Introduction To Business Management Business Essay

With the termination of Mr. Ang the organizational performance did not improve instead it declined. This was not what Mr. Davidson had expected and as such left him in a position of rethinking his strategy for moving forward. The team morale had taken a sharp dive and this was reflected in lack of performance, individual motivation and flagging morale. He realised that more pep talks to the employees would not solve the problem. Mr. Davidson now needed to take the following decisions in order to rectify this situation:-

Rebuild the strategic plan for the business that encompassed the Mission, Goals, Objectives and value statements for the business;

Re-structure the Management team in order to build a more dynamic structure with more delegated responsibility and improved leadership qualities;

Provide a motivational framework that the Managers could readily adopt and use to motivate their workforce.

CASE ANALYSIS

| Concepts of Motivation: In this context motivation relates to those factors that influence employees to work in a harmonious manner and deliver the expected productivity measures in accordance with production targets and quality criteria. Fredrick Herzberg developed the two factors Motivation Hygiene Theory in order to examine an employee’s work environment and determine those factors that produce satisfaction or dissatisfaction. He published these findings in a book entitled ‘Motivation to Work’ (1959). The studies were based upon a number of conducted interviews. Herzberg called these satisfactions ‘motivators’ and the dissatisfaction ‘hygiene factors’. The implications for management, as resulting from Herzberg’s theory were:

An employee should be challenged at work and have a sufficiently interesting job to remain motivated in it;

Those employees that demonstrated the capacity or capability should be suitable rewarded and allowed to develop;

Where that job cannot be designed to offer work satisfaction the consideration should be made towards automating it. Wherever an individual cannot be fully utilised there will be a motivation problem (Milner, J.B. 2005)

From this case we are able to draw a picture of both Mr. Ang and Mr. Davidson from Herzberg’s Motivational Hygiene Model.

Herzberg Motivation Hygiene Analysis

Mr. Ang

Mr. Davidson

Satisfaction

Dissatisfaction

Satisfaction

Old Colonial style

Interference

High Achiever

Autocratic management style

Organizational change

Results Oriented

Technical Competence

Lack of delegation skills

Management by Objectives

Experience

Lack of coaching skills

Transformation Manager

Loyalty to firm

Lack of facilitation skills

Academic MBA

Arrogance

The above analysis clearly indicates the very different profiles of Mr. Ang and Mr. Davidson. Mr. Ang was of the old colonial skill that adopted an autocratic management style. He gave orders and expected them to be carried out. He would not delegate problems and attempted to sort out all major issues himself. His employees were true subordinates working under a philosophy of reward and punishment. Mr. Ang remained fiercely loyal to the Company but was not able to recognize the need for change and modernity of modern management styles. The lack of coaching and mentoring of his staff stifled both growth and productivity. Equally others were not allowed to articulate innovation and creativity.

Mr. Davidson was a new breed of Manager having obtained his MBA from business school. He depicted a transformational management style. A Transformational leader can be identified by the characteristics of a person with vision, a strong sense of purpose and very goal oriented. He believes that people will follow those who inspire them. Hence, goal attainment is by inspiring your subordinates motivating them by enthusiasm and energy. Working for these types of leaders can be a great experience as they derive a great deal of passion about their work and genuinely want you to succeed. Such leaders start with a clear identification of a vision. Leaders of this type are quick to exploit the vision by sharing it with their team. Such leaders are often seen to be using mind mapping or brainstorming sessions with their subordinates. They believe in inclusivity and the power of team dynamics. This leader has some positive advantages

Visionary and strategic thinker

Strong sense of purpose and goal attainment

Leads by example and coaches the team to victory

Figure Vroom Expectancy TheoryHighly motivated towards team and group success

The Expectancy Theory of Motivation was developed by Victor Vroom and is based upon outcomes. The model as illustrated in Fig 1 shows that in order for a person to be motivated, a number of key elements must be linked. The elements being Effort, Performance and Motivation . He proposes three variables to account for this, which he has defined as that of Valance, Instrumentality and Expectancy. Vroom defined Expectancy as the concept that increased effort will result in increased performance at work. Hence the more effort I put into the task the greater my productivity will be. This typically impacted by such items as : Available resources, the right skills for the job, the relevant managerial support for the job. He defined Instrumentality such that if you perform well, it will equally result in a positive and valued outcome. In other words if I do a great job I will be rewarded in some way. This is impacted by such items as : Management relationship, understanding of performance and outcome (rules), and trust in the decision makers and transparency in the outcome process. Mr. Davidson could adopt the Vroom model to help address future motivational balances in the revised organization structure. (Vroom, V.H. 1973)

| Achievement Motivation Theory – As developed by David McClelland who obtained his Doctorate in Psychology from Yale and went on to teach at Wesleyan, Harvard and Boston Universities. McClelland suggested that people exhibit a strong bias aimed at a particular motivation need. This mix impacted with behaviour and working or management style. As such a strong motivation may undermine manager’s objectivity and decision making capacity e.g. the need to be liked. As such these Managers that exhibit strong leadership motivation tend to make the best leaders. The equally tend to have high expectations of their staff, being results motivated and high end achievers. McClelland compared high end achievers to that of gamblers as both are high risk takers. Such people tend to be catalysts for change and make things happen around them. They optimize resources and get the best out of people in order to achieve their goals. Such people tend to be very self-centered and may put their own personal goals and ambitions above that of the organisation. As such there is a need to ensure both personal and organisational goals correlate with one another. (Ellis, A. 2009)

It was here that Mr. Ang was most lacking and as such did not have the transformational leadership skills to take the business forward.

McGregor X Y Theory | Douglas McGregor was an American psychologist and put forward his XY theory in 1960 in a published works entitled ‘The Human side of enterprise’. A noted theorist in the area of motivation, McGregor stated that there were two basic components in the management of people. The Theory X defined the ‘Authoritarian Manager’, with a style similar to that adopted by the Military. He also stated that far too many business Managers leaned towards Theory X. The theory associated punishment with non-performance or under achievement. On the other hand Theory Y referred to the ‘Participative Style’ of Management, being much more team based, group dynamics and interactive. He said that people will be more motivated by rewards associated with achievement. Most people seek out and accept responsibility and will respond favourably to a challenge. He did not endorse the premise that people were inherently lazy and needed to be instructed. It is here that we see the leaning of M.Angs true leadership style as a Theory X Manager. (Miller, K. 2011)

Adam Equity theory is another motivational model where one could consider the relationship that existed between Mr. Ang and Mr. Davison. It was John Stacy Adams, a behavioural psychologist who put forward his Equity Theory on Job Motivation in 1963. Adams was influenced by Maslow and Herzberg; he put forward the view that an individual’s assessment and his perception of the relationship at work would influence the person’s motivation. When people tend to feel disadvantaged by being unfairly treated at work it will introduce a sense of dissatisfaction and demotivation. As such this concept of being ‘fair’ is central to this theory. The model is a fairly complex one of scales, balancing both input and output on an individual’s contribution at work (see Fig 2 )

Figure Adams Equity TheoryPROS & CONS OF MR DAVIDSONS DECISION OPTIONS

1. Rebuild the strategic plan for the business that encompassed the Mission, Goals, Objectives and value statements for the business;

2. Re-structure the Management team in order to build a more dynamic structure with more delegated responsibility and improved leadership qualities;

3. Provide a motivational framework that the Managers could readily adopt and use to motivate their workforce.

4. Manage the transition by the introduction of Key Performance Indicators & reward to improved productivity

PROS

Option 1 : Provides a high level strategic framework for business change that clearly defines the mission and purpose of the organization. This demonstrates good management and firm leadership to the workforce

Option 2 : Recognizes the need for change and shows proactive changes in order to make the management structure more inclusive and efficient

Option 3: The Management recognize the need to incentivise staff by reward and benefits. The staff will be motivated by having their performance both recognized and rewarded.

Option 4: From this point forward productivity will be measured by Productivity and Quality measures and as such build more equity into the system.

CONS

Option 1 : Will impose a degree of rigorous structure and control to the organization and imposes a significant shift from the old regime

Option 2 : Organizational change always represents some form of risk. This needs to be carried out in a professional manner and due consideration of staff input. Should be a meritorious process whereby the best people are selected for the job

Option 3: This should be a win-win situation where previously there were no main motivational factors in place. This should be seen as a mechanism that is designed to reward motivated workers who meet productivity standards

Option 4: Introduction of KPI’s needs to be linked to the motivation and reward scheme.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

| JUSTIFICATION

Strategic Planning | It is essential that the business has a charter that all employees and the management can buy into. A clear sense of purpose and vision is stated by the Mission. The goals and objectives provide a clear indication of task accomplishment to be achieved. A business without a strategy is like a ship without a rudder.

Reorganization | There are clear deficiencies in the Management structure and these need to be addressed for the betterment of all employees. This may require a training needs analysis and leadership training program to meet the cultural needs of the business.

KPI’s | Success has to be measured in order for the system to be equitable and the rewards scheme to work.

Manage the transfer | The transformation process has to be managed in a structured and professional manner to ensure success. (Hughes, R.L. 2005)