Assignment 3: Teamwork and Motivation

Andy Vu
Dr. Ronald Jones
BUS 520 Leadership and Organizational
May 25, 2013

Running a company is very much like running a family. There are many schedules to
comply with, many different people to work with, different ideas, different beliefs, different
ages/positions, and so much more. The job of a leader is to get all those different aspects of the
business working in a way to where everyone can function and be productive towards the
company goals. The goals could be to produce items that will sell in stores or services that will
be provided to customers. Whatever the business does, it is the job of the leadership team to
make sure that there is cohesion and to make sure that every employee feels like they are part of
the team.
Having a business with a fully functional staff is hard enough. Add in creating a team
environment where the employees work together to achieve goals is much harder. There are so
many conflicting ideas and people that sometimes motivation can be a huge issue. When team
morale or motivation is down that can cause a huge decline in productivity. It is very important
to create a motivational plan that will encourage job satisfaction, low turnover, productivity, and
quality work. These four items will create an output that benefits everyone. The employees will
be happy working for the business and the business will be able to make profit from the
productivity and quality of the product.
Creating an organization motivation plan is not as easy as it may sound. As mentioned
above, there are many factors that go into a business, so the motivation plan would need to
encompass all of those factors and make sure that everyone turns out a winner and that no one is
left out of the plan. I have devised a motivation plan that will work for our widget company.
There are four steps to this plan:
1. The employees need to know each other and get along. I plan to have weekly lunches so
the employees can interact outside of their work environment and become friends. This

will boost the teams morale as they will want to work together and enjoy working
together. This will also help in job satisfaction because employees will be more satisfied
if they are working with people who they get along with and are friends with.
2. As the employer we know that there are many schedules and lives to deal with. We need
to be flexible and allow employees to work from home, if needed, or attend their
childrens school events. Flexibility is a benefit that many employees highly value. This
will increase job satisfaction as well as reduce turnover by allowing flexibility in work
schedules. Many employees quit their jobs because of scheduling conflicts with their
families. By being flexible we can help reduce turnover and increase job satisfaction.
3. Create a bonus structure that benefits all employees. A bonus structure that would
reward the team when profit is high, when defects are low, after a certain amount of time
at the company, and at other milestones. Having a defined and available bonus structure
will show the employees that we care for them and that their work is valued. If they
know that their hard work will result in a bonus, then productivity will increase as well as
quality. This also brings in a sense of ownership to the employees as well. If they know
that their work determines their bonus then they will take an ownership in what they do
and they will treat their work as a reflection of who they are. In a sense this would be a
way to show the employees that they are part of the business and without them there
would be no business. I believe that a bonus structure is a key aspect in creating
motivation.
4. The last steps are implementation and follow through. Having a plan is not enough to
create motivation. We need to create a plan, implement it and stick with it. If we
implement it, then a week later disregard it the employees will think that we do not care

about them or that we do not stick to our word. We have to stick to the plan, make
changes if necessary, but we need to follow through with our promise to them. This is a
respect that we will benefit from ten-fold in the future.
Happy employees lead to job satisfaction, low turnover, high productivity, and high-quality
work. This four-step motivation plan will lead to happy employees which will lead to the
mentioned benefits.
There are many ways to motivate employees. You can use extrinsic rewards such as
money to motivate them, or you can use intrinsic rewards to motivate them. I believe that
combinations of the two rewards are ways to motivate employees. There are many methods that
can be used to motivate. Two methods that I would use to motivate employees are by using
intrinsic rewards and empowering the employees. Give them the power to make decisions and
put the outcome in their hands. Giving employees the power to make decisions shows them that
you respect them and value their opinion and ideas. This will make them respect you and not
want to let you down. This I believe is the best method to motivate employees.
The next method I would use to motivate employees is to take a genuine interest in their
work-life balance. According to an author at Forbes,
To the extent that managers can offer some flexibility in schedules and be
understanding about family commitments, doctors appointments and so on
such sensitivity can be greatly appreciated. Small gestures often make a big
difference. (Lipman, Victor. 2013)
This was one of the steps in the organization motivation plan from above. Be flexible and
understand that there are many employees and schedules to deal with. Understand that there are
emergencies and lives outside of work. By being flexible the employees will respect you and not
want to lose that flexibility. This is taking an interest in their work-life balance is the second

method I would use to motivate employees. It shows the employees that you care about them not
just at work, but outside of work as well.
Service workers need motivation just like any other workers in the business. The two
methods above would apply to minimum wage service workers as well. In addition, I believe
that these workers need more motivation since they may not may as much as the other
employees. An additional method I would use for these service workers is to implement ways
for them to feel more part of the team. Many times service workers are paid hourly because they
have to fill positions that are not as flexible. There is always need for service workers and there
should not be a time when there is no service worker. That is why there may always be a service
worker left out at lunch or at company parties because they have to make sure that everything is
working. Even when everyone else is having fun or enjoying their time, service workers still
have to work. With this in mind, I would have parties just for the service workers or
appreciation events where lunch is provide for the service workers or another qualified employee
covers for all the service workers while they are out to dinner. This method is to show the
service workers that we care for them just as much as any other employee and possibly even
more.
The Expectancy theory argues that work motivation is determined by individual beliefs
regarding effort/performance relationships and work outcomes (Schermerhorn Jr., Osborn, UhlBien, Hunt, 2012). This motivation theory means that the employee expects an outcome based
on their input. If their input is low, which can be measured, then their output or reward should
be low. The same can be said for the opposite. If an employee puts a lot of effort into their work
then they should expect to be rewarded appropriately. Rewards can be intrinsic or extrinsic, but

there is an expected reward. This method applies to the service workers since they put a lot of
effort into their work.
A business is made up of departments which are probably made up of teams. Who are
the people in those teams? Those are the individuals of the company. The individuals of the
company help run the business and are the day to day operators. These individuals are very
important to an organization. Without individuals an organization would not be successful. Who
would run the organization without them? Believe it or not, many high-level CEOs and
executives would not be able to keep a company afloat without its employees. This is why the
individual worker is so important to an organization because it is the individual that makes up the
team that makes up the department which helps run the company. Without the individual worker
companies would not survive. This is why companies need to value their employees. Even
though there may be standardized policies or procedures to ensure that everyone is treated the
same way the companies need to realize everyone is different and each individual person
matters. If a company operates in this manner then their employees will respect and be loyal to
the company.

Individual Work to Teamwork

TEAM MEMBER (change in behavior from

Talks

Discusses with the team.

Me oriented

Team oriented. Still works on their

Department focused

Focused on the team and the teams

Competitive

Still somewhat competitive, more so with

Logical

Logical

Written messages

Discusses with team members as well

Image

Teams image

Secrecy

Open to other team members

Short-term sighted

Short term goals but those short term

Immediate results

Long term results

Critical

Open to suggestions and offers ideas

Tenure

Team expansion of knowledge and

References:
Encyclopedia of Business. Motivation and Motivation Theory. Retrieved on May 24, 2013.
Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Mar-No/Motivation-andMotivation-Theory.html#b.
Lipman, Victor. March, 18, 2013. Forbes. 5 Easy Ways To Motivate - And Demotivate
Employees. Retrieved on May 24, 2013. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/
victorlipman/2013/03/18/5-easy-ways-to-motivate-and-demotivate-employees/.
Schermerhorn Jr., J., Osborn, R., Uhl-Bien, M., Hunt, J. (2012). Introducing Organizational
Behavior. In Lise Johnson (Ed.), Organizational Behavior(pp. 7-83). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.