MGT425 Ashford WIIFM Element Employee Motivation Case Study

Answer the 3 questions below and reply to each student.

Student Reply must be over 200 words.

Make sure all student replies you start it with Hello (Student Name),

Please upload each question in different word documents.

Question 1:

Review Table 2.1 in Chapter 2 of your text. As many theorists agree, most people are primarily motivated by an increased access to one of three things: 1) money, 2) food, or 3) time. Whether it be a pay raise or increased commission schedule, free lunch on Fridays, bonus days off, the ability to telecommute, or an incentive trip to the Bahamas, these traditional incentives have proven effective for workforces time and time again. As an employee, which motivator appeals to you the most and why? Which would not inspire you to raise your achievement or productivity level?

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

Student Reply 1: Jamal Norris

As an employee, which motivator appeals to you the most and why?

The motivator that appeals to me is money because of the financial freedom that I create makes life easier to achieve new goals and create multiple sources of income to retire early so that I can explore the world while doing things I like. One thing that runs alongside pay raises is achievements of goals to go up the ladder in the workforce. I’m a numbers guy so I basically do everything based on numbers. I use money or incentive to create my own retirement plan through investing and make my money work for me.

Which would not inspire you to raise your achievement or productivity level?

What would not inspire me to raise my achievement or productivity level is food. I am very conscious of what I eat and how I eat. I like to live a healthier lifestyle to live a longer active life. I eat according to what I will be doing in the next few hours.

Student Reply 1: Glade Cornelius

If I were to accept the premise of the question, I would say I am most motivated by money, but only because it allows greater access to a more fulfilling use of my time. With more money, I can afford to do those things that excite me during my time off. I can afford a vacation that gives me the escape I need to recharge from the stresses at work. Accepting the premise of the question, I have to admit that food holds no incentive at all for me in a work setting. As a manager, I have seen how food can serve to be a disincentive to many employees. When trying to do something nice to recognize a team’s efforts, managers will buy pizza or grill food for employees. Most outliers will naturally find fault in this activity, but surprisingly even well motivated employees can feel left out or disrespected if the manager chooses the wrong toppings on a pizza or grills beef instead of chicken or vegetables. Food as an incentive sounds good on paper, but it almost never works in reality unless managed very carefully. In 2012, I attended a Forrester Research conference in Las Vegas, and specifically chose the leadership track of seminars. One of those seminars was entitled “A Pizza Party is not Enough”, where the phenomena of food rewards causing friction between staff members was discussed. It can ruin a team dynamic.

Forgive me professor, but I do not agree with the premise of the question. While money and time are real motivators, albeit oversimplified, usually “power” is viewed as a top three instead of food. Self-actualization motivators are also far above food on other lists like Glenn Llopis’s top 9 things that motivate employees to achieve list. Glenn Llopis is the founder of the Glenn Llopis Group, a nationally recognized workforce development and business strategy consulting firm, and is the author of “The Innovation Mentality: Six Strategies to Disrupt the Status Quo and Reinvent the Way We Work” and “Earning Serendipity: 4 Skills for Creating and Sustaining Good Fortune in Your Work”. Food rewards are immediate gratification type gifts, not long term motivation for achievement. The Llopis list includes; Trustworthy Leadership, Being Relevant, Proving Others Wrong, Career Advancement, No Regrets, Stable Future, Self-Indulgence, Impact, and Happiness. There is nothing there that resembles immediate gratification gifts.

Power is usually seen as influence over a process or individuals. That influence is a measure of control over one’s work environment, which fits better in the various theories listed in table 2.1 than a simple “food” reward would.

References

Pritchard, R. Managing Motivation. [Ashford College]. Retrieved from https://ashfordcollege.vitalsource.com/#/books/978…

Llopis, G. (2012). The Top 9 Things That Motivate Employees to Achieve. Forbes, June 4, 2012. Retrieved from:https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2012/06/0…

Question 2:

Read the Forbes Magazine article, TemboSocial Makes Employee Motivation Everyone’s Business (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Then, address the following questions:

  • Are there more effective ways to motivate employees than to give them a T-shirt and a coffee mug?
  • Give reasons why using a social network may motivate employees.

What are the three key features of the peer-to-peer social recognition platform?

Student Reply 1: Jennifer Wisniewski

Are there more effective ways to motivate employees than to give them a T-shirt and a coffee mug?

Yes, there is more than one way to motivate an employee; however, one must remember that not every employee is the same. For instance, every know and then I see some of the employees playing football with my Warehouse Manager, while others watch and laugh.

Give reasons why using a social network may motivate employees.

Social networking would motivate employees because then the employees would be feel like they were more part of the team. For instance, if there was a competition and the award was given during the day and the night crew didn’t even know who won or even that there was a winner. The night crew would not feel like they are part of the team.

Our company has a company website, and all the computers used to have access until we changed to a government owned/contractor operated (GOCO) contract and now only a select few have access to the website. So, having a network is great, but all the employees must have access for it to motivate the employees.

What are the three key features of the peer-to-peer social recognition platform? Support your response with evidence from the article and/or from your own professional experience.

Peer recognition – Allows peers to recognize each other along with liking and share stories (Cohan, 2012). Last week I was recognized by my peers as the Manager of the year within the Eastern Region.

Awards – Builds the employees personal legacy within a company (Cohan, 2012). The award should be presented to the employee, along with a copy kept within the employees personal file.

Reporting and analytics – Help senior managers to identify problems and isolate them. Our customers can use a website to score the sites customer service. The website is an effective tool to show if any problems exist or above the standard.

Resources:

Cohn, P. (2012, September 26). TemboSocial makes employee motivation everyone’s business. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2012/09/26/… (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Student Reply 2: Donna Swiderski

Are there more effective ways to motivate employees than to give them a T-shirt and a coffee mug

There are absolutely more ways to effectively motivate employees than the T-shirt and mug. According to Cohan (2012), social recognition and peer recognition are valuable ways to not only motivate and retain employees but it reinforces the corporate culture and values that the company chooses to focus on (Para. 2).

Give reasons why using a social network may motivate employees

Social networks work well in today’s digital work platform. It allows the shot out or high five from leaders sharing the successes of their teams and individuals reports. My company has a recognition site that is called an employee share network. The recognition of a job well done is sometimes a great motivator for employees. It is seen by all the folk that use the platform even if they were unaware what the specific team had accomplished.

What are the three key features of the peer-to-peer social recognition platform

Recognize, comment, or like and share stories of colleagues (Cohen, 2012). These are three features of the peer to peer recognition. My company has this platform as well where one can go in and nominate a co-worker who has shown outstanding deeds and or knowledge sharing for a quarterly gift card drawing. The winner is chosen by a peer panel review.

References

Cohan, P. (2012, September 26). TemboSocial makes employee motivation everyone’s business. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2012/09/26/tembosocial-makes-employee-motivation-everyones-business/

Question 3:

View the Anne Loehr interview on leadership and entrepreneurship. After viewing the video, prepare a two-page paper (not including title or reference page) identifying a situation where you found yourself less than motivated to cooperate or be productive. Explain the assigned task or requirement that did not fulfill the WIIFM element. Furthermore, explain what could have been changed to help better motivate you and/or others.

You need to use at least one scholarly source in addition to the textbook, and your paper needs to be formatted using APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.