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Motivation and Organization Performance Tomorrow is what we’re doing today!

By. Mohamed Mahran Linkedin: https://eg.linkedin.com/in/mohamedmahran

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Table of Contents

ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. 3

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 3

BODY ........................................................................................................................ 4

OVERVIEW OF THE THEORY ................................................................................. 5

DRIVERS EXPLANATION & CRITICISM .................................................................. 6

Physiological needs ........................................................................................... 6

Safety needs ...................................................................................................... 7

Social needs ...................................................................................................... 8

Esteem needs..................................................................................................... 9

Self-actualization .............................................................................................. 9

CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 10

REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... 14

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Abstract

This essay will critically analyze Maslow theory with reference to SPIX organization

to assess if one level is a must to be fulfilled in order to move to next level, “when one

need is accomplished, its diminishes when the person go to on next level (Latham

2007)”, or “Partial employee satisfaction at one level is enough to seek more

satisfaction at the next level (Salanova & Kirmanen, 2010)”. By the conclusion, the

writer will explain how motivation will not only help in employee motivation but also

on SPIX organization performance as organization success or failure depends mainly

on the type of its human resources (Mabonga: 2000).

INTRODUCTION

SPIX organization is national wide leader in technology integration with more than

1000 employees. SPIX has 3 functional departments who drive the company along

with the finance and human resources department: Professional services department,

Network services department, and Hardware department. SPIX as matrix organization

has vice president, operation manager, portfolio managers, practice managers and

consultant for each function.

Motivation is a need or desire that serves to energize behavior and to direct it towards

a goal, David Myers (1996: 297).

Motivation is behavioral ACT with ultimate focus on achieving organization

objectives therefore motivation is a continual behavioral process improvement

because employee’s behaviors are continuous changed and any successful

organization MUST review its practice of motivation regularly.

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In the next section, the writer will do critique analysis of Maslow’s needs theory

reference to the subject organization “SPIX” and to address the employee motivation

as central key performance indicator for any organization not only the one he’s

working for “SPIX” and its impact on employee retention especially scarce resources

and the overall organization performance.

BODY

Motivational theories in general existed to answer the most difficult question; what

motivates any human-being? When diversity is a key difference for any human-being

in general and what suites one individual might not fit for another one. The current

essay will analyze Maslow’s theory of needs according to SPIX organization

measures of success for its motivational process and the possibilities of alignment

with Maslow’s and how this can lead to motivating, retaining and improving

employees at SPIX which will turn into positive impact on the strategic objectives of

the organization from having skilled team with TEAM working spirit believe that

Together Everyone “Employee” Achieves More; in fair and healthy competition

process in order to get the best from everyone.

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Overview of the Theory

Needs theory by Abraham Maslow (1954: 15-17) presenting a hierarchy of human

needs based on two groups: deficiency needs and growth needs.

In deficiency needs (Physiological, Safety, Love, and Esteem), each lower need must

be satisfied before moving on to the next level. According to Maslow, any employee

will go for growth needs (self-actualization needs) if his/her deficiency needs are met.

The writer will analyze the most famous human-centric hierarchy of needs/drivers

with reference to Organization SPIX using critical analysis technique spotting the

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light on the similarity/differences and positive/negative alignment with Maslow’s

theory which will help SPIX to answer the most challenging question after increasing

their market share or profitability which is motivating their corner stone’s/employees

as without them not only the work performance of the organization as a whole will be

badly impacted but also SPIX strategic goals will not be achieved. Our main critique

analysis will be based on the fundamental aspect of Maslow’s Hierarchy; person will

not be able to move to the next level until the needs of the prior levels are met,

(Jones and George 2011).

Drivers Explanation & Criticism

Physiological needs are the basic motivational drivers such as food, air, and water.

SPIX organization must give their employees the salary that enable them to have

proper living conditions. The rationale here is that any hungry employee will hardly

be able to make much of any contribution to his organization. For example SPIX

Manager is working with a variety of individuals with different levels of needs and

what motivates one employee may not motivate the other. SPIX employees are two

types: OPex and Projects. OPex employees are working on SPIX office locations and

they’re covered by Housing allowances while Projects Employees working on the

customer site and without any allowances. Such difference gives the impression to

projects employees that they’re not equal with OPex employees. Such difference in

the employee categories from OPex to Projects will give a bad reflections on the

individual of projects who’re bringing the company revenue and increasing or

decreasing the total turnover of SPIX profit. Innovative managers at SPIX tried to

address this issue many times to the board of directors and how this will affect the

moral of SPIX employees as they don’t feels equal but without any official result. So,

SPIX senior managers tried to build a bonus scheme for project employees as a way

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of compensation “linked to employee performance” for the lost benefits such as

housing allowance. Referring to Maslow “ If a person’s lower level need has been

met it will no longer act as a motivation and the person can then only be motivated by

the next level of needs in the hierarchy (Buchanan P245.)” The housing allowance

needs doesn’t completely met but it was linked by defined objectives based on the

senior manager vision which means that those objective are not guaranteed to be

achieved by the employee such as Employee must achieve customer billing of $10M

which will be Positive when Management approved that objective and employee will

be move to the next level before fulfilling his/her current level of need. So, it’s clear

that different needs in Maslow’s needs hierarchy can occur simultaneously.

Safety needs are activated after fulfilling the physiological needs. According to

Maslow organizations must provide a secure working environment. The rationale is

that SPIX employees should work without fear of fire back. In SPIX organization,

There’s safety issue as OPex employees are very stable starting from working from

office and isolation from any project/program issues with the customer while projects

employees are always worry about their continuity with SPIX as their existence is

linked with the project and if there’s any issue happened between OPex employees

“ex. Senior Managers” that led to project showstopper; it means that will leave SPIX

as any project employee will not move to another project without proven success in

his current project. This alerted senior managers at SPIX as they can’t retain their

employee as they’re leaving SPIX especially the scarce resources and after many

interviews about the reason of leaving; Senior Managers found that 50% of SPIX

employees are leaving because they don’t feel that they’re secured and based on that

senior manager’s aligned Maslow’s second level needs by making all contracts are

yearly renewed regardless if the employee is OPex or Projects and that decision has

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great impact on the employee retention as instead of 50% are leaving due to safety

issues; the percentage became less than 5%. SPIX motivates their employees by

making them not only financially secured by making them essential part of profit

sharing of the organization but also to give them the feeling that they’re crucial part of

its success or failure and any impact whether positive of negative will direct impact

the employee himself/herself which is give the direct message that every employee is

a shareholder in SPIX one way or another; This is not only Safety needs but it will

turn into esteem and self-actualization needs fulfillment by time.

Social needs are activated after safety needs are met. According to Maslow

organizations must encourage social events outside of the work environment. The

rationale is that employees working in an environment recognize each other outside of

the work environment. SPIX organization has wonderful policies which should fulfil

the social needs completely but it’s not applied on the actual ground since SPIX has a

new CEO. SPIX always encourage diversity and that was the main reason to make it

number one in the GCC market but 5 years ago everything changed totally and every

functional department of SPIX (Network, Services, Hardware) built his own entity at

SPIX encouraging clear violation for the policy of diversity which led to internal

groups based on nationality and turn the organization departments from integration

between each other to serve the strategic goals of SPIX to competition between each

other. Board of directors noticed that and they proposed Monthly events in order to

reduce the impact of the current situation but till now it doesn’t work as the new CEO

is willing to encourage certain nationality above the rest. On the other hand, SPIX

always arrange a “family day” picnic on monthly basis to make their employees

closer to each other and every picnic has its own activities which encourage working

as a team will make everyone win or Together Everyone Achieves More.

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Esteem needs are activated after social needs are met. According to Maslow

organizations must introduce awards to recognize distinguished employee

achievements. The rationale is that employees working in an environment must feel

that achievements and dedicated work will be appreciated and awarded to the owner

of it and it will recognized at the whole organization. SPIX has a brilliant model to

fulfil esteem needs as they do have very strong award system on quarter basis to

recognize distinguished project employees achievements in form of non-Quota

territory objectives and a yearly one for OPex employees. These sorts of awards

played a vital role in motivating SPIX employees regardless if they’re OPex

employees or Projects employees to achieve their targets which is in a reality a

cascading to their higher manager targets which is again cascading to Vice President

Targets which is representing the overall strategic targets/goals of the Organization

represented by the CEO as the visionary of it. Esteem needs played a critical role not

only at motivating SPIX employees to get more recognition and additional financial

benefits but in achieving SPIX overall planned turnover which is critical key

performance indicator of SPIX performance. SPIX board of directors found that SPIX

award system played a vital role in motivating their employees and retaining the

scarce resources which is representing the spearhead in the market as they’re selected

by name at any project due to their wide experience in there are of expertise which is

impacted highly on improving SPIX market share and its overall performance.

Self-actualization are activated after esteem needs are met. According to Maslow

organization must develop ones fullest potential. The rationale here is self-actualized

employees represent the real assets to SPIX human resources. SPIX like any other

organization believed in the self-actualization as this is the only way to grow its

market share and strength through their human resources and the most difficult

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questions how it can empower each single individual and utilize his/her to the full

potential from confront zone to stretch zone to panic zone in order to achieve the main

vision of SPIX to turn into learning organization. Self-actualized employees are

working at their maximum creative potentials and therefore it is important to make

employees meet this stage by helping meet their needs.

CONCLUSION

By Conclusion, the writer discussed, analyzed and criticized the following with

reference to SPIX organization:

- The theory of motivation according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory

reference to his working organization “SPIX”.

- How SPIX organization motivates their employees as individual any avoiding

design too generic system which will help in fulfilling employee’s needs while

achieving the organization’s goals which will have positive impact on the

organization performance.

- How Maslow’s theory is treated in different level of understanding and how it’s

not each lower level fulfillment is not linked to the next higher level of Maslow’s

hierarchy of needs. Ex: by achieving physiology needs of every SPIX employees;

the above higher needs at Maslow Hierarchy will be treated as package which is

not aligned not in sequence fulfilment as mentioned by Maslow as it’s not

mandatory to have 100% in security needs to fulfil the employee esteem needs as

this is depending on the individual priority of needs and the main concept of life

as a whole that “People are different”.

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- What SPIX board of directors tried to do to have effective balance system of

needs to motivate, retain their employees especially scarce resources as it will

have direct impact on SPIX organization performance.

- By considering the fact of employee like any human being; SPIX is like life. So,

any employee is looking to his organization as a package and this package might

has less esteem but high security while may see high esteem and low security is

better “Different of employee vision to their hierarchy of needs leads to different

motivational approached to satisfy them” which is our main criticism to Maslow’s

hierarchy of needs as humans “employees” are not the same and therefore

individual needs are different as every employee has his own balance of Integrated

Needs Package based on his culture, financial situation, education, security of his

home country “SPIX has more than 50 nationalities “and If one need doesn’t met;

SPIX employee will not be discouraged from higher level needs and he/she will

find ways outside the current assigned job to meet the unfulfilled lower level need,

which his/her current job at SPIX is not fulfilling it such as part time job.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs applied to work situations implies that managers

have the responsibility, firstly, to make sure their people’s deficiency needs are

met. This means, in broad terms, a safe environment and proper wages.

- Regardless of the heavy criticism lived in the hierarchy of needs theory; SPIX

considered it as the main source of contribution in their organization behavior

especially in the area of employee motivation as by motivating their employees

based on their individual needs and clarity of each single employee job description

and assignment in order to build the right key performance indicators for the right

measurement for the right position for the employee at the right time which will

impact positively the employee retention especially the highly qualified ones or

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scarce resources which will improve SPIX performance from revenue

achievement, market share, maximizing customers satisfactions.

Finally, Motivation is a continuous improvement process as it will never end and any

organization must revisit their motivational system from employee job description, on

boarding, salary release time, loans/advanced salary, package contents such as basic

salary, allowance, awarding system and their end of service. Such revisit to

motivation process will reflect any lessons learned and making sure that the practice

is up to date. Motivation is a clear sign of successful leader and mandatory way for

employee TRUST. It’s clear that Partial employee’s satisfaction at one level is enough

to seek more satisfaction at the next level (Salanova & Kirmanen, 2010) is the

recommended approach at SPIX and it’s recommended to have the following at the

current motivation process to improve it as Motivation is Continues Improvement

Process as mentioned earlier:

1. Linking awards system to individual needs which will enhance esteem needs at

the first place and building the deep culture inside each employee that his

organization is looking after him so he can only focus on the improving customer’s

satisfaction or business performance as too general awards that are failed to meet

employee’s expectation.

2. Socialization: Socialization is one of the factors that keep SPIX employees feel the

spirit of working as a team. When employees work as a team they tend to increase

their performance and remove any negative energy happened at the working

environment due to stress or work pressure. As mentioned, SPIX tend to do family

picnic every month and yearly convention to build another bridge between their

corner stones “employees” and ultimately built a rapport between each single

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individual which will help everyone to achieve more which is ultimately turned on

huge positive impact on the organization performance.

3. Training based on clear career development: SPIX has hired one of the big

consultancy firms to builds a clear career development process for each position and

linked it with the overall succession planning which will enhance the employee

retention as by the announcement complain; SPIX senior managers did interviews

with their team and they received very positive feedback about the program and they

noticed improvement in the moral and productivity of their team.

4. Fair and Healthy Competition: building tailored KPI’s based on every position

challenges with the alignment with the overall organization strategy.

5. Empowerment of each individual: All of the above were great ideas but the most

ultimate goal of any self-actualization plan is making every single employee as a

leader in what he’s doing by using proper inspiration.

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