Theories of Employee Motivation: Jumeirah Group (Research Paper Sample)

Theories of Employee Motivation: Jumeirah Group
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Institution Affiliation
Theories of Employee Motivation: Jumeirah Group
Abstract
This paper sets out to examine the different theories of motivation with an overriding objective to explain how motivation leads to increased performance and job satisfaction. This is informed by the increased tendency of organizations to seek mechanisms for motivating employees as a means of increasing organizational performance. An extensive review of the key theories of motivation has been undertaken with a focus on the key concepts, applicability and more so the mechanisms through which they lead to increased performance and job satisfaction. Using a case study of Jumeirah Group, the paper assesses the level of employee motivation and undertakes a diagnosis of the motivational strategies employed by the company. Qualitative techniques involving the use of a questionnaire are employed in this paper. The outcomes reveal either lack of a clear motivational theory or an inconclusive application of certain approaches. Much as these recommendations provided in this paper can be generalized, they specify exactly how the theories can be applied to the case of Jumeirah Group.
Key Words: motivation, organization, performance, job satisfaction, employee
Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u 1.0 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc432102903 \h 22.0 Literature Review PAGEREF _Toc432102904 \h 42.1 Reinforcement Theory of Motivation (RMT) PAGEREF _Toc432102905 \h 52.2 Expectancy Theory of Motivation (ETM) PAGEREF _Toc432102906 \h 62.3 Equity Theory of Motivation PAGEREF _Toc432102907 \h 82.4 Goal Setting Theory (GST) PAGEREF _Toc432102908 \h 92.5 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory PAGEREF _Toc432102909 \h 102.6 Theoretical Foundations PAGEREF _Toc432102910 \h 123.0 Analysis and Discussion PAGEREF _Toc432102911 \h 123.1 Research Method PAGEREF _Toc432102912 \h 123.2 Jumeirah Group: Company Overview PAGEREF _Toc432102913 \h 123.3 Jumeirah Group: Organizational Structure PAGEREF _Toc432102914 \h 133.4 Organizational Culture PAGEREF _Toc432102915 \h 143.5 Data Collection PAGEREF _Toc432102916 \h 153.6 Diagnosis of Current Situation PAGEREF _Toc432102917 \h 153.7 Reconciling Theory and Practice at Jumeirah Group PAGEREF _Toc432102918 \h 164.0 Recommendations and Conclusions PAGEREF _Toc432102919 \h 164.1 Expectancy Theory of Motivation PAGEREF _Toc432102920 \h 174.2 Equity Theory of Motivation PAGEREF _Toc432102921 \h 174.3 Goal Setting Theory of Motivation PAGEREF _Toc432102922 \h 174.4 Reinforcement Theory of Motivation PAGEREF _Toc432102923 \h 185.0 Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc432102924 \h 18References PAGEREF _Toc432102925 \h 20Appendix 1: Job Motivation Questionnaire PAGEREF _Toc432102926 \h 22
1.0 Introduction
In the past few decades, there has been intense research to espouse the mechanisms through which motivation influences employee performance and job satisfaction. In this endeavor, researchers have managed to explore an array of mechanisms through which an organizational culture that cherishes employee motivation affects their performance at work and enhances their job satisfaction. Motivation has been found to have a positive correlation with job satisfaction and employee performance (Danish & Usman, 2010; Imran et al., 2014; Gerhart & Fang, 2015). Given that empirical studies have established a positive correlation between motivation as an aspect of organizational culture, employee performance and motivation, there has been a renewed interest in the institutionalization of motivational practices and models in organizations (Pinder, 2014). This practice is hinged on the fact that much as organizational culture encompasses different facets of an organizational setting, it is essentially a framework that shapes employee behavior through specific mechanisms that can be regulated (Martinez et a.l., 2013). This is what has made it necessary for organizations to adopt certain models of employee motivation as part of their organizational culture in order to make employees replicate behaviors that lead to organizational prosperity (performance) and enhance their job satisfaction. It is important to note that the emphasis on employee motivation by most organizations is due to the perceived positive benefits that accrue from it. Cerasoli et al. (2014) found out that motivation was the most significant factor that determined organizational performance and elaborated that it positively influenced employee performance. In a similar study, Taylor (2014) concluded that employee motivation strategies, especially those that reinforce intrinsic motivation played a key role in enhancing job satisfaction. Years of research on the intricate relationship between employee motivation on one hand and organizational performance and job satisfaction on the other hand have culminated into various models of employee motivation that can be applied differently to different organizational settings.
The significance of this paper is to explain how various models of employee motivation can be adopted in an organizational setting to improve employee performance and job satisfaction. The key concern of every organization is to ensure that employees perform to their best abilities to optimize the organization’s proceeds. Employees, on the other hand, seek to achieve job satisfaction through the various avenues available to them, most of which are conditioned by the organizational cultures of their places of work. Most scholars have noted that the selection of the most appropriate model of employee motivation by organizations is a situation that calls for a delicate balance between the model that optimizes organizational performance and one that optimizes employee job satisfaction (Wegge et al, 2015). The most appropriate model of employee motivation is that which strikes a balance between organizational performance and employee motivation. Nevertheless, the most significant factor that influences the model selection as far as a framework for employee motivation is concerned is the type of organizational structure (Miner, 2015). This is hinged on the fact that organizations, just like individuals, are abstract and subjective economic agents and no single model can be most effective for all organizations (O'Neil & Drillings, 2012). This paper seeks to explore a variety of models for employee motivation with an emphasis on the specific structures that fit into different organizational settings. Moreover, the paper discusses how such models can be used in their predispositions to enhance organizational performance and job satisfaction. Essentially, what this paper seeks to do is to address the question of how different models can be used to increase employee performance and enhance job satisfaction.
To address this question, the paper is organized as follows: the next section of the report undertakes an extensive review of the models and approaches for employee motivation. In this section, the key concepts in these models will be explained together with the differences in their applicability. Further, a case study of Jumeirah Group, an international luxury hotel chain based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, will be undertaken to assess the functionality of employee motivation models in a practical organizational setting. The case study will focus on the motivational techniques employed in employee motivation at Jumeirah Group and any possible problems the organization might be facing in employee motivation. The outcomes of this case study will inform the rest of the paper since it will seek to provide alternative options for the management of the Jumeirah Group based on the situational factors assessed. The paper will conclude by providing clear recommendations on how the organization can use specific motivational approaches to improve performance and job satisfaction.
2.0 Literature Review
This section of the report undertakes an extensive review of the models of employee motivation that can be employed to increase performance and enhance job satisfaction. In this section, the key concepts in these models will be explained together with the differences in their applicability. The theories/models that will be reviewed in this section include:
* Reinforcement Theory of Motivation (RTM)
* Expectancy Theory of Motivation (ETM)
* Equity Theory of Motivation
* Goal Setting Theory
* Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
2.1 Reinforcement Theory of Motivation (RMT)
A behavioral psychologist B. F. Skinner originally developed this theory as a model to explain motivation based on individual human behavior. The theory, also known as Behavioral Theory or Operant Conditioning, proposes that individuals are most likely to be motivated to perform certain tasks based on certain expected desirable outcomes. The theory is structured in such a manner that the desired outcome ‘reinforces’ the action that results to it while at the same time suppresses the undesired outcomes. A key functional tenet of the theory relies on its failure to take into account the internal states of an individual like attitudes, emotional predisposition and beliefs in trying to provide the mechanisms through which motivation is established. According to Skinner, the external surroundings (rather than the internal) in which an individual lives in is what actually motivates them. Based on this finding, the reinforcement theory of motivation, in its simplest application, proposes that in order to motivate employees, organizations should design the workplace in a manner that appeals to the aesthetic sense of the employees. Reinforcement theory is significant in this report since it provides some mechanisms through which human behavior can be regulated, thus motivation. Its significance in an organizational setting as regards performance and job satisfacti...