Driving Journal Of Business And Management: Factors Influencing Productive Performance Essay.

Organizational management and behavior

Discuss about the Driving Journal of Business and Management.

The efficient working of an organization hugely depends on the way its employees perform. Employees however need to be encouraged in order to get the best out of them. The impetus thus, is on the organization to induce a working environment that motivates the employees to work harder and with total dedication (Abbah 2014). Many ways are there by which managers can motivate employees to perform well.

Theories of organizational management and organizational behavior are in abundance that allows managers to utilize these in the workplace. Starting from Taylor, several theorists including Weber, Hawthorne and Fayol have proposed different organizational behavior theories that have an influence on the way organizations implement rules at the workplace. Systems theory, contingency theory and the socio-technical approaches are some theories that defined organizational behavior in the modern era (?nday 2016).

The essay discusses factors that influence organizational behavior and motivates employees to perform better. In addition, the essay sheds light on the role of managers in extracting the best performance from the employees by implementing strategies that adhere to the organizational setting. 

Every organization looks to achieve positive results of its operations but it does not get the desired result always. Managing an organization effectively helps organizations largely to achieve the desired outcome. Organizational management thus refers to the style or method of management that enables managers to divide the whole operation into several stages. By doing this, the managers are able to paint a clear picture of the targets of each department.

Ferdous (2016) asserts that every organization depends on the numerous theories of organizational management to carry out its day-to-day function. Organizational theories, he further states, have been occupied with the creation of general ideas and advances that are suitable to any organization. Every organization has its own objectives, strategies, hierarchy, and dynamic ideas that work in tandem to produce the best results. Employee motivation is one of the foremost aspects that organizations look to achieve. Yang, Liu and Wang (2013), elaborate organization theories as knowledge systems that study and elucidate organizational structure, its utility, process and its group and individual behavior.

Organizational management thus refers to the process of accomplishing goals and objectives through the utilization and maintenance of resources that include employees as well. 

Several factors work together in an organization that culminates in the success of an organization. However, it is imperative to state that extracting productive performance from the employees must be the top priority. In order to do so, a manager has to think out of the box and come out with unique strategies to yield good results. In the views of Kamau (2015), organizations in the modern competitive world have to consider employee motivation as a powerful tool to encourage productive performance. The author believes that this would enable the company to achieve long-term success. Some factors that affect productive performance include designing of jobs, the working conditions, motivation and rewards and goal setting.

Factors influencing productive performance

Job design is the process of allocating specific tasks to groups or individuals. Assigning tasks to specific groups or individuals ensures meeting the organizational requirements in addition with the needs of the employees.  Frederick Taylor was probably amongst the first theorists who laid stress on job design and in fact proposed the first ever job design theory. The Scientific Management Theory proposed by Taylor involves the allocation of jobs equally to workers and managers. He devised the strategy of providing incentives and rewards to motivate workers and enhance efficiency in performance. In addition, Taylor stressed on proper training of employees to manage the assignment for which they are accountable. Later, the Socio-Technical Systems Approach was introduced that acted as a modified version of Taylor’s theory. While Taylor focused on individual workers, the Systems Approach laid stress on group autonomy. According to this approach, when individuals work in a group, they are encouraged to provide valuable inputs that elevate organization’s performance in general.

Apart from the job design, productive performance also depends on the kind of working conditions that are available to the employees. According to a report published by the International Labor Organization, the working conditions in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) largely contribute to improved performance. The report designates several elements as being part of the working condition like the working time, rest hours, wages, training and such others (Ilo.org 2018). Studies have found that poor working conditions like long hours of work, little to no rest hours lead to unsatisfactory performance. Jayaweera (2015) reveals that the physical and psychological burden that employees are compelled to carry on their shoulders results in reduced performance. He cited the example of hotel workers in England to draw upon the conclusion that working conditions play a significant role in productive performance.

Kuranchie-Mensah and Amponsah-Tawiah (2016), while conducting a study on Ghana’s mining companies, found that motivation is a key tool to help employees overcome the stress of mining fields. They further point out that rewards can attract competent employees that could contribute greatly towards achieving organizational goals.

Goal setting is another important factor that ensures improved performance. Dr. Edwin A. Locke even proposed the goal-setting theory in the 1960s that explained the importance of setting goals for improving performance. According to the theory, employees can be motivated to perform better when they are given a fixed set of goals that needs to be achieved within deadline. These goals work as a fuel for generating a sense of purpose amongst employees. Muogbo (2013) suggests that the goal setting theory works in certain situations that contribute to productive performance. According to the author, goals that are difficult to achieve bring out the best from an employee compared to the goals that can be achieved easily. This was proved from a study in Nigeria where the author discovered that workers craved for more when it came to achieving difficult goals; they had the hunger to finish the tasks and achieve those goals. 

Role of managers

In any organization, managers play the most significant role in ensuring smooth functioning of the organization. Their job demands practical knowledge of the highest level. In the words of (Chun et al. 2013), the manager performs tasks that concern the entire organization unlike others that concerns specific departments only. A manager has the responsibility to look after each department although there are personnel to look after those departments. This shows the complexity of a manager’s role.

The basic function that managers are responsible to perform includes planning, organizing, decision-making, staffing, controlling and directing. However, the most important role among these is directing or actuating. This involves the process of coaching and motivating workers. According to Mishra, Boynton and Mishra (2014), it is the most important job of the manager as it decides whether an organization is functioning smoothly or not. He argues that many organizations fail to understand that employees are the most important assets and they must be fueled in a positive way to achieve the desired goal.

Managers are the ones responsible for allocating tasks to different individuals based on their qualification and skills. In order to ensure productive performance, managers have to scrutinize the specific skill sets each employee has. The manager must also make sure that assigning tasks does not lead to conflict between employees. He or she must make the employees feel valuable and equally important to the organization.

The second thing managers have to do is to set up a working environment that gives employees a breathing space. Many traditional and modern workplaces serve as great examples of a perfect working environment (Fortune.com 2018). Companies like Google, Daimler, Dell and a few others provide excellent working conditions for their employees and the result reflects from their success.

Next, managers have the authority and the opportunity to implement incentives and rewards strategy to motivate employees. It is inherent in human nature that they are attracted towards rewards. When it comes to ensuring productive performance, there cannot be a better way than to give rewards and incentives. It is an important job of the managers because they have to take care of the overall budget and then offer incentives so that it does not burden the company’s financial condition.

Perhaps one of the most important roles of managers is setting goals for individuals as well as for the company. Martinsuo (2013) believes that managers have the responsibility to set goals that comply with the overall target of an organization. In other words, managers must ensure that they set such goals that produce high quality performance from employees and in turn contribute to the overall achievement of the organization. Managers can draft certain questions that relate to goal setting like the relevance of goals to the business, if the goals are controllable and achievable by employees or not and most importantly, whether the goals adhere to productive performance objectives.

In the modern setting that is characterized by the onslaught of globalization, organizational management has acquired an enhanced importance. Companies are looking forward to devise strategies that cater to the modern needs to keep them alive, and fit in the competitive market. A search for new forms of organizations is ongoing, driven by the changes in the economy and nature of competition (Hbr.org, 2018). Managers are entrusted with increased responsibilities to manage as well as communicate the goals and objectives of the organization to its subordinates.

With the shift in the economic world, there has been considerable change in the parameters that define productive performance. Designing jobs, working environments, goal setting, rewards and incentives that work as motivational factors for employees now also define the parameters for competition. 

Conclusion

Thus, it needs to be stated that managers must realize the true importance of their roles in effecting productive performance from the employees. In regards to the factors that influence productive performance, motivation holds the key. Motivated employees are invaluable assets to an organization. This however, is not entirely realized by many as they direct most of their attention towards operations, production and results. Many organizations treat employees as machines that are required to produce the desired outcome else they shall be replaced. This attitude as resulted in the downfall of big corporations as evident in history. The essay highlights the different factors influencing productive performance and role of managers influencing the processes. Theories and approaches have been explained in order to paint a clear picture of the importance of taking care of these factors for improved performance. It is however recommended that further studies can be carried out to analyze the importance of managerial skills in identifying the basic requirements for productive performance. Further, it is also suggested to evaluate the relevance of traditional methods of motivation in the postmodern organizational context. 

References:

Abbah, M.T., 2014. Employee motivation: The key to effective organizational management in Nigeria. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 16(4), pp.01-08.

Chun, J.S., Shin, Y., Choi, J.N. and Kim, M.S., 2013. How does corporate ethics contribute to firm financial performance? The mediating role of collective organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Management, 39(4), pp.853-877.

Ferdous, J., 2016. Organization Theories: From Classical Perspective. International Journal of Business, Economics and Law, 9(2), pp.1-6.

Fortune.com 2018. The 25 Best Global Companies to Work For. [online] Fortune. Available at: https://fortune.com/2016/10/26/best-global-companies/ [Accessed 13 Jan. 2018].

Hbr.org 2018. How to Implement a New Strategy Without Disrupting Your Organization. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2006/03/how-to-implement-a-new-strategy-without-disrupting-your-organization [Accessed 13 Jan. 2018].

Ilo.org 2018. Can better working conditions improve the performance of SMEs?. [online] Ilo.org. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_ent/documents/publication/wcms_227760.pdf [Accessed 13 Jan. 2018].

Jayaweera, T., 2015. Impact of work environmental factors on job performance, mediating role of work motivation: A study of hotel sector in England. International journal of business and management, 10(3), p.271.

Kamau, F., 2015. Enhancing Job Motivation To Improve Employee Performance. Case Study Company X.

Kuranchie-Mensah, E.B. and Amponsah-Tawiah, K., 2016. Employee motivation and work performance: A comparative study of mining companies in Ghana. Journal of industrial Engineering and Management, 9(2), p.255.

Martinsuo, M., 2013. Project portfolio management in practice and in context. International Journal of Project Management, 31(6), pp.794-803.

Mishra, K., Boynton, L. and Mishra, A., 2014. Driving employee engagement: The expanded role of internal communications. International Journal of Business Communication, 51(2), pp.183-202.

Muogbo, U.S., 2013. The impact of employee motivation on organisational performance (a study of some selected firms in anambra state nigeria). The international journal of engineering and science, 2(7), pp.70-80.

?nday, ?., 2016. Classical Organization Theory: From generic management of Socrates to bureaucracy of Weber. International Journal of Business and Management Review, 4(1), pp.87-105.

Yang, C.X., Liu, H.M. and Wang, X.X., 2013. Organization theories: from classical to modern. Journal of Applied Sciences, 13(21), pp.4470-4476.