Importance of motivation for employees Essay

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is based on the idea that motivation comes from need. Once a need has become met, it is not a motivator anymore, hence, a higher-level need becomes the motivator. And such needs require the support of lower-level needs. Herzberg eventually came to the conclusion that certain factors, called motivators, produced productive employees and gave them satisfaction. Such factors are mainly connected to job content. Herzberg named other elements of the work environment hygiene factors or rather maintenance factors. These are related to the job environment and could make workers feel dissatisfied if these factors are missing, but they are not necessarily prime motivators in the workplace. Moreover, Douglas McGregor constructed the theories X & Y. Theory X takes on a pessimistic perspective claiming that employees are naturally unmotivated and loathe working, thus advocating for an authoritarian type of management. Based on this view, management must be actively involved to get things done. On the other hand, theory Y, takes on a complete opposite approach. It is more optimistic in its claim that employees are happy to work, are self-motivated and innovated. It illustrates a decentralized type of management. Ouchi formed Theory Z, which consists of long-term employment, collective decision making, full responsibility, deliberate evaluation and promotion, reasonably specialized career paths, and an overall concern for the wellbeing of employees. Theory Z views companies as a family that caters to cooperation and organizational values. Goal-setting theory states that creating high yet realistic goals can help motivate workers and improve daily performance if the goals are accepted and go together with feedback, and if conditions in the organization pave the way for achievement. According to Victor Vroom's expectancy theory, the expectations employees have can also impact motivation. In other words, the amount of effort employees put into their work depends on what they expect the outcome will be.
Examples of the ones John used would include Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Theory Z. John assessed his employees' hierarchy of needs to pinpoint what exactly needed to change at AppleTree. He also examined hygiene and motivational factors as proposed by Herzberg to help him address the issues at Appletree. Ultimately, John Ratliff implemented Theory Z practices into his organization in order to instill a more productive environment. He did this by adopting the Make-A-Wish charity model for his employees. He created the Dream On program, which is essentially having employees submit a dream to Ratliff and management, and they grant one employee's wish either weekly or monthly. It was created with the intent to encouraging employees to support one another achieve their dreams. Up to now, AppleTree has made more than 100 wishes to its employees come true. Ratliff has generated over a million dollars in donations through this program. As a result of it, the front line employee turnover rate greatly dropped from over 100% to 18%. As another plus, the customer retention rate increased to 92%. This just goes to show the success that comes with promoting theory Z.