Reinforcement and Employees Essay

Q3. What tools does Walmart exercise to motivate employees? How might a lack of penury affect associates and how should charabancs respond? achieve me a W Give me an A Give me an L Give me a crooked Give me an M Give an A Give me an R Give me a T Whats that spell? Walmart Whose Walmart is it? Its my Walmart Whos sum up one? The customer Always The proficient times continue at Walmart, and so do heavily throw and achievement. For many employees, seeing peers recompenseed for a job well make proves highly needal. Executives at Walmart refer to the phoner as one big family. There atomic number 18 no grunts or gophers no employee, no matter how new, is thought of as low individual on the totem. According to the companys free door policy, all in all associates atomic number 18 throw outd to speak freely, share c at a timerns, and express ideas for improving fooling operations. In return, they plenty expect theater directors to treat all discussions fairly with an op en mind. The policy is right out of Waltons playbook. Listen to your associates, Walton urged. Theyre the scoop idea generators.The founders wisdom is routinely reaffirmed by dint of the oft-repeated plagiarize that nonhing constructive happens in Bentonville a reference to Walton headquarters. In Waltons grass roots ethic, local employees are the ones closely samely to pee fresh ideas. One substantial way managers can meet higher(prenominal)(prenominal) motivational needs is to shift office staff down from the top of organisation and share it with employees to enable them to achieve goals. Empowerment is power sharing, the delegation of power or way to subordinates in an organization. Increasing employee motivation for occupation acquisition beca map hatful improve their own effectiveness, choosing how to do a task and exploitation their creativity. Empowerment is one way managers promote self- supporting and self- efficacy, as delimitate in the discussion of soci al learning.Empowering employees involves giving them four elements that enable them to routine much freely accomplish their jobs training knowledge, power, and rewards. First of all, employees receive information about company performance. In companies where employees are fully empowered, all employees confine access to all financial and operational information. Secondly, employees own knowledge and skills to collapse to company goals. Companies use training programs and early(a) development tools to help slew acquire the knowledge and skills they need to contri hardlye to organizational performance. The third motivation is employees shit the power to tally substantive decision. Empowered employees have the authority to directly influence work procedures and organizational performance, such as through quality circles or self- directed work police squads. And last but not least, employees are rewarded based on company performance. Organizations that empower workers often reward them based on the military issues shown in the companys back tooth line. Organizations may in addition use other motivational compensation programs described in Exhibit 16.8 to tie employee efforts to company performance.Exhibit 16.8Many of todays organizations are implementing empowerment programs, but they are empowering workers to varying degrees. At much or less companies, empowerment means encouraging workers idea while managers retain last(a) authority for decisions at others it means giving employees almost complete immunity and power to make decisions and exercise initiative and imagination. Current methods of empowerment pass along along a continuum, as illustrated in exhibit 16.9 . The continuum runs from postal service in which front- line workers have almost no discretion, such as on a traditional assembly line, to full empowerment, where workers even participate in formulating organizational strategy.Exhibit 16.9Perhaps the most important things manage rs can do to enhance organizational communication and dialogue can encourage people to communicate honestly with one another. Subordinates leave feel free to impart ban as well as positive message to managers without concern of retribution. Efforts to develop interpersonal skills among employees can also foster openness, honesty, and trust. Second, managers should develop and use formal communication channels in all direction. Scandinavian Designs uses both newsletters to r all(prenominal) employees. Dana Holding Corporation developed the Here a eyeshot board- called a HAT rack- to get ideas and feedback from workers. Other techniques include direct mail, bare boards, blogs, and employee surveys. Third, managers should encourage the use of multiple channels including both formal and on the loose(p) communications. Multiple communication channels include written directives, face- to- face discussions, and the grapevine. For example, managers at GMs Packard Electric plant use multimedia, including a periodic newspaper, frequent meeting of employees teams and an electronic news display in the cafeteria. displace messages through multiple channels increases the likeliness that they exit be decently received.Fourth, the structure should fit communication needs. An organization can be intentional to use teams, task forces, project managers, or matrix structure as needed to facilitate the horizontal flow of information for coordination and problem solving. construction should also reflect information need. When team or department task are difficult, a decentralized structure should be implemented to encourage discussion and participation. Empowerment is the accomplish of distributing decision-making power throughout an organization. It is a do work which enables employees to bushel personal work goals, make minor decisions and to solve conflicts by using their personal authority. Team Bonuses, in situations in which employees should cooperate with each other and isolating employee performance is more difficult, companies are increasingly resorting to secure employee cover to team performance. For example, in 2007, Wal-Mart gave bonuses to around 80% of their associates based on store performance. If employees have a reasonable ability to influence their teams performance level, these programs may be effective.One way Wal-Mart facilitates approve for an individual is through an open-door policy that allows employees of all levels to communicate with managers in higher levels of the company. This open-door policy is also a way of keeping unions from forming in the company. The philosophy is that when employees have avenues for expressing their complaints and problems, there result be no reason to have union representatives (Cray, 2000 Slater, 2003). However, people may question how effective this policy is, because employees comfort attempt to form unions. Walton also believed in the importance of having a introduce flow of communication with his workers, claiming that the more information they received the harder they would work for him. The more they know, the more theyll understand, he said. The more they understand, the more theyll care. Once they care, theres no bearping them. To Walton, the free flow of information between him and his workers demonstrate the trust and respect he had for them. Without that trust, Walton felt he could not succeed. training is power, and the gain you get from empowering your associates more than offsets the risk of informing your competitor, he said.For Walton, the bottom line was to appreciate his workers and to make them feel valued. He knew that a payroll check and stock options alone would not guarantee loyalty or hard work. Instead, he realized the importance of making sure his workers knew they were appreciated. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise, he said. Theyre absolutely free and worth a for tune. By having move and loyal employees, Walton could because use them as his secret weapon. The folks on the front lines the ones who very talk to the customer are the only ones who real know whats going on out there, he said. By listening to his workers and their ideas, Walton could stay on top of his game This really is what tally quality is about. Listen to everyone in your practice/team. Obviously your team is a lot smaller than Wal-Mart, but Sams tactic of computation out ways to get front line people lecture holds true for advisors.You can gain a lot of insight into your clients, and it will help strengthen relationships with support personnel. And yes, listen to your clients too. continuous communication is the most important thing to remember. Change usually causes fear about contrastive things. Communication must be very open, honest and encouraging. It also has to screening all the parties involved in the diversify. Happy employees mean happy customers. Walto n admitted that ab initio he was so stingy and did not give good pay to his employees. But eventually he realized that he should give a larger payment to his employees because they are considered as business partners. According to Walton, who interact the way management is the same business partner in a way that applied to the consumer. If the business partner treats their customers well then the consumer will come again and again therein lies the advantage and business success.Walton also often visited his shop and asked for their opinions, especially employees who are on the front lines, those who actually faced and talking with customers, as people who know the real situation on the ground. Managements number one goal with their employees is to make working at Wal-Mart fun and rewarding. They even have their own comfort to boost associates morale and organizational spirit (Wal-Mart, 2008). Whos Wal-Mart? It is my Wal-Mart (Wal-Mart, 2008). This is the type of leaders styles th at all organizations need to use. This style makes employees want to come to work everyday and they feel secure knowing that they are working for a dandy organization. Wal-Mart is like one big family and like to make their associates feel like they are an important part of keeping the doors open for everyone.If Walmart this organization are lack of motivation itll affects associates also called employees. Lack of motivation equates to less work being accomplished. Productivity does not disappear it is usually transferred to aspects not tie in to the organizations work. Things like personal conversations, Internet surfing or taking longer lunches cost the organization time and money. Reduced productivity can be detrimental to an organizations performance and hereafter success. Low employee motivation could be collectable to decreased success of the organization, negative effects from the economy or drastic changes or uncertainty within the organization. No matter what the caus e, having the reputation of having an un dulcet work environment due to low employee motivation will ultimately impact how existing and voltage clients or partners view working with an organization. A reputation can conduct an organization and dictate its future in the industry.The financial backing approach employee motivation sidesteps the issue of employee needs and thinking processes described in the content and process theories. Reinforcement theory simply looks at the relationship between sort and its consequences. It focuses on changing or modifying employees on the-job fashion through the hold use of immediate rewards and punishments. Behavior modification is the name given to the set of techniques by which reinforcement theory is used to modify human behaviour. The introductory assumption underlying bearing modification is the law of effect, which states that manner that is positively reinforced tends to be repeated, and behavior that is not reinforced tends not t o be repeated. Reinforcement is defined as anything that causes a certain behavior to be repeated or inhibited. The four reinforcement tools are positive reinforcement, evasion learning, punishment, and extinction, as summarized in exhibit16.6Positive reinforcement is the administration of a pleasant and rewarding consequence following a desired behavior, such as praise for an employee who arrives on time or does a little bare work. Research shows that positive reinforcement does help to improve performance. Moreover, nonfinancial reinforcement such as positive feedback, social recognition, and attention are serious as effective as financial incentives. One study of employees at fast- food drive- thru windows, for example, found that performance feedback and supervisor recognition had a significant effect on increasing the incidence of up- selling or request customers to increase their order. Montage Hotels &resorts, known for its culture of gracious yet necrose service, uses a variety of employee recognition programs to positively reinforce employees for providing exceptional service. chief executive officer Alan J. Fuerstman says its simple psychology. People commit more acts of kindness when they are appreciated for them. shunning learning is the removal of an unpleasant consequence once a behavior is improved, theory encouraging and strengthening the desired behavior. Avoidance learning is slightlytimes called negative reinforcement.The idea is that people will change a specific behavior to avoid the undesired result that behavior provokes. As a simple example, a supervisor who constantly reminds or nags an employee who is goofing off on the factory floor and simoleons the peck when the employee stops goofing off is applying avoidance learning. penalisation is the imposition of unpleasant outcomes on an employee. Punishment typically occurs following undesirable behavior. For example, a supervisor may welt an employee for performing a task wro ng. The supervisor expects that the negative outcome will serve as a punishment and reduce the likelihood of the behavior recurring. The use of punishment in organization is controversial and often criticized because it fails to guide the correct behavior. However, almost all managers report that they find it necessary to now and then impose forms of punishment ranging from verbal reprimands to employee suspensions or firings.Extinction is the withholding of a positive reward. Whereas with punishment, the supervisor imposes an unpleasant outcome such as a reprimand, extinction involves withholding praise or other positive outcomes. With extinction, undesirable behavior is essentially ignored. The idea is that behavior that is not positively reinforced will gradually disappear A New York Times reporter wrote a humorous article about how she learned to stop nagging and instead use reinforcement theory to shape her husbands behavior after studying how professionals train animals. When her husband did mostthing she liked such as throw a dirty shirt in the hamper, she would use positive reinforcement, thanking him or giving him a hug and a kiss. unwanted behaviors, such as throwing dirty clothes on the floor, on the other hand, were simply ignored, applying the principle of extinction.Reward and punishment motivational practices based on the reinforcement theory dominate organizations. According to the Society for Human imagination Management, 84 percent of all companies in the United States offer some type of monetary or non- monetary reward system, and 69 percent offer incentive pay, such as bonuses, bases on an employees performance. However, in other studies, more than 80 percent of employers with incentive programs have describe that their programs are only somewhat successful or working at all. Despite the testimonies of organizations that enjoy successful incentive programs, criticism of these carrot- and- stick methods is growing, as discussed in the Ma nagers Shoptalk. If rewards and motivation are failed to fulfill the employees the manager of Walmart should apply some positive reinforcement in order to skillful the situation. Positive reinforcement is the practice of rewarding desirable employee behavior in order to strengthen that behavior.For example, when you praise an employee for doing a good job, you increase the likelihood of him/her doing that job very well again. Positive reinforcement both shapes behavior and enhances an employees self-image. Recognizing and rewarding desirable employee behavior is the essential key to incite employees to work more productively. This method will reap many benefits, counterbalance it clearly defines and communicates expected behaviors and strengthens the connection between high performance and rewards. It reinforces an employees behavior immediately after learning a new technique and promotes quick, thorough learning. It motivates effective workers to continue to do good work. Lack o f reinforcement leads to job dissatisfaction. It increases productivity by rewarding workers who conserve time and materials. Employees who are rewarded after they successfully perform feel self-confident and become gauge to learn new techniques, take advanced training, and accept more responsibility. reward employees who suggest improved work procedures will produce more mental hospital if you create a relaxed work environment, reward new ideas and tolerate modern failures. Employees who receive recognition for their achievements are more enthusiastic about their work, more cooperative, and more open to change. Besides that, when you show appreciation and reward employees for good work, youll be able to increase their job commitment and organizational loyalty. In conclusion, giving positive reinforcement does not mean that what is done incorrectly by an employee is to be ignored. Instead, it means to recognize what portion of the work was done correctly first, then follow-up wi th what can be done disclose the next time and why the performance or work result was not quite what was expected.If this means the manager must take some of the blame for not giving detailed instructions for the desired behavior or result, they should do so in an apologetic manner and then proceed to explain how the manager personally will try to do better. This is an excellent time for the manager to let the employee know they still have faith in them but need their help and cooperation by their communicate questions if the managers instructions are not clear. This allows both the employee and manager to get better at communication, which results in improved task completion. think of mangers need to give positive results first, then follow-up with what improvements are needed, exempt if necessary, and then reinforce what was done right again. When working the improvement or follow-up statement do not use the word but as this word often negates anything said before it and the e mployee may stop listening as they know a negative is coming next.