UNIT – I Lesson 1 HRM – AN OVERVIEW Lesson Outline Nature of ...

what they are doing is a prerequisite for motivating them. Eliminating negative attitudes as
well as understanding individual needs are the key components in the process of
motivating people to work better. When jobs become too specialized or divided into
narrow, minute tasks, boredom and frustration could begin. Such frustrations arise out of
disappointment or irritation at being thwarted from one’s goals or wants.
Inadequacies in the QWL factors could lead to further de-motivation. Delay in
handling grievances expressed repeatedly would take de-motivation to alarming levels and
employees might begin to rebel strongly at this stage. Since all managers have to get the
work done through others, motivating these significant others is the key to their
effectiveness. Hypocrisy, lack of transparency, unfairness or discrimination, frequent
changes in the environment, and substandard quality of products or services sold by an
organization could be powerful de-motivators.
A strong de-motivating factor in manufacturing organizations involves complete
compartmentalization of individual’s work into watertight zones, makes the person treated
like a piece of equipment or tool that performs only one job. Many a time one finds a total
mismatch between the words and the actions of a supervisor or manager. In order to be
soothing to the employee, assurances are given about something which cannot be carried
out. Such hypocrisy and evilness noticed in the management is one of the strongest demotivators.
A typical hypocrisy would be observed in an organization that is inviting
“feedback” with “openness” from the employees, but in fact, using it as a tool to identify
the potential rebels in the workforce.
4.11.4. Meaning and Importance of Motivation
The health of an organization depends largely on the motivational forces operating within
its personnel. Motivation is concerned with why people choose to do one thing rather than
another, at certain times than others and also with the amount of effort or intensity of
action that people put into their activities. Motivation can be defined as the will to do, the
urge to achieve goals and the drive to excel. Motivators are forces that increase job
satisfaction and induce individuals to perform and are underpinned by the individual’s
values, beliefs, attitudes, needs and goals. Performance could be viewed as the result of
the additive or even multiplying effect that motivation could have on a person’s numerous
capabilities. It is therefore natural, that maximum attention is paid at supervisory level to
motivate their team members.
4.11.5. Needs and Motivation
The behavior of an individual at a particular time is influenced by his or her needs. Need is
a condition of lacking or requiring some necessary thing, either physically or (now)