Analyzing the Role of Managers in Enhancing Productive Performance

The essay underscores the critical role managers play in enhancing organizational productivity by focusing on motivational strategies and optimizing working conditions. It highlights key influences such as employee motivation, work environment enhancements, and managerial competencies that drive productive performance. Theoretical frameworks are discussed to illustrate how addressing these factors can lead to better organizational outcomes. Further research is recommended to explore the relevance of traditional motivational methods in contemporary business contexts.

Running head: FACTORS INFLUENCING PRODCUTIVE PERFORMANCE
Factors influencing productive performance
Name of the University
Name of the Student
Author note

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FACTORS AFFECTING PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE
Introduction
The efficient working of an organization hugely depends on the way its employees
perform. Employees however need to be encouraged in order to get the best out of them. The
impetus thus, is on the organization to induce a working environment that motivates the
employees to work harder and with total dedication (Abbah 2014). Many ways are there by
which managers can motivate employees to perform well.
Theories of organizational management and organizational behavior are in abundance
that allows managers to utilize these in the workplace. Starting from Taylor, several theorists
including Weber, Hawthorne and Fayol have proposed different organizational behavior theories
that have an influence on the way organizations implement rules at the workplace. Systems
theory, contingency theory and the socio-technical approaches are some theories that defined
organizational behavior in the modern era (Őnday 2016).
The essay discusses factors that influence organizational behavior and motivates
employees to perform better. In addition, the essay sheds light on the role of managers in
extracting the best performance from the employees by implementing strategies that adhere to
the organizational setting.
Organizational management and behavior
Every organization looks to achieve positive results of its operations but it does not get
the desired result always. Managing an organization effectively helps organizations largely to
achieve the desired outcome. Organizational management thus refers to the style or method of
management that enables managers to divide the whole operation into several stages. By doing
this, the managers are able to paint a clear picture of the targets of each department.

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Ferdous (2016) asserts that every organization depends on the numerous theories of
organizational management to carry out its day-to-day function. Organizational theories, he
further states, have been occupied with the creation of general ideas and advances that are
suitable to any organization. Every organization has its own objectives, strategies, hierarchy, and
dynamic ideas that work in tandem to produce the best results. Employee motivation is one of
the foremost aspects that organizations look to achieve. Yang, Liu and Wang (2013), elaborate
organization theories as knowledge systems that study and elucidate organizational structure, its
utility, process and its group and individual behavior.
Organizational management thus refers to the process of accomplishing goals and
objectives through the utilization and maintenance of resources that include employees as well.
Factors influencing productive performance
Several factors work together in an organization that culminates in the success of an
organization. However, it is imperative to state that extracting productive performance from the
employees must be the top priority. In order to do so, a manager has to think out of the box and
come out with unique strategies to yield good results. In the views of Kamau (2015),
organizations in the modern competitive world have to consider employee motivation as a
powerful tool to encourage productive performance. The author believes that this would enable
the company to achieve long-term success. Some factors that affect productive performance
include designing of jobs, the working conditions, motivation and rewards and goal setting.
Job design is the process of allocating specific tasks to groups or individuals. Assigning
tasks to specific groups or individuals ensures meeting the organizational requirements in
addition with the needs of the employees. Frederick Taylor was probably amongst the first

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theorists who laid stress on job design and in fact proposed the first ever job design theory. The
Scientific Management Theory proposed by Taylor involves the allocation of jobs equally to
workers and managers. He devised the strategy of providing incentives and rewards to motivate
workers and enhance efficiency in performance. In addition, Taylor stressed on proper training
of employees to manage the assignment for which they are accountable. Later, the Socio-
Technical Systems Approach was introduced that acted as a modified version of Taylor’s theory.
While Taylor focused on individual workers, the Systems Approach laid stress on group
autonomy. According to this approach, when individuals work in a group, they are encouraged to
provide valuable inputs that elevate organization’s performance in general.
Apart from the job design, productive performance also depends on the kind of working
conditions that are available to the employees. According to a report published by the
International Labor Organization, the working conditions in small and medium enterprises
(SMEs) largely contribute to improved performance. The report designates several elements as
being part of the working condition like the working time, rest hours, wages, training and such
others (Ilo.org 2018). Studies have found that poor working conditions like long hours of work,
little to no rest hours lead to unsatisfactory performance. Jayaweera (2015) reveals that the
physical and psychological burden that employees are compelled to carry on their shoulders
results in reduced performance. He cited the example of hotel workers in England to draw upon
the conclusion that working conditions play a significant role in productive performance.
Kuranchie-Mensah and Amponsah-Tawiah (2016), while conducting a study on Ghana’s
mining companies, found that motivation is a key tool to help employees overcome the stress of
mining fields. They further point out that rewards can attract competent employees that could
contribute greatly towards achieving organizational goals.

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Goal setting is another important factor that ensures improved performance. Dr. Edwin
A. Locke even proposed the goal-setting theory in the 1960s that explained the importance of
setting goals for improving performance. According to the theory, employees can be motivated
to perform better when they are given a fixed set of goals that needs to be achieved within
deadline. These goals work as a fuel for generating a sense of purpose amongst employees.
Muogbo (2013) suggests that the goal setting theory works in certain situations that contribute to
productive performance. According to the author, goals that are difficult to achieve bring out the
best from an employee compared to the goals that can be achieved easily. This was proved from
a study in Nigeria where the author discovered that workers craved for more when it came to
achieving difficult goals; they had the hunger to finish the tasks and achieve those goals.
Role of managers
In any organization, managers play the most significant role in ensuring smooth
functioning of the organization. Their job demands practical knowledge of the highest level. In
the words of (Chun et al. 2013), the manager performs tasks that concern the entire organization
unlike others that concerns specific departments only. A manager has the responsibility to look
after each department although there are personnel to look after those departments. This shows
the complexity of a manager’s role.
The basic function that managers are responsible to perform includes planning,
organizing, decision-making, staffing, controlling and directing. However, the most important
role among these is directing or actuating. This involves the process of coaching and motivating
workers. According to Mishra, Boynton and Mishra (2014), it is the most important job of the
manager as it decides whether an organization is functioning smoothly or not. He argues that

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many organizations fail to understand that employees are the most important assets and they
must be fueled in a positive way to achieve the desired goal.
Managers are the ones responsible for allocating tasks to different individuals based on
their qualification and skills. In order to ensure productive performance, managers have to
scrutinize the specific skill sets each employee has. The manager must also make sure that
assigning tasks does not lead to conflict between employees. He or she must make the employees
feel valuable and equally important to the organization.
The second thing managers have to do is to set up a working environment that gives
employees a breathing space. Many traditional and modern workplaces serve as great examples
of a perfect working environment (Fortune.com 2018). Companies like Google, Daimler, Dell
and a few others provide excellent working conditions for their employees and the result reflects
from their success.
Next, managers have the authority and the opportunity to implement incentives and
rewards strategy to motivate employees. It is inherent in human nature that they are attracted
towards rewards. When it comes to ensuring productive performance, there cannot be a better
way than to give rewards and incentives. It is an important job of the managers because they
have to take care of the overall budget and then offer incentives so that it does not burden the
company’s financial condition.
Perhaps one of the most important roles of managers is setting goals for individuals as
well as for the company. Martinsuo (2013) believes that managers have the responsibility to set
goals that comply with the overall target of an organization. In other words, managers must
ensure that they set such goals that produce high quality performance from employees and in

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turn contribute to the overall achievement of the organization. Managers can draft certain
questions that relate to goal setting like the relevance of goals to the business, if the goals are
controllable and achievable by employees or not and most importantly, whether the goals adhere
to productive performance objectives.
In the modern setting that is characterized by the onslaught of globalization,
organizational management has acquired an enhanced importance. Companies are looking
forward to devise strategies that cater to the modern needs to keep them alive, and fit in the
competitive market. A search for new forms of organizations is ongoing, driven by the changes
in the economy and nature of competition (Hbr.org, 2018). Managers are entrusted with
increased responsibilities to manage as well as communicate the goals and objectives of the
organization to its subordinates.
With the shift in the economic world, there has been considerable change in the
parameters that define productive performance. Designing jobs, working environments, goal
setting, rewards and incentives that work as motivational factors for employees now also define
the parameters for competition.
Conclusion
Thus, it needs to be stated that managers must realize the true importance of their roles in
effecting productive performance from the employees. In regards to the factors that influence
productive performance, motivation holds the key. Motivated employees are invaluable assets to
an organization. This however, is not entirely realized by many as they direct most of their
attention towards operations, production and results. Many organizations treat employees as
machines that are required to produce the desired outcome else they shall be replaced. This

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attitude as resulted in the downfall of big corporations as evident in history. The essay highlights
the different factors influencing productive performance and role of managers influencing the
processes. Theories and approaches have been explained in order to paint a clear picture of the
importance of taking care of these factors for improved performance. It is however
recommended that further studies can be carried out to analyze the importance of managerial
skills in identifying the basic requirements for productive performance. Further, it is also
suggested to evaluate the relevance of traditional methods of motivation in the postmodern
organizational context.

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References:
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