20 Steps to Motivation without Money

http://www.biztrain.com/motivation/stories/20ways.htm

Many think the more money you offer an employee the happier they ‘ll be.  The above article gives ways to motivate employees without raising their pay.  Dave Worman has found 20 non-monetary steps to success.  I found this article to be very interesting because while growing up you always hear the phrase, “Money can’t buy you happiness.”  And until this article I wasn’t able to understand that. 

This article reminds me of the company Zappos, the company we addressed in class and from the text.  Zappos company focused on ways to keep the emploees motivated at work.  They had a fun environment which kept employees wanting to continue working there.  The above article finds ways to praise employees in was they will remember rather than with compensation, which will be forgotten. 

The progam impliminted is employees are provided with a catalog, price sheet and points checks.  Instead of awarding cash the employees are awarded equivelent points.  The points awarded are able to purchase vacation or gifts, things they would not be able to normally afford.  With this type of program it is recognizing positive reinforcment, which is positive behavior is met with positive consequences.

In the text it discusses the expectancy theory which is expectancy x instumentality  x valence.  One othe the 20 ways to motivate your employee is, career path.  This discusses that your employeeneeds to know what is ahead for them.  Worman states it is wise to promote within not saying this is the only way but if your employees do not feel like they will ever move up their motivation will decrease.  This is an examle of instrumentality, will my performance lead to outcomes and also valence, are the outcomes desirable. 

Another key point that I found very important and interesting was stress management was a key motivating factor.  This articles discusses that if recognizing and finding was to keep employees informed the company is looking out for the best interest of their employees.  In the text it discusses way to recognize and manage stress, time management, exercise and diet are some ways to manage it.  But this article helps with companies helping their employees, by offering seminars and encouraging employees to attend.  Also, Worman states to be as flexible throughout the day with breaks included for the employees. 

This article has so many ways to keep employees motivated and I found it to be very helpful.  Which of the 20 motivating non-monetary steps did you find to be universally helpful?  And/or helpful someone where you once worked?

~Apollonia Barrientos

Jack Welch at GE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuL2wu7j7vs

Jack Welch was the Chairman and CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 2001.

              

              In an interview held with Jack Welch, he expressed his opinions about GE and its core competency: the development of people. Welch states that any person that GE has a chance to reach their dream. He calls GE a ‘people factory’ rather than a plastic or engine factory. GE wants people that both are people that can sweat and dream. GE is a company where everyone sees everybody, it’s a transparent company. Welch also mentions that his job is to make better jobs. When the interviewer stated ‘Corporations only care about profits’, Welch had something to say. Welch mentioned that corporations are people, that corporations ‘sweat, bleed, hurt, and have families’, Corporations are not bricks and machines. Welch also states that the only thing a company can do is provide satisfied customers that make it successful, that all employees participate in.

                A term that was coined by Jack Welch was boundaryless organization. This is defined as an organization that elimates traditional barriers between departments as well as barriers between the organization and the external environment. This is made clear when Welch mentions that GE is a company where everyone can see everybody, meaning it’s easy to communicate and work with people in different levels or departments, especially when he calls GE ‘transparent’. Our book mentions several other types of boundaryless organizations such as modular organizations, strategic alliances, and learning organizations.

                I was also able to relate this interview with Jack Welch to the term People-Orientated Culture. Organizational Culture refers to a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that show employees what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Our book lists several different Organizational Culture profiles and typologies such as innovative culture, aggressive cultures, outcome-orientated cultures, stable cultures, and team-orientated cultures to name a few. Our book refers to people-orientated cultures as cultures that value fairness, supportiveness, and respect for individual rights. These cultures tend to have the saying ‘people are their greatest asset’, which is supported when Welch states that corporations are people, not bricks and buildings. It is also related when Welch states that GE’s core competency is the development of people. It is easy to see that GE cares about it’s employees and values them.

                How important do my fellow team members believe a company's culture is to a company? Do you believe this relates to a person-organization fit? What could some potential problems be if the employee does not have a good person-organization fit?

-Lauren Brooks

Ikea not using wood pallets anymore.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/ikeas-challenge-to-the-wooden-shipping-pallet-11232011.html




For five decades wood has been used to make a pallet in order for companies to ship supplies of all sorts.  Recently Ikea has chosen to replace their wooden pallets with a paper variant that is much lighter, thinner, and according to the company cheaper to use.  As pictured above, on the left is a picture of a wooden pallet that weighs approximately 55 pounds, and the paper variant one on the left weighs approximately 5.5 pounds, but the life span of the paper pallet is only one trip.  Ikea sends inventory all over the world to 287 stores in 26 countries.  They will cut their transport costs by 10 percent and these cardboard pallets can support 1.650 pounds which is the same as a wooden one.  Also for Ikea weather is not an issue because their pallets don't sit outside for any extended period of time.  Therefore the cardboard will not get wet and fall apart.

The pallets will be made on site by Ikea's 1,200 global suppliers and will only be used once and then they will be recycled.  Ikea plans that this process will be a start in making our transportation systems better and smarter and the freight will be compacted.  I believe the outcome of this in the long run will be positive.  I also believe that Ikea is trying to practice sustainable business practices.  This is defined as practices that meet current needs of businesses without compromising the needs of future generations.  Ikea is trying to make things easier and less costly for their company now, but it also applies to future employees and also the next generation.  Hopefully using the cardboard and being able to recycle them will allow for more "going green."

Ikea is also performing an organizational change; the movement of an organization from one state of affairs to another.  The article doesn't state how long this change has been in the works; but this is a process that will take over pretty quickly.  Ikea will completely switch over to the paper variant pallets on January 1st.  The best way change can happen is letting go of the old ways and adjusting to whatever new is implemented.  In my personal opinion it won't be too difficult to switch over to new pallets for employees.  There will be some explaining and learning that will need to take place because these new pallets have to be stacked a certain way, but overall it will be pretty easy.  I am unsure as to how employees will take to this change.  I would assume it will not cause any negative feelings about job satisfaction or organizational commitment.  This change is a good one in my opinion.

What do you guys think about Ikea switching their pallets?  Will the employees have any negative effects?  Will Ikea's idea work or do you think they should stay with the wood pallets?  Possibly find another material to use besides wood and cardboard?

Tara Tolomeo

Discovering Leadership Blind Spots

http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/sep2009/ca2009091_828190.htm?chan=careers_managing+your+team+page_top+stories


Believe it or not, employees thrive and derive their actions from managers and supervisors. If a leader in an organization demands things from their employees that they do not perform themselves they cannot expect employees to comply. Employees will have a harder time taking rules set in place seriously because "the best" of them (managers) do not follow them either, so why should we?

Consequences that arise and easily be defused by a simple "I never see you do any tasks on this list, why should I do all the work?" Even if employees are not as bold to utter those words, it may reside in their thoughts and their actions will eventually coincide with these thoughts unconsciously. Managers need to be sure they are setting good examples for employees to follow. Yes, everyone is human and yes we all forget and have flaws but intentional laziness should be unacceptable in the workplace, especially by managers.

Hard working managers make employees work harder and ultimately helps to build a strong team. This quote from the article stuck out to me the most because I find so much truth in it on a daily basis. "And only the most confident leaders are willing to surround themselves with people who will point out what they're doing wrong—and be rewarded for their honesty. More often, everyone is forced to endure the boss' weaknesses in silence." Again, this brings stronger individuals to the job to constitute constant growth. When the boss' weakness is dealt with in silence it sometimes says there is a fear present that if someone points out the flaw they will be punished. Because of this an organization's growth may be stifled. Leaders should recognize their blind spots to assist in moving an organization and its people forward. This has a bigger impact than people realize.

This article talks about how to better recognize "blind spots" and small ways to deal with them. This is something that could seriously impact an organization because its success depends on the will, drive and motivation of not only its employees but its top employees, leaders (managers, supervisors, and head personnel).

Raymi Smith

"6 ways to Stress Less At Work"

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2011/6-ways-to-stress-less-at-work/

I found this article super interesting because stress at work is something we all experience. There are a number of things that could affect us throughout a day yet it seems to all hit us when we clock in. Sometimes we deal with things that cannot be avoided, sometimes the stress IS work itself.  This article opened six main steps for managing stress in the work place. It caught my eye because in the text book (chapter 7), we can also find steps to managing stress. I was anxious to see how these things compared.

 The first step says to "take care of yourself". There are plenty of times people are so busy and full of worry and stress that they forget to nourish their own bodies. I think this is important because without a healthy body how can any work be done? Mental health strongly relates to physical health and often times people neglect this finding.

The other steps were not completely the same as the text however they still seemed really helpful. Everyone deals with stress differently so a variety of solutions is always good. This article primarily deals with focusing your mental state to a better place instead of  consistently thinking of the pressing issues.  However, it is true that one cannot run from their problems, they should eventually face them and pluck them at their root. Keeping a healthy surrounding is important also!

Check the article out, hope it enlightens and adds to your list of dealing with life's stresses!

*Raymi Smith*

Core & Convenience Benefits to help reduce stress

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjTZF19jBs8

After reading a few articles on the best companies to work for, SAS seemed to be a company that was on almost every list. SAS is in the high-end analytics business, where they help businesses optimize their business processes by selling their software to businesses. SAS’s culture is focused on creating an environment that promotes innovation and creativity. One of SAS’s main goals is to reduce distractions at work so employees can better focus on their work. In doing this, SAS offers its employees both core and convenience benefits. SAS offers core benefits to its employees such as medical, dental, disability, and 401K plans like many other businesses. But what sets SAS apart from other companies is its convenience benefits.  SAS offers benefits such as a recreation fitness facility, onsite health care that is free of charge to employees and their families, onsite daycare service that is primarily paid for by SAS, and a worklife center that provides programs to employees that support areas such as elder care, parenting, and financial and debt management. SAS claims that they provide these convenience benefits to make life easier, keep their employees happy, healthy, and more productive.

SAS’s CEO, Jim Goodnight talks about how when SAS employees are motivated and are in a good environment, they produce better software. He mentions a triangular situation between employees, customers and the company, where happy employees guarantee happy customers, and happy customers guarantee a happy company. Goodnight states how the company has set a 35 has set a 35-hour work week since the beginning of the company in 1976. He believes this is good for employees and that this provides a better life-style, not having a formal clock-in and clock-out  system. He believes in looking at the overall work/life balance combination.

SAS’s Senior Software Developer, Rick Langston, mentions how software development is 100 percent mental, and one must keep the mind sharp. He mentions that one must work with as much convenience as one can, and have the proper environment that is conducive to that type of development. Langston mentions how he can set the times he comes and leaves from work, and how he can also work from home when he needs to.  

This video segment on SAS reflects a lot of terms and concepts mentioned in Bauer and Erdogen’s “Organizational Behavior”, Chapter 7 ‘Managing Stress and Emotions’.  The chapter mentions the term, stressors, being events and contexts that cause a stress reaction by elevating levels of adrenaline and forcing a physical or mental response. With SAS’s convenience benefits, and the emphasis SAS puts on the proper environment, stressors are a factor SAS tries to keep employees from having. Also, the term Work-family conflict, meaning when the demands from one’s work and family are negatively affect one another. SAS tries to reduce this by having an on-site daycare service. Also, with the worklife center, employees are able to receive help regarding family or parenting issues. The last term that stood out to me was Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), which is defined as programs that are often offered to workers as an adjunct to a company-provided health care plan. This definition reminds me of SAS’s worklife program especially, as well as many of its convenience benefits.

SAS as a company definitely goes above and beyond when it comes to its employees. With SAS offering such an excellent program such as its worklife program, are there other ways that companies can be sure their employees are kept at the perfect stress level? Do you believe it is just as important for employees to manage their stress as it is for companies to help with employees manage their stress? 

-Lauren Brooks

Workplace Fun

http://www.leadingtoday.org/Onmag/feb03/ju-feb03.html


As we grow up we learn when and where it is appropriate to have fun and when we should be serious.  When growing up many of us think and have been told work is a place to be professional. We notice our parents and family members coming back stressed about work.  


In the above link Jody Urquhart discusses how "People who are in good spirits are more likely to be productive." Not only does having a good spirit allow one to be more productive but it attracts profit and people.  In a business you not only want your employees to love what they do but you want them to draw in others to your company to help increase the success of your company.  


What interested me the most about this article was the break down of how fun helps productivity, along with the question Jody ask about one's company.  These questions help identify if a company has "terminal seriousness."  Also, how laughter benefits individuals not only at work but in their health.  


A large majority of this article discusses steps to creating a fun workplace.  What interested me the most was, "Organize a “Fun Committee” for dreaming up fun “stuff” to do during and after work." To have a committee to organize fun in a company would be fun and different.  I wonder how many companies have this? Have you ever heard of anything like this? When reading the 31 ways to have fun at work I noticed one idea that to me seemed contradictory, " Charge late employees a small fine like $5, which goes to fun activities"  I would think this would make employees more anxious in the morning and could potentially start there day off poorly.  While the idea has a good outcome but its almost like a punishment which many do not like to have at work.  


~Apollonia Barrientos