IHRM: Motivational Theories, Job Design & Positive Work Environments

This essay delves into the critical role of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) in organizational effectiveness, focusing on employee motivation and job design. It examines various motivational theories, including Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory, McClelland's Need Theory, and McGregor's Participation Theory, analyzing their influence on employee behavior and performance. The paper discusses the characteristics of a positive work environment, emphasizing transparent communication, work-life balance, and training opportunities. Furthermore, it explores methods of designing jobs to enhance motivation, such as job specialization, enlargement, rotation, and the implementation of skill-based pay. The Job Characteristics Model of Hackman and Oldham is also examined, highlighting the importance of task variety, autonomy, and decision authority in fostering employee motivation. The essay concludes by emphasizing the significance of aligning HR practices with organizational goals to achieve sustained growth and improved performance.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................1
Motivational theories influencing employees............................................................................2
Characteristics of the positive work environment and method of designing jobs.....................4
Job Characteristics Model of Hackman and Oldham.................................................................6
Relationship between Maslow’s general components and job characteristics...........................8
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
This paper is based on engaging and motivating employees is at the centre of Strategic
Human Resource Management (SHRM) practices and the critical analysis of the impact of
strategic human resource management on organizational performance and effectiveness
(D'Souza and Gurin 2016). It is therefore important to recognize the organizational practices
that can be used to promote the cognitive, touching and behavioral traits that will completely
and positively influence on employees and improve their motivation. In fast varying
competitive surroundings, human resources are one of the most important sources of
competitive advantage. Strategic human resource management tends to deal with the
formation of a connection between the entire planned aims of the business and the human
resource policy and execution (Harmon 2015). The underlying connection between HR and
managerial presentation will facilitate the HR manager to plan programs that will generate
forth improved ready results to reach superior managerial performance. In this report, after
highlighting that the human resources are significant foundation of competitive advantage,
strategic human resource management has been defined. There are different theories and
concepts of motivation used by organizations to motivate their employees. Motivation in an
organization leads to positive environment and positive influence on the employees and
focuses on commitment, job satisfaction and well being of the customers as a result which
leads to reduction of absenteeism and reduced turnover. The human resource department
must make sure to the welfare and well being of the employees and must be prepared for
crisis for the retention of its best employees and build the trust and relationship within the
employees for the sustained growth of the organization. This paper discusses on various
motivational theories which affect the behavioral theories and various initiatives taken by the
HR to keep motivating its employees with high quality performance and positive results.

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Motivational theories influencing employees
There are various kinds of motivational theories that have an influence on the
performance of the employees of an organization. The standard Causal Model of human
resource management talks about the fact that the process of the causal chain strats with
business strategy and it ends with that of the business process. It paves the path for the
increased financial performance of a firm. The affective along with the behavioural process
of the employees are influenced by the motivational theories of Maslow’s Need Hierarchy
Theory, Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene Theory, McClelland’s Need Theory along with the
McGregors Participation Theory. The need hierarchy theory of Maslow can be said to be on
the basis of the human needs. This theory states that the physiological needs proves to be
basic to the human life that includes food, shelter, clothing along with the necessities of life.
The physiological needs of an individual relates to survival along with the maintenance of the
human life. The safety needs of an individual are expressed with the help of various kinds of
desires like the economic security along with protection from the physical dangers (Cook and
Artino Jr 2016). The social needs of an individual makes an individual interested in the aspect
of social interaction along with companionship in an organization. The esteem needs of a
person relates to the self-confidence along with the competence that can provide motivation
to individuals in the organization. The self-actualization needs helps a person in achieving
excellence in whatever he is good at. Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene theory talks about the
fact that removal of the aspect of dissatisfaction cannot make a job satisfying. He talked
about existence of the dual continuum (Albrecht et al. 2015). This theory talks about the fact
that the hygiene of one person can serve to motivate another person. McClelland’s Need
Theory can be said to be associated with that of the learning theory as it talks about the fact
that the needs of an individual are learned with the help of events (Othonaiou 2018).
McClelland has talked about the fact that the high need achievers have great desire of

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assuming the personal responsibility that helps in the performance of a task. They set the
difficult goals that helps them in performing efficiently in the organization. The need for the
affiliation can be defined as the desire of the individuals of maintaining the warm relations
with that of the other people in an organization.People having high need for the affiliation
have a string desire in relation to acceptance and they want to get the approval from the other
people. The Participation Theory of McGregor can be said to be on the basis of the two
theories: Theory X and Theory Y. Theory X talks about the fact that a person is indolent by
nature and the people in the society lack the element of ambition along with the
responsibility. On the other hand, Theory Y states that the people in an organization wants to
assume the responsibility. It talks about the fact that the people within the organization wants
their company to make success. The cultural framework in an organization should be able to
reflect the fact that the physiological along with the security needs of the employees are of
great importance (Kanfer, Frese and Johnson 2017). It has been found that the needs of the
employees becoming culturally focussed can help in improving the performance of the
employees within the organization. The human resource management in an organization
should help the employees in attaining the self-esteem that can help in maximising the
performance of the employees. It can facilitate the process of smooth running of an
organization. Mc Clelland Need theory can have a strong influence on the behavioural
process of the employees in an organization. It can help the management of the organization
in managing people having various kinds of personalities. It talks about the importance of the
feedback along with the praise that acts as the motivating drivers for the people in an
organization. It can increase the job satisfaction of the employees and improve the well-being
of the employees in a company. It greatly influences the affective process of the
employees.The Mc Gregors motivation theories talks about the importance of the positive
incentives that can help the employees of an organization in achieving the organizational

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goals. The employees of an organization being rewarded can help the employees in utilising
their imagination along with the creativity that can inspire the employees of an organization.
It can play a crucial role in reducing the turnover of the employees and the aspect of
absenteeism in the organization. It can have a positive influence on the behavioral process of
the employees within the framework of an organization.
Characteristics of the positive work environment and method of designing
jobs
The positive work environment can act as a crucial factor that can motivate the
employees in an organization. It has an effect on the relationship of the co-workers with the
supervisors that can increase the efficiency of performance of employees. Transparent
communication is an important characteristic of a positive work environment that can rightly
help in addressing the needs of the employees. It makes the employees feel themselves to be
an integral part of the organization. It can make the work more meaningful as it lets the
employees know that their work is making a positive contribution to the organization. A
positive work environment takes care to discuss about the mission and the values of the
organization that can help the management of the organization in communicating about the
company values (Derryberry and Tucker 2015). The communication in an organization
should be two-way that can help in breaking down hurdle present within the bureaucratic
organization. It can help in the promotion of trust in the daily interactions in the organization.
An important characteristics in relation to the positive work environment is the work-life
balance that can increase the efficiency of the performance of the employees within an
organization. It can help the employees in fulfilling the various kinds of the needs along with
the goals in the life. It can make the employees feel confident regarding themselves that can
make the employees feel confident in the workplace (Kim et al. 2016). Another important

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characteristics of a positive work environment is the training along with the development that
can augment the performance of the employees in an organization. The technology is
changing at a rapid pace and the employees of an organization should be trained adequately
that can improve their organizational performance.
The human resources in an organization should design the jobs in an appropriate manner that
can motivate the employees in an organization. The human resources within the organization
should make jobs that are more specialized and enriched that can help in providing
motivation to the employees of an organization. The jobs should be non-routine that can
provide inspiration to the employees of a company. There should be job enlargement that can
assign the workers to the additional same level tasks that can help in increasing number of the
tasks which the employees have to perform. The human resources should take care of the
aspect of job rotation that can help in moving workers from one job to another. The human
resources should form the natural work groups that can help in establishing appropriate
relations with the clients of a company (Lin et al. 2018). The human resources should be
instrumental in creating the open feedback channel that can prove to be useful for the
employees of an organization. The human resources should arrange for the merit pay on the
basis of the performance of the employees that can be of benefit for the employees of the
organization. The human resources should arrange for the continuing increment that can act
to the benefit of employees. The human resources should make use of the spot rewards that
can act as a contingent in relation to the good performance of the employees (Suladze et al.
2017). The human resources should provide the opportunity for the skill-based pay that can
maximise the potential of the employees within an organization. Skill based pay can prove to
be consistent with that of the motivation theory as it helps people in having the self-concept
which can help the employees in fulfilling the potential. It can appeal to the self-efficacy of
the employees as the rewards help in the aspect of recognition of the employees.

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Job Characteristics Model of Hackman and Oldham
Job characteristics model of Hackman and the Oldman talks about the fact that the
aspect of task can help in increasing the motivation of the employees. A monotonous job
stifles the motivation of the employees that hinders the performance of the employees in a
company. A job can be made more challenging with the help of the three parameters of
variety, autonomy along with the decision authority. The model states that job enrichment
along with the job rotation can help in adding variety to that of the professional positions in
an organization. The employees in an organization experiences the high motivation that can
be said to be related to the three psychological states: meaningfulness of the work,
responsibility along with the knowledge of the outcome. The work should be meaningful to a
person and should be relatable by the employees that can prove to be beneficial for the
employees working in an organization. The employees in an organization should be provided
with the freedom of the action that can ensure the success of the organization (Kuppuswamy
et al. 2017). The employees in an organization should be made known about their mistakes
that can help the employees in the arena of learning. The employees in an organization should
be able to connect emotionally to that of the customer that can greatly help in the progress of
an organization. The employees in an organization should be able to make use of variety of
the skills that can serve the employees of an organization. The task that is done by an
employee should be able to contribute to that of the wider society that can make work
meaningful for the employees of a company. It can improve the psychological states of the
employees and it can give rise to high performance on the part of employees of an
organization (Miner 2015). There should be intrinsic rewards that can help in driving the
aspect of the employee engagement. The intrinsic motivation can be provided to the
employees by recognizing the achievement of the employees of an organization. The
employees should be provided with the cash prizes along with the paid vacation holidays that

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can help the employees in making a positive contribution to an organization. The intrinsic
motivation can be fostered by providing the employees with the autonomy that can provide
them with encouragement (Noe et al. 2017). The employees are made known about the
purpose and the meaningfulness of their roles that can help in the creation of a dedicated
workforce. The employees should be made known about the progress that have been made by
the employees that can be useful for the employees working in an organization. The monthly
targets should be made known to the employees that can maximise the performance of the
employees within an organization (Cascio 2015).
Relationship between Maslow’s general components and job characteristics
The components of the theory of Maslow have a direct relationship in motivating and
encouraging employees (Harley 2015). People work to fulfill their basic physiological needs
like food, shelter and clothing and it these basic needs do not get fulfilled they become
demotivated and leave the company. The next thing is their job security and safety. They
need job satisfaction and security for so that they remain satisfied and do not affect their work
even in economic recession. They feel the need to remain economically and mentally stable
which is the major factor of motivation. The employees feel the urge to feel the sense of
belongingness in their group so that they do not feel left out and alone and which leads to
their motivation (Najjar and Fares 2017). They have tendency to gain attention so that their
effort does not get overlooked and everyone feel their existence and presence as they are a
part of the organization. This could result in the negativity of the employees and in the
working culture of the organizing affecting the performance and productivity of the
organization (Healy 2016). They expect and deserve mutual respect and understanding for
each other need self esteem and self actualization. Low self esteem or inferiority complex
may cause imbalance in their lives leading to demotivation of the employees. The employees

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tend to receive the same amount of respect, fame, status and attention from other people.
Employees with low self esteem and confidence tend to suffer from anxiety and depression
which does not allow them to focus on their goals and responsibilities as a result leading to
negative performance in the organization and also on others. The self actualization refers to
the full potential of the employees and the realization of those needs and wants. Individuals
tend to focus on this need specifically. They have the trend or attitude to achieve these needs
and also master them (Jackson and Schuler 1995). Failure to achieve this need leads to
demotivation among employees as they have the desire to master those needs with the full
exploitation of them and remain ahead of others. Individuals work to serve themselves as
well as their families and fulfill the basic human needs and if it does not get fulfilled, they do
not have any motivation or willingness to further work in the organization and therefore tend
to move to other company (Mawere et al. 2016). Therefore, it is the responsibility of the
human resource department to look after the welfare of the employees and retention of the
employees without the productivity being affected. Transcendence refers to the extremely
maximum and the majority comprehensive or holistic stage of human awareness, behaving
and connecting, as tops somewhat than means, to oneself, to important others, to human
beings in universal, to other class, to nature. One identifies the fullest realization to this need
and something beyond oneself (Newman et al. 2016). Without the achieving of these needs
no human or employee in an organization can survive or work and always remain depressed
and sad. Therefore, it is important for them to remain focused and motivated for sustained
development of the organization along with their self development which is one of the
biggest factors behind the success of an organization as the employees make the organization
(Jackson and Schuler 1995). It is thus vital to look after their wee being first and they must be
the first priority of nay organization as without them a business or organization cannot run or
make profit. If the employees stay motivated and satisfied with their job, it tends to give

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positive results and outcome with enhanced and improved productivity and superior results.
The important thing is higher the level of motivation, higher is the level of performance and
the level of satisfaction and a good and healthier relationship between the managers and their
subordinates. Therefore, the focus is on the safety and security needs of employees and their
social welfare so that they do not leave the company and also have a positive influence on
others and set an example for the future employees.
Conclusion
Human Resource Management helps in describing the formal systems that are devised
for managing the performance of the employees. It plays a crucial role in maximising the
productivity of the employees by the optimization of effectiveness of employees. It helps in
the development of the employees by imbibing them with the skills that can increase their
potential. There are various kinds of motivational theories like the Maslow Need Hierarchy
theory, McClelland Need Theory and MC Gregors Participation theory that can prove to be
useful for the employees of an organization. Transparent communication can help in the
creation of a positive work environment that can address demands of employees. Open
feedback channel can act as a useful instrument that can be of use for employees of a
company. Human resources in an organization should make arrangements in relation to merit
pay that can greatly serve the workers of an organization. The employees of company can be
provided with freedom of action that can help a company in becoming successful.

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