Improving Staff Performance

The difference between content theory and process theory is that content theory focuses on individual factors and emphasis on what motivates individuals, such as future goals, strength and personal needs, whereas process theory emphasis on how to motivate and individual.

Content theory shows the theories that organisations and individuals use to motivate themselves and their staffs and this includes the following theorists:

Ø  Maslow hierarchy of needs

Ø  Herzberg two-factor theory

Ø  Alderfer’s ERG theory

Ø  McClelland’s achievement theory

Process theory includes the follow theories that individuals and organisations use to motivate themselves and their staffs:

Ø  Goal theory

Ø  Equality theory

Ø  Expectancy theory

Ø  Attribution theory

The organisation I have chosen to identify in how they motivate their employees is Tesco. Tesco is the world’s 3^rd largest supermarket and they have over 2,200 stores. To help their stores grow, they need employees that are motivated, flexible and well trained and in order to do that they have recognised that employee motivation is highly important.

One way Tesco motivates their employees is by increasing their knowledge, skills and job satisfaction by providing recognition and training and development. Tesco believes motivating staff include:

Ø  Appreciation of hard work

Ø  A sense of achievement

Ø  Responsibility and empowerment

Ø  Opportunity for advancement

Ø  A sense of challenge and enjoyment

Tesco also supports their staff with rewards through flexible working, health benefits, staff discount and competitive salaries. Another way that Tesco has discovered to motivate their staff is to gain the trust and respect between the employers and employees and respecting and providing realistic goals to their staff has increased employees motivation. From the Tesco’s website, I have found out that motivated staffs “works in partnership with others to achieve individual and team objective”. This quote means that staff mainly focuses on customers and treat individuals fairly to receive good feedback.

Tesco follows and relates their company to few theorists’ theory to motivate their staffs by using Maslow theory.

 

Tesco use Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory in order to motivate their staff. Here is a model of Tesco’s hierarchy of needs:

This model shows that Tesco cover all five stages of the hierarchy of needs theory. The model shows that staff are being provided place to work, salary and basic facilities. This shows that they cover Maslow’s physiological needs. Tesco also provide their staff security as well as scheme to ensure health and safety. This covers the second stage of the hierarchy which is safety needs. The third stage is social needs and Tesco allows their staff to do team work in order to communicate and get along with other staffs. Tesco also covers self-esteem needs as they respect their staff and give praises to their staff for working hard and final stage of the pyramid, self actualization, Tesco offers programs to develop their staffs careers and position in the company and to get their recognition and status, they advise their staff to joining at least one program. This is how Tesco uses Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid to motivate their staff to work hard and increase their performance to achieve higher.

From this use of theory, I have understood that in order for Tesco to have motivated staff, they need to provide them with their personal staisfaction. This relates to their health and safety, their future and their development in the company.

Tesco also uses a process theory to motivate their employees. The process theory that is used in practice is Expectancy theory. This theory of motivation is when an individual’s behaviour is influenced by their personal needs and want and also influenced by the expected results of their performance. Tesco uses this theory to relate to their staff as their staffs expect to gain these rewards after being really motivated and increasing their work performance. Tesco provide their staff the following benefits that they expect from working there.

To conclude this section, individuals and organisation such as Tesco use different theorist to motivate their employees. Different theories are used for different employees and individuals as their have different needs and wants and according to the needs, individuals decide which motivation techniques to use. To summaries this blog, different people have different needs and their also have different reasons to be motivated to work hard and give it their all.

Reference:

·         Maslow, A. H. “A theory of human motivation”, Psychological Review, 50, July 1943, pp. 370-96 and Maslow, A. H. Motivation and Personality,  Third edition, Harper and Row (1987)

·         Locke, E. A. “Towards a Theory of Task Motivation and Incentives”, Organisational Behaviour and Human Performance, vol. 3, 1968, pp. 157-89