Employee Motivation In Malaysian Airlines: Problems And Solutions Essay.

Choose a hospitality company and identify and critically evaluate on how one(s) key element of Hospitality, Cultures and People is enacted in the organisation through thorough research. Further, critically assess on any problems or issues the organisation faces in relation to this element. Then, make recommendations on how the organisation.

This report will analyze the people and also the organizational culture of the organization Malaysian Airlines which is one of the most popular Asian airlines. The organization offers more than 61 destinations and locations to the people from the diverse parts of the world (Malaysia Airlines, 2018). However, in the recent times it is seen that the organization has been facing a lot of problems regarding the employees and more importantly regarding the effective motivation of these employees. The report will analyze the aspect of lack of effective motivation provided by the Malaysian Airlines and also the manner in which the company can resolve this particular problem.

The organization under discussion here was founded in 1947 and is a part of “Malaysia Aviation Group” (Malaysia Airlines, 2018). The organization under discussion here is regarded as “Asia's Leading Airline” by diverse international hospitality authorities like Skytrax and others (Malaysia Airlines, 2018). Furthermore, the organization currently boasts of a fleet strength of more than 81 and enables the customers to travel from Malaysia to almost everywhere in the world (Malaysia Airlines, 2018). The organization currently has more than 20,000 employees at their disposal and the future prospects of the organization depend on how well the concerned organization is being able to motivate as well as manage them (Malaysia Airlines, 2018). This particular aspect of the organization, namely employee motivation, will be discussed in the paper.

The concept of motivation is generally seen to be factor which if used in an effective manner by a particular organization can contribute in a significant manner towards not only the improvement of the individual employee performance but overall organizational performance as well (Ristic, Selakovic & Qureshi, 2017). An analysis of the concept of employee motivation within the particular domain of the organization Malaysian Airlines on the basis of the various newspaper articles, media report and other academic sources reveals the fact that the organization under discussion here is unable to make the most of the concept of employee motivation and this in turn given rise to the various problems that it has faced over the years like the various incidents of mishap, technical snags, labor strikes and others. One factor that is common among all the information that is being written or published about the concerned organization and it is fact that the organization needs to take the help of the concept of motivation to motivate the employees so that they are being able to perform in the best possible manner and at the same time contribute in a positive manner towards the growth of the organization (Muslim, Dean & Cohen, 2016).

Employee Motivation in Malaysian Airlines

An article published in the newspaper “The Star Online” entitled “Work etiquette must change across the board in Malaysia Airlines” (2018) clearly hints that the culture within is being followed with the organization is not adequate and that it is adversely affecting the performance level of the employees. The article also states that the work etiquettes followed by the management team of the organization are neither uniform nor appropriate ones and are designed solely to suit the needs of the organization without any consideration for the employees. This has a disheartening effect on the employees and this is perhaps one of the major reasons for the steady decline in the performance level of the organization. Another newspaper article published in by a UK newspaper states that the management policies followed by the organization are not at all effective and this becomes clear in the recent disaster or accident that one of the airplanes of the organization had (The Sun, 2018). It was seen that to cover up the losses that the organization suffered from the accident the organization set out to recover the lost amount through the reduction in the number of the employees rather than taking the help of some other strategy or policy which would have provided them with much better results. In this connection the official website of the organization in its proposal for the restructuring of the entire business itself says that since the year 2012 the organization has cut down more than 6000 jobs and this is one of the main reasons for the low employee productivity of the organization and this is adversely affecting the prospects of the company (Malaysia Airlines, 2018). This had a very de-motivating effect on the employees of the organization and is likely to affect their performance in a significant manner. In addition to these, an article by the newspaper The Sun (2018) states that the organization under discussion haven’t provided any bonus or incentives to the employees who have been a part of the organization for a very long time where the standard rule says that the organizations need to provide loyalty bonus to the employees. This particular action on the part of the company not only reduces the motivation of the employees to perform better but at the same time the motivation of the employees to stay with the concerned organization.

The contents of the newspapers paper articles above mentioned clearly shows that the organization under discussion here is not being able to use the concept of employee motivation in the best possible manner. However, at the same time it needs to be said that there are some limitations of the sources which have been provided. For example, the majority of them are the ones which belong to the other nations and these articles have been mainly written on the basis of the information which has reached them and not the entire truth. Another major drawback of them is the fact that they have been written solely from the perspective of the employees and not from the perspective of the organization. However, at the same time it needs to be said that the organization is indeed facing diverse kinds of employee related problems which can be best solved taking the help of the concept of motivation and its various related theories.

Employee Motivation: Theoretical Perspective

The concept of employee motivation has become an important one within the domain of the various business enterprises and is commonly used to influence the behavior of the employees of a particular organization (Farooq et al., 2018). Recent researches have shown that the concepts of motivation and performance level are directly correlated and this is perhaps one of the major reasons for the extensive usage of this particular concept by the various organizations (Kuo et al., 2016). This is important since the focus of the majority of the business enterprises of the present times is on the enhancement of the profit margin earned by them and herein the concept of the individual performance of the employees gains prominence (Kuo et al., 2016). It is seen that the concept of motivation is being used by the various organizations to improve the individual performance level of the various employees and thereby improve the overall organizational performance itself.

The immense importance that the concept of employee motivation has gained in the recent times is clearly indicated by the large number of employee motivation theories which have been propounded within the last fifty years (Nikbin & Hyun, 2017). Among these motivation theories mention needs to be made of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. According to the theory the attainment of the stage of self actualization should be the ultimate goal of every human being and in addition to these there are some basic needs which the individuals need to fulfill (Nikbin & Hyun, 2017). It is the fulfillment of these basic needs and also the attainment of the stage of actualization that motivates the individuals to perform better and also work hard (Syafii, Thoyib & Nimran, 2015). The organizations can take the help of this particular fact to improve the performance level of the employees (Syafii, Thoyib & Nimran, 2015). Another important theory of motivation is Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory. As per this theory there are two major factors within any organization, namely the positive factors and the negative ones (Osman et al., 2015). The positive factors not only motivate the employees to perform in a much better manner but at the same time enhance the job satisfaction of the employees (Osman et al., 2015). The negative factors, on the other hand, reduce the performance level as well as the motivation of the employees but at the same time causes dissatisfaction among them (Osman et al., 2015). The “Economic Person Theory” is another important theory of employee which is being extensively used by the various organizations for the process of motivating the employees in the best possible manner. The primary precept of this particular theory requires the organizations to introduce the system or reward and extra amount of incentives for the extra hard effort or work that the employees are putting in for the concerned organization (Daskin & Surucu, 2016). This particular theory propounds the viewpoint that money is the basic thing for which they work and thus the best possible manner to motivate them is to provide them with extra amount of money for the extra effort that they are putting in (Daskin & Surucu, 2016). As a matter of fact in the majority of the present day organizations it is seen that the basic precepts of this theory are being followed and the employees are being provided with various kinds of monetary incentives with the objective to motivate them in the best possible manner (Daskin & Surucu, 2016).

The problem of lack of motivation or de-motivation is directly related to various other problems like lack of job satisfaction, lower levels of performance, higher rates of attrition because of the inability of the employees to meet up the expectations of the organizations and others (Syafii, Thoyib & Nimran, 2015). These are some of the most basic problems that the majority of the business organizations and thus it becomes more important to take the concept of employee motivation in a much more serious manner and thereby to take the help of the necessary measures that would help in motivating the employees in the best possible manner (Selvanathan et al., 2016). These are some of the common problems that the organization Malaysian Airlines are facing at the current moment and thus the effective use of the concept of motivation and its related theories is likely to help the concerned organization in a significant manner.

The majority of the issues that the organization under discussion here is facing are related to the problem of the inability of the concerned organization to motivate the employees in the best possible manner. The best manner in which the organization can resolve the issues that it is facing at the current moment is to motivate the employees of the organizations in the most effective manner which would not only help the employees to perform in a much better manner but at the same time would help in the improvement of the overall organizational performance as well. Furthermore, the concerned organization can take the help of various kinds of motivation theories like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory, Economic Person Theory and others. In addition to these, the introduction of the reward and recognition system within the fold of the organization is also likely to help as well as motivate the employees of the organization to work in a much better manner. Furthermore, the introduction of various kinds of loyalty bonuses and other kinds of perks for the employees who have a part of the concerned organization for a significant amount of time is also likely to motivate them in the best possible manner. Lastly, the organization can adopt a suitable leadership style for leading as well as motivating the different employees of the organization.

Conclusion 

To conclude, the concept of employee motivation has gained a significant amount of prominence within the fold of the present day business world. It is significant to note that that the primary focus of the majority of the business organizations of the present times is on enhancement of the annual profit earned by them and in this regard the individual performance of the employees become very important. However, in order to perform in a much better manner the employees need adequate amount of motivation and herein the concept of employee motivation becomes very important. Thus, it can be said that the prospects of a particular organization depends to a large degree on the extent to which the concerned organization is being able to motivate the employees.

References 

Agariya, A. K., & Tikoria, J. (2017). CRM scale development for enhancing business excellence in the Indian airline sector. International Journal of Business Excellence, 12(4), 537-557.

Daskin, M., & Surucu, O. A. (2016). The role of polychronicity and intrinsic motivation as personality traits on frontline employees’ job outcomes: An empirical study from Malaysia. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, 8(2), 177-196.

Farooq, M. S., Salam, M., Fayolle, A., Jaafar, N., & Ayupp, K. (2018). Impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in Malaysia airlines: A PLS-SEM approach. Journal of Air Transport Management, 67, 169-180.

Kuo, T. C., Kremer, G. E. O., Phuong, N. T., & Hsu, C. W. (2016). Motivations and barriers for corporate social responsibility reporting: Evidence from the airline industry. Journal of Air Transport Management, 57, 184-195.

Malaysia Airlines. (2018). Malaysia Airlines [online] Retrieved from https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/in/en.html

MAS to reward employees for long service. (2018). The Sun [online] Retrieved from https://www.thesundaily.my/news/1432188

Muslim, N. A., Dean, D., & Cohen, D. (2016). Employee job search motivation factors: An evidence from electricity provider company in Malaysia. Procedia Economics and Finance, 35, 532-540.

New dynamics: Christoph Mueller, Malaysia Airlines | Airlines. (2018). Malaysia Airlines [online] Retrieved from https://airlines.iata.org/ceo-interviews/new-dynamics-christoph-mueller-malaysia-airlines

Nikbin, D., & Hyun, S. S. (2017). Does travellers’ casual attribution affect pre-recovery emotions and behavioural intentions? A field study of airline travellers in Malaysia. Current Issues in Tourism, 20(1), 80-93.

Osman, A., Othman, Y. H., Rana, S. S., Solaiman, M., & Lal, B. (2015). The influence of job satisfaction, job motivation & perceived organizational support towards organizational citizenship behavior (OCB): a perspective of American-based organization in Kulim, Malaysia. Asian Social Science, 11(21), 174.

Restructuring Of MAS. (2018). Malaysian Airlines [online] Retrieved from https://588869726586985066.weebly.com/restructuring-of-mas.html

Ristic, M. R., Selakovic, M., & Qureshi, T. M. (2017). Employee motivation strategies and creation of supportive work environment in societies of post-socialist transformation. Polish Journal of Management Studies, 15.

Selvanathan, M., Selladurai, S., Madina, G., Rahman, R. A., & Dawood, N. S. M. S. (2016). A Study on Employee’s Motivation towards Employee Performance in Private University, Selangor, Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Management, 11(7), 281.

Shah, S. H. A., & Beh, L. S. (2016). The impact of motivation enhancing practices and mediating role of talent engagement on turnover intentions: Evidence from Malaysia. International Review of Management and Marketing, 6(4), 823-835.

Syafii, L. I., Thoyib, A., & Nimran, U. (2015). The role of corporate culture and employee motivation as a mediating variable of leadership style related with the employee performance (studies in Perum Perhutani). Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 211, 1142-1147.

Work etiquette must change across the board in Malaysia Airlines - Business News | The Star Online. (2018). Business News | The Star Online [online] Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2014/08/15/work-etiquette-must-change-across-the-board-in-mas