Employees who are recognized have high self-esteem, confidence, and willingness to face new challenges and be innovative as they are motivated to work (Pratheepkanth, 2011).
A positive climate motivates employee, enhances his/her productivity, job satisfaction, commitment, and performance. Conflict, however, has a negative effect on organizational commitment (Tella et al., 2007). According to Tella et al. (2007):
Commitment is a broader concept and tends to withstand transitory aspects of an employee’s job. It is possible to be dissatisfied with a particular feature of a job while retaining a reasonably high level of commitment to the organization (7).
Another important motivating tool for organisations is money. Financial incentives are important determinants of motivation. Current attitudes towards financial compensation are negative. Nonetheless, money as employee compensation is very important and should not be neglected. Striking a financial balance through adequate compensation and maintaining viability of the business are what organisations must undertake. It should be noted, however, that employee satisfaction does not necessarily contribute to productivity though many studies indicate that companies with the strongest financial performances often have high levels of employee satisfaction.
In a civilized business-oriented society with many intricate dynamics and competition, mistakes related to ethics and justice are made for one reason or another. Consequently, using the power and influence to subjectively punish people just because their decisions are wrong are not utterly ethical. Of course, every business is accountable for its actions even if it means that legal sanctions and punishments are to be used. Nonetheless, the ethics of corporate governance dictate that people are punished for their mistakes, while also being judged objectively and given a chance to change (Ferrell et al., 2010).
With regards to the relationship between justice, ethics and employee motivation, Adams proposes in Adam’ Equity Theory that people seek for social equity which they expect from performance. Adams’ theory states that people strive for fairness and justice in social exchanges and organizations that have learnt to satiate this need in order to keep their employees motivated.
To begin with, workplace heterogeneity among team members greatly contributes to uniting workers, thus encouraging efficacy. Pfeffer (1998) says that use of self managed teams is one of the “key practices of businesses that successfully produce profits.” Pfeiffer further documents that the “high retention rate and higher loyalty” of self-managed teams contrast with other forms of management like direct supervision. Members of self-managed teams are usually expected to participate in team processes, espouse organizational values and foster cohesion through teamwork, thus encouraging overall efficiency.
Essentially, poor communication among team-members is one of the major factors that may limit the effectiveness of teamwork. Not being able to vocalize opinions, ideas or arguments makes it difficult for workplace heterogeneity to occur, thus undermining the value of a teamwork (Kreitner, 2009). Another factor that threats teamwork is egocentricity and selfishness where some team members are only concerned of endeavours that benefit themselves (Putnam & Jablin, 2000). As a result, progress in a team with such an imbalance is one-sided, thus limiting the overall objective of teamwork. Below are some recommendations that may help organizations to progress with regard to their teamwork endeavours.
Firstly, leaders must focus on the needs of the team and ensure that they are met. The common motivations of people in every organization like promotions, raises, job security and approval from colleagues should form the basis on which the organization is built (Pratheepkanth, 2011).
Secondly, effective workers should be aware of the objectives of their organization. Thus, they are able to easily blend in with other team members (Achua and Lussier, 2010).
Thirdly, leaders and supervisors in a team should realize the potential within their team members and work to benefit the organization. This can be done by allowing the team members to be part of the planning and problem solving process. This allows the members to find a solution on their own and thus be focused on the implementation of their decisions.
References
Achua, C. F., & Lussier, R. N. (2010). Effective leadership. New York: Cengage Learning.
Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2010). Business ethics: ethical decision making and cases. New York: Cengage Learning.
Kreitner, K., (2009). Organizational Behavior: Key concepts, skills and managing people in a global economy. New York: McGraw Hill.
Pfeffer, J. (1999). Seven Practices of Successful Organizations. California Management Review, 40(2), 96-124.. Web.
Pratheepkanth, P. (2011). Reward system and its impact on employee motivation in commercial bank of Sri Lanka Plc, in Jaffna district. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 11(4), 85-92.
Tella, A., Ayeni, C. O., & Popoola, S. O. (2007). Work motivation, job satisfaction, and organisational commitment of library personnel in academic and research libraries in Oyo state, Nigeria. (Library Philosophy and Practice). Web.