AOS 2

• • Motivation 


  Refers to the willingness of employees to work toward a shared objective. Employees can motivated by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. 

  • Intrinsic motivation comes from internal factors such as a sense of purpose or value. 
  • Extrinsic motivation comes from external factors such as financial incentives or fear of punishment.
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs


  A motivational theory that is comprised of five human needs. The theory states that higher order needs can only be fulfilled once the needs below them have been met.
• Maslows Heirarchy of Needs

  Physiological Needs

  • Satisfactory Pay for Survival

  Safety Needs

  • Safe working conditions and Job security

  Social Needs

  • Teamwork, Involvement in decision making, supportive management

  Esteem Needs

  • Responsibility, Recognition, Promotion

  Self-Actualisation

  • Creative & Interesting Jobs, Opportunities for Advancement
• The Four Drive Theory 


  A motivational theory that identifies four fundamental desires that people strive to balance. These drives are to acquire, bond, comprehend (learn), defend. 

  • Acquire - desire to achieve rewards and status
  • Bond - desire to develop positive relationships and have social interactions
  • Learn - desire to gain knowledge, skills and experience. 
  • Defend - desire to protect the values of the business. 
• Drive to Acquire

  Managers can motivate employees by rewarding them with financial and non-financial incentives

  Financial: Bonuses, Increased pay

  Non-Financial: Prestigious job title, Increased responsibility
• Drive to Bond

  • Employees are motivated by the drive to develop positive relationships with managers and peers
  • Managers can support this drive by creating an environment that promotes positive work-related and social interactions 
  • Consider links to real corporate culture (i.e. physical layout of work space, rituals)
• Drive to Comprehend(Learn)

  Employees are motivated to learn and improve their capabilities at work.

  Managers may cater to this need by conducting training and mentoring.

  This increases knowledge and skills of employees and also shows that the business values them.
• Drive to Defend

  • Employees are motivated to defend their position within a business as well as their business’s values as a whole
  • Managers can support this by:
  • Developing a vision that employees believe in 
  • Seeking employee input when developing policies/making decisions
• Pros of 4 Drive Theory

  • All four drives can be attained simultaneously. They are not restricted to a sequential order (like Maslow’s)
  • Provides an approach that can apply to all employees. All employees will be motivated by at least one of the four drives.
• Cons of 4 Drive Theory

  • Can be difficult for managers to balance all four drives at once
  • Employees may not value all drives equally
  • Fulfilling drive to acquire through financial means can be expensive 
• Locke and Latham’s Goal Setting Theory

  Theory that outlines the setting of effective goals to ensure employee motivation. Goals should be clear, specific, challenging, and ensure employees are committed and receiving feedback. 
• Goal Setting Theory Factors

  • Clear and specific: employees should have clarity and what they are trying to achieve and be able to measure their progress/results
  • Challenging: employees should find the goal difficult but not overwhelming
  • Committed: when employees believe in the goal they will have higher motivation to achieve it
  • Feedback: important in recognising the work of employees and providing adjustments that will help ensure they achieve their goal
• Pros of Goal Setting Theory

  • Facilitates communication and creates ownership over the goal when it is set collaboratively between owner and manager
  • Goals are able to be targeted for each employee 
  • When the business goals align with employee goals it helps improve business performance 
• Cons of Goal Setting Theory

  • Time-consuming if individual goals are set for all employees
  • Employees may feel stress or disappointment if they fail to achieve their goal
  • Can be difficult for manager to align business and employee goals
• Performance Related Pay

  refers to financial incentives that are used to reward employees for strong performance. They are an extrinsic motivation.

  • Short Term focus (no interest after reward has been recieved)
• Performance Related Pay

  • Advantages:
  • Is only paid once employee achieves objective/goal
  • Appeals to a large range of employees (most employees are motivated by financial incentives)
  • Disadvantages
  • Expensive (decreases net profit)
  • Only motivates employee in the short-term
• Career Advancement


  involves the promotion of employees to positions with greater responsibility. May be achieved through methods such as job rotation (rotating employees to different areas/departments) and job enlargement (increasing the scope and responsibility of employees). 

  • Long-term focus (employees will always have a position they can work toward)
• Career Advancement

  • Advantages:
  • Long-term focus means this is a sustainable strategy for motivation
  • Highlighting opportunities for career progression helps retain valuable employees
  • Disadvantages
  • Not every employee is suitable/ready for career progression
  • May create competition between employees going for the same position
• Support Strategies

  assistance and services provided to help employees with difficulties and stresses they may be facing (for example, counselling and mentoring).

  • Long term focus(employees can be provided with continual support by management throughout their career)
• Support Strategies

  • Advantages:
  • Can be cost effective (for example, mentoring by a manager has no financial cost)
  • Can increase the confidence of employees to take on more tasks
  • Disadvantages
  • Can rely heavily on the skills of the manager (for example, communication and interpersonal skills)
  • Employees may become too dependent on support services and may not be able to operate effectively without them
• Sanction Strategies

  a penalty for poor performance, acting as a form of negative reinforcement to improve motivation (i.e. reduction in salary, reassignment to a new role)

  • Short term focus(focusses on immediately addressing performance of employee, but can have consequences on long term morale and culture)
• Sanction Strategies

  • Advantages:
  • Immediately addresses poor performance of employees
  • Disadvantages
  • Can result in low morale of employees
  • Can result in poor relationships between employees and management
  • Can discourage employees from being loyal to the business
• On-the-job training

  developing the skills and knowledge of employees while they are engaged in their work activities.

  • Advantages:
  • Cost-effective (no extra expenses for employee courses or for external trainers to provide training)
  • Employees will be trained on the specific task they are responsible for performing 
  • Disadvantages
  • Quality of training may be low if the manager/coach does not possess suitable skills
  • Training may not be adequately planned and can be disjointed (i.e. last minute meetings may come up for managers)
• Off-the-job training

  • increasing the skills and knowledge of employees in a formal learning environment. This may done by an external coach/trainer, or by a section of the business specialised in carrying out training.
  • Advantages:
  • Employees can learn from specialised experts 
  • Less opportunity to be interrupted by unexpected workplace events (i.e. meetings)
  • Disadvantages:
  • Expensive to hire external trainers or invest in a specialized training team  
  • Loss of working time (while in formal learning environment) can hinder efficiency
• Performance Management: Management by Objectives

  involves managers and employees collaboratively setting individual goals for the employee. These goals are then monitored by the manager. 

  • Advantages:
  • Ongoing feedback helps improve employee performance
  • Collaboration/communication can develop more positive relationship between manager and employee
  • Disadvantages:
  • Time consuming to set individual goals for each employee
  • Employees may be discouraged if they do not achieve their set goal
• Performance Management: Appraisals 

  Appraisals are an assessment of employee performance against set criteria, where a plan is established to improve performance over a period of time. 

  • Advantages:
  • Identifies areas where employee can be trained
  • Facilitates communication between manager and employee which can positively influence culture
  • Disadvantages:
  • Time-consuming to perform appraisals for each employee
  • Appraisals may be influenced by bias of the manager (i.e. if manager already has a positive relationship with the employee)
• Performance Management: Self-evaluation

  
  

  involves employees complete a self-assessment in terms of their predetermined objectives and contribution to their team, based on set criteria 

  • Advantages:
  • Gives employees sense of ownership over their performance 
  • Self-evaluation can save managers time as employees are evaluating their own performance
  • Disadvantages:
  • Employees may be bias or dishonest in evaluation of their own performance
  • Lack of guidance/input from manager can cause employees to have low morale
• Performance Management: Employee Observation

  involves employees from different levels (as well as managers) assessing performance of other employees against set criteria. This provides what is called ‘360 degree feedback’ (feedback from fellow employees, subordinates, and managers). 

  • Advantages:
  • Utilises a range of perspectives from different people within the business
  • Allows employees to gain valuable insights into how other employees operate
  • Disadvantages:
  • Time consuming to observe other employees
  • Results may be misleading if employees are aware they are going to be observed
• Termination Management

  • Termination refers to the process where a business and employee end their contract together. 
  • Termination may be voluntary (choice of the employee) or involuntary (choice of the manager). 
  • It is important that termination of employee contracts is effectively managed for a range of reasons including:
  • Maintaining employee morale/motivation
  • Minimising expenses for the business to maintain profit
• Voluntary Termination


  The process where an employee initiates the process of ending their contract with the business. This may be done through:

  • Resignation: when an employee voluntarily ends their relationship with the business, generally to pursue work in a different business or industry. 
  • Retirement: when an employee decides to permanently leave the business and workforce. 
• Involuntary Termination


  occurs when a business initiates the process of ending their contract with an employee. This may be due to:

  • Redundancy: when a business ends an employee’s contract as the role they served is no longer useful. This may be a result of their no longer being sufficient volume of work for the employee, or the business cutting costs. 
  • Dismissal: when an employee is removed from a business due to reasons such as unsatisfactory performance or illegal behaviour 
• Entitlement Considerations

  refers to the remuneration a business legally owed to an employee when their contract is terminated (either voluntarily or involuntarily). Entitlement considerations may include:

  • Accrued annual or long service leave. This will generally be paid out to employees based on how much they have accrued. 
  • Redundancy pay/package (only when an employee has been terminated due to redundancy). Will generally be a sum of money paid to employees based on their years of service. 
  • Wages/salary owing. Any wages that are owed to the employee must be paid.
• Transition Considerations

  refers to the support that can be provided to employees when they leave their position with the business. This may include:

  • Resume writing or interview skills (to help them find new employment)
  • Providing counselling or financial skills sessions (to support those who have been involuntarily terminated)
  • Allowing reduced hours to help those transitioning into retirement 
• Human Resource Manager


  The human resource manager is responsible for coordinating relationships between employees and management at the business. This may involve the hiring, training, motivation, and termination of employees.

  • Recruit, hire, train, terminate employees
  • Negotiate with employees and their representatives
  • Facilitate communication between managers and employees
  • Ensure minimum legal working conditions are met
• Employees are individuals who are hired by a business to complete work tasks in exchange for pay.

  • Complete tasks to a sufficient standard
  • Follow policies and procedures
• Employer Associations


  Assist and represent employers in negotiating wages and upholding their legal business obligations.

  • Represent employers during negotiations with employees
  • Provide Advice
• Unions are organisations that represent employees in a particular industry to ensure they have fair wages and working conditions

  • Represent employees during negotiations
  • Provide employees with advice
• The Fair Work Commission is an independent workplace relations tribunal that is responsible for establishing awards and setting minimum working standards. 

  • Set national minimum working standards
  • Establishing awards
  • Act as an arbitrator / mediator
• An Award is a document that outlines the minimum working conditions and wages for employees in a particular industry.

  The Fair Work commission are responsible for establishing these awards, and ensuring that they meet Australia’s minimum working standards
• Agreements are documents that outline the working conditions and wages for a particular business (i.e. Qantas, Coles)

  During the collective bargaining process, employees may be represented by their union to conduct negotiations.