Essay Sample on Motivation and HRM

Introduction

The main project was to identify the effective and efficient way of ensuring that human resource is actively participating in the operations of an organization. Our primary focuses us a group was on the case study of the Tanzanian way of motivating employees by the human resource management in an organization. In the discussion, I took some of the observational notes as I was recording the relevant points which were related to the research question. As I was aiming towards getting a sense of working environment and culture in an organization, I also made some research inference notes.

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My project plan is to find out how motivation can have an impact on a human resource within an organization. My project plan addresses the requirements of the assigned work and also my broader area of practice because it is a crucial aspect of every human resource management to have employees at work. I can relate what needs to be done to me if I am an employee for a given organization to boost my morale at work.

From the discussion, I learned that motivation is an essential factor for the achievement of the goals, willingness and action of the individuals within an organization. Therefore it is crucial to have employee satisfaction to motivate them to work on a targeted purpose or objectives. Employee satisfaction can as well be achieved by considering other aspects of human resource management practices.

According to the case study of Brett Jones in Tanzania, nepotism was identified as the best way to motivate employees within an organization along with the centralized power structures. The reasons are that Tanzanians are more influenced by referring their family members who also reduces the cost of advertisement and job hiring. The illustration above clear depicts culture within an organization. Every organization has its learning according to what can motive the workers best. Therefore it is of importance for a manager to identify the culture of an organization that can best fit every employee within an organization (Hartel 2004, p 190).

Again in the Brett Jones case study, human resource practices such as hiring is based on only certain groups of people instead of providing equal opportunities to all instead of providing the best talented and skilled individuals a chance to utilize their skills. Not everything that glitters is gold, something that I thought is a concern is a situation of hiring those who might not be having adequate skills to perform the job leaving behind the right persons for the job. The question here is that, can motivation without performance lead an organization to its goals? Or should an organization only hire employees from the same ethnic group to face the challenges from just one line? Therefore I think it is of importance for an organization to employ qualified personnel from different cultural backgrounds so that employees can learn from each other the best and thus be able to welcome any motivation (Hartel 2004, p 195).

In summary, Brett Jones used a polycentric approach as Human Resource Management practice to recruit people. Apart from nepotism, another HRM practice Brett Jones used to motivate people for his project was the use of the monetary reward or extra payment. Therefore, even though the human resource practices used to encourage employees such as nepotism and use of financial rewards is not highly appreciated, however, Brett Jones considered financial compensation and cronyism as the only ways he could use to motive the workers for his project.

Since motivation can result in the development, opportunity identification, determination, support and goal achievement, more emphasis should be laid on it. There are some motivational theories that I think should be considered for the success of the organization. The approaches include;

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow's theory emphasizes that people always want to increase their achievements in life and their needs are prioritized according to their importance. From Maslow's theory, job satisfaction revolves around the needs of employees and the factors that bring a reasonable degree of comfort (Peters 2015, 3). Therefore based on the needs of individuals either physiological, social and biological. Maslow's came up with different stages of needs, they are:

• Security and safety needs example is physical protection.
• Physiological needs, they include clothing, shelter, and food.
• Social needs example, socializing or associating with others.
• Esteem needs, individuals need to receive an acknowledgment from others.
• Self-actualization needs- individuals need to accomplish or leave behind the legacy.

McGregor's X and Y Theories

Theory X and Y attempt to categorize employees to be belonging to one of the two groups based on the assumption. Theory X looks at the negative side of people where they dislike the work and avoids it if possible. Therefore they must be coerced, directed, threatened and controlled for them to work. Theory Y, on the other hand, looks at the positive side of human beings towards work. Here the workers are self-motivated to work, and they tend to exercise caution and discipline to have the set objectives achieved. But their desire to attain the set goals depends on how big are the rewards towards the kind of achievement (Peters 2015, 4)

The Equity Theory

The equity theory explains how employee satisfaction is triggered as opposed to what causes motivation to them. Therefore, employees will tend to measure their input into a job against the output they receive from a very particular job. Thus the more the rewards, the higher their satisfaction. The theory postulates that employees tend to also compare their input-outcome ratio with that of the other employee and if they find it to be fair, employees automatically experience the satisfaction. And if they realize some inequality in the input-outcome ration compared to another employee, they become dissatisfied and less motivated (Peters 2015, 6).

Therefore, from the above theories, human resource management can know how well to reorganize an organization so that employees can feel satisfied and motivated from all the corners. It is not guaranteed that cash reward can drive all the employees, the reason is that each has their tastes and preferences and thus an organization should consider the interests of employees within the organization for better performance.

Conclusion

From the project that we were undertaking as a group, some of my strengths and weaknesses that were revealed include:

Strengths

I was able to analyze the theories and relate them to the practical aspects to prove the best theory which best suits the organization of a given culture. I was also able to identify human resource practices that should be embraced by an organization to ensure that the employees are well equipped with the jobs they are undertaking. Some human resource practices may include, performance appraisal, skills and development, recruitment and selection and job design.

Weaknesses

I could identify the skills that are needed for an employee to be termed qualified for a given job. I could not identify the managerial skills needed for the performance of employees within an organization.

Therefore from the project, I have learned a lot concerning human resource management and employee motivation which have some developments in my profession. I am still aiming at developing my skills in control as a whole to be on the better side.

As I conclude, next time I will try to ask more questions and listen carefully so that I ensure that my skills in management are well sharpened. I will also prepare in advance by reading through what we are supposed to discuss and ensure that I contribute actively to the discussion.

References

Hartel, CE 2004, "Towards a multicultural world: identifying work system, practices and employees that embrace diversity," Australian Journal of management, volume 29, pp 189- 200.

Peters, R. S. (2015). The concept of motivation. Routledge.