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Motivation in the Workplace: Recommendations for Case Study Analysis

Addressing Motivation

In order to transform the group at Acme into a working, successful, productive group, they must be motivated. Motivation begins, first, with having a sense of what is expected of one. Transformational leaders must be able to communicate a vision to workers, inspire them to want to be part of that vision and to pursue, provide them with the needed emotional and social support so that they will engage, and give them the logical reasons for why embracing the change is necessary (Xirasagar, 2008). For the workers at Acme, it is clear the goals, objectives and purpose for the group have not been defined. Until these are defined, the workers will not be motivated. Motivating them, therefore, hinges upon their knowing what they are expected to achieve.

Second, motivation can come in terms of extrinsic or intrinsic inputs—i.e., by way of rewards, bonuses, pay raises, or by way of a having a personal sense of achievement, satisfaction, or knowing that one did a job well (Gerhart & Fang, 2015). To motivate the team, leaders must provide either extrinsic or intrinsic motivation: goals must be defined, explained and set; the reason for striving to achieve these goals must be clear; and the incentive to achieve them must be apparent. Workers who are incentivized are workers who are motivated.

Addressing Productivity

When Tesla sought to increase productivity to meet consumer demand, the company focused all its energy on meeting very specific and achievable goals. By narrowing the focus of the workplace to that which is most needed at the moment, productivity goals can be met. However, putting the right people in the right places also needs to be part of the solution. As Mahmood (2015) points out, if the wrong people are hired for the job, productivity is going to suffer. At Acme, the new manager has disrupted the workplace culture by cutting back on one of the main drivers of teamwork—the social...…are educated on the purpose of a goal, they tend to drop their resistance, which is typically rooted in ignorance if not in a sense of isolation.

How These Tactics Impact Current Organizational Strategies and Techniques

These tactics will impact current organizational strategies and techniques in a transformative and positive manner. First, they will re-order the manager’s approach to his workers by emphasizing the need to exercise social and emotional intelligence. Workers do not need an autocratic style of leadership: in this case, they need a transformational style of leadership, as this will give them the vision, justification, and motivation to reach productivity goals. The best example for the kind of workplace culture Acme needs to cultivate can be found in Branson’s Virgin Group, where Branson has placed the right people in the right places and given them the trust and support they require to know they can do their jobs and reach the goals that have been clearly explained and given to them.