Workplace Motivation: Case Study Recommendations for Acme

Addressing Motivation

In order to transform the group at Acme into a working, successful, productive team, 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 it, provide them with the needed emotional and social support so that they will engage, and give them logical reasons for why embracing change is necessary (Xirasagar, 2008). For the workers at Acme, it is clear that the goals, objectives, and purpose of 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 — that is, by way of rewards, bonuses, and pay raises, or by way of 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 what is most needed at the moment, productivity goals can be met. However, putting the right people in the right positions also needs to be part of the solution. As Mahmood (2015) points out, if the wrong people are hired for the job, productivity will suffer.

At Acme, the new manager has disrupted the workplace culture by cutting back on one of the main drivers of teamwork — the social environment. The manager restricted workers' opportunities to socialize in an effort to get them more focused on achieving greater productivity. This effort was ill-founded. The manager should have consulted workers and obtained their input before making such a change; had he done so, he would have seen that what the workers value is their ability to interact and come together as a team. That dynamic has now been compromised, and productivity has not improved.

The manager needs, instead, to use social and emotional intelligence to energize the team, allow them to work together and interact, and give them clear productivity goals to achieve as a team — stressing the importance of those goals, just as Tesla did to obtain its output numbers.

Addressing Morale

To boost morale, the best course of action is to admit mistakes and move forward. The manager hurt morale by disrupting the workplace culture and eliminating worker interaction. This must be restored so that workers can once more enjoy being at their jobs. However, it must also be made clear that they are there for a purpose — to work — and the goals they are expected to achieve must be communicated explicitly.

By showing respect and appreciation to workers, morale can be increased. That is how leaders like Richard Branson have been able to create great workplace cultures over the years (De Vries, 1998).

References

De Vries, M. F. K. (1998). Charisma in action: The transformational abilities of Virgin's Richard Branson and ABB's Percy Barnevik. Organizational Dynamics, 26(3), 7–21.

Gerhart, B., & Fang, M. (2015). Pay, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, performance, and creativity in the workplace: Revisiting long-held beliefs. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 2, 489–521.

Kotter, J. P. (2012). Accelerate! Harvard Business Review, 90(11), 44–58.

Mahmood, M. (2015). Strategy, structure, and HRM policy orientation: Employee recruitment and selection practices in multinational subsidiaries. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 53(3), 331–350.

Xirasagar, S. (2008). Transformational, transactional and laissez-faire leadership among physician executives. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 22(6), 599–613.