Retail Business Employee Motivation Either â€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Retail Business Employee Motivation Either? Answer: Introducation Motivation may either be intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is determined by the actions and behavior of the individual, and is focused on improving the quality of work life. They are more long term than extrinsic motivators. These involve benefits that are tangible such as salary or promotions. They are outside the control of individual managers. They have a powerful but only temporary management (Osabiya, 2015).; Importance of motivation In their research on the effect of motivation on employee performance in Kosovo municipalities, Ismaijli et al (2015) found that employers need to invest highly to achieve this. Motivation was cited as the most important element in the organizations surveyed, since it affected employees attitudes towards their work, enabling them to decide whether their jobs were worth the effort or not. In some sectors, motivation is doubly important, since employees may not always have the same level of expectations from their employers as other employees would have. Srivastava and Barmola (2011) on the other hand focus on the issue of poor performance even with employees who are well skilled and qualified. Rather than the notion that people are naturally lazy and are only forced by circumstances to work, the researchers find that employee performance is instead a product of how well motivated they are. Motivation is crucial if employees are to be satisfied with their jobs. This in turn will enable them to expend more energy in fulfilling their roles in the organization, and feel that they belong. Motivation therefore helps not only in improving performance, but also in creating an ideal organizational culture. The findings by Srivastava and Barmola (2011) are further backed in research by Achim, Dragolea and Balan (2013). The research finds that employee motivation is critical if an organization is to help its employees achieve job satisfaction. Job satisfaction means that they are not only happy about their position within the organization because they feel valued and respected, but that they are fully committed to helping the organization achieve its objectives. It is therefore clear from these articles that for an organization to succeed, employee motivation is vital. It will determine the levels of performance the employees deliver, and the type of culture that the organization will collectively forge as it responds to the environment. How to motivate employees In discussing how organizations can better motivate their employees, Abbah (2014) goes from the basics of having fair compensation for their work. Quoting Fredrick Taylor, the article describes money as the primary motivator that pushes people to be better performance and is important element in employee retention. The article also cites effective leadership within the organization as a powerful motivator which helps individuals aspire for bigger things, both within their roles, and in the context of the entire organization. Employees need leaders they can trust, and who are able to led them through the turbulent environment that is todays business world. Rynes, Gerhart and Minette (2004) agree that money is an important motivator for any employee, whose primary motive is to make money through work. However, there are other motivators that employers ought to look at. For instance, after a certain level, money stops becoming a great motivation, as it loses its marginal utility. The employer then needs to look at issues such as participation in decision making, and how interesting the role actually is. Employers must be seen to take an active interest in the wellbeing of their employees. At a certain level, they must give their employees the ability to make material decisions about their roles. This will help in creating ownership of process, and greater responsibility. This further fuels motivation. Seppala (2016) writes that for motivation to take hold in the organization, the organizational culture is paramount. Culture that inspires the people to do more will achieve more in terms of motivating employees. Employees will have a strong sense of purpose, and be more confident about their place within the organization. While maintaining professionalism is important, the human resource management department and senior management must foster an environment of cooperation and recognition of individual effort. Training also greatly helps in fuelling motivation and better performance. In training and developing employees, the organization enables them to better perform their roles, thereby creating more job satisfaction. Training also helps in showing the employees that they are highly valued by their employer, which creates a sense of belonging and dedication to the course of the organization (Elnaga Imran, 2013). Retail sector considerations In the retail sector, things are not markedly different. Pay is still the most important element in motivating employees to work more, and to remain loyal to the organization. However, managers have to contend with a workforce that is ever changing, with employees frequently being recruited and others leaving. At the same time, organizations need to manage the expectations of their employees, through a rigorous orientation exercise. This will enable the employee to make a well thought out decision to commit to the organization. At the same time, training and development help not only in assisting the employer chive their aims, but in helping the employee cope with a job that is usually their first (Zafar et al., 2014). According to Evans et al. (2008), the international retail business is in decline, due to several factors including online shopping. Employees can be the biggest asset as struggling organizations aim to survive in the market. For this to happen, motivation has to be given the highest priority, since it is only through the dedication of these employees that the retail business may survive. As the business increasingly becomes internationalized, employees should also be equipped with the skills which would enable them perform in different circumstances, further increasing their job satisfaction. Leadership plays a particularly important role in retail chains. Managers in retail chains face the challenge of ever high employee turnover. Employees view their jobs mainly as temporary assignments which has additional challenges in terms of motivation. However, a strong leadership style is needed so that the employees can be inspired to focus on their roles for the period they are at the organization. Efforts to increase profit margins sometimes give the manager the temptation to pay employees just what they need to perform their jobs. This strategy is however not advisable, since it fails to create a connection between employee performance and motivation to the stores success. A successful manager will therefore exploit this connection by paying people fair value for work done (Mekraz Gundala, 2016). Tan and Waheed (2011) also delve into the importance of money for retail sector employees. The paper says that while this is an important part of their motivation, it is not necessarily the most important. However, money is not the only thing needed to garner increased employee dedication and motivation to their roles. Instead, there is a need for employers to equip their employees with skills necessary to cope with an ever changing environment, and increased internationalization. For retailers faced with increased competition and dwindling market share, motivation is not only for the sake. It is a vital survival strategy, since service is increasingly becoming the most important consideration for customers. As employers seek to better motivate their employees, they have to decide between tangible and intangible rewards for work done, and as a means of motivating their employees. Culture plays an important role in this, as does age differences and other unique features. For instance, younger people may be keener on getting tangible rewards in the form of money to spend for a job well done. For others, it may be time off to spend time with their family. To successfully motivate, it is therefore crucial that the employer be able to understand the culture and other categorizations of the employees, so that suitable motivation can be applied (Saqib et al., 2015). References Abbah, M. (2014). Employee Motivation: The Key to Effective Organizational Management in Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 16(4), 01-08. Achim, I., Dragolea, L., Balan, G. (2013). The Importance of Employee Motivation to Increased Organizational Performance. Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Oeconomica, 15(2), 685-691. Elnaga, A., Imran, A. (2013). The Effect of Training on Employee Performance European Journal of Business and Management, 5(4), 137-147. Evans, J., Bridson, K., Byrom, J., Medway, D. (2008). Revisiting retail internationalization: Drivers, impediments and business strategy. International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, 36(4), 260-280. Ismajli, N., Zekiri, J., Qosja, E., Krasniqi, I. (2015). The Importance of Motivation Factors on Employee Performance in Kosovo Municipalities. Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 5(1), 23-37. Mekraz, A., Gundala, R. (2016). Leadership Style and Retail Store Performance A Case Study of Discount Retail Chain. Journal of Business and Retail Management Research, 10(2), 1-10. Osabiya, J. (2015). The effect of employees motivation on organizational performance. Journal of Public Adminstration and Policy Research, 7(4). 62-75. Rynes, S., Gerhart, B., Minette, K. (2004). The importance of pay in employee motivation: discrepancies between what people say and what they do. Human Resource Management, 43(4), 381-394. Saqib, S., Abrar, M., Sabir, M., Bashir, M., Baig, S. (2015). Impact of Tangible and Intangible Rewards on Organizational Commitment: Evidence from the Textile Sector of Pakistan. American Journal of Industrial and Business management, 5, 138-147. Seppala, E. (2016). To Motivate Employees, Do 3 Things Well. Harvard Business Review, Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2016/01/to-motivate-employees-do-3-things-well. Srivastava, S., Barmola, K. (2011). Role of Motivation in Higher Productivity. SMS Varanasi, 7(1), 88-99. Tan, T., Waheed, A. (2011). Herzbergs motivation-hygiene theory and job satisfaction in the Malaysian retail sector: the mediating effect of love of money. Asian Academy of Management Journal, 16(1), 7394. Zafar, N., Ishaq, S., Shoukat, S., Rizwan, M. (2014). Determinants of Employee Motivation and its impact on Knowledge Transfer and Job Satisfaction. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 4(3), 50-69.