Mba505 Business Psychology - Coaching Assessment Answers

Introduction

An applied science which makes investigation for the processes and methodologies for developing the effectiveness of the individuals and the business organization has been termed as the concept of business psychology (Thomas and Azmitia, 2014). Social scientific mechanisms are used for studying the individuals and workplaces for better alignment of their competing needs. Job satisfaction and dissatisfaction is one of the terms from this concept which has been described in the below presented reflective essay. Job satisfaction is one of the empirical components for an individual so as to perform and serve the business organization. An increased level of job satisfaction will tend the individual to serve with a higher level of productivity. And if the employee is dissatisfied then it will lead to lessening the performance and the productivity. The management in the business organization can make use of the number of motivational theories and approaches for offering the desired level of job satisfaction (Theabp 2017). The below presented reflective essay comprises of a brief description of job satisfaction and also concerning theories for the same. The report also consists of motivation theories which can be applied to the job performed by the individual within the corporation.

Job satisfaction and theories

On the basis of the execution of the research, I have observed that the term job satisfaction has been referred to one of the most researched elements in the field of organizational psychology. I also noticed that the term has been simply defined as “the pleasurable emotional state which has been experienced as a result from the appraisal of an individual’s job as the attainments of the values of the job”. After the further analysis, I also noted that job satisfaction plays an integral role in the workplace and the overall success. The further description comprises of the significance of job satisfaction in a business corporation:

On the basis of the report analyzed by Society for human resource management, employees rate respectful treatment of all the individuals as it is the most significant element in the job sab satisfaction. Trust between the workforce and the management is one of the prime and basic factors in the concept and this is due to the workplace uncertainty (Bisk 2017). Safety and security have been considered as one of the priority and is also one of the empirical elements in attaining job satisfaction. The employees will be working with more dedication if they will have a sense of safety and security. Moreover, I also observed that there are some approaches which clearly define the motivation of an individual and attainment of desired job satisfaction.

Hierarchy of needs is an appropriate theory which is also termed as Maslow’s need hierarchy theory. My personal analysis helped me to gain the knowledge of the theory which has been considered as the first theory to scrutinize the significant contributor to job satisfaction. This theory presents the human needs in a five-level hierarchical structure, which segmented in psychological needs, safety, belonging, esteem and self-actualization. And the following is the description of the same. I observed that the Maslow’s theory was developed for describing human motivation in a simpler sense. But the main components are applicable to work setting and also used for describing job satisfaction. Financial compensation and healthcare are considered as some of the basic benefits which are listed under the psychological needs. Physical safety in the working environment, as well as job security, is the main component of the next level that is Safety. Attainment of satisfaction in these levels will lead the individual to make an approach towards next level (McLeod 2017). The next hierarchy is love and belonging needs which consists of the friendship, trust, receiving and giving affection and love. The employees will be motivated if they will feel that they are important or a part of a group and fulfillment of these needs is very much significant for getting motivated. Esteem needs consists of the achievements, status, prestige, and leisure. According to the author’s analysis, I noted that the need of respect is very much important for the employees and also offers a great level of motivation (Jain and Kaur, 2014). The last level is of self-actualization needs which comprise of self-fulfillment or satisfaction, personal growth and high level of experiences.

I have selected the job profile of Operations manager. This position is of a senior role which involves monitoring and overseeing the production process and provision of services (Sharma, 2016).  One of the prime roles of the operations manager is to make sure that the organization is running and is also able in fulfilling the needs and requirements of the consumers and clients. As observed, the operations manager has broad roles and some specific set of responsibilities which vary from companies to companies. In general sense, the roles played are scrutinizing and analyzing the currently operated organizational system of production and offering the services. Monitoring of the effectiveness of the manufacturing process and development of strategies and also improvements required if any. Operations manager play an empirical in any of the business corporation (Totaljobs 2017). The management of the day-to-day activities, analysis of the statistical data and reports, reading and writing of reports are some of the routing functions which are required to be significantly played by the business corporation. Liaising with the other teammates is another operation which is required to be played efficiently, this role also consists of interacting with the superior authorities and managers of other departments, presenting the data to the stakeholders, providing training sessions to the new employed candidates and also tracing and tracking the performance level of the existing employees (Pinder, 2014). I have been working as an operations manager at BHP Billiton which is a leading resources company. The business entity is involved in extraction and processing minerals oil and gas. I have been working with the business corporation for last 2 years.

Motivation plays an empirical role for an employee and which leads to the contribution of organizational success (Miner, 2015). As such, I have noticed that the managerial staff or the managers require motivation. Motivated managers will lead the teams or the departments efficiently. There are multiple theories which can be adopted by the business corporations for motivating the managers for enhancing and advancing the performance and productivity. I have analyzed some of the theories and from the three significant approaches are described for motivating the managers (Haider et al., 2015).

The base of the equity theory is the principle of balance of equity According to this theory, the motivation of the managers is totally related to the perception of fairness, equity, and justice practiced by the management of the business corporation (Greenberg and Cohen, 2014). The motivation level will be greater if the perception of the individual is higher and it will be vice versa. In the evaluation process, the employee makes the comparison of the job inputs and outcomes and also compares the same with that of the other staff member.

The next theory which has been analyzed by me and found relevant for motivating the managers is Herzberg's two-factor theory. According to me, this theory has been observed to be the best-suited theory for providing motivation to the mangers (Pratkanis, Breckler and Greenwald, 2014). After conducting a survey, I observed that the two-factor theory of motivation is totally based mainly on two components such as motivation and satisfaction and these factors are held very much liable for stimulating the employees. The following presented is the description of the main components of the theory. Motivator factors are generally the factor motivates and leads to satisfaction and which are held liable in influencing the employees and motivating them to work harder. The best examples of this scenario can be getting appraisals, enjoying the work etc. These factors are considered as the basic components for serving a sense of satisfaction to the managers and are also considered as an integral part of the theory. The next component is hygiene factors are other basic elements which play an empirical role in the providing motivation and satisfaction to the managerial staff or the managers (Gayathiri et al., 2013). And I noted that if these factors are found to be absent then it may lead to dissatisfaction and a decline in the motivational level can be observed. In this scenario, the examples can be getting salary on time, policies of the company and benefits earned etc. I also analyzed that the motivator and hygiene factors both stimulate the motivation and these factors are also working completely independently.

The third theory which can be adopted for motivating the managers is expectancy theory. According to the analyzed report, Vroom’s expectancy theory predicts that behavior results from conscious choices among alternatives and the main objective of these alternatives are to maximize pleasure and minimize pain (Parijat and Bagga, 2014). The theory has been mainly focused on outcomes. On the basis of my survey, the theory states that the intensity of a tendency to perform a task is totally based on the intensity of an expectation that the performance will be followed by a definite outcome. The prime concern of the expectancy theory is that the employee’s motivation is a result of how much individual desires for a reward, the assessment that the likelihood that the effort will lead to expected performance and the belief that the performance will lead to rewards. In the simpler sense, valence is the term which is the significance and is related to the individual about the desired outcome. This is not the actual satisfaction which is expected by the individual after the attainment of the goals (Moradi, Shekarchizadeh and Nili, 2015). According to this theory, the term expectancy is the faith in the results, that the better outcomes will lead the individual towards better performance. Expectancy is stimulated by the factors such as possession of skills for performing the job, availability of appropriate resources, availability of crucial information, and getting the required support for completing the job. I also noticed that this theory offers a wide range of advantages such as the theory is based on the principle of self-interest of an individual and aids in the attainment of the maximum level of satisfaction and also minimize dis-satisfaction (Yusoff, Kian, and Idris, 2013). The theory is made concentrating on the expectations and predictions, what is real and actual is immaterial. Moreover, the focus is also given on rewards and payoffs offered to the individuals.

In the limelight of the above-executed analysis it has been inferred that motivation plays a crucial role in providing satisfaction to the employees. This leads to a hike in the level of interest and dedication towards the tasks and which will increase the performance level and productivity. And hence, motivation has been considered as one of the integral factors for an employee's performance. The above presented is a reflective essay which has been analyzed on the use of motivational theories for motivating the employees and managers. The essay comprises of the description of the concept of job satisfaction and also an appropriate theory should be suggested for the same. Moreover, three motivational theories are also presented for the role of operations manager. 

References

Bisk, 2017, How important is job satisfaction in today’s workplace, Assessed on 13^th December 2017, https://www.villanovau.com/resources/hr/importance-of-job-satisfaction-in-the-workplace/#.WjDvDnnhXIU.

Gayathiri, R., Ramakrishnan, L., Babatunde, S.A., Banerjee, A. and Islam, M.Z., 2013. Quality of work life–Linkage with job satisfaction and performance. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2(1), pp.1-8.

Greenberg, J. and Cohen, R.L. eds., 2014. Equity and justice in social behavior. Academic press.

Haider, M., Aamir, A., Hamid, A.A. and Hashim, M., 2015. A literature analysis on the importance of non-financial rewards for employees’ job satisfaction. Abasyn Journal of Social Sciences, 8(2), pp.341-354.

Jain, R. and Kaur, S., 2014. Impact of work environment on job satisfaction. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 4(1), pp.1-8.

McLeod, S, 2017, Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, Assessed on 13^th December 2017, https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html.

Miner, J.B., 2015. Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. Routledge.

Moradi, M., Shekarchizadeh, A.R. and Nili, M., 2015. Determination of Factors that Affecting on Motivation and Assessing their Impact on Employee Performance. Research Journal of Recent Sciences ISSN, 2277, p.2502.

Parijat, P. and Bagga, S., 2014. Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory of motivation–An evaluation. International Research Journal of Business and Management (IRJBM), 7(9), pp.1-8.

Pinder, C.C., 2014. Work motivation in organizational behavior. Psychology Press.

Pratkanis, A.R., Breckler, S.J. and Greenwald, A.G., 2014. Attitude structure and function. Psychology Press.

Sharma, D., 2016. An Exploratory Investigation of Impact of Perceived Cannibalization on Salesperson’s Trust, Commitment, Job Satisfaction, Job Performance and Relational Capital (No. WP2016-03-39). Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.

Theabp, 2017, What is business psychology, Assessed on 13^th December 2017, https://www.theabp.org.uk/about/what-is-business-psychology.aspx.

Thomas, V. and Azmitia, M., 2014. Motivation Matters: Development of a Short Form Measure of Solitude for Adolescents and Emerging Adults.

Totaljobs, 2017, Operations manager job description, Assessed on 15^th December 2017, https://www.totaljobs.com/careers-advice/job-profile/executive-jobs/operations-manager-job-description.

Yusoff, W.F.W., Kian, T.S. and Idris, M.T.M., 2013. Herzberg’s Two Factors Theory On Work Motivation: Does Its Work For Todays Environment. Global journal of commerce and Management, 2(5), pp.18-22.