Motivation. Reward system and the role of compensation

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Choosing an appropriate measure of performance on which to base pay is a related problem incurred by individual bonus plans. For reasons discussed earlier, effectiveness on a job can include many facets not captured by cost, units produced, or sales revenues. Failure to include all activities that are important for effectiveness can lead to negative consequences. For example, sales personnel who receive a bonus for sales volume may push unneeded products, thus damaging long-term customer relations, or they may push an unprofitable mix of products just to increase volume. These same salespeople may also take orders and make commitments that cannot be met by manufacturing. Instead, why not hold salespeople responsible for profits, a more inclusive measure of performance? The obvious problem with this measure is that sales personnel do not have control over profits.

These dilemmas constantly encountered and have led to the use of more subjective but inclusive behavioral measures of performance. Why not observe if the salesperson or executive is performing all aspects of the job well? More merit salary increases are based on subjective judgments and so are some individual bonus plans. Subjective evaluation systems though they can be all-inclusive if based on a thorough analysis of the job, require deep trust in management, good manager-subordinate relations, and effective interpersonal skills. Unfortunately, these conditions are not fully met in many situations, though they can be developed if judged to be sufficiently important.

Group and organizationwide pay plans. Organizational effectiveness depends on employee cooperation in most instances. An organization may elect to tie pay, or at least some portion of pay, indirectly to individual performance. Seeking to foster team-work, a company may tie an incentive to some measure of group performance, or it may offer some type of profits or productivity-sharing plan for the whole plant or company.

Gains-sharing plans have been used for years in many varieties. The real power of a gains-sharing plan comes when it is supported by a climate of participation. Various structures, systems, and processes involve employees in decisions that improve the organization’s performance and result in a bonus throughout the organization.

Russian management’s approach to motivation.

Nowadays, top managers at Russian companies don’t pay much attention to the employee motivation. Not only is it the result of the long communist background of the country, but it also is somewhat affected by the national traditions, customs and mentality.

Many of the recently “commercialized” enterprises believe that employees are to be satisfied with their salary only, and a pay-for-performance system is, therefore, of no need. However, the failure to observe the different motivation factors, such as money, respect, promotion and others, can lead to a worsening performance and, as a result, to a lower efficiency organizationwide.

On the other hand, money is not considered to be the most influencing motivation factor by the employees themselves. Though it may be a more vital need of most Russian workers in comparison with their Western colleagues, at the same time they put more value on the cooperative atmosphere in the organization, rather than on the money side. And, thus, it is reasonable for the management to base the performance incentive system on some other factors, such as work security, pension etc. It’s hard to predict the situation in the long-run, however one can expect that the value put on money as a performance motivation factor will rise.

Bibliography

Searle, John G., Manage People, Not Personnel, A Harvard Business review book, 1990

Реферат опубликован: 24/04/2006