Effective Strategies For Improving Organizational Performance And Employee Motivation

Issues affecting management and employee performance

1.The five key management issues being identified are:

• One of the key issues is the selection process. This is due to the reason that, Shannon appointed Tom without consulting with Frank. This caused non-fulfillment of the criterion of Frank. This is leading to the conflict between Tom and Frank in further stages.
• Another key issue is the difference in the goal setting of Tom and Frank. The strategic planning of Frank is clashing with the tactical planning of Tom. In this case, the goal setting theory will be beneficial.  
• The email sent by Frank to Shannon regarding Tom’s attitude is de-motivating for Tom. This is due to the reason that, the harsh and rude language used by Frank caused negative impression on Tom.
• Another issue being identified is the business communication. This is due to the reason that, in the case study, it is being stated that, Shannon forwarded the email sent by Frank to Tom. The email contains negative review of Tom. Thus, it caused de-motivation for Tom.
• Another issue is the authoritative leadership of Frank. In the meeting room, all others are not allowed to share their opinions including Tom. Thus, not empowering others will restrict the sharing of new ideas. Initiation of the transformational leadership and performance management will help to empower the other internal stakeholders.

2.The above discussed issues will have various impacts on the performance and effectiveness of the employees. One of the key impacts will be the reduction in the organizational productivity. The following sections will discuss the impact of the above identified issues.

• Emergence of the conflict between Tom and Frank will have negative impact on the productivity of Tom. He will feel more de-motivated and de-moralized in his workplace, which will reduce his effectiveness and productivity (Cherian and Jacob 2013). On the other hand, the conflict between them will also have negative impact on the other internal stakeholders also. This is due to the reason that, in the case study, it is stated that, both Tom and Frank argued among them in the meeting room in front of all. Thus, others will have the impression that, similar to Tom, their opinion will also not be given value by the upper management. Thus, it will ultimately reduce the productivity of all the employees.
• The leadership style of Frank will also have negative impact on the organizational performance. This is due to the reason that, the authoritative style of leadership of Frank will create gap between him and his subordinates. This will make difficult for him to determine the requirement of them, which will create mismatch among the organizational stakeholders.
• Another identified issue of de-motivation of the employees will reduce the organizational performance. This is due to the reason that, the more demoralized will be the employees, the less will be their productivity.
• Another impact to be faced by them is the negative employer branding. This is due to the reason that, if Tom leaves his company followed by some other employees, them the impression to be generated from them regarding the company will be negative. Thus, it will lead to the generation of the negative word of mouth for the company in the market (Leekha Chhabra and Sharma 2014).
• The more will be the turnover of the employees from the company, the more will be the cost of the organization in recruiting, selecting and providing training to the new employees. Thus, the cost will be more for the organization. On the other hand, high turnover will lead to the loss of the competitive advantages for the organization that is being gained from the existing workforce. 

3.One of the key and effective motivation theories to be useful for Frank to motivate Tom will be the Hertzberg’s two factor theory of motivation. According to this theory, there are two factors motivators and hygiene factors, which determine the level of motivation and engagement of the employees (Yusoff, Kian and Idris 2013). Motivator factors refer to the factors that will help in enhancing the level of motivation and satisfaction of the employees in their workplace. This includes effective working environment and providence of the reward and recognition for the employees.

On the other hand, hygiene factors refer to the factors that will not enhance the level of motivation of the employees but absence of these factors will create dissatisfaction among the employees. In the given case, Frank can use this theory by implementing the motivator factors to enhance the level of motivation of Tom (Lazaroiu 2015). However, in the case study, it is being told Tom is already motivated in his workplace; however, the recent alterations with Frank caused dissatisfaction among him. Thus, according to the theory, it is important to initiate the hygiene factors such as building effective relationship with Tom will help Frank to convince him in doing the particular job.

Another theory than can be applicable is the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. According to this theory, it is important to fulfill the basic needs of the employees prior to the fulfillment of the further needs. This theory classifies the need for the employees in different categories based on the necessity (Lester 2013). In this case, it is important for Frank to initiate the social and esteem need of Tom in order to motivate him. This is due to the reason that, in the given case, Tom is in the need of effective working relationships in his workplace. Positive relationship between Tom and rank will help to reduce the misunderstanding and miscommunication between them. Another need of Tom that should be fulfilled is the esteem need. This refers to the recognition in the workplace. Thus, Frank should first recognize the efforts being putted by Tom in all these years. This will help them to create the positive impression in the mind of Tom, which will in turn help to convince him in doing a particular job. 

Motivation theories and their application in the workplace

Another theory of motivation that can be used is the Hawthorne effect. According to this theory, employees can be motivated in their workplace if they are being provided with enough guidance and facilities (Sedgwick and Greenwood 2015). Thus, according to this theory, it is being recommended to Frank that, he should provide all the required amenities and facilities to Tom in achieving his target. For instance, the projects that Frank wants to get done by Tom will require various facilities and guidance to achieve. The more guidance and facilities will be provided by Frank to Tom, the more will be the level of the motivation of Tom to do the project of Frank.

Another motivational theory that will also be beneficial for Frank is the goal setting theory. This refers to the setting up the certain goal for the subordinates, which will direct them to attain the desired result. Thus, it is the responsibility of Frank to set specific and clear goal for Tom and that will be challenging in nature. Moreover, it is also important for Frank to have realistic goals for his subordinates. In the case study, it was being discussed that, the goal assumed by Tom is completely different from the goal given by Frank. Thus, according to the goal setting theory, the given goal should be designed in such a way that, it will create consensus among the internal stakeholders and will motivate them to accomplish it. This will motivate Tom to work accordingly. Moreover, it will also reduce the confusion of Tom regarding the expectation of Frank.

Thus, from the effective implementation of the motivational theories, the issues between Tom and rank will get solved. Moreover, issues such as negative employer branding and low morale of the employees will also get solved. This is due to the reason that, with the effective implementation of the motivational theories, the morel of the employees will be high and it will lead to the generation of the positive word of mouth among them. 

4.One of the important human resource theories that can be effective in improving the organizational performance is the theory of employee engagement. According to this theory, it is the responsibility of the management of the organization to initiate different activities in order to engage the employees in their workplace (Alfes et al. 2013). One of the key activities that can be initiated is the proper work life balance for the employees. If the employees are being given enough space and time in their workplace, then the probability of their engagement in the workplace will be more. Thus, the ore will be the level of engagement of the employees in their workplace; the more will be their motivation to enhance their productivity in the organization. Recruitment and selection will also help in improving in the organizational performance. This is due to the reason that, having effective recruitment and selection process will help to have right people in right places. Thus, it will help to reduce the probable issues with having right human resources. However, the selection process should be made effective in order to select the right employees from the all the available job applicants. There are various methods and process being available for screening the potential job candidates. Determining the sample work of the potential employees along with interview are the two most effective way of screening new employees. Thus, implementation of this human resource theory will help to reduce the organizational issues by having the right and skilled employees in right place.

Strategies for improving organizational performance

Another strategy will be the effective business communication. In the given case study, it is being told that, Tom is not ready to accept the facts and figures of Frank. On the other hand, Frank is also not ready to analyze the feedback given by Tom. In this case, effective communication between them is lacking, which is causing in the emergence of issues. Thus, with the help of the model of effective business communication, Frank will have the idea about the importance of considering the feedback of the most valuable employee (Husain 2013). On the other hand, it will also enable Tom to analyze the target given by Frank rather than just rejecting it. Thus, the more effective will be the communication among the internal stakeholders, the less will be the chance of the emergence of issues, which will lead to more organizational productivity.

Performance management will also be applicable for the improvement of the organizational performance. It refers to the strategy of interacting with the employees in every step, which further helps in mitigating the probable issues. Moreover, initiation of the performance management will also help in reducing the requirement of other employee related activities; rather it will help to have holistic impact on the internal working environment. 

5.One of the most effective leadership theories that will be helpful for Frank will be the transformational leadership. Transformational theory refers to motivating and engaging the employees in their workplace in order to generate the productivity of them. Moreover, transformational leadership also involves inclusion of the feedback and opinion of the employees in the decision making process of the organization (Braun et al. 2013). Thus, with the effective initiation of the theory of transformational leadership, Frank will be able to create positive impression among his peers.

Theory of situational leadership will also be effective for Frank to be a better leader. According to this theory, the approach of the leadership should be flexible enough in order to get adjusted with the business requirement. This is due to the reason that, the current business scenario is frequently fluctuating and it is important for the contemporary leaders to get adjusted with the change (McCleskey 2014). Moreover, initiation of the situational leadership will also help Frank to change his leadership approach according to the organizational situation. He can follow transformational style of leadership with the employees who are self sufficient. On the other hand, he can follow the authoritarian style of leadership for the employees who are in the need of direction. Thus, the leader who can get adjusted effectively with the given situation and can manage every kind of employee will be considered as good leader. According to the Hershey’s situational leadership model, Frank should play the role of telling, selling and participating. This is due to the reason that, among the four available options, these three the only positive elements. Moreover, with having the different three elements, it will be easy for Frank to change his leadership style according to the situation. 

References

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Braun, S., Peus, C., Weisweiler, S. and Frey, D., 2013. Transformational leadership, job satisfaction, and team performance: A multilevel mediation model of trust. The Leadership Quarterly, 24(1), pp.270-283.

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Husain, Z., 2013. Effective communication brings successful organizational change. The Business & Management Review, 3(2), p.43.

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Lazaroiu, G., 2015. Employee motivation and job performance. Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations, 14, p.97.

Leekha Chhabra, N. and Sharma, S., 2014. Employer branding: strategy for improving employer attractiveness. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 22(1), pp.48-60.

Lester, D., 2013. Measuring Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Psychological Reports, 113(1), pp.15-17.

McCleskey, J.A., 2014. Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership and leadership development. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(4), p.117.

Sedgwick, P. and Greenwood, N., 2015. Understanding the Hawthorne effect. BMJ: British Medical Journal (Online), 351.

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