Tesco (UK) and WAL-MART (U.S.)

¶ … TESCO (UK) and WAL-MART (U.S.) on motivation and the effects of employee performance

Motivation:

Motivation is termed as an interaction of individuals with the situation however the individual capacity to respond to situations should also be considered in order to completely understand the phenomenon and role of motivation. The emphasis on motivation as an important factor is advanced through the situational theories. The conceptual basis provided by the situational theory is used as a basis for problem recognition, constraint's understanding, and a single focus of motivation. The views of Kimand Grunig (2011) are comparable with Martins and Martins (2003). According to Martinset al. (2003) the changes in the situations and external and internal factors result into different levels of motivation in employees.

One of the most relevant theories of motivation is regarded as Frederic Herzberg's two factor theory. It is also denoted as motivation hygiene theory. The theory presented by the researcher is based on the categorization of factors that motive employees in order to feel satisfied or unsatisfied about their jobs. The research of Backer in 1970s tried to imitate the findings of two factors theory and concluded that the satisfied employees were entirely different form the responses while they do not feel satisfied. The views of Martin et al. (2003) are confirmed by the study Oliver (2010) as the conformance of the motivation hygiene theory. The research of Oliver (2010) further confirms similar results as they are related to the statement that the satisfaction should be opposed by no satisfaction and dissatisfaction with no dissatisfaction. It does not conform that dissatisfaction is the opposite of satisfaction according to two factor theory. Hence it is confirmed that the factors leading to job satisfaction are different from the factors leading towards dissatisfaction in job (Martin et al. 2003; Hayes, Bonner & Pryor2010; Oliver 2010).

Martin et al. (2003) argues that in organizational context the Herzberg two factor theories can be termed as two different set of components for eliminating dissatisfaction and creating satisfaction respectively. The factors that influence job dissatisfaction are also regarded as hygiene factors including supervision, salary, organizational polices, job security, working environment, and relations with coworkers. The factors influential for creating satisfaction and motivate employees are career opportunities, recognition, responsibility, and achievement. The findings of research Oliver (2010) are also similar to the above stated factors and Martin et al. (2003) conclusions.

However it is also essential to highlight the limitations and shortcomings of the two factor theory. The work of Herzberg is criticized in terms in Martin et al. (2003) with respect to its limited methodology. The validity of the claims that employees claim success as an internal factor and failure as extrinsic factor is a widely contested claim as survey results presented in the work of Herzberg has limitations. The reliability of the theory is also contradictory as it lacks the equal analysis criterion for interpretation of results. The view that acceptability levels for job are not clearly defined in the theory as dissatisfied employees still retain their work. The situational variables are also not included in the research as a consideration of previous research. The relationship between satisfaction and productively is not validated in the work of Herzberg (Mamiseishvili & Rosser2010). The disagreement and shortcomings of research are also derived through the interpretations of the work laid out by two factor theory of Herzberg. The application of research in various disciplines and practice is highly noticeable. The organizations and management apply the theoretic framework in creating a motivational work environment for employees is also evident of the study applicability.

According to Moneta and Siu (2012) motivation is regarded as the major contributor in defining a successful path of performance. There are multiple factors influencing motivation and as a result of these efforts the overall performance of employees is measured. The positive impacts of motivation are considerable in terms of the organizational performance in terms of two job performance proportions denoted as task performance and organizational relatedness behavior (Rich, Lepine & Crawford, 2010). The motivation of employees, subordinates, and peers play a vital role in increasing employee performance. The steady flow of feedback information from management, performance appraisal, and organizational culture are major contributors in facilitating employee performance. The research Levy and Williams (2004) provides a detailed view of the role of social elements in increasing employee performance. It also highlights the importance of social environment in which performance appraisal is conducted.

Miner (2012) elaborates role-based motivation theory in terms of managerial role in motivation and training of employees. It concluded that coaching and evaluation of feedback are essential factors in facilitating employee motivation. The managers deploy strategies for employees to coach and train individual employees for the expected results. Similarly the group training sessions are also a significant part of the managerial efforts to motivate employees in increasing performance. The role motivation theories translate their constructs as relationships with organization types, role requirements, and motivational attributes of these roles. The role motivations theories are defined in terms of their relevance as an alignment of role and motivations. The level of alignment in roles and motivation is translated into business performance as per the conclusion of Kolehmainen (2010). Therefore it is essential to understand the role of management in motivating g employees as well as the intrinsic and extrinsic factors for motivating employees. The leadership role of management and organizations in creating motivation and effects of employee performance should also be reviewed. The review of leadership role in effective motivation and positively affecting employees requires an in-depth analysis of leadership theories.

Leadership:

Throughout the historic perspective there are various theories and concepts regarding the leadership and motivation. According to Northouse (2012) the behavioral theory of leadership is based on the duties and steps performed by a leader during the course of job in order to achieve high performance. The comparison is made with the non-achievers to validate the claims in relation to the management activities, roles, and responsibilities. The contingency and situational theories rest on the notion that the characteristics and behavior of leaders cannot be understood without the context of a situation (Rowley, Hossain & Barry 2010).

Vigoda-Gadot andDrory (2006) argues that the leadership of organizations plays a vital role in employee performance. The early leadership theories consisted of democratic, autocratic, social or target oriented leadership styles. The effective leadership style in organizational context is developed on the transformational leadership theory. The work of Burns (1978) and Bass (1985) provides a valid ground for the transformational leadership theory in terms of a positive effect on employees. The positive effect presented in these studies is relevant in terms of their attitudes towards job and working environment. This ultimately is translated in their work performance. The effects of positive attitude in work environment are derived through fair polices, and justice in the workplace. The emphasis on significance of individual and organizational performance through deployment of effective leadership is also concluded in the work of West (2012).

The study Winter, Owen, Read and Ritchie (2010) conducts a survey and analyze its results to understand the impact of effective leadership in enhancing work safety, increasing operational excellence, and employee performance. The connection between leadership practices and employee commitment, and motivated employees is also investigated through a research survey. The research findings provide a concrete evidence of the interlinked nature of employee engagement and leadership. The study further concludes that the leadership practices promote company values and as a result the alignment of employee direction facilitates the overall increase in performance. The highly engaged employees are more likely to better performin various operational aspects in order to generate comparatively improved results than their competition. The engagement of employees through effective leadership also helps in promoting collective and individual self-efficacy (Ulrich & Smallwood2012; Winter et al. 2010). The high level of alignment with the organizational values and goals resulted into increased performance. The findings of the study suggest that the behavioral programs are least likely to create results unless they are integrated with the value-based culture through effective leadership. The research provides an overall trend for leadership and its effective nature in increasing employee performance. The research confirms the theoretic basis of generalization and validity. However further empirical evidence is required to confirm research results (Winter et al. 2010).

The review of research Ulrich (2012) facilitates in understanding the traits of leadership and role in increasing employee performance. The study argues that leadership in organizations develops strategy and implements that strategy through their decisions to increase motivation in employees and as a result the performance is also affected. The human resources and talent management strategies along with the personal proficiency are the factors that influence employee performance. The leadership in organization develops a successful strategy for future leadership to learn the organizational goals and techniques in creating a successful pattern. The research further provides four essential components for leadership for sustainable performance increment. These principles are denoted as a clarification of why leadership is essential, what is required from leader's role, develop future leadership, and long-term change through leadership strategy.

The leadership is also defined in terms of its capacity to influence employees in achievement of organizational goals. The leader member theory efficiently defines the role of leaders and mechanism through which they influence employee's behaviors. The leaders are capable of forming a high quality exchange of social components based on the trust and likings with some employees result into a high performance. Similarly on the contrary the leaders also exchange a low quality of economic factors result into a low performance. It is noted that the leader member exchange theory highlights the effect of high and low exchanges in terms of influence on employee work ethics, productivity, satisfaction, and perceptions. Numerous studies confirm that the employees that are placed in supportive relations with their leadership tend to perform higher than then the compared members of organization (Bai 2011; Cameron 2012; Yee, Lee, Yeung & Cheng2013). The high quality leader member exchange effects employee performance, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. It is a relationship-based perspective of leadership in order to perform their roles. The intensions of the opinion seekers in order to gain a positive quality of leader member exchange are attributed towards seeking a reflection on their work in order to improve performance. However at the same time it is also noted that opinion is also sought to understand the personal attitude of the leaders by employees (Lussier&Achua2009).

The goal achievement is facilitated through effective usage of powers to influence employees and motivating in deployment of increased efforts. The leadership within an organization uses several combinations of powers in order to influence and motivate employees. The employee performance is also based on the position and a mix of amount and kind of power exerted through the organizational settings. The individuals and higher management reflects on the behaviors and as a result they exert influence on other to respond in different ways. The higher management and individuals within businesses adopt various leadership styles in order to motivate and influence employees. The leadership styles are also regarded as the consistent behaviors and habits in which they influence others (Gitman, & McDaniel 2008).

The style of leadership followed through the organizational structure is also reflective of the mission, values, and culture of the business. The corporate culture is also developed over several years and most of the times it is due to the style followed by the top management (Weber&Tarba2012). According to Agrawal and Hockerts (2013) the reflection of business culture and policies can be observed throughout the history and vision of its founders. It is mostly the case in entrepreneurships and small to medium sized business settings. The corporate culture is associated with the practices followed by the business in large organizations including multinational organizations. It is conformed through the study of multinational organizations working in Russia (Koveshnikov, Barner-Rasmussen, Ehrnrooth&Makela (2012).The conceptual, human relations and technical skills are required for various grades of management positions. The skill set of management also changes as per the requirements from front line, middle, and top level management. The organizations deploy various methods for skills improvement including appraisals, trainings, and courses for professional development. These techniques are deployed in order to increase business performance and promote professionalism in employees (Gitman et al. 2008).

Communications:

The theoretic perspectives are based on various concepts and the concepts are regarded as indispensable in terms of theory and practice. The research in theory of communications is required to be tested in accordance with its applicability. The historical research is denoted as the information that is related to the past individuals, events, documents, and scholarly work. The messages presented in the past are interpreted in accordance with today's perspective. The applicability of historical research is relevant to compare current and previous theoretic perspectives. The survey research is aligned with the requirements of collecting data from people and a group of individuals based on the ability, opinions, and attitudes. Questionnaire and survey forms are developed to undertake the qualitative and quantitative information. The researchers present different meanings to communications. The communication definitions are divided into two foundations including the technical view of communications and a meanings centered view (Anderson 2010). The concept misses an important point of reference as the message also has a perspective to be perceived as a meaningful interpretation. The dependability of the message in terms of its interpretation is related to the human phenomenon. The meaning centered theories are mainly based on the concept of the ideas that are relevant in terms of motivation for human beings to communicate the meanings associated with each message and the treatment of the communications functions during the process (Baran&Davis2011).

The technical requirements of communications as means for delivering a message across various individuals are also a notable factor. The dependency of the audience evaluation is also required. The applicability of the communications theory in terms of its reliability and validity should be tested before implementation (Daft 2008). The usage of technology and changing means of communications has played a significant role in business world. According to Mao and Hale (2011)organizations and employees use various means across the corporation's structure to communicate a message. The composition of the message and conversation is based on various related factors including the intellectual level of targeted audience and interpretation of the message. The organizations recognize the important nature of the message and communications. Hence the importance of message, selection of communication message, and composition of message is given its required importance.

The scholarly agreement on corporate communications as a collection of communication paradigms reflects that it is one of the essential elements of organizational structure. Communications has a primary role in defining corporate image and engaging employees for increasing business performance (Hawabhay, Abratt & Peters 2009; Keyton 2010; Welch 2011).The significant role played by communication as an underlying factor for successful marketing, organizational, and management of a business. The internal and external elements also exert their influence on effective communications. There are also a variable number of channels used to communicate effectively. The formal and informal communications also have various perspectives. The applicability of the communication in terms of its relevance is determined based on the importance of the message. The strategic conversations in leading the organizations play an important role in defining the boundaries of decision making. The effective communication within and outside the organizations creates a significant role for image and perception (Dolphin & Reed 2012).

The importance of message within the communications cannot be underestimated in terms of its relevance with the context and target audience. It is essential for the decision makers to reflect upon the composition and significance of communication message. The key factors playing a role in successful communication are dependent on a selection of messages, channel for communication, and timing of delivery. The formal communications within the company are followed through e-mail, fax, and written, however, at the same time the organizations also follow a verbal mechanism for communicating within the business settings (Wei, Gong&Zhu2012). The verbal communication is also according to the organizational structure and environment. Powell (2011) defines that the nature of the message is also dependent on the form of communication and message. The formal means of communicating with employees are influenced through implementation of protocols and standard operating procedures. The message for outside stakeholders including customers is also delivered using the most efficient channels. It is also applicable for normal communications, perception building, and most importantly the marketing messages. The communications models are based on various theoretic structures. The planning of scientific research and knowledge of communications theory provides a perspective that is relevant for a certain periods of time. It is also argued that various communication theories are relevant for today's perspective while in coming days it can be changed. It is also dependent on the nature of means used and innovated throughout the communication structure. The communication is denoted as a multifaceted and multidimensional subject. It also contains various perspectives and paradigms.