How Employee Motivation Effects an Organization Essay

In the following paper I will identify what employee motivation is, why it is important, who it is important to, and how it affects the workforce as a whole. I will also touch on the subjects of whose job it is to motivate, the benefits of motivation and what actually motivates employees. Through out my research I have discovered many different theories and opinions as of to what â€Å"effective motivation† is, and how it is to be applied in the work setting. This is the result of my findings. The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through employees. To do this the manager should be able to motivate employees. But that’s easier said than done! In spite of enormous research, basic as well as applied, the subject of motivation is not clearly understood and more often than not poorly practiced. To understand motivation one must understand human nature itself. And there lies the problem! Human nature can be very simple, yet very complex too. An understanding and appreciation of this is a prerequisite to effective employee motivation in the workplace and therefore effective management and leadership. There is an old saying you can take a horse to the water but you cannot force it to drink; it will drink only if it’s thirsty – so is with people. They will do what they want to do or otherwise motivated to do. Whether it is to excel on the workshop floor or in the ‘ivory tower’ they must be motivated or driven to it, either by themselves or through external stimulus. Are they born with the self-motivation or drive? Yes and no. If no, they can be motivated, for motivation is a skill which can and must be learnt. This is essential for any business to survive and succeed. Allow me to ask a very simple question: Are you really happy with your job? Or is it just a way to pay the bills? If so, you are not alone. In fact, half of all employees only put enough effort into their jobs, to keep their jobs. 70% of employees are less motivated today than they used to be, and another 80% could perform significantly better if they wanted to. What does all this mean you ask? It means people are unhappy at work, and many overlook the importance of a fulfilling work life. Not only is it important for employees to be content, their happiness is important to their employers as well. Disgruntled employees perform considerably poorly compared to content ones. Motivated employees work more efficiently, producing better products or services in less time. Whereas unmotivated employees waste time and generally take longer to accomplish the tasks assigned. When employees are motivated, they invest time, effort and brain power into producing the best products or services possible. They take pride in their work, meaning they will give a company a better name out in the market simply by producing a superior product. Unmotivated employees, on the other hand, will put in the bare minimum effort resulting in poor customer service and low quality products. Improved productivity and higher quality services and products equal monetary gains for an organization, possibly freeing funds to be used as benefits for employees or company improvements. If employees are motivated, a company will be able to retain more of them. Every time they hire a new employee, they have to invest time getting that person up to speed on the job requirements, integrating that person into the workforce and figuring out exactly how that new person can contribute. Existing employees have a wealth of knowledge about the company and how projects work. They are also already accustomed to working with the other employees at the facility. By retaining employees, an organization can save money and time. Employees that are motivated are happy; smiling is contagious, which leads to a better work environment. Companies these days are offering interesting, sometimes even outrageous benefits to keep their staff motivated. Some offer great health plans, a 401k-retirement plan, or extra vacation time. Others have company parties, picnics and other rally-boosting events. Some companies take their staff out to movie premieres; some engage in go-carting to create a fun atmosphere. Sure, it’s nice to have a company parking spot, your cellular phone bills paid, and free lunch Fridays, but these types of benefits are better at attracting and retaining employees. A free lunch will not magically create a healthy work environment. However, these morale boosters can be steps on the road to motivated employees. The question employers are trying to figure out is, if benefits keep employees happy, then what makes them productive? The problem is that employers lose focus of the difference between high morale and motivation. I am not saying to get rid of the benefits, but get rid of other behaviors that hold employees back. These behaviors vary from company to company, but we all know what they are. Office politics, unclear expectations and being criticized instead of receiving constructive feedback are all things we hate and that hinder our progress. Things like appreciation and taking pride in your work, as well as social interaction and fun in your work, are all contributors to motivation. Personally, I would rather work in an environment where there are no politics, employers are honest with their employees and have nothing to hide, and are committed to the overall productivity of the firm. Here is a list of items that are considered to be detrimental to employee motivation: * Create an atmosphere full of company politics. * Develop unclear expectations regarding your employees’ performance. Create a lot of unnecessary rules for employees to follow. * Plan unproductive meetings for employees to attend. * Withhold information critical for employees to perform their work. * Provide criticism instead of constructive feedback. * Tolerate poor performance so your high performing employees feel taken advantage of. * Treat employees unfairly. * Underutilize the capability of your employees. While some of those are worse than others, they will vary across companies and individuals. Any company that actually makes an effort to rid themselves of these annoyances is on the right track. It just goes to show that it does not take a lot of money to tap into an employee’s natural ability. Here are some active measures companies can take to motivate: * If your employees do routine work, add some fun and variety to their routine. * Provide employees with input and choice in how they do their work. * Encourage responsibility and leadership opportunities within your company. * Promote social interaction and teamwork between employees. * Tolerate learning errors by avoiding harsh criticism. * Promote job ownership. * Develop goals and challenges for all employees. Provide lots of encouragement. * Make appreciation part of your repertoire. * Develop measurement that shows performance increase. With the rapidly changing competitive environment, key employees are becoming younger and with a variety of skills and accomplishments. This means that if they are unhappy with their work environment, they are more than willing to move on. For employers, the speed of business is such that employees that join their company learn so much and become so valuable that employers need to do whatever it takes to keep them content.

Mice and Men and Great Expectations Essay

Of Mice and Men and Great Expectations, have many similarities. They both show the way certain characters are treated by society. These similarities may be strong but there are natural differences that come from the different times and places the stories are set in.-as well as the way the authors approach the topic.  Steinbeck begins Of Mice and Men by creating a tranquil scene where everything is seemingly at peace. Steinbeck creates with words images of paradise such as when he writes: â€Å"A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hill-side bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool.† A river, which is said to â€Å"run deep†, is calm and slow moving. Its water is clear too, â€Å"twinkling over yellow sands,† it has warm water too and seems perfect-almost too good to be true. Inevitably it is. Of Mice and men is set in the 1930s during America’s great depression. After the stock exchange crashed in New York, money and jobs became hard to find. There was poverty all over America and California, which affected everything. Like the American dream, paradise can only exist with money. Therefore only the wealthy can enjoy this and even then it is spoilt by the poverty surrounding it. The American Dream is a paradox, just like the paradise of Salinas River. They cannot exist because they contradict themselves. Paradise is bliss but how can this exist with so much poverty and suffering in the world? The Salinas River seems briefly to have escaped the paradox. There is no sign of poverty, just peace and tranquillity. Then human life enters the scene. Human life is introduced when a path is described; â€Å"There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys coming down from the highway.† It’s the point that the track has been â€Å"beaten hard† that really emphasises what effect humans have had on the river. Other animals leave tracks that are temporary and blend into the scene. Humans have left their path permanently, like a scar it proves that not even the Salinas River can reach paradise. But it is not the only scar, â€Å"In front of the low horizontal limb of a giant sycamore there is an ash pile made by many fires; the limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it.† Two more scars. The introduction of humans into the scene sees the end of the animal life in the scene. As the humans approach all the wildlife is scared of and the area is completely deserted. â€Å"For a moment the place was lifeless.† The peace is broken and with it any chance of the Salinas River truly becoming paradise.  The story is set in California where few people owned land. They had either lost it due to the financial problems the depression caused or were just too poor to afford any in the first place. The people needed to find work; one of the most common jobs was to work on a farm. These people became known as migrant farmers. They would drift from one farm to the next, rarely settling for long. The two characters that enter the scene are migrant farmers and are looking for work. This is the first introduction of human life into the scene. Great Expectations is set in Victorian England, where just like in 1930s California, the rich thrived and the poor suffered terribly. Even more distressing perhaps was the disease that swept through towns and killed many children as well as adults. This led to an increase in orphans, who have the same feelings of being alone and poor. They have the same problems as many others and weren’t much better off than the criminals in jail. Criminals were treated like animals, as were the poor community as a whole. Just like during the dust bowl, if you weren’t rich then you were a social outcast. After introducing the character Pip, Dickens begins describing his surroundings. Dickens goes into great detail to set the scene. He describes the area as â€Å"Marsh Country† which stretches for twenty miles up to the coast. Pip is in a secluded graveyard overgrown and derelict. Beyond the graveyard is a â€Å"dark flat wilderness,† â€Å"Intersected with dykes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the marshes.† It is a â€Å"raw afternoon towards the evening.† The setting is dark and there is a sense of evil and death about the place. It seems to be building upto something sinister, and does so when the criminal enters the scene. He is described as a â€Å"fearful man, in all course grey with an iron on his leg.† He almost represents death in this scene, an evil presence trying to seize Pip.

High Protein Diet and Gastric Bypass Surgery Essay

There are two very common approaches to weight loss management. Gastric bypass surgery is a trend many are opting for. A high protein diet has similar results; however, it takes more willpower to achieve desired results. This essay will provide the pros and cons to each choice. Diets higher in protein and moderate in carbohydrates along with diet and exercise are thought by experts to reduce blood fats. * Can cause health problems, such as pre diabetes and diabetes. * Decrease blood glucose for pre diabetics and diabetics. Researchers concluded that a 15 percent increase in protein ( a caloric ratio of 30% protein, 20% fat, and 50% carbohydrate); with a constant carbohydrate intake can result in significant weight loss. * Participates in the study ate 441 fewer calories. * Reported greater satisfaction, less hunger, and lost weight. The high protein diet also helps lean tissue while burning fat for fuel. * Reported feeling less hungry and increased energy. * You will be changing your focus toward protein and limiting your carbohydrates. Gastric bypass surgery makes changes to your digestive system to help you lose weight. * You will have to follow a strict diet for about 12 weeks beginning with liquids, then progressing to solid foods. * Frequent medical checkups to monitor your weight loss e.g. ( blood tests and various exams). Gastric bypass surgery is very expensive. * Can cost anywhere from $15,000.00 to $25,000.00 * There are many options available to people who do not have insurance to pay for this surgery. This method of weight loss can improve or resolve conditions with the guidance from your medical treatment team. * Increase probability of all needs for medications in a diagnosed type 2 diabetes patient. * Loss of high blood pressure and high cholesterol 70-80% in patients. In conclusion, both high protein diet and gastric bypass require lifelong changes. A strong support system will increase your ability to maintain your desired results.

Evaluate the role played by money in the united states presidential Essay

Evaluate the role played by money in the united states presidential election - Essay Example Increasing presidential election costs has made it more difficult for candidates to come up with threshold resources needed for them to be competitive at every stage. Therefore, as presidential election costs rise, there is shrinkage of the candidate pool, which narrows the spectrum of perspectives and views offered to Americans to just a few individuals with access to money and subsequent resources. Spending in the modern presidential elections, in the US, rather than being dominated by contributions from average Americans, is now dominated by a minority of wealthy donors and special interests; who have the financial clout to ensure their preferred message is amplified (Anschutz, 2013: p37). These groups and individuals use their wealth in order to influence public policy, especially by funding candidates who share similar values to them. Since most of these groups and individuals are reliant on US economic and financial policies to generate more wealth, they have gained an outsized role in US elections as they fund candidates whose policies resonate with their goals. However, these issues arising from the dominance of â€Å"big money† in US presidential elections are not only theoretical. Research has proven that since the opinions held by wealthy American groups and individuals have different priorities, money allows for skewed public policies through dominance of elec tions (Anschutz, 2013: p38). Americans aspiring to be president are today spending more time fundraising than ever before, which is necessary to keep up with their election rivals (Anschutz, 2013: p43). In addition, as with the backlash from ObamaCare, candidates who may offend special interest groups and wealthy individuals by deed or word face the risk of being outspent as the latter finance their rivals. This means that they have to raise and spend

U.S. Army Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

U.S. Army - Essay Example Following Black (2004, 206) it was World War I that set the pattern for the most important future operations of the United States Army. The Superior Board consequently advocated retaining the four-regiment division and urged that it be reinforced with a large assortment of heavy supporting units in artillery and the division train. The relative immobility of the big square division, the board reasoned, accorded with certain intractable facts of modern war: that the division always attacks frontally, that it attacks in a severely constricted zone of action, and that accordingly it has little occasion for maneuver. The Superior Board insisted that with the First World War setting the pattern for the army's major future combats, the essential principle shaping the army ought to be power, not mobility. The Congresses and chief executives in the 1920s and 1930s prevented the design of the National Defense Act from attaining fruition. The statute authorized a regular army of 280,000 officers and men. Congressional appropriations failed to maintain any such level. The actual strength of the army was by 1922, 147,335; by 1932, 134,024. By 1939 there had been a gradual increase to 188,565. As a result of fiscal trimming, regular army formations became largely skeletonized after all (Black 234). Yet the few formations that were kept at an approximation of full strength and readiness remained those most likely to be involved in small wars reminiscent of the old Indian campaigns--particularly the troops along the Mexican border. MacArthur's thinking not only limited the size of tanks, but also did much to kill one of the army's few promising ventures toward preparing for a possible return from small-scale colonial wars to European war. (Sweeney 145). The choice of the small wars army, akin to the American army of the Indian-fighting past, as the basis upon which to build the post-1919 force was a choice for mobility rather than power as the central principle of the army (Sweeney 148). Late in the First World War, however, there had emerged a new potential for combining mobility and power, for designing military formations that would emphasize neither principle to the debilitation of the other, but would harmonize both (Sweeney 148). The weakness of the Army and military strategy was lack of training and 'old fashioned design' of the army. The most vigorous army chief of staff in the years following World War General Douglas MacArthur, reinforced this emphasis on a mobile army preparing for small colonial and border wars. When he began his tour as chief of staff in 1930, MacArthur found that despite the absence of prospects for another war of mass armies, his planners were busily at work on mobilization schedules for the mustering in of citizen-soldiers to wage a hypothetical grand-scale war (Sweeney 151). He turned the mobilization planners instead to designing an Immediate Readiness Force, to be drawn from the regular army for dispatch to colonial or Western Hemisphere trouble zones (Sweeney154). The concept of a light, fast-moving army tailored to wage war not against European mass armies but against elusive, highly mobile opponents emerged also, with a particularly conspicuous effect upon the subsequent comba t capacities of the army in World War II, in the restriction of the weight of American tanks to 15

The future of Food Supply Chain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The future of Food Supply Chain - Essay Example With the concern moving to the scarcity of resources, the world is facing a new challenge of producing more with lesser resources. The food supply chain industry is dominated by features like increasing demands, increasing volatility risks and limitation of resources. Discussion There are various factors that are likely to shape the future of the global food supply chain industry. The factors arising from the suppliers’ side are: increased competition for expenditures by the consumers, major changes in the operating environment, improvement of the quality of the commodities, high differentiation level of food products, cost-effective and flexible modes of logistics. The factors arising from the viewpoint of the customers are nutritional qualities of the food products, health benefits, sensitivity of the customers towards safety and quality of food, ways of production, place of production, environmental and social concerns and welfare of the community. The most important elemen ts for consideration in the designing of the food supply chains are on-shelf availability and cost efficiency for the businesses. But in the light of the emerging environmental concerns other factors like greenhouse gas emissions, energy conservation, increasing traffic congestions and transportation costs are also gaining importance. Challenges The future of global food supply chain focuses on the following critical dimensions: The global food supply chain industry is feeling the necessity of a paradigm shift in the processes as the future of the industry is considered to be highly different from the past trends in the industry. The need for adopting the latest technologies and innovations by the supply chain like the adaptation of the green supply chain is critical to comply with the raising environmental concerns all across the globe. The challenges arising in the global market which will influence operational changes in the major companies involved in the food supply chain indus try. The food supply chain industry has identified the need to implement a new business model to deal with critical issues like taking up new business opportunities and achieving sustainability in the industry. The increasing demand and the scarcity of resources is a major issue faced by the global food supply chain industry (McKinsey & Company 7). The population of the world is increasing in manifolds and so is the necessity to provide food and nutrition to the global population. According to the latest statistics, more than 850 billion people throughout the globe do not have proper access to food commodities and are more sensitive to price increases and nutritional concerns. The global food supplies need a boost by a considerable increase in the production of environmentally sustainable food commodities. But reaching stabilization is difficult due to the complexity of the food supply chains and the various factors diversely affecting its operations. Internal forces driving change The major changes in the food supply chain industry that will influence the changes in the supply chains are the flow of information, consumer behavior and the movement of goods (McKinsey & Company 12). Since these are internal changes occurring within the industry, the industry would have some control over reshaping these factors. Information flow: The proper flow of informatio

My Personal Pedagogy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

My Personal Pedagogy - Essay Example This essay shall demonstrate how my personal philosophy and pedagogy works together to define the kind of teacher that I am and strive to be. It will discuss four aspects of my pedagogy namely assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation as underpinned by my values of being a lifelong learner, being reflective, valuing positive, respectful and harmonious relationships and listening with an open heart and mind (as seen in Appendix 1).Edwards & Nuttal’s (2005) contention is that pedagogy is more than just understanding children and the curriculum and how they fit together to suit children’s learning. It goes beyond that. I agree with them that pedagogy also involves understanding the children’s contexts, personal experiences outside the academic sphere and factors around the wider community (Edwards & Nuttal, 2005). Such a viewpoint elevates the educator as an â€Å"active interpreter†(Edwards & Nuttal, 2005) of the context of children’s learni ng and not a mere interpreter of a prescribed curriculum. As an active interpreter, I believe assessment of children is the keen observation of how children learn, grow and develop and interpret these observations in accordance to the expected developmental milestones for their particular stage of development. It is all about my knowing more about children through noticing and recognizing their learning preferences and disposition for learning (Claxton & Carr, 2004). I try to see how curious, they are and how persistent and open they are in learning what they want. I try to see how curious, they are and how persistent and open they are in learning what they want. My assessment of children is guided by what I know about how they should be behaving, thinking, feeling, interacting, communicating, etc. at their particular age level (Fleer, 2006).I know that even if there are patterns of development, they are still unique individuals who possess their own individual personalities and abi lities. When I do observe them, I gather information about them so I can further improve outcomes for them with the planning that I will do for and with them. My reflection in Appendix 2 shows how I have observed children’s interests to further their learning while it also enhances my own learning. As a teacher, I have engaged in never-ending observation as a way to â€Å"obtain information†, (Quality in Action, 1998, p. 86). This is part of my value of learning. I always strive to be a keen observer as I look into their interactions, choice of resources, use of language (see in Appendix 3). In that reflection, it shows the change in how I believed learning should be, as I used to think it was more academic learning that should be pursued. But working in a real early childhood centre has made me realize that learning is more about child-centred initiations such as engaging in play, arts, sports, etc. to pursue their own interests so they fulfil their hunger for learnin g rather than from a teacher-directed activity, although I am not saying children will not learn from that too. Also in the assessment example in Kei Tua ote Pae (MoE, 2004), I agree what the social-cultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978 ) recommends - an assessment method which gives children the power to set their own goals, assess their own achievements and become responsible for their own learning. This is exhibited in the portfolio of their works which give voice to children’s thinking and abilities (Ministry of Education, 2004, 2005) (see in appendix 4 ). My value for positive, respectful and harmonious relationships also pushes me to observe the children with their families so I am able to see the dynamics of their relationship. Part of my assessment includes that I get to know about the children’s whanau and ask about what goes on in their families in such a way that I maintain a respectable distance so I do not probe too personally (as see in Appendix 5). I agree wit h Rinaldi (2001) contention that making child’