Student Electronic Assignment Cover Sheet

Student Number as per your student card: 10507103

Course Title: MBA Human Resources Management

Lecturer’s Name: Ray Whelan

Module/Subject Code: B9MG120

Module/Subject Title: Performance and Reward Management

Title: Motivation and Performance Management

No of Words: 2358

1
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part A - Motivation theories and performance management ...............................................3

Part B - Analysis and appraisal of motivation and performance management within an
organization context ...................................................................................................................... 8
References .................................................................................................................................... 10

2
 A. Motivation theories and performance management

In the early days, people were motivated by the necessity of being alive; over the years,
the evolution of human beings, globalization and technology have made many changes in
people’s life. These complexities lead to a new comprehension of the business world, which
influences how people develop and behave within organizations. That is why performance and
motivation are the main points that need to be aligned for the business operation.

Thus, this essay will assess two specific concepts that are addressed in the ‘performance
and reward management’ module and discuss how they are applied in practice. In addition, it
will analyse critically how motivation and performance are connected, appraise the approach
of these contexts within the organisation. It is relevant to mention that this assignment will be
divided into two parts; the first part approaches the relevant analysis of the literature review
related to the motivation and how it fits into the performance management system. The second
part is a contextualization of the theory in a practical organizational environment, using
personal examples.

It is well known that people make organizations and one of the biggest challenges in
business is to keep these people motivated, be able to maintain the environment productive and
harmonic, where the individuals understand what they do, feel that they belong that
organization. However, competitiveness has been increasing in industries; consequently, it is
necessary to value the employees in order to provide ideal environmental conditions favourable
to performance and satisfaction with the service provided and activities developed. Therefore,
organizations are trying to be more aware of motivation and its results (Ying, 2012).

Currently, managers are more willing to motivate their employees and create an
environment that will improve their performance and, consequently, their job satisfaction. It is
also a great challenge, where the leaders need to understand how employees’ motivation works
and how this human resource needs to be valued (Wilson, 2018). Thus, it is important to depict
some motivation theories that will help to comprehend peoples’ behaviours found in
organizations as well as it will support the discussion of motivation from different perspectives.

The term motivation is a derivation of the Latin word for movement, ‘movere’. (Latham,
2012). This word is composed of two main related terms, process and action. There is no single
definition of the term motivation; Locke and Lathan (2004) say that motivation “refers to
internal factors that impel action and to external factors that can act as inducements to action”
(Locke and Latham, 2004, p. 388). In addition, motivation would be recognized as “being the
3
underpinning factor for why an individual manifests certain behaviours, actions and specific
desires. It should be conceived as a cycle within influences cognitive thoughts, actions and
performance” (Salem, 2015, p. 5).

There are motivational theories, which focus on individual’s internal attributes (needs,
drives and goals), and there are those which appraise individual’s interactions with the
environment, which is related to cognitive perceptions about rewards, expenditure and
preferences (Wilson, 2018). Therefore, two theories will be approached in order to understand
the motivational dynamics and how their works in the workplace context.

Maslow’s needs hierarchy theory is the best known of motivation theories and it is based
on findings from observations that he conducted; these studies were made with individuals that
asked him for help in their personal lives. Maslow postulated that there is a hierarchy of five
set needs, which people aim to satisfy their basic needs. As they are satisfied at a certain level,
they move up to de next one, seeking satisfaction and so on. These needs are the framework for
people’s behaviour that each person progress to achieve their goals (Latham, 2012; Wilson,
2018). Hence, every need of the human being influences his motivation and makes him feel
other needs.

Maslow’s theory suggests that there is a hierarchical order (level of importance and
influence) of the development of the human being needs. Therefore, in his point of view, when
a need is satisfied it is no longer a motivating behaviour, it is motivated by the following order
of needs, ranging from the most basic needs to the most complex ones (Ying, 2012; Kuranchie-
Mensah and Amponsah-Tawiah, 2015; Salem, 2015). His theory depicts the following sequence
of needs.

Physiological needs is the lowest but very powerful level that is related to the basics
needs, such as food, drink, oxygen, shelter. When the level is well satisfied, the person moves
on to the next higher level, where safety needs and security are the main concern. The third
level is called belongingness, which is related to affection, love, relationships and necessity of
getting support. Esteem is the fourth level, which the person needs to be respected and valued,
recognized. The highest level is named self-actualization needs that happens when the person
is completely fulfilling of those previous needs. People strive to advance up to the last level of
needs; once, the level is fulfilled its strength decreases, the next higher level strength rises and
this hierarchy drives the behaviours (Latham, 2012; Wilson, 2018). Either satisfied needs or
unsatisfied ones influence the person’s behaviours outcomes.
4
 Picture 1 - Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Model

Source: Mcleod, 2018

The second theory that will be approached is called Herzberg’s two-factor theory, which
was developed by Herzberg from his investigation of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction of
accountants and engineers, who were asked about how they felt in their jobs (Kuranchie-
Mensah and Amponsah-Tawiah, 2015; Armstrong and Taylor, 2017). From that, the two-factor
theory tries to explain that there are two feelings (satisfaction and dissatisfaction), which affect
people’s behaviour at the workplace. It is important to clarify that, according to him, the
opposite of job satisfaction is no job satisfaction and the opposite of job dissatisfaction is no
job dissatisfaction. Besides, these feelings are independent of each other (Pinder cited in
Wilson, 2018).

Herzberg’s theory considers that there are two factors. Hygiene factor includes the
conditions under how people perform in their work, how these conditions are managed and
decided by the company; therefore, it is out of workers' control. This factor is composed of
hygiene, salary, benefits, type of management or supervision, physical and work environment,
company policies and guidelines, the relationship between company and employees and
internal regulations. Motivators are the second part of this theory, which says that they are
related to the content of the job position and the nature of the tasks that the person performs;
the focus is on the individual’s performance. Growth, recognition and self-fulfilment are
involved in these motivators because these factors have a deep and stable effect on people.
“Motivators cause positive job attitudes because they satisfy the worker’s need for self-

5
actualization” (Wilson, 2018, p. 140). Hygiene factors are associated with extrinsic motivation,
whereas motivators are associated with intrinsic motivation.

Picture 2 - Herzberg’s Two-factor Model

Source: Bell, 2014

In short, hygienic factors are associated with satisfaction and motivational factors are
motivation. Motivation comes from work and not from the environment. Motivational factors
address needs that are at the top of the needs hierarchy. However, Herzberg's hygienic factors
can be related to Maslow's primary needs, such as physiological, and the motivational factors
can be associated with higher needs such as esteem and achievement of hierarchy.

It is important to emphasize that people would believe that there is a relationship

between job satisfaction and job performance; however, there is no clear or strong evidence that
confirms this relationship. Researchers have no common agreement about motivation content;
nevertheless, these theories might help managers to improve the workers’ outputs and

6
satisfaction (Wilson, 2018). Under these circumstances, dissatisfaction may lead to increased
absenteeism, staff turnover, and other no desirable behaviours. Therefore, it is interesting to
foster employee satisfaction by promoting greater involvement at work, which might also lead
to dedicated and productive workers.

Having discussed two important motivation theories, it is pertinent to mention that

motivation can be increased by the performance management system. Hence, it is relevant to
discuss how this process works and how performance-aligned strategies can fit companies’
goals through their employees.

Firstly, the definition of performance management could be discussed as a “continuous

process of identifying, measuring, and developing the performance of individuals and teams
and aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organization” (Aguinis, 2014, p. 2).
Armstrong (2018) agrees when he says that it is a neverending process which leads performance
“by setting individual and team goals which are aligned to the strategic goals of the
organization, planning performance to achieve the goals, reviewing and assessing progress, and
developing the knowledge, skills and abilities of people” (Armstrong, 2018, p. 7).

Performance management is an ongoing process, where implies to set goals and

objectives through performance. In this sense, competition advantage is reached by the
alignment of employees’ goals with companies’ goals achieving the best congruence between
them. This congruence helps when the employees’ contribution to the organization goals is
clear; it makes the performance management system be truly understandable and achievable
(Aguinis, 2014; Armstrong, 2018). Organizations develop their own performance goals, as well
as for their employees.

The application of performance management system provides many advantages;

Aguinis (2014) punctuates them saying that motivation and self-esteem increases, helps
improvement of performance, the employees get a better understanding of their strengths and
their weaknesses, tasks and duties, personnel actions are distributed on fairness and credibility,
clear organizational goals, companies become more protected from lawsuits (according to
compliance and regulations), communication is clear related to employees’ performance, any
organisational change is facilitate.

The performance management system is an integrated part of human resources

management activities with the organization’s objectives. Human Resources activities and

7
management work together in order to influence positively individual and collective behaviours
to support the company’s strategies and culture. The performance management system is meant
to help organizational performance through employees’ performance improvement (Ying,
2012).

In summary, if an organization value its employees, these people will return,

contributing to the company’s goals and mission. Motivation is still a big challenge for
companies because it may be what makes people work. It is through motivation that
improvements in internal processes, products, involvement and commitment occur.

B. Analysis and appraisal of motivation and performance management within an

organization context

The description of the mentioned motivation theories shows how they can explain how
performance might work. Hence, motivation contributes to achieving a high-performance level.
The congruence of the theory needs to integrate the culture of the organization.

As it was discussed before, motivation is understood by many authors to be the will for
which an individual expends at high levels of effort on the organization to achieve its goals.
However, the same individual who uses this force assumes that an organization will reciprocate
their efforts; they might expect it. Thus, it is understandable that motivation has to be provided
to produce positive results or result in high performance of the workers. Any type of
organization should pay attention to the ways to motivate their employees because motivation
management should involve different systems, such as work systems and reward systems.

It is important that the company vision and goals are clear to understand how employees’
work fits into the organization, and how they could assist to the accomplishment of an
organizational goal. For example, when an employee starts his or her activities at the company,
he expects the company to provide the necessary support with initial induction, training and
clarification. Personally, this affected my performance, as the early days of work were not
conducted as expected; I was discouraged by not understanding how things in that environment
worked, and then I began to question my own abilities to the point where I was not satisfied
with the role I was playing. My intrinsic motivation became intense and allowed me to seek my
adaptation into that place if I wanted to stay longer and perform better. According to Herzberg,
this was due to the sense of responsibility and growth that strengthened the commitment to

8
achieve a higher goal; or, based on Maslow's theory, the need to be recognized and valued by
one's own work was greater (Salem, 2015).

Another important point is about feedback. Performance reviews must be a regular and
frequent event that will promote dialogue between the management members and the employee.
Hence, it will help to have a better communication inside the organization. It encourages the
employees to think about their strengths and weaknesses, how they want to develop and enable
the worker to integrate. By doing so, it will build the performer’s confidence and help them
improve performance further (Ying, 2012). When I started working, reviews were planned to
be weekly but it did not happen. After a change of management members, this communicating
feedback became every week. It consists of showing employees’ improvements or regressions
from the last review. It needs to be a continuous process of performance review, be frequent
and regular. Performance feedback, when it is delivered properly, has a great potential to
increase employees’ motivation, engagement and job satisfaction (Aguinis, 2014).

In short, when performance management is handled not positively and seriously,

employees are likely to find it not motivating. If feedback is vastly negative and does not
illustrate where the employee can improve, if it is not clear, the employee may disengage. Thus,
if it does not offer help in creating a plan to improve their performance, the employee may feel
lost and become demotivated and not satisfied.

Motivation is directly related to the understanding of human behaviour. When the

employees comprehend the reason why they do something, it is possible to have a better
understand, predict, even influence that behaviour. Although, there are several factors that
influence employee performance, according to authors and researchers, the main one is still the
motivation. Certainly, motivational principles and theories help and make performance
improvement possible, to have a broader understanding and prediction of people's reactions to
a task (Salem, 2015; Armstrong and Taylor, 2017; Wilson, 2018).

Overall, the organization must use various resources and knowledge of theories to make
the employee feel motivated both extrinsically and intrinsically, thus performing well to
improve and achieve their tasks and consequently helping in the development of the
organization.

9
REFERENCES
Aguinis, H. (2014) Performance Management. Third. Pearson.

Armstrong, M. (2018) Armstrong’s handbook of performance management: an evidence-

based. Sixth. London: Kogan Page Limited.

Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S. (2017) Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource

Management Practice. 14th edn. Kogan Page Limited.

Bell, C. R. (2014) ‘If Herzberg ran affinity programs’. Available at:

https://www.socap.org/docs/default-source/CRM-Magazine-PDFs/2014/summer-2014/if-
herzberg-ran-affinity-programs.pdf?sfvrsn=0 (Accessed: 25 July 2019).

Kuranchie-Mensah, E. B. and Amponsah-Tawiah, K. (2015) Employee motivation and work

performance: A comparative study of mining companies in Ghana, ResearchGate. Available
at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301664117_Employee_motivation_and_work_perfo
rmance_A_comparative_study_of_mining_companies_in_Ghana (Accessed: 22 July 2019).

Latham, G. P. (2012) Work motivation: History, theory, research, and practice. second. India:
Sage Publications.

Locke, E. A. and Latham, G. P. (2004) ‘What Should We Do about Motivation Theory? Six
Recommendations for the Twenty-First Century’, The Academy of Management Review,
29(3), p. 388. doi: 10.2307/20159050.

Mcleod, S. (2018) Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Simply Psychology. Available at:

https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html (Accessed: 25 July 2019).

Salem, M. (2015) Employee motivation importance in the performance management process,

ResearchGate. Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316890244_EMPLOYEE_MOTIVATION_IMPOR
TANCE_IN_THE_PERFORMANCE_MANAGEMENT_PROCESS (Accessed: 22 July
2019).

Wilson, F. M. (2018) Organizational behaviour and work: A critical introduction. Fifth.

United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

Ying, Z. (2012) The impact of performance management system on employee performance.

Available at:
http://www.ucs.br/etc/conferencias/index.php/mostraucsppga/xvmostrappga/paper/viewFile/4
182/1305 (Accessed: 23 July 2019).

10