Motivation is a critical aspect of a company’s productivity because working with a motivated team is among the most important achievement for an organization because it prevents turnover and ensures that workers achieve performance goals. Equity theory and expectancy theories of motivation reveal the expectations of employees that motivate them to attain positive performance. Employees expect to be treated equally for equal performance (Equity theory) and anticipate having some positive reward for excellent performance (Expectancy theory). Therefore, when such expectations are not met, workers feel discouraged. Although other management-related issues might have caused the high turnover in the ABC Company, the new marketing manager failed to meet the organizational expectations of motivating employees, avoiding favoritism, and adopting the dictates of both equity and expectancy theories, which could have supported fairness and recognition in the organization.
Present an Organizational Situation
ABC company is a mid-sized real estate firm, which deals with construction and marketing various types of properties. I worked in the company in the summer, which earned me the experience of working in a real-life organization. Besides, I worked with other interns and current employees of the company in the marketing department. The job description included promoting the company and its services to potential clients. Most of the work was conducted through social media platforms, although some members of the team adopted traditional marketing approaches. A new marketing manager expected each employee to speak to not less than ten customers every day, and ensure that five customers contacted the company every week. Overall, the management had set strict policies for the marketing team, which demoralized workers and created serious intentions to leave among members of the sales and marketing department.
While working at the ABC Company last summer, the firm experienced a higher level of turnover than it had in the past. Altogether, three employees in the sales and marketing department left the company within two months after the recruitment of the new marketing manager. The firm experienced a higher-than-usual turnover rate. In fact, according to the older workers, ABC had never lost three employees within two months. The situation is relevant to my current class because turnover is an essential element of employee behaviors. Besides, it relates to the concept of motivation, which plays a vital role in ensuring that employees remain motivated to continue working in a specific workplace. However, a low level of motivation could make employees leave the company and seek opportunities elsewhere. The situation reveals a significant challenge for the company whose cause should be understood to develop effective strategies to address it.
Analysis of Situation and Diagnosis of the Causes
The situation related to a high level of turnover in the organization. The company had not experienced such a turnover in recent years. The problem began when the new marketing manager was hired. Employees felt that the working environment was no longer friendly, and their morale was affected. Many employees claimed that the new manager mistreated them. He would recognize some favorite workers and ignore the performance of others. In sales, performance and meeting targets are critical aspects of any organization. However, employees should always be motivated to meet their goals and maintain excellent performance. Regardless of such knowledge, the new manager was not concerned about the need to encourage the staff. He kept pushing them to meet unrealistic targets and ignored those who managed to meet or were close to meeting set objectives. Hence, many employees were demoralized and some decided to leave the company.
In the analysis, it is significant to link data to theory. While multiple causes of turnover exist in the situation, some are more influential than others. Motivation theory is one of the concepts that can explain the high level of turnover in the company. The equity theory explains the way people are usually motivated or demoralized by the actions of the management. Employees tend to compare their ratio of outcomes and inputs to that of other workers in the organization (Colquitt et al. 174). Thus, they become discouraged when they feel that the leaders mistreat them. Expectancy theory could also contribute to the situation. Recognition and related aspects, such as the use of praise, can motivate employees since they expect something in return for their positive performance. Therefore, the primary cause of the situation is the lack of recognition for members of the sales team by the marketing manager even after doing a similar job and amount of work, such as meeting sales targets. Therefore, motivation theory explains the underlying reason for the high turnover in the organization.
Develop Recommendations
The analysis and diagnosis of the problem should be followed by a recommendation for potential solutions that the company’s management could implement to resolve the situation. Since the main issue is motivation, the administration should adopt mechanisms to ensure that the employees’ morale is improved and that they are comfortable working at the ABC Company. I would recommend that the marketing management team develop a mechanism to recognize all employees to prevent inequity. The company should have a policy that promotes fairness among all managers and employees. Such a policy would ensure that no manager exhibits favoritism to any employee. For example, the company could establish sales targets and rewards for meeting the set goals, such as through bonuses. As a result, employees will feel that their efforts in the company are recognized; hence, they feel motivated. Overall, the company should also create a systematic training program for all managers to learn strategies that would improve motivation among employees.
I have learned some lessons from the case that I can apply to my leadership situation. A self-assessment on introspection, as revealed by Colquitt et al. (22), indicates that I tend to be introspective. Therefore, in my future role as a manager, I will keep reflecting upon ways of avoiding bias. Being conscious of personal predispositions will influence the way I relate to employees. Such awareness will motivate them to achieve positive results and strive to build motivated teams of employees to meet targets. Besides, I will look for various ways to encourage employees, both intrinsically and extrinsically. A motivated team reports low levels of turnover; thus, the company will have high levels of performance by working in a comfortable workplace.
Conclusion
The new manager contributed to the high turnover because of the failure to motivate employees. Therefore, the solution will include mechanisms to enhance motivation by observing equity and meeting employees’ expectations. The company should institutionalize the recommendations and develop them as part of the organizational culture for all managers, including the new ones. Such an approach would prevent high turnover in the future.
Works Cited
Colquitt, Jason, et al. Organizational behavior: Improving performance and commitment in the workplace. 9th ed. McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2011.
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