Relationships between motivation and economics in management

Apple is a huge company with a rewards program for companies to buy and give gifts to their employees and potential business partners. But Apple doesn't just provide benefits for other employees, they also have a host of benefits for their own employees. Some of which make working for Apple a rewarding experience. Some of the benefits are traditional, like a 401 (k) Plan with company match, others are unique like a Cafe that features a host of organic and local ingredients. This essay is meant to discuss the benefits along with the possible implications of such benefits that companies like Apple generate from giving back to their employees.

As discussed in the textbook, Understanding Organizational Behavior, employees are the heart of a company and business should opt to encourage and retain quality employees for as long as possible. Chapter 1 starts with a brief discussion into the importance of an employee for a company. "Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Inc., a billion-dollar cosmetics company, makes a similar point, saying, 'people are definitely a company's greatest asset. It doesn't make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics" (Nelson & Quick, 2005, pg. 10). A company like Apple that relies on customer services to sell their products along with skilled employees to aid in technical assistance, needs to do things in order to retain their employees and keep customers satisfied. Customer satisfaction is directly linked to employee satisfaction for the company, Apple.

A brief examination of the benefits offered by Apple are product discounts, wellness programs, an onsite fitness center, for some employees, a Wi-Fi equipped shuttle, tuition assistance, financial education seminars, life and health insurance, long and short-term disability coverage, employee stock buying plan, and even long-term care insurance. All of these benefits not only offer security and assurance for the typical Apple employee, but it also offers Apple employees a chance to improve and continue their efforts to pursue a better life. One that seemed to be unique to Apple is its emphasis on employee health.

Apple offers organic, local ingredients in their Cafe, they also have onsite fitness centers and family and personal counseling. Healthy employees produce more than unhealthy ones. "Well-targeted and efficiently implemented diet-related worksite health promotion interventions may improve labour productivity by 1% -- 2%. On larger worksites, such productivity gains are likely to more than offset the costs of implementing such interventions" (Jensen, 2011, p. 184). Apple understands this and wishes to do right by its employees by offering nutritive options. This appears to be an all-around active approach in attempting to promote wellness in their employees by providing high quality food, a chance to be physically active, and also deal with any personal issues. Here Apple does a great job in providing varied avenues of wellness and health for its employees. Among these avenues of self-improvement is also financial improvement.

Most people want to earn more money as they continue to work throughout their lives. The employee stock purchase plan as well as the financial education seminars offer employees a chance to learn more and participate more in the company so they could earn more and in doing so, feel increased motivation to work well for Apple and continue working for Apple. Employees often want to progress in their careers and Apple does this by offering financially themed opportunities. Security is also an important part of employee retention.

Paid vacations, holidays and several types of insurance, offer the average Apple employee security. The 401 (k) plan also offers employees a guarantee that if they continue working for the company and making Apple money, they will be able to share in those profits in the future. Businesses succeed when everyone a part of the business believes in the company and product. By offering these kinds of incentives, Apple is that much closer to keeping employees from switching over to other companies for fear of less pay or less benefits.