Business Management BMP3004: Understanding Employee Motivation at Work

This report explores the multifaceted nature of employee motivation within a business management context, emphasizing that motivation extends beyond mere monetary compensation. It delves into various factors that drive employees, including potential, purpose, emotional considerations, and economic pressures, highlighting motivation as a key element for fostering a valued and satisfied workforce. The report examines Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory, differentiating between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and discusses the impact of salary, promotion opportunities, and the overall work environment on employee morale and productivity. It further analyzes both positive aspects, such as modern performance management and skill development, and negative aspects like workplace conflicts and toxic environments, that employees may encounter in their job roles. Finally, the report proposes strategies to mitigate negative experiences, including employee engagement, providing platforms for expressing opinions, and implementing recognition programs, ultimately aiming to cultivate a positive and productive workplace. Desklib provides access to this report and many more solved assignments.

Business Management with Foundation
BMP3004
World of Work
Understanding why people work
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Contents
Introduction 1
What does Motivation Mean? 1
The various factors which motivate employees to work
2
The positive factors employees experience as a result of their
job roles 3
The negative factors employees experience as a result of their
job roles 3
Strategies to cope with negative factors employees
experience as a result of their job roles 4
Conclusion 5
References 6

Introduction
Money cannot be the reason for which the individual may work. Working not only
helps in earning the livelihood but also make the individual more independent as well
as provides more control over its own life. When a person work, it learns new things,
inculcate new skills and also makes friends with the people which it meets through
its job. There are different reasons for which the person work which includes
potential, purpose, emotional pressure, play, inertia and economic pressure.
Motivation is considered as the best way to make people work as there are different
approaches which may be taken to make them feel valued and happy and job
satisfied (Kahane, 2017). This report will cover the factors which can motivate
employees and positive and negative experiences of employee for job role. Further it
will include strategies to cope of negative experiences.
What does Motivation Mean?
Motivation can be referred to as the process which involves initiation,
guidance as well as maintenance of the goal oriented behavior. It basically includes
the emotional, social, biological as well as cognitive forces which can activate the
behavior. It is mainly the driving force behind the action of human (Herzberg, 2017).
There are different theories of motivation which drives the human action, one of them
is discussed below-
Maslow Hierarchy of needs theory mainly comprises of the five tier model
of the human needs which is depicted in the hierarchical manner within the pyramid.
The people are motivated to achieve the certain needs and takes precedence over
others. These are discussed below-
 Physiological needs: It is the biological requirement for the human survival
such as water, shelter, food, clothing, etc. If this need is not satisfied, the
human body may not function. After achieving this need, the person is
motivated to move ahead towards the next need.
 Safety needs: Now after physiological need, this need becomes salient
wherein the people wants to experience the order, control and predictability in
their life, it is fulfilled by family and society. After this achievement, the person
is motivated to achieve next need.
 Love and belongingness needs: It involves the human emotional needs for
the inter personal relationships, connectedness, affiliating and also being part
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of group. Its example includes friendship, trust, intimacy, acceptance, etc.
When this need is achieved, the person is motivated to move ahead towards
the next level of need.
 Self-esteem need: It comprises of two categories, the first one is esteem for
the others wherein achievement, dignity, etc. holds utmost importance and
second is desire for respect and recognition from others which includes
prestige, status, etc. After achieving this, the individual gets motivated to
achieve the next level of need.
 Self-actualization needs: It is the highest level of need which involves
realization of potential, self fulfilment of the person wherein it seeks personal
growth as well as peak experiences. This level of need involves the desire to
accomplish everything which one can in order to become most which one can
(Graham, 2020).
There are mainly two types of motivation which are illustrated below-
 Intrinsic: It involves the performance of task because it rewards the person
personally. This motivation comes from within and is effective method for the
achievement of goals. Example includes receiving positive feedback.
 Extrinsic: It involves the completion of task or the exhibition of because of
the outside factors like receiving rewards, preventing punishment, etc. This is
effective or beneficial in some of the cases. Example includes rewards
(Harmon-Jones and Harmon-Jones, 2019).
The various factors which motivate employees to work
 Salary: The good amount of salary or the wages can be only the factor to
motivate employees when it is not making money in sufficient amount in order
to meet its needs. If this is a case, an employee shall do what is essential in
order to survive. It is found that the people who gets good pay, bonus as well
as commission are more likely to spend their time for solving the problem
which helps in enhancing its efficiency and productivity.
 Promotion: It basically motivates the employees by appealing to their
ambition. It affects the workers whose career anchors include a desire for the
autonomy, authority, independence and the managerial competence. The
employees who are promoted to new level of position are more likely to
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become more responsible and efficient as they become motivated to give
their best to the company (Anderman, 2020).
 Work Environment: The motivated workforce thrives in the positive working
environment. It mainly refers to physical as well as non-physical environment
wherein the former involves office space and the surrounding areas. The
employees working in healthy and positive environment are more prone to
work with efficiency and more productively as they feel job satisfied.
The positive factors employees experience as a result of
their job roles
The job role of an employee offers positive experience to the employees
which leads them towards the positive experience and job satisfaction. Some of the
positive factors which employee experience are as follows-
 Modern performance management: When the employee in an organization
experience the positive factors in relation to its job role, the most essential
positive factor includes the modern performance management as continuous
reviews for performance which is tied with the compensation and some other
benefits push the workforce to give its best. Regular feedbacks provide
positive experience in the job role as it helps in enhancing productivity and
efficiency of employees.
 Skill development and Growth opportunities: Every employee wants to
move ahead in career and not be stuck in same role and doing the similar
task again and again with no growth curve. So when the job role of employee
offers its skill development by way of regular training and more growth
opportunities, it will lead to positive experience to workers (Landry and et. al.,
2017).
The negative factors employees experience as a result of
their job roles
There are some of the negative factors which the employee experience from their
job roles which includes the following-
 Workplace conflicts: This is one of the factor which employees will
experience from their job role as the conflicts may lead to negative
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environment being created which will lower down the morale and confidence
of the employees and hamper their productivity. It also leads to the high staff
turnover as well as absenteeism.
 Toxic work environment: This is another factor which creates negative
experience for employees as the toxic work environment spreads negativity in
the workplace and affects the employees and their working. When there is
toxic environment, the employees feel dissatisfied from their job roles
(Brosowsky and et. al., 2020).
Strategies to cope with negative factors employees
experience as a result of their job roles
There are different strategies which can help the employers to cope up with
the negative experience of the employees which includes the following-
 Employee engagement: The landscape of the performance management
has changed a lot which allows for the more frequent, authentic and less of
the formal conversation. In context to performance issues, the employee who
underperforms due to conflicts or negative working environment, the
employer can engage the employees in healthy conversations so that they
can feel valued and happy. This will help in coping up the negative factors of
the employees which may arise from the result of the job role.
 Opportunity to express opinions and views: One of the best way to
overcome the negative factors of employee experience such as conflicts and
toxic environment, the employer can provide opportunity to its employees to
express their opinions in respect of workplace procedures and policies. This
will motivate them to feel job satisfaction and enhance their efficiency and
productivity.
 Give recognition: Providing appropriate recognition and rewards will help in
motivating the employees as it will feel that their contribution is being valued.
The power of this will create positive working environment at workplace which
will act as the tool to buoy the staff morale (Kucukergin and Gürlek, 2020).
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Conclusion
It is concluded from this report that motivation plays an important role in the
workplace as it helps in enhancing the productivity and morale of the workforce.
There are different factors which motivate the employees in order to get motivated
towards their job role which includes salary, working environment, promotion, etc.
Further it is concluded that there are some positive as well as negative employee
experience which is a result from job role wherein the former includes growth
opportunities, modern management of performance and many others. The latter
includes the workplace conflicts, toxic environment at workplace. There are different
strategies which can be used to overcome the same which includes increasing
engagement of employees, giving recognition and opportunity to express the views
and opinions.
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References
Anderman, E.M., 2020. Achievement motivation theory: Balancing precision and
utility. Contemporary Educational Psychology. 61. p.101864.
Brosowsky, N.P., and et. al., 2020. Mind wandering, motivation, and task
performance over time: Evidence that motivation insulates people from the
negative effects of mind wandering. Psychology of Consciousness: Theory,
Research, and Practice.
Graham, S., 2020. An attributional theory of motivation. Contemporary Educational
Psychology. 61. p.101861.
Harmon-Jones, E. and Harmon-Jones, C., 2019. Understanding the motivation
underlying dissonance effects: The action-based model.
Herzberg, F., 2017. Motivation to work. Routledge.
Kahane, A., 2017. Collaborating with the enemy: How to work with people you don’t
agree with or like or trust. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Kucukergin, K.G. and Gürlek, M., 2020. ‘What if this is my last chance?’: Developing
a last-chance tourism motivation model. Journal of Destination Marketing &
Management. 18. p.100491.
Landry, A.T., and et. al., 2017. The relation between financial incentives, motivation,
and performance. Journal of personnel Psychology.
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