U3AOS2 - Managing Employees Flashcards
business objectives
stated, measurable goals that the business wants to achieve
- plans are created to achieve them
- a business has many stakeholders but employees are one of the most critical assets a business has to achieve their objectives
responsibility for staffing
- when the business is small the manager or owner is responsible for staffing
- as the business grows a specific human resources department may be established to create more standardised policies, procedures and practices for managing the employment cycle
- this gives managers more time to direct the business to achieving the vision or mission statement
relationship between objectives and managing employees
- when a effective relationships exist between management and the employees the business is in a better position to achieve their objectives
- having a business properly staffed with the right people can be a challenge
- employees need adequate training
- employee’s goals need to be in line with business objectives
- measuring performance keeps employees on track to achieve their goals
management by objectives
where an organisation aligns the objectives of employees with overall business goals
- the goals are set with the employee and manager working together
- performance can be measured against these goals
- employees who have an understanding of the objectives will be more engaged in their work
motivation
motivation is the willingness of a person to expend energy and effort in doing a job or task
- when a manager understands what motivates employees they will be in a better to encourage employees when they need to
- complex as individuals are all motivated differently
HR manages the following areas…
- recruitment and selection
- remuneration and benefits
- training and development
- workplace relations
theories of motivation
four drive
maslow’s theory
lock and latham’s theory
maslow’s theory
provides a five stage understanding of motivation
- for someone to advance from their previous level their current level needs must be met
- include the lower level extrinsic needs, such as physiological, safety and security needs being met first before satisfying the higher order intrinsic needs, such as social, self-esteem and self-actualisation needs
- each level of need acts as a motivator for employees until it has been met by the employer // once it is achieved it no longer motivates.
levels of maslow’s hierarchy
- physiological needs
- safety needs
- social needs
- self esteem needs
- self actualisation needs
physiological needs
- basic needs such as food, water, air and shelter
- providing the employee with the job and payment for the job
safety needs
- security and protection from harm
- creating job security, ensuring employees have safe and healthy work activities, superannuation and insurance as well as compliant and fair management
social needs
- love, belonging, affection, affiliation, acceptance and friendship
- friendly work associates, organised employee activities
self esteem needs
- external needs of status, recognition and attention
- internal needs of self-respect, autonomy and achievement
- promotion, good performance management rating, pay linked to status and increased responsibilities
self actualisation needs
- ultimate need; personal growth, achieving one’s potential
- self fulfillment and creative potential
- challenging wok, participative decision making, opportunities for growth
lock and latham
states individuals and teams are more motivated, focused and work better when they have clear goals
- gives five principles for setting goals
lock and latham five principles
clarity challenge commitment feedback complexity
clarity
goals need to be clear and specific
don’t mention SMART goals - EVER
allows for measurability
challange
- employees were more motivated when the goals were challenging
- challenging should extend employees but not too complex that they can’t achieve it
commitment
- the more committed an employee is the more likely they are to achieve the goal set for them
- managers and employees should set the goals together
feedback
- feedback needs to be constructive to help employees’ maintain motivation
- it can also provide motivation to improve performance
complexity
- the task should be interesting and varied
- employees should have the skills to achieve the goals
- training and support should be provided
four drive theory
the theory that the basic motivational needs that everyone needs are shared to an extent and can be broken down into different drives
four drive theory aspects
drive to acquire
drive to bond
drive to learn
drive to defend
drive to acquire
basic and complex need (complex for status / basic for necessities of survival)
- can be enforced by developing a reward system or offering best performers advancement // rewarding employees with praise, recognition and interesting assignments
drive to bond
people need to connect and bond with each other; can be enforced by:
- developing and maintaining a culture that creates a strong sense of ‘team spirit’, collaboration, openness and friendship
- encouraging teamwork and adopting a people focused management style
- recognise and acknowledge personal milestones and achievements
drive to learn
people want to make sense of the world around them and comprehend it; this is enforced by:
- designing jobs that are satisfying and challenging as well as varied and engaging
- managers should ensure jobs in their areas of responsibility are meaningful and interesting
drive to defend
stems from a natural desire to defend yourself, family etc; this is enforced by:
- creating a fair, transparent and trustworthy process to overcome fear and the need to defend
- using a participative management style
maslow’s theory positives
- develop an understanding of individual needs
- takes into account everyone is at a different stage of development
maslow’s theory negatives
- not supported by empirical evidence
- manager may struggle to identify where an employee is at
lock and latham positives
- setting challenging, clear and specific goals motivates employees and improves productivity
- studies support the theory
- staff will perform at a higher standard due to their clear and specific goals
- better relationships between employees and managers // collaborative goal setting approach
lock and latham negatives
- setting vague goals can lead to poor performance
- individual employee goals may clash with each other
- only focuses on goal setting -> other features also increase motivation
- failing to meet a goal can be detrimental to employee confidence
four drive theory positives
- the drives work independently allowing managers and employees to be flexible
- very adaptable to complex and intricate environments
- the four drives convert into an effect directed at improving behaviour // thereby improves performance and achievement of objectives
four drive theory negatives
- doesn’t explain individual characteristics that motivate people
- some workplace applications involve complex between employees
maslow vs lock and latham - similarities
- successful achievement of a goal in both is similar in esteem and self achievement for Maslow
- recognition and feedback is significant in both theories
- both recognise job satisfaction as a key factor
- both focus on achieving one thing at a time (one goal or step at a time)
maslow vs lock and latham - differences
- M’s theory is an ongoing long term process // L+L is short term based
- L+L focuses on the achievement of different goals // the encouragement of employees is a bigger focus then Maslow’s theory which focuses on process and procedures that employees achieve to advance
- Maslow concentrates on internal needs of employees L+L focuses on goals external to the employees
- Individual employees vary significantly in the goal setting process while managers are more significant in setting tone within Maslow’s theory
maslow vs four drive - similarities
- both theories originally devised as a way of explaining human behaviour in general
- both theories focus on employee satisfaction
- the drives can be compared to Maslows’ psychological needs
- drive to bond is similar to social needs of Maslow
maslow vs four drive - differences
- Maslows’ theory has four different levels of needs in hierarchical structure while all the drives are considered equal
- Maslows theory has sequential steps whereas progress in the four drive theory can be completed in all areas at the same time
- Satisfying the drive to defend is effectively minimising a potential negative // different from Maslows’ positive focus
lock and latham vs four drive - similarities
- the rewards that come from the achievement of a goal in L+L can be linked to the drive to acquire
- both theories show the manager needs to understand each employees individual needs
- both primarily focused on employees (either by input into goals or achieving motivation level on employee needs)
- cooperation between manager and employee is essential
lock and latham vs four drive - differences
- the basis for both theories comes from different sets of ideas (external vs internal motivation)
- in L+L theory one goal is focused on a time vs the drives which can all be undertaken with four drive
- goal setting theory can be closely aligned with the objectives of the business / four drive theory doesn’t
motivation strategies
performance related pay career advancement investment in training support sanctions
performance related pay
a financial reward to work that is considered to have achieved or exceeded a required standard including:
- sales commision
- bonus payment
- profit sharing
- share allocation
performance related pay - advantages
- provides a direct financial reward to employees
- tangible way of recognising achievement
- encourages goal setting
- improving productivity levels
- rewards best performance
- only need to be paid when the business is profitable
performance related pay - disadvantages
- reduces equality
- promotes a ‘performer’ culture which may lead to jealousy or lowered morale
- demotivates if goals are too challenging
- difficulty in measuring productivity levels in some types of jobs
- costs the business extra money
- short term focus
career advancement
- occurs when a person takes on a job that carries greater responsibility or increased opportunities to provide leadership
- benefits include increased pay, improved self-esteem, greater challenge and experience for employees, status
- long term motivator
- policies and procedures for promotion should be in place
opportunities in career advancement
job enlargement (making a job bigger or more giving more responsibility) job enrichment (making a job more challenging so workers use their full capabilities and gain personal growth) job rotation (moving between different jobs to increase variety and workforce flexibility)
career advancement - advantages
- rewards past performance
- helps retain talented employees
- retains ip and continuity of knowledge
- could increase contribution to the business
- potential to act as a long term motivator
career advancement - disadvantages
- bad for employees overlooked for a promotion
- employees may be promoted beyond their capability levels
- creates feeling of unrest if promotion is not warranted
- level of productivity may decrease with broader responsibilities
investment in training
- employees gain skills and job knowledge through training and job experience (short term)
- creates an environment that encourages learning and sharing (long term)
- makes employee feel like they are contributing to business outcomes
investment in training - advantages
- indicates that the business values its employees and their contribution
- demonstrates the business wants to advance employees careers
- creates loyalty and attachment
- builds positive corporate culture
- short and long term motivator
investment in training - disadvantages
- expensive investment if the business has insufficient systems
- if employees are in the wrong job this won’t help
- upskilled employees may not be able to gain opportunity to use the new skills
- may highlight areas that the business lacks in
support
- ensuring employees are supported, encouraged, acknowledged for their performance
- helps employees identify with the business mission
- employees will feel proud of the business
- strategies include: employee assistance programs, mentoring and general manager support
support - advantages
- employees more likely to work diligently
- short and long term motivator
- confidential EAPs are accessible for all employees
- doesn’t have to cost the business money
support - disadvantages
- need positive corporate culture
- relies on good manager communication skills
- confidential EAPs mean managers may not be aware of problems experienced by the employee
sanctions
- ‘stick’ approach
- traditional method of motivating
- motivates via discipline and feat
- includes: loss of benefits, demotion, written warnings, disciplinary counselling and dismissal
- only works in the short term
- rarely able to turn a low performing employee into a high performing one
sanctions - advantages
- may work short term for some employees
- the fear created may bring other employees into line
sanctions - disadvantages
- imposing sanctions only works short term
- can create resentment and cause disputes or employees to take legal action
- promotes a negative corporate culture
training
training is the process of providing staff with the knowledge or skills required to do a particular job and can include a range of activities either on or off the job
- includes a new employee learning the basics of a system or experienced employee upskilling in a specific area
- can be conducted on or off job
development
refers to preparing employees for longer term opportunities - had more of a general focus than skills training
training needs analysis
needs to be undertaken to find current issues and future challenges that need to be overcome through a training program. There are three main areas in an analysis:
organisational
task
person
organisational
determines where training should be concentrated to best achieve strategic objectives