Performance Issues and Motivation

1. Contemporary companies go through a difficult way of development facing numerous problems and obstacles. It is a fact that an effective teamwork may bring the company to a new developmental stage and improve its performance (Baack, 2012). However, there is a wide range of problems having a motivational character, which may bring the company to breakdown. One of these problems is a lack of trust in management of the company. It is a problem, which involves employees and top management of the company. It means that leadership style and management policy in general are not transparent enough to ensure employees’ efficiency of actions. This issue is on the border between leadership skills of management and its motivational strategy. Employees start doubting the top management, when the company does not delegate any tasks or does not take into consideration employee’s opinion in the decision-making process. One of the main problems of motivation is ensuring that employees are highly valued elements in the performance of the company. It is a sensitive spot in the performance of any employee. However, inappropriate management results in a lack of trust between top managers and employees. As a result, there are numerous performance issues, which slowdown the process of development. Lack of trust discourages employees from working effectively. Moreover, it may cause an increase in employee turnover rates, which means that the company will continue to lose its employees if it does not change its management strategy (Wright, Gardner & Moynihan, 2003). The whole nature of the issue means that the company does not take into account employee’s needs and requirements. It is a fact that lack of trust means that there is no recognition in the company. Employees have no goals, which could bring them to success and help them to move up the career ladder. Lack of trust is a serious issue arising from a poor motivational policy, which is not effective enough to help employees perform with outstanding efforts aimed to gain success.
2. McClelland’s motivation theory involves three kinds of needs, which create a comprehensive understanding of the nature of needs helping any manager to handle performance issues. These needs include a necessity of achievement, affiliation, and power (Braden, 2000). They explain the human side of any company, which takes an essential part in formulating an effective performance. Need for achievement is the primary aspiration of most employees willing to perform not only for the sake of success of the company but also for personal growth and development. Lack of trust means results from the company’s careless attitude towards recognition of its employees. It means that employees do not see any sense in working hard and performing at the highest level as long as they do not receive any appreciation from managers. Need for affiliation means that employees need to feel themselves as elements of the team. The company may face a lack of trust in teamwork when it does not take into account employee’s opinion. When employees feel that the company neglects their point of view, they tend to hide their ideas and thoughts. Teamwork cannot be effective when managers do not take decisions along with their subordinates. It results in a lack of trust, which prevents employees from effective performance. Need for affiliation explains why employees tend to separate from the company’s performance when they do not feel the company’s attention and care. Finally, need for power is another element, which is natural for every employee. Absence of delegation makes employee’s performance pointless. When a company does not delegate any tasks to its employees, it creates a sense that it does not trust them. It may become a serious problem for the company as long as employees have no need to gain success because the company would not trust them to move up the career ladder. Empowerment could become an effective element bringing both employees and the whole company to the new level of development and identity. However, absence of empowerment results in a lack of trust. Employees see no reason in performing with outstanding results, because the company does not trust them to complete difficult tasks.
3. McClelland’s theory not only perfectly explains the needs of employees but also helping the company build an appropriate motivational system, which will be flexible enough for the development of high-quality performance. In order to eliminate the lack of trust, it is necessary to take the following steps. First, it is important to make an effective reward system, which will recognize achievements of employees and encourage them to strive to be more successful. It will help employees to have the diversity of goals and plans, which will bring them success. In addition, the company should create a healthy competitive nature within a workplace, which will encourage all employees compete and strive to gain recognition from top management. Employee’s personal achievements mixed with company’s appreciation result in an increase of trust. Second, the company needs to fulfill employees’ need for affiliation. It is essential to build teamwork not only within subordinates but also along with top management. A company should show that there is enough equality in the performance process to show that all team members work hard for the sake of success achievement. It will not only add excitement to the routine work but will also contribute to the establishment of trusting relations between employees. Finally, the company needs to fulfill the need of power. Empowerment should become a mandatory element of the motivational system, which will delegate difficult tasks to the most successful employees. First, it ensures that employees have a chance to move up the career ladder. Second, it encourages them to work hard in order to prove that they are worth of recognition. Delegation is the source of cooperation between top management and subordinates leading to strengthening of corporate spirit, identity, and trust. Human prospect of the company’s performance means that is mandatory to pay attention to the needs of employees as long as they build an engine boosting the performance of the company.