Motivation Methods The success, performance, as well as development of an employee are influenced by motivation. There are numerous methods and theories on motivation. McClelland, for instance, in his theory expresses that each employee has specific needs acquired over time based on life's experiences. His theory summarized the needs of people into achievement, power, and affiliation. Different employees get motivated in varying manners therefore a manager should not rely on one motivation technique to serve the entire workforce. This paper will address three motivational methods, and how they would be applied in the workplace.

One motivational method that would reap numerous benefits from the employees and commonly applied in most organizations is rewards. Everyone is familiar with the use of rewards as a motivator since as early as preschool and daycare, rewards such as sticker chart and snacks were given for good behavior. Even later in life rewards still appeal to adults and employees would improve their performance and productivity when there is a promise of rewards (Atchison, 2003). The rewards may be either financial or non-financial and the manager is the one to decide which they will apply in their organization.

The manager can develop a reward system that will lead to reduced petty office politics and improve the working environment for all employees. In the reward system, a performance measure mechanism has to be in place such that the employee with an impressive improvement index should be rewarded. The financial reward can be in the form of a bonus or a voucher for shopping or a restaurant. In order to avoid unnecessary conflicts and unhealthy competition in the workplace, the reward might be maintained at a reasonable level. An excessively luxurious incentive might introduce foul play and conflict in the workplace (Cummings and Elsalmi, 1968)....

A reasonable reward will not push the employees to compete aggressively and the rewarded employee will feel motivated to improve their performance and enjoy another such reward. The manager can also apply non-financial rewards such as giving weekends away to the performing employees, spa treatments, additional allowances, extra time off, flexible working hours, and such strategic rewards. Aside from workplace rewards systems, the manager can also introduce ensure the employees get to be taught about personal reward systems during their training and development sessions. In this way, the employees can learn to set targets for themselves and reward themselves once they achieve their targets. Personal rewards that employees are likely to promise themselves include a trip to the cinema, going for a drink with a friend and purchasing new attire, preferably one that the employee has admired for long but has not been able to buy.
Employees can also be motivated by morale where the manager does different things to boost their morale. Morale is considered to be the general emotional condition of the individual. When the outlook and emotional state of the employee is high, his or her morale will be high. It is hard for an employee's morale to be improved when they work in a company in which they do not trust the staff or even management of the organization. Building trust is one important element when applying motivation by morale (Atchison, 2003). Walking around the office more or even eating lunch with the employees would show the employees that the manager operates in the same environment they work in and understands their needs. A manager that rarely interacts with the employees in their working environment would less likely convince them that he or she understands their working conditions and needs.

It is important for a manager to know when to share bad news…