雇员没有动力的原因与解决方法.docx

PengWei200682308AS2
Discuss the causes and effects of low employee or student motivation. Consider solutions to this problem.

1. Introduction
Low employee motivation is a serious problem which exists in our society and many different factors can lead to this problem. In recent years, many social scientists have focused on employee motivation, and “Various kinds of incentive schemes have been devised to make people work hard” (Argyle, 1972, p84). However, some schemes do not work. Most of organizations’ success is depending on their employee’s work efficiency, therefore, it is very important to keep the high motivation of employee in their organization. In order to solve this problem, firstly, we need to know what the motivation is: “In broad terms motivation can be considered to comprise an individual’s effort, persistence and the direction of that effort; in simpler terms, motivation is the will to perform” (Brooks, 2006, p48). There are extrinsic factors and intrinsic factors which cause the low employee motivation and the extrinsic factors are more important than intrinsic factors. At the same time, extrinsic and intrinsic effects of this problem also exist. However, the same solutions can solve extrinsic and intrinsic problems. This essay will focus primarily on some extrinsic and intrinsic causes of low employee motivation, and then discuss the effects of low employee motivation. Finally, some solutions will be shown to solve this problem.

2. Causes
2.1 Extrinsic Causes
Firstly, this essay will show some extrinsic factors which cause the low employee motivation. In some organizations, employees cannot get enough recognition and praise for their efforts, for example, managers never give recognition to employees for their hard work and give a little praise for employees’ achievements, this will lead to employees no motivation. At the same time, some managers never care their employees, just give more pressure to them, and this will lead to many conflicts between managers and employees, therefore, many employees think they are not valued in the organization, this will affect the motivation of individuals and groups. Some employees said “We do not care about the money; if my boss would just say thank you, if he or she would just acknowledge that I exist. The only time I hear anything is when I screw up, I never hear when I do a good job” (Nelson, 1999, p26).

Another important extrinsic factor which cause low employee motivation is the work environment. Some employees think the workplace is not safe enough and that they need to face a variety of serious problems when they working, for example, he possibility of dismissal at any time. On the other hand, some employees think they are limited by many rules in their workplace and they do not have enough freedom when they are working (Nelson, 1999, p28). “Mis-communication, sending out inaccurate or misleading information, can cause motivational problems” (Brooks, 2006, p68). Therefore, communication between the different people in a same organization is very important. It is not very democratic in some organizations, for example, employees do not have opportunities to communicate with the leader, and they also cannot participate in the decision-making (Witzel, 2004, p94). This might lead to employees not caring about their organizations, and do not have more motivation. Some employees think there not have enough opportunities to improve and develop their skills in their workplace, and this will cause the low motivation (Nelson, 1999, p28).

2.2 Intrinsic Causes
In addition to extrinsic factors, also have some intrinsic factors lead to low employee motivation. “The work is done in a spirit of coercion rather than real interest or concern” (Argyle, 1972, p92). This means that some people do their job because of various reasons in life, such as the wages, not because they are interested in their job. Most of people cannot have enough motivation to do a job which they do not like. Therefore, boring work will lead to low employee motivation. Another intrinsic factor is some employees are easy to be satisfying in their life (Witzel, 2004, p93). This means that some employees are very satisfied with their present situation, and they prefer a stable and relaxed life. Therefore, they have little motivation to work and it is difficult to make these employees work harder than before. At the same time, this cause is also the most difficult to resolve.

The different needs in human life are the most primitive motivators to make people work, for example, food, water, clothes and so forth. Most of employees are not only working for these basic needs, but also for some higher level needs, such as the hierarchy of needs. “Higher needs differ from lower needs in that they are never completely satisfied” (Rosenbaum, 1982, p18). High-status can make employees more confident and have more motivation to work. In some organization, the status of employees is not very high, and this will lead to the low employee motivation. On the other hand, low in-come also is an important factor caused low employee motivation, “if an employee’s waged are not as high as he or she believes to be appropriate, then this might lead to dissatisfaction” (Brooks, 2006, p60). Therefore, if employees cannot get enough benefits that will compensate them for the time and labour they give up (Witzel, 2004, p92), they will have no motivation to work.

3. Effects
3.1 Extrinsic Effects
Then this essay will show some extrinsic effects of the low employee motivation. “The findings from US research on ESOPs that efficiency gains were depend on employee participation” (Andrew, 2001, 52). This means that the behavior of employees directly affected the organization's development. On the other hand, the employee’s motivation decides the performance of employees in organizations. Therefore, if employees have low motivation, they will do not work hard, and the efficiency of their work will reduce (Argyle, 1972, p89). Low employee motivation even might lead to employee conflict with their work. “Roy took a job as an operator and found that workers in a machine shop restricted their rate of output, but also engaged in secret competitive races with each other” (Argyle, 1972,p87). This is a very serious problem for the organizations, and it might lead to some organizations can not be a healthy development.

Human resources become more and more important in our society. Now, the frequency of job-hopping is much faster than the past. If employees do not think their job is interesting, or they do not think they are valued in the organization, some of them may choose to continue with these works, however, most people will choose to give up jobs which they do not like and find a new job. Therefore, low motivation will lead to shortage of employees in some organizations. “Employees quit, and then management must scramble to figure out ways to energize and motivate employees” (Nelson, 1999, p31). This shows that employees change too fast is unfavorable for the organization. Unstable employees will lead to unstable development of the organization.

3.2 Intrinsic Effects
Intrinsic effects of low employee motivation also exist. As we know, development of an organization is based on continuous innovation. If employees have no motivation, they will be very passive when they do a job. However, most of the innovations come from proactive thinking and research. Therefore, if employees have low motivation, they will have no creating thinking (Brooks, 2006, 67). On the other hand, low motivation will lead to employees have no self-confidence and lack of unity (Andrew, 2001, p72). If employees do not have enough self-confidence, it will be difficult for them to do a good job. In some organizations, there exist many conflicts between employees and managers, these conflicts will lead to people lack of unity in the organization. In this case, the organization will lose the ability to resist risks.

4. Solutions
After the causes and effects of low employee motivation, this essay will give some solutions to this problem. Firstly, it is important to recognize and commend employee’s achievements and efforts (Nelson, 1999, p27). If managers recognize and praise employees, it will make employees more confidence, and they will work harder. When employees do a good job, managers can give some meaningful rewards to employees, for example, “a written thank-you from one’s manager for a job well done and public praise” (Nelson, 1999, p27). If managers give these specific rewards to employees, they will feel valued in the organization. The rewards should not just cash，because “cash awards would reduce teamwork as employees concentrated primarily on individual cash gains” (Nelson, 1999, p28). At the same time, “Managers should carefully examine their rewards systems, company policies, supervision styles and so forth, to avoid potential sources of demotivation” (Brooks, 2006, p74). This means that managers should try to reduce the conflict with employees, try to be concerned about their employees, not just give more tasks to employees. Employees’ motivation will be higher through these ways.

Workplace is an important factor which influences the employee motivation. Employees will be more active to work in a democratic environment. Therefore, managers should give more rights and space to employees in the organizations, for example, employees can participate in the decision-making in some organizations (Witzel, 2004, p94). At the same time, “Giving people latitude increases the chance that they will perform as you desire and that they’ll bring additional initiative, ideas, and energy to their jobs” (Nelson, 1999, p28). On the other hand, managers should try to make employees feel relax at workplace. In this regard, managers should try to make employees communicate with each other easier, and give more opportunities to employees to improve their skills (Nelson, 1999, p31). In such a working environment, employees will have higher motivation.

In fact, reward is the most direct way to stimulate the motivation of employees. Employees would like to get more benefits through their own efforts, such as wages and position. Most employees have hierarchy of needs and material needs in their organizations (Rosenbaum, 1982, p19). Therefore, give higher wages and status can make employees feel more satisfied and have more motivation to continue their work. At the same time, “Managers should make sure that the reward system is equitable” (Brooks, 2006, p74). This can make employees feel more equal in and be more conducive to improving employees’ motivation.

5. Conclusion
In conclusion, low employee motivation is still affecting the development of a number of organizations. Many extrinsic and intrinsic factors which can lead to low employee motivation, for example, more new regulations are made to control employees in the organizations have been discussed. At the same time, the negative effects of this problem have become more and more serious. However, many organizations have taken measures with low employee motivation. In order to keep the high employee motivation, the government should also pay attention to this problem and take some effective measures, such as making laws to reduce the frequency of job-hopping. The success of an organization not only decides on how many resources it owns, but also is inseparable with the employee’s motivation. If organizations want a better development in the future, they should pay more attention to their employees and use some efficient methods to stimulate employees’ motivation.

Bibliography:
Argyle, M. (1972). The Social Psychology of work. London: Allen Lane. [Accessed 11 October 2009]

Nelson, B. (1999). The ironies of motivation. Strategy and Leadership, 27, 26-31. [Accessed 15 October 2009]

Witzel, M. (2004). Management: the basics. London: Routledge. [Accessed 21 October 2009]

Brooks, I. (2006). Organisational behaviour: individuals, groups and organisation / Ian Brooks. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. [Accessed 26 October 2009]

Andrew, P. (2001). Employee ownership, participation, and governance. London: Routledge. [Accessed 10 November 2009]

Rosenbaum, L.B. (1982). How to motivate today's workers: motivational models for managers and supervisors. New York: McGraw-Hill. [Accessed 21 November 2009]

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