Improving staff performance

The differences between content and process theories

Content theory- When people start or currently work for a business, they have some needs which they would like to posses. Most organisations make sure they give and provide their employees their basic needs in order for them to be motivated within the working environment. The basic needs includes the following:

• Safe working environment


• Health and safety


• Salary


• Good relationships between colleagues and managers


• Growth


• Recognition and many more

There are at least four different theorist's who came up with content theories, but in their own personal assumption.

• Marslow- hierarchy of needs


• Aldefer- ERG theory


• Herzberg- Two factor theory


• McClelland- achievement motivation theory

Process theory- when individuals work for an organisation, some might want to aim higher and have better job roles with more responsibilities. In order for employees to feel motivated, it is important for the employers to help set goals and targets to these willing employees and help them reach higher within the working environment. There are three theories which covers the process theory and they are the following:

• Expectancy theory (Victor Vroom)- this theorist believes that the better effort is put into work, the better the outcome will be. So for example if an employee wants to get promoted, they have to work that much harder and make sure they take in the feed back they get from the manager and then if they done everything as expected, their reward would be the promotion. (Arrod.co.uk 2009) There is a motivational force towards behaviour or tasks that has a function of three separate views which are:
• Expectancy Probability- there are some workers who want to do well for a company and therefore believe that the harder they work and are top of everyone else within the working environment, they have a better chance of producing more for the company.
• Intrumentatility Probability- this is when employees put the extra effort in so they get reward by getting a promotion, or a pay rise etc. Employees who work in retail stores etc, tend to be more competitive because they either want to get promoted or get a pay raise. In order for this to happen, they will all work hard and put more effort into their job.
• Valence-some employees look at the promotion the company has on offer as well as the rewards and they refer it back to their goals. If their goals don't reach or match any of the offers, they might think "is it worth all the hard work and effort?" Therefore they will just stick to what is expected from them by the managers and carry out their job roles by putting in the standard effort. (Quick MBA management 2009)


• Equity theory- this theory is mainly about fairness. When there is a promotion, there will be a lot of employees working hard and putting extra effort to get the job role. For this reason it is important for the manager to choose fairly and carefully, so if the employee doesn't get chosen, they don't feel as if their hard work has gone to waste and put less effort in the future. John Stacey Adams (1963) It all depends on the situation people are in, for example people who are at school will get treated differently compared to people who are at work. Therefore people will get treated according to the situation they are in, but what ever the situation is, they should all be treated fairly as that will motivate people more. (Businessballs .com 2009)


• Goal theory- when employees are set goals which are achievable, the manager has to make sure that he/she gives them regular feed back and comment on how they can improve their working skills. In order to encourage the employee to achieve their goals, it is important for the manager to praise them and mention the good worked they are doing as well.

How does M&S and John Lewis motivate their staff?

It is very important for employers to keep staff motivated, because that will keep them happy in the working environment and they will also be keen to work. If employees feel de-motivated at work, there will be high chances of them leaving, which is expensive for the business or they will not put any effort into their work, which will let the business down. According to secondary research, Marks & Spencer and John Lewis have different methods to keep their staff fully motivated.

M&S- "Our benefits package has been developed to help us attract, motivate and retain the best people in retail and includes everything from subsidised health care and performance related pay rewards to our fantastic employee discount." (Mark and Spencer 2009). M&S do the following in order to keep their staff motivated:

• Review basic pay every year to be competitive against other retailers in the market
• Offer performance rewards to show recognition of employees achievements
• Employees 20% discounts and their family will receive a card so they can enjoy some of the discounts too
• Holidays
• Health and dental care
• Bonuses
• Discounts on a wide range of holidays, health clubs, memberships, leisure attractions
  

John Lewis- make sure that all the employees are treated fairly because that is one of the key things to motivation. John Lewis believe that pay and bonuses is not the only thing that keeps an employees satisfied, but also giving them more responsibilities so they feel more part of the company. (John Lewis 2009) John Lewis do the following in order to keep their staff highly motivated:

• Give everyone an equal opportunity to get promoted
• Give employees bonuses to show that the company is taking note of their achievements
• Employees are rewarded with profit share bonuses, which means that all employees are in a partnership with the company
• 12% discount to all employees
• Paid holidays
• Extended leave
• Holiday and leisure facilities
• Education subsidies
• Bursary for the pursuit of excellence
• Staff parties (Primary research)
• Provide a safe and healthy working environment for the employees

Which motivation model does John Lewis use in practice?

According to secondary research, it seems like John Lewis is approaching Herzberg's theory model, because the company is making sure that both factors are put in use in order to keep the employees motivated. However the company is concentrating more on the hygiene factor rather than the motivation factors. According to secondary and primary research, employees love working at John Lewis due to the bonus scheme, where they share out the profits. Bonuses and salary all come under hygiene factor. On the John Lewis website, there is a page on health and safety, and according to that page, the company take their working conditions very seriously, because they want to make sure that all employees are not put off with the current conditions they are working in as it could lead to staff leaving or receiving complaints from them and the health and safety inspection. The company is concentrating less on the motivation factor, as they are giving plenty of hygiene factors to the employees, and not that many businesses do that. Employees within the organisation are trying their best to get promoted as the people working higher up, get a better bonus from the profit share. As there are a lot of employees competing against each other to get promoted, the company will try to make it harder and set them difficult targets, which everyone will not be able to achieve. This could make work it self harder for the workers. As John Lewis are giving rewards such as education subsidies, will benefit the employees because there are employees who might wish to study and take courses to get them further within the organisation or even get education in something they are interested in. This will motivate the employees because as education is costing a lot of money these days, students will need the extra help they can get in order to pay everything off. All the rewards the John Lewis provide for the employees are part of the hygiene factor. They are giving responsibilities to the staff members so they feel more part of the organisation as well as valued and that is part of the motivation factor.

Conclusion

Over all according to research, different companies use different motivation theories, as they will use what suits their company the best. A company might have one strong motivator, and concentrate on that particular one, as they might think that is what is motivating their employees etc due to a survey or a one to one meeting. It is important for an organisation to provide the basic needs for their employees which is part of content theory, and then allow the employees to grow or aim higher within work which is part of process theory.

References

• (Arrod.co.uk (2009) Dave, Expectancy theory of motivation [online] available at: http://www.arrod.co.uk/archive/concept_vroom.php, [accessed at: 13/10/09])
• Mark and spencers (2009) Rewards and Benefits [online] available at: http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/mscareers/rewards_benefits, [accessed at: 14/10/09])
• John Lewis (2009) John Lewis partnerships, Pay and benefit [online], available at: http://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/Display.aspx?&MasterId=68408a6d-eee2-4873-a2fb-420aad32e547&NavigationId=556, [accessed at: 14/10/09])
• (Quick MBA management (2009) Expectancy theory [online] available at: http://www.quickmba.com/mgmt/expectancy-theory/ [accessed at: 10/11/09])
• (Businessballs .com (2009) Adams equity theory [online] available at: http://www.businessballs.com/adamsequitytheory.htm [accessed at: 11/11/09])