbucks is taken in order to analyze the concept of organizational motivation.
It is important that a real life case study is taken up for research study so that the findings are not
hypothetical and have real implications (Nold and Michel, 2016).
Another area which must be taken seriously is the use and application of theories and relevant
literatures. Based on these, research gains validity. In this blog posting essay, evidences have
been provided so as to validate the points made.
The organization taken here is Starbucks. The company owns 4000 outlets throughout the world
and has become the largest retail coffee shop, globally.
Need Hierarchy Theory by Maslow and Starbucks
‘Need Hierarchy Theory’ was introduced by Abraham H. Maslow who was an American Social
Scientist. According to this theory, the motivations of the employees are based on the hierarchy
of needs and how far those needs are met.

Source: (Tikson, 2018).
As it can be seen from the digarm above that there are five stages in which the needs are placed
in order of importance. The five stages play a vital role in motivating the employees and it is the
duty of managers to make sure that these needs are fuliled. However, it is not possible to fulfill
all the needs as some of the needs and its satisfaction fall on the personal side of life. Yet, this
theory helps in understsnding motivation and meeting the needs of the employees on the
professional forefront (Liu and Zhang, 2019).
At Starbucks, the employees are taken well care of and their self-esteem is given ample
importance by keeping the priorities of the staff members ahead of the organizations. The
managers make sure that the employees are treated equally and the employees are called
‘partners’.
The workers are given importance by the managers. The managers plan out the work working
hours of the employees based on the update that they receive from the employees. If any
employee has an important errand to run for, then they are given the full of liberty of being
flexible (Noe et al, 2017).
This is going to work well for the ‘esteem’ hierarchy of the Maslow model and theory.
Frederick Herzberg’s Two Factors or Motivation-Hygiene
Theory and Starbucks
Frederick Herzberg’s Two Factors or Motivation-Hygiene Theory is another important theory
that has helped in managing employees and making sure that the employees are well motivated
with their needs being fulfilled.
The first thing is the hygiene factor that includes a number of points. A few to mention are:
 Policy and administration
 Relationship that exists between the managers and the subordinates
 Salary
 Working conditions
 Security

 Employee Benefits and a few more.
There are medical insurance and commodities discount that are given to the employees of the
Starbucks. Apart from this, they are also given the benefits of working more than 20 hours per
week and also a vacation (Miao, 2019).
The company also is active in allocating stock dividends to all the employees. This ensures that
the employees feel connected to the organization and also contribute to in terms of efforts in
boosting up the sales.
The employees function in team and in the front line there are maximum 4-6 employees so that
the circle is close-knit and they get to know each other well. This helps in functioning as a
family. Thus, it is functioning as motivating factor.
The policies of the organization are revised from time to time and the employees are also asked
to participate in the policy revision.
As far as other factors are concerned, it is
 Achievement
 Responsibility
 Recognition
 Growth and development
These play an important role in determining the motivation level of the employees. Recognition
is important as the employees feel rewarded for the effort that they put in. Suggestions and
complaints that are made by the employees are given equal importance (Huang, 2016).
Frederick Herzberg’s Two Factors or Motivation-Hygiene Theory also lays emphasis on the
growth and development that is being offered to the employees at the work place.
Performance and Motivation
Performance and motivation are the two inter-related terms and they are directly proportional. It
is important that performances are measured so that motivation strategies employed by the
management can also be evaluated. When the motivation strategies show no positive effect on