How Remuneration and Rewards Helps to Motivate Employees (Research Paper Sample)

Discuss how remuneration and rewards helps to motivate employees using Porter and Lawler's model of motivation (1000 words).
Organizations have consistently tried to address the subject of employee’s demeanor towards doing their jobs. Motivation instigates workers to elevate the level of their effort.1 Motivation is therefore, presumed to be the energy on a worker to exhaust effort, prompting a notable level of performance by the employee. To motivate and hold a viable workforce, organizations should have a proper reward and remuneration methodology. Research has indicated that work fulfillment and motivation happens when certain worker longings are met.2 It is further noted that compensations and rewards allude to those things attained by the activities of a worker, which helps satisfy their requirements. Employee fulfillment or disappointment with work may not straightforwardly influence his performance, yet it does reflect whether the company remunerates and compensates the employee appropriately. Motivation is defined as the power instigating a worker to perform a specific activity. There is a notable relationship between motivation and compensation.3 Organizations attempt to elevate work fulfillment by furnishing the employees with extraneous rewards, such as enhanced income.
Porter & Lawler model defines the connection between workers fulfillment and performance. Their model contrary to other different models like the content theory, which propose that fulfillment accelerates a positive change in performance while disappointment on the other hand reduces performance, states that performance expedites fulfillment.4 The model further emphasize that motivation is not equivalent to fulfillment or performance, on the other hand it recommends that motivation, fulfillment and performance are all divide variables in directions distinct from the customary assumptions. The model tries to exemplify the complex connection that exists between motivation through awards and compensation, performance and fulfillment. Unlike other different models, Porter & Lawler model brings up that motivation does not directly accelerate performance. According to Porter & Lawler, what remains vital is the outcome of performance. This includes the offered remunerations and how these remunerations are up held or viewed-this in their opinion determines fulfillment.5
Porter& Lawlersuggest that the significance of remunerations and rewards as well as the probability of receiving an award determines an employee efforts. Their model argues that the the traits, abilities and an employee’s perception of his roles in the work place also have a role

Nadler, David & Lawler, Edward, Motivation: A Diagnostic approach, (US, 1977), pg 27.
Porter, Lyman, W & Lawler, Edward, E., What job attitudes tell about motivation: Harvard Business Review (UK, 1968), pg 118.
Hume, David, Reward Management: Employee performance, motivation and Pay, (UK, 1995), pg 14.
4Porter, Lyman, W & Lawler, Edward, E., pg 119. 5 Porter, Lyman, W & Lawler, Edward, E., pg 119.

to play as far as performance and effort are concerned. The Porter& Lawler theory higlights that rewards brought about by performance might not reflect the acutal rewards expected by the employees. The elevated levels of self rated peformances are closely related to elevated levels of percieved rewards and remunerations.
The figure bellow illustrates the close relationship between the expected rewards and performance. Work fulfillment is only attained when the remunerations staisfy or surpass the expectations of the employee.

Fig. 16
The Porter&Lawler model presents a fasinating approach into the relationship between satisfaction and performance.7 The presentation of expectancy theory places Porter and Lawler’s model in the streamline of modern motivation theories. However, modifications of the expectancy theory mostly dwell on identifying and measuring the results and expectations. Intrinsic rewards are intangible, for instance a feeling of accomplishment, while extrinsic rewards are tangible, for example promotions. In this case, an employee assesses his performance with the rewards he gets. If the worker perceives that the award is equitable to his performance, then he gets satisfaction.8

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Griffin, Ricky W., Moorhead, Gregory, Organization Behaviour: Managing People and Organization, (US, 2000), pg
Griffin, Ricky W., Moorhead, Gregory, pg 14.

It is necessary that besides having the ability to spot performance variations, organizations must also have the capacity to offer appropriate rewards.9 For instance, an employee may realize that he is ranked as one of the most preeminent employees, nonetheless, this awareness would achieve less to enhance the overall performance of the employee if the organization fails to offer him satisfactory rewards or valuable chances to gain the rewards. Most of the time, organizations have constrained the liberty of superiors to providing rewards of any particular category.The overall outcome has by large reduced the available chance of providing motivation to employees.10 Incidentally, Porter & Lawler highlights that the fundamental role the top management can undertake in tackling such a scenario is by offering satisfactory rewards and remunerations to senior managers and supervisors who are not afraid of awarding and assessing exceptional subordinate overall performance.
Consequences of unsatisfactory reward practices
Company practicesinadequate motivationSati...