Company Background And History Hsbc Business Essay

HSBC is the famous world’s local bank which headquartered in London. Furthermore, HSBC also consider one of the largest banking and financial services organizations in the world and largest foreign-owned bank in Malaysia who offers a full range of personal and commercial services from a network of branches and direct channels. Besides that, HSBC has been offering Islamic financial services in Malaysia since 1994.

Moreover, HSBC having a huge and strong company background which its international network contains and comprises around 8,000 offices in 87 countries and territories. There are located in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. By the way, HSBC plan to discovery more new market in different country within the world currently.

HSBC provides a comprehensive range of financial services to around 100 million customers in the daily working and providing suggestion or evaluation to their customer when they want to do investment. In additions, HSBC always provide money saving plan which allow customer to save money wisely and get higher bonus rate if compare with normal bonus rate of saving account in other bank. HSBC bank also providing loan service of purchase cars and houses to the customer who lacking of money.

HSBC having four customer groups and global businesses and there are personal financial services, commercial banking, global banking and market and Private Banking.

In additions, the HSBC Group has an international pedigree which is unique and successful. This is because many of its principal companies opened for business over a century ago and they have a long history which is rich in variety and achievement. Those principal companies which rich in achievement help to build HSBC’s business and long history of HSBC gain a lot of confidence from a large amount of customers.

Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Theory is a theory that contains five different stages needs of a person. There are physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness needs, esteem needs and self-actualization. Physiological needs mean that human need food, air and shelter to survive. Safety needs mean that human need a secure and stable environment and belongingness mean human need love, affection and friendship. Moreover, human need esteem needs for their personal achievement and respect from other people. Lastly, human desire to reach self-actualization which realize their full potential and achieve higher goal in their life. Employer and manager of the HSBC bank always use the Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Theory to motivate their staff and employee. They motivate their staff to work harder in order to get higher return and higher position.

Next, the Learned Needs Theory mean that needs of person can be amplified or suppressed through self-concept, social norms and past experience. There are three types of needs in the theory and there are needs for achievement, needs for affiliation and needs for power. In the HSBC bank, employee and staff always learn to obtain more power that controls other behavior when they are higher position than others. They learned this needs by observe other who having higher position. Hence, they will work harder to get reach their needs and target.

Expectancy Theory of Motivation also becomes one of the tools that manager of HSNC bank to motivate their employee. In the Expectancy Theory of Motivation, it state that people expecting to achieve certain outcome by putting certain effort and performance. In addition, it also means that certain level of effort and performance will surely create output of same level with the effort. For this reason, staff of HSNC bank will work harder and put in more effort that will make them get higher return. Managers also motivate and persuade them to increase the effort in order to increase their salary.

Content

HSBC keep motivates their employees in order to have successful business.We found that HSBC has implemented two types of motivation model which are McClelland’s theory of needs and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

HSBC has satisfied employees who desire are for the need of power defined in the McClelland’s theory of needs. This need often is perceived as undesirable. Employees with high need for power will be more commitment on their job. They are willing to spend more time to improve themselves and company. Besides, most individuals need to feel they have responsibility and the power to influence results by their actions. HSBC will give them the freedom to choose options and goals at work.

For people who are desire for the need of achievement, HSBC used performance appraisal and pay for performance to record employee’s performance. Employee will receive cash bonuses when stated performance goals are reached. Employees with high need for achievement will seek to excel high-risk situation and tend to avoid both low-risk situation. Appraisals are a positive way for an employee to know how well they are performing the duties assigned to them and it is also a good indicator of how an employee needs to improve in work.Therefore, HSBC will also give employees the challenge of new projects to motivate them.

Moreover, those employees who have high need for affiliation, they tend to conform to the norms of their work group. Remuneration packages also play an important role in motivating employees. But every employee’s wants and needs are different and what motivate one employee may be different also. Therefore, HSBC divided salary into several elements including basic pay, commission, bonuses, profit-related pay and share dividends to motivate them. Bonuses can link to clear targets for individual performance and will encourage individual effort.Bonuses also link to company profit and promote team goals such as sales, margins, costs and employee punctuality.

Furthermore, HSBC also fulfill the safety needs of employees byproviding pension, health insurance, life insurance, and healthcare schemes to motivate employees. Some employees appreciate these much. Employees have the chance to participate on-site health screenings for diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol for free every year. Employees who have fulfilled safety needs, they will tend to feel free from the threat of physical and emotional harm. This will improve employees’ performance in their work. Besides, HSBC also provided company cars for certain employees and offering staff discount on company product or services such as free interest loan.

HSBC understand that chance to achieve ambitions is a major motivation. Hence, HSBC motivate employees by giving them recognition such as promote them to a higher level. Furthermore, HSBC will also motivate employee by rewarding them money or increase salary. Manager will praise or criticism employees to let them know when they are doing well and when they are doing badly. The purpose of doing this is to improve employee’s performance, help them to learn from experience, build employee’s motivation and self-esteem.

In addition, HSBC offers Sharesave to the employees. HSBC give opportunity for employee to purchase shares of HSBC Holdings stock at a 20 percent discount without brokerage fees or commissions. Employees contribute through payroll deductions over a three or five year contract period. They have the opportunity to use all or part of their savings plus interest to buy shares at the previously fixed discount price. If the value of the stock declines, they can withdraw all of their savings plus interest.This Sharesave will motivate employees to work for best interest of the company because they are also the shareholder of the company. They will maximize stock price of the company so that the price will rise above the opinion’s price level.

Besides, HSBC provided time off program to employees with a bank of paid days off to use as they wish. HSBC also provided company-paid holidays annually for employees. Employees who wish to observe other holidays may do so by using their time off program days. Furthermore, HSBC also offer retirement and savings program for employees in order to form a partnership between the company and employee. To support that partnership, HSBC offers employees two ways to build for their future which are tax reduction investment plan and trust as well as retirement income plan and trust. Tax reduction investment plan and trust offers the convenience of payroll deductions, tax advantages and diverse investment opportunities. While the retirement income plan and trust is the company contributes funds to a retirement account for each eligible employee at no charge to the employee.

Lastly, HSBC also provided merchant discounts to motivate employees. Employee can take advantage of discounts and special promotions offered by national and local merchants, including savings on furniture, jewelry, call phone plans, travel programs and tours, as well as health club memberships.

Pros and cons

McClelland’s theory of needs

The theory of needs consist three types of learned learns. There are need for achievement, need for affiliation and need for power. McClelland argued that three of the learned needs can be strengthened through training. It is the advantage to the company to apply this theory in the organization for motivation their employees. It is because the company can do something to strengthen their employees’ needs and increase the effect of the motivation. Therefore, the employees will work harder for the company. At last, it is benefit to the company in term of performance.

On the other hand, the theory of needs has disadvantage as well. Every individual may has own needs toward the power, achievement and affiliation. For the examples, some people may have all of the needs; some people may only want to enjoy their work and do not have high level of needs. It is quite hard to the company to determine the needs of every employee. Therefore, the company may give the wrong reward to the employee. So that, it may not have the maximum effect of the motivation or even not motivate at all.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs consist five stages which is Physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem, and self actualization. It is useful for the company in motivate their employees. It is because the hierarchy of needs is more humanistic and relevant to apply on human. The hierarchy of needs do not just mention on instinct of people but also stated that social dynamics can influence people needs. Therefore, the company can try and fulfil employees’ lower needs in order to motivate them to reach the potential of the employees. For the example, the company provides insurance to their employees for fulfilled their safety needs, so that the employees can go further stage.

On the other hand, the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has disadvantages as well. Firstly, the hierarchy of needs do not included need of know and need of beauty. This two of needs are quite important as well because some people especially ladies are very concern on beauty. Therefore, they might not follow or fit to the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is one of the disadvantages. Besides, every individuals may have their own hierarchy of needs which is not the same like the Maslow’s one. Some people may look for higher needs even through the lower one have not fulfilled. Therefore, it is quite difficult for the company to get a reward system which fulfils all employees’ needs.

Potential problem

There are some potential problems for the company. Firstly, the company could face failure for their reward system. It is because every individual may have a unique needs hierarchy because it is strongly influence by their value. So that, those people may not follow the flow in the Maslow’s hierarchy. For the example, those people have power and achievement at the top of their value system; they may focus on status needs. Therefore, it may not applicable to all the employees in the company.

Besides, employees may over depend on the reward. It means that the employees will on work hard when reward is given. It is a problem to the company because employees will not work hard for the company if reward is not given. Therefore, the company has to reward constantly in order to get better performance from their employees. It could increase the total cost of the company. When the company having financial problem and unable to give reward, the employees may exit and join other company even the competitors. As a result, the company loses their experience employees.

Lastly, employees may feel stress because they think that reward is equal to responsibility. Some people only want to enjoy their job but not looking for promotion. If the company promote them to high position, they may feel stress and uncomfortable, working performance will drop as well. It is a kind of demotivation for those employees. As a result, they quit the company to change their working environment.