Comparing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation techniques across two companies

Motivating Employees

you pick 2 companies write their motivation techniques. I pick intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. And compare companies. Do papers have database, searches people pulled web. You find UOPHX Website writes companies listed, pick.

Motivating employees at two companies:

Ben & Jerry's versus Southwest

Motivational theories by their very nature address companies in a fairly generic, prescriptive format. However, two corporations exist that continue to be very successful, after many years of impressive financial growth, seem to break all molds, yet confirm one of the most noteworthy theories regarding what motivates employees -- intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation. Ben & Jerry's began as a small company based in Vermont that, despite or because of its ethical ideals, has become an integral part of American culture. Ben & Jerry's changed the way Americans consume ice cream, shifting the focus from quantity to quality. Southwest Airlines is a largely regional airline that has remained profitable, despite the many setbacks faced by the airline industry as a whole. Its idiosyncratic style is even manifested in its NYSE name of 'LUV.' But there is a method to both Ben & Jerry's and Southwest's madness. Both value employees as critical to the success of the firm. Both companies use internal as well as external strategies to encourage their workers on every level of the company to perform to a high standard.

Theory X and Theory Y motivation: Theories of internal and external motivation

According to managerial theorist Douglas McGregor, there are two primary managerial styles, that of Theory X and Theory Y Theory X assumes that the average employee is task-avoidant, and works only for external motivating factors, such as promotions and increased pay. In contrast, Theory Y views employees as seeking self-fulfillment. Theory Y grants that workers need certain external comforts addressed, such as the need to be fair pay, benefits, and humane working conditions. However, Theory Y-style managers believe employees are motivated to truly serve the company at an optimal level only if workers' higher-order needs are satisfied by their tasks. It stresses the need to delegate tasks and to ensure that all workers have autonomy within the company to put their own unique 'spin' on tasks when serving customers yet feel part of a larger corporate unit. It is these internal motivational concerns for self-fulfillment and association with a community that Theory Y strives to address.

Theory Y stresses that managers must make work an enjoyable and fun place to be. Human beings are social animals and can be motivated by teamwork as well as a paycheck. If treated fairly, they will work hard. And "people will be committed to their objectives if rewards are in place that address higher needs such as self-fulfillment; Under these conditions, people will seek responsibility" (Theory X / Theory Y, 2012, Net MBA). Both the ice cream company Ben & Jerry's and Southwest Airlines make use of Theory Y, internally motivating strategies. Although Ben & Jerry's may be a 'hippie' company, while Southwest was famously founded by a hard-drinking, chain-smoking Texan, they are united in a common belief that people are part of the company's product, and finding and honoring the spirit of good, committed employees is just as essential as using good ice cream or carefully maintaining a fleet of planes.

Theory X and Theory X strategies of internal and external motivation can be traced in their origin back to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow 'ranked' human needs, spanning from lower-order external needs such as food and shelter to the highest-order need of self-actualization. According to Maslow, human beings only can take interest in satisfying higher-order needs if their lower-order needs are met (Cherry 2012). Translated into the workplace, this means that if workers are not receiving adequate pay and benefits, they will have little interest in inspiring company vision statements and taking on additional responsibilities. While McGregor believed that sometimes workers could be motivated to pursue higher-order needs in the absence of their lower needs being satisfied (such as when workers accept lower paychecks during the time when the company is 'starting up') both Ben & Jerry's and Southwest offer competitive salaries and benefits. Workers are satisfied with external motivational factors in terms of their lower-order needs, but their internal needs are also satisfied and their commitment to serving workers' internal needs is what makes the two organizations so unique.

Ben & Jerry's

Even consumers who try not to patronize well-known, large corporate organizations may make an exception for Ben & Jerry's, given the ethical image this company has crafted for itself. Ben & Jerry's is a Vermont-based company with an irreverent, slightly 'crunchy' image that it has honed throughout the years by creating ice cream flavors named in tribute to Grateful Dead icon Jerry Garcia (Cherry Garcia); beginning a line of Greek yogurt ice cream, and by stressing the ice cream's all-natural qualities. The company did not begin with a grand sense of mission, but as the brainchild of two college friends. "After splitting the cost of a $5 correspondence course on ice cream-making from Penn State University, they combined their $8,000 life savings with a $4,000 bank loan, leased an old gas station building in Burlington, Vermont, and opened for business on May 5, 1978" (Our history, 2012, Ben & Jerry's).

In keeping with its ethical image, the company strives to bestow competitive benefits to its employees and strives to treat them with respect. Part of its stated economic mission is "to operate the Company on a sustainable financial basis of profitable growth, increasing value for our stakeholders and expanding opportunities for development and career growth for our employees" (Mission statement, 2012, Ben & Jerry's). Employee growth is placed on an equal level as the financial growth of the company. And much along the lines of Theory X/Theory Y motivational concepts, once employee's basic needs are met, Ben & Jerry's tries to motivate its workers with higher-level concerns that transcend the mundane. The ice cream company takes a classic 'Theory Y' attitude towards its workers, believing that workers need something beyond a paycheck to ensure that they have a sense of organizational loyalty. Given Theory Y is a theory based in intrinsic motivation, or the sense that workers perform best when they are at least partially motivated from within, Ben & Jerry's stresses the quality of its brand and engages in community service activities, in which all of its employees are a critical component. These include the Get the Dough Out of Politics Foundation, which works to combat corporate influence in the public sphere and its philosophy that 'polar ice caps, like ice cream' are best kept frozen (Activism, 2012, Ben & Jerry's).

To inspire its employees, Ben & Jerry's combines a strong sense of company mission to making quality ice cream, corporate ethics, and encourages employees to feel as if they are truly part of a community. This communicates to employees that profit alone is not the primary motivation of the organization and it honors their efforts. Ben & Jerry's created its 'Joy Gang' in 1987 "in response to the increasing demands upon our employees" (Employee motivation, 1999, Ben & Jerry's). The company arranged pizza parties and massages for employees, to demonstrate the founders' appreciation for their fortitude, which included working 12-hour marathon shifts when the company began to face the demands of functioning as a national organization. The Joy Gang remains an ongoing part of Ben & Jerry's ethos. Like the company itself, it has a mission statement, which is "to infuse joy into everything we do" (Employee motivation, 1999, Ben & Jerry's).

Joy Gang members are given "cash grants of up to $500.00 to accommodate an idea that will bring more joy to a particular department. (A hot cocoa machine for our freezer crew, a stereo for our production crew, etc.)" (Employee motivation, 1999, Ben & Jerry's). Joy Gang activities revolve around games, food, and prizes. For example, one activity was "Name That Face Contest: Employees brought in photos of themselves from their past which were displayed in a collage on the company bulletin board for other employees to guess who was who" (Employee motivation, 1999, Ben & Jerry's). Some activities are announced while others are "secretive activities that are not previously announced, which are intended to surprise employees" and bring a sense of playfulness to the workplace (Employee motivation, 1999, Ben & Jerry's). This encourages employees feel as if work in a creative atmosphere, an essential component of a company that prides itself on creating innovative flavors, names and ways to consume ice cream.

The activities of the Joy Gang stress the cohesiveness of the organization and the fact that, regardless of what their technical function may be, all employees are 'in this together' in terms of making the company work. Another example of this is "Manufacturing Appreciation Day: To recognize the ongoing efforts of Ben & Jerry's Manufacturing Cluster, non-manufacturing employees dressed up as their favorite production, freezer, or maintenance worker" (Employee motivation, 1999, Ben & Jerry's). This communicated the message that 'everyone counts' at the company and creates a bond between different company divisions.

This idea that everyone counts also spans out to reflect Ben & Jerry's concerns about social justice in the world community. Ben & Jerry's actively supports the Occupy Wall Street movement, including its position that corporations generate too much waste, as well as the fact that the inequalities inherent to the American system have caused too many Americans to become riddled with debt, often in pursuit of college educations to better themselves. Ben & Jerry's supports Fair Trade and opposes the use of genetically-modified dairy and using dairy from cloned animals (Occupy movement, 2012, Ben & Jerry's). The company's open stance on worker's political issues shows employees that it cares about the environment in which the product is manufactured, and cares about the welfare of even the lowest-level employees. Everyone is regarded as having inalienable rights as workers that transcend those specifically codified in the law. This acts as an internal motivator by giving employees a sense of mission, even when performing mundane tasks, and also gives employees hope about improving their economic lot in life by yoking it to a caring company.

Southwest Airlines

Similar to Ben & Jerry's, Southwest is a highly successful company that uses unique motivational strategies to encourage employees to actually take delight in becoming a part of the company's corporate culture. Southwest, alone of all of the other major troubled airlines has sustained a profit, even in the wake of the events of 9/11. It is a regional carrier that offers no-frills service. However, unlike many of its competitors, flyers come to Southwest with the expectation that they will not have the typical on-flight 'perks' enjoyed by other passengers on competitor airlines such as hot meals. The company used to seat all of its passengers on a first-come, first-serve basis, to underline the democratic nature of its attitudes, although now it does assign priority seating on some flights. And it extends some amenities even premium airlines fail to provide: "the airline currently is running commercials based on the theme 'we love your bags.' Unlike its competitors, Southwest doesn't charge for the first two bags you check when you fly with them" (Oswald 2009).

The airline developed a signature style: it infuses travel with a sense of play and fun which is communicated by its staff to travelers. Thus, finding good employees people remains a cornerstone of the Southwest brand (Bailey 2008). Southwest views flying as a service, not a product, and it is critical to every service-based industry that the people who provide the service communicate the quality of the company in their every action. Although flying is a complex skill, provided that individuals meet the necessary requirements of their position, Southwest focuses on hiring personalities rather than solely based upon experience. Southwest believes that while it is possible to train workers in company processes, attitude cannot be taught. Southwest's employees literally 'make' the culture of the airline. On the Southwest corporate blog, employees are even referred to as 'internal customers' just as flyers are called 'external customers' (Marhoffer 2011). Employees must be served, just as much as customers, according to the Southwest philosophy. The airline offers competitive wages and benefits to all staff and has not been plagued by the labor-relations disputes of most of the other major carriers. Even in the training, which all workers attend, the vital nature of every job in the entire corporate chain of command is underlined -- no job is seen as intrinsically more important than another (Holstein 2008).