Research Of Employee Motivation And Rganisational Culture On The Example Of Wienerberger Uk Ltd
This work based portfolio is set in two parts using a case study of the authors current working environment across three separate sites at Wienerberger UK LTD; part one will look at the employee motivation and part two will focus on organisational culture. It will lead with providing background information regarding the case study and throughout each section it will provide definitions of the main concepts used within the portfolio. The main body of the portfolio will seek to gain an understanding of the main theories which influence both organisational culture and employee motivation and look at the social, political and economic factors that contribute to both. It sets out to critically evaluate relevant theory and where applicable link this to practice to allow for a deeper understanding of the chosen workplace. The critical analysis of Weinberger’s culture and employee motivation will assist in highlighting areas of improvement within the organisation which can then be developed into a set of competencies which will aid in the development of the chosen sites. Furthermore it will summarise the main challenges that the organisation and its employees face when working in an environment which presents as challenging in relation to culture and motivation. It will conclude by summarising the main findings to highlight the significance of maintaining both a positive culture and the importance of positive employee motivation has for both employees and the organisation.
Part One: Employee Motivation
What work means to people can determine how much energy they are willing to expend whilst at work. What motivates a person is and will always be bound to the individual but this can be influenced positively and negatively by the work the individual does, their peers and the working environment. Motivation in its simplest form is a reason for doing something. People can be motivated when it is expected that through their doing they can accomplish and through this accomplishment receive reward. In all aspects of life, this reward should directly or indirectly satisfy a particular need. For a person to be well motivated, clearly defined goals and reward need to be understood for them to focus their efforts.
Within business, the person becomes an employee but the theory remains the same. Without clearly defined tasks, goals and reward; a business cannot expect to gain the best efforts of an employee and thus not achieve the best possible outcomes within a strategy. A business which has harnessed this and successfully motivated its employees has a greater chance of survival as motivated employees are more productive. Within a business, those in managerial positions need to understand what motivates its employees and be adaptable to the context of the roles they perform. Motivating employees is one of the most complex functions a manager is required to perform.
Motivation is key for a business to be successful. Without motivation, a workforce can easily become inefficient and thus productivity suffers. Absenteeism is one form of inefficiency and can be from missing entire days of work to wasting time during work hours, for example taking personal phone calls or having long conversations with colleagues not related to work. It also presents itself in the form of lateness and often partnered with levels of care an employee takes within their role. It could also cause disruption within employees, creating an environment of gossip and negatively challenging company policies, procedures and strategy.
One of the most damaging aspects poor motivation can affect is creativity. Without the lack of creativity or innovation, in all sectors of an industry, progress will stall and a business become less successful than if creativity was harnessed through motivation. Employee motivation within Wienerberger is an area which requires improvement. At present the business experiences, year on year, an average of 10% turnover of staff. With 1, 200 employees this is a major loss and cost to the business. Across the company, many of the sites have employees with lengthy employment dating back 10-40 years. The main staff turnover comes from two key areas within the business; the factory production environment and roles in which newly graduated professionals. Within the factory production environment, the nature of the business can be difficult and daunting to younger generations entering the business. There is a clear divide between an ageing workforce and the younger generations replacing these employees. The company statistics, which include exit interview data, often depict the long working hours and nature of the manufacturing environment as key areas that can cause an employee to leave the business. When the average earnings are compared to direct competitors, Wienerberger UK is significantly lower and it can be deduced that this lack of remuneration causes the high turnover of staff within this sector.
Newly graduated professionals seeking work experience makes Wienerberger UK an attractive venture. The access to a managerial or degree related position rapidly obtained upon graduation provides crucial experience. This also allows the business to remain current with new work practises, systems and processes coming through the education system. However, as with the production sector, with lower salaries than direct competitors or companies which employee similar roles, Wienerberger UK can be construed as a ‘stepping stone’ company for industry professionals. It can be presumed through these statistics that Wienerberger UK needs to address these two areas for improvement to reduce their staff turnover within the two demographics. Research suggests that the cost of a high staff turnover can be significant to a business. Not in just financial cost but also time, effort and productivity whilst training new members of staff.
The research to fully understand what motivates employees and how employees can and are motivated has been refined to several main theories; these have led to our understanding of motivation. The theories are McClelland’s Achievement Need theory, Maslow's need-hierarchy theory, Herzberg's Motivator Hygiene theory, Expectancy theory, Equity theory, and Skinner's reinforcement theory. McClelland’s Achievement Need Theory states that some people who have a compelling drive to succeed are striving for personal achievement rather than the rewards of success these people have the desire to do something better or more efficiently than it has been done before. The theory focuses on three needs: achievement, power, and affiliation. The need for achievement was defined as the drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive to succeed. The need for power was defined as the need to make others behave in a way that they would not have behaved otherwise. The need for affiliation was defined as the desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships. Achievement theories propose that motivation and performance vary according to the strength of one’s need for achievement.
Maslow Need-hierarchy Theory states that employees ultimately have five levels of needs. These are physiological, security, affiliation, esteem and Self-actualisation. Maslow theorised that all lower level needs have to be satisfied before sequential higher levels could be met and further motivation. Furthermore, Maslow describes how imperative managerial actions are when applying the hierarchy theory. He states “Managers have the responsibility to create a proper climate in which employees can develop to their fullest potential. Failure to provide such a climate would theoretically increase employee frustration and could result in poorer performance, lower job satisfaction, and increased withdrawal from the organization”. Maslow recommends that it is crucial for a manager to determine a system in which employees are motivated through practises aimed at satisfying emerging or unmet needs. On a larger scale, Maslow suggests that organisations as a whole should implement the systems of support for employees regarding issues such as stress. This would allow further understanding of the needs of employees, especially during more challenging times.
Herzberg Two-Factor Theory defined motivation into two factors; motivators and hygiene. Herzberg theorised that hygiene factors such a job security or incomes produce job dissatisfactions. Motivating factors produce job satisfaction and present themselves as recognition for good work and achievements within the workplace.
Vroom Expectancy Theory in essence states that employee efforts lead to performance and that performance will lead to reward. Whether these rewards are positive or negative depend on the factors described within Maslow’s, Herzberg’s, Adams’ and Skinner’s theories. It can be assumed that a positive reward will increase motivation within an employee. Conversely, a negative reward is likely to demotivate employees.
Adams' Equity Theory states that employees endeavour to achieve equity amongst themselves and other employees. It goes on to state that equity is achieved when the ratio of employee outcomes over inputs is equal to other employee outcomes over inputs. It has been revisited and proposes that individuals who perceive themselves as either under rewarded or over rewarded will experience distress, and that this distress leads to efforts to restore equity.
When looking at behaviour within a business, Skinner’s reinforcement theory is quite simple in its theory. Skinner states that positive outcomes from an employee’s behaviour will be repeated whilst negative outcomes will not. With this in mind, it is therefore the duty of the managers and business to ensure that all employee behaviours which result in positive outcomes are positively reinforced. At the same time equal effort should be made my managers to negatively reinforce behaviours leading to negative outcomes. When reflecting on the main theories and what their core themes dictate, a conclusion can be made upon the reoccurring factors. Although the different working environments and organisational cultures will impact the employee, some factors remain the same and acting upon these to ensure they are met would theoretically have a positive effect on employee motivation. The working environment is a key factor in employee motivation. Within the theories it can be seen that employees prefer a productive, welcoming, respectful, clean and safe working environment. This is an area that Wienerberger revamped in 2011 with the launch of the process improvement programme plus. Within this programme the business set clear standards for the working environments provided. With a uniformed standard across the business, not only has an increase in productivity been noted but positive results through employee engagement have increased year on year.
Development for an employee can be a major motivator throughout their career. Studies show that a business can harness motivation easily through providing an employee with opportunities of advancement and personal development. This could be by allowing employees to function in environments that offer challenges, provides learning opportunities, be able to the success of an organisation. Upon this success suitable reward should be given, this could take many forms but should always be positive to ensure further motivation. This further motivation could present itself in an employee seeking additional responsibilities through the feeling and evidence of competence harnessed and enabled by managers and the organisation. Within Wienerberger UK, it only recently developed a managerial apprenticeship scheme in 2018 to supply its managerial requirements in the future. It also is lacking in apprentices at a factory level to replace its ageing workforce. To be able to self-supply the business in the future, further investment and understanding will need to be given rather than depending on personnel in-which have developed themselves or left another business. Those in managerial and leadership roles are imperative to employee motivation. Without their coaching and teaching, the development of their employees would rely solely of the effort exerted for self-development by the employee.
As stated above, development is a major motivator and giving employees their time, managers and leaders and can positively influence an employee to ensure an organisations goals and objectives are met through the chosen strategy. The needs of an employee should be just as significant to a business as it is to the employee. If an employee’s needs have been met both at work and in their social life due to their work, the business can expect to get the most from each individual. The work based needs have been covered within the other factors of this conclusion. When determining the social needs of an employee, the individual, their family, and cultural values need to be taken into consideration. To further elaborate, the current and desired economic and political environments have to be factored in. For example, a business needs to adjust the employee’s earnings to reflect inflation. An employee’s social status and career aspirations can be major for the individual; their need to balance career, family, education, community, religion, and other factors; such as the satisfaction with the current and desired state of their lives can be a crucial motivator.
Moralistically and through UK law it is understandable that employees expect to be treated and rewarded without prejudice in relation to their gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age and disability. However, a business should look to reward employees who perform at a higher level and increased effort than those who provide a lower output or perform below expectations. Ultimately, an employee’s efforts and performance at any given level can be influenced by their individual goals but can be furthered through set objectives and goals set out by a company strategy. When this is achieved and an employee is rewarded accordingly, this would again further a higher level of performance and effort.
Part Two: Organisational CultureOrganisational culture is seen as highly complex and multi-faceted, having to gain an insight into not only the organisation but also the sociological factors relating to the people who work for the organisation (Potter and McCalman, 2015). Culture is a very broad term encompassing social deviations and patterns however often lacking an insight into why these form. Identification of theorist later on in the portfolio will allow understanding of culture within Weinberger UK LTD. Frost et al (1985) provides a very broad definition of the concept culture which is holistic in nature, he states that ‘Talking about organisational culture seems to mean talking about the importance for people of symbolism – or rituals, myths, stories and legends- and about the interpretation of events, ideas, and experiences that are influenced and shaped by the groups in which they live’. Despite being broad in nature, this definition failed to be inclusive of behaviour patterns and practices.
Schein (1984) provides a definition which is more focused on the cognitive components of culture summarising that culture is groups that have discovered and developed ways of learning, accounting for internal and external factors that that been successful. This in turn then leads the way for this new method to be passed onto newer members of the group. However this definition on its own comes across as a very positivist view point on culture, not taking into account that culture on its own can also have a negative effect on organisations. Organisational culture is said to be significant in the growth, development and successfulness of any organisation. The importance of having an understanding on this concept is stressed throughout the literature due to being fundamental in leading and developing change. The culture within an organisation can impact at every employee level affecting their job satisfaction and their ability to learn and develop therefore having an overall effect on the profitability of the organisation. It is stated that organisational culture is more fundamental to the successfulness of a company than the product and process technology, access to markets and economies of scale. However this does not imply that culture is the only leading factor to producing success, but a contributing factor. Therefore the importance of creating a positive culture within any organisation is fundamental. This positive culture needs to be maintained at all organisation levels from senior managers relationships with other employees and the direct customer interface.
Wienerberger (2018) touches upon culture at an organisational level within it Human Resources Guidelines. However this document focuses on culture in relation to equality and diversity, and fails to recognise the term culture on a larger scale. It appears as though Wienberger UK LTD within this document share a very narrow view of culture, not acknowledging the more holistic views which are often shared. Organisational behaviour directly influences a company image both positively and negatively. It is said to be crucial within both management practice and theory. Many theories on organisational behaviour are seen to be outdated and therefore lack the rigour needed to use them to gain an understanding into modern day organisations.
Jackson and Carter (2007) go on further to state that a major revelation in recent times was the recognition of semiotics, which was often not factored into the earlier behaviour management theories. Semiotics does not only encompass visual symbols but also sees both unintentional and intentional language both spoken and body language as symbolism. Thus putting semiotics as an important factor when thinking about organisational behaviour. Having an awareness of semiotics within a large organisation is paramount due to its role in instilling a positive organisational behaviour. With Weinberger UK LTD being a large worldwide company, semiotics will vary due to a vast array of working environments. Using semiotics allows for patterns in behaviours and group identity to be interpreted. Due to the nature of semiotics, the symbols must be interpreted as these cannot be quantified, often being perceived differently from individual to individuals. When using semiotics to study organisational behaviour it should not be used in isolation due to its subjectivity.
Human Resource Management summarises how an organisation can utilise its employees to be the most productive and well equipped workforce by the production of policies and systems. Due to the nature of the business economic factors influence the organisation continuously. These are often looked at the driving influences within organisations as these often govern/affect supply and demand of products. Weinberger’s supply of construction materials greatly relies on the economy and how much individuals and larger/nationwide/worldwide companies are investing in infrastructure. Therefore it is paramount within Weinberger that the organisational culture is one that is responsive and adaptable. However this needs to be factored into the culture created within the organisation, as the team needs to be flexible at all times. In order to influence the organisation to adopt a positive organisational culture it is important to consider the type of leadership that would be needed in order to assist in the human resource management.
The X and Y theory focuses on motivation, behaviour and management to drive change, describing two contrasting models of motivating workforce. Theory X leaders use an authoritarian style of management, micromanaging people to ensure completion of tasks, assuming that your team dislikes their work and have little motivation. The Y leaders advocate empowerment of individuals, surmising that people take pride in their own work and need support, trust and participatory management to be effective. Research shows that Y leaders often have a workforce who feel that they work in an environment where they feel nurtured, listened too and appreciated. Within Weinberger UK LTD it has been observed that many of the managers utilise Theory X in managing staff due to being very task focused, thus resulting in a team which lacks motivation and dedication. Many of the managers within Weinberger are in managerial positions due to experience and time with the company, rather than having qualifications in management theory, this could be the causal effect of the poor management style that they adopt. This resonates through the business as production and sales remain the key performance indicators used for all employees entitled to the bonus scheme. It can be theorised that, with these KPI’s taken into consideration, that the theory X based style of management is not only tolerated but engrained deep within the way Wienerberger UK operates. It can therefore be presumed that organisational culture within Wienerberger would improve if the business in its entirety adopted theory Y into their management style and strategies. Employee relations refer to the relationship between employees and their employers, these can either be individually or collectively in order to achieve set goals of an organisation.
This relationship can be dependent on many factors including the management style that people wish to adopt. This relationship is usually governed by policies and procedures to ensure that this is standardised across the company. It is said that a positive relationship can improve the effectiveness of a business and contribute to improving employee wellbeing. Employee relations are a contributing factor to creating a positive organisational culture. Due to the nature of Wienerberger UK LTD being geographically spread out across the UK and internationally the relationship between the author and the employee is divided. Due to this division it is difficult to form and maintain a relationship with the employer, often becoming reliant on other longer serving members of the individual sites for advice and support. Knoben and Oerlemans (2006) support this with stating that social proximity and close relations can increase learning and collaboration, with physical distance being a major influencing factor when employees do not feel supported. Employee relations are based on many factors, not only the individuals’ ability to utilise social elements, but also taking into consideration the political, legal and economic factors.
Employee relations within the Wienerberger are summarised in a vast array of their policies as this subject matter needs to be taken into account on all levels of the organisation. It is imperative that this is addressed in policy documents in order for action to be taken if this fails to be established between employers and their employees. Ensuring that policies are followed is vital in ensuring employee relations are maintained this is carried out through management, Luke (1974) defined power as multi-dimensional with his third dimension of power being entrenched in exploring power in the modern world with complex organisations, . More recently the contribution that employees can have to organisations has been recognised reporting that they will be able to contribute to improvement and innovation however this is dependent on employee engagement.
Within Wienerberger UK, employee engagement surveys are conducted each year. This is completed on all UK operational sites and provides and in-depth view of how the organisational culture is perceived by the employees; whilst also offering details on areas which require improvement. The business collates this data through the HR department and it is then presented to areas of focus to the UK board. Wienerberger UK acts quickly to show employees their commitment to rectifying any remedial actions. This is to further strengthen engagement within the companies’ organisational culture
In conclusion upon reviewing the theories of employee motivation and statistical data for Wienerberger UK, it can be seen that the business should focus their attentions on some of the basic employee needs to gain better productivity from their employees and reduce the high staff turnover. On a production level this includes providing the factory staff with earnings that are competitive with the company’s direct competition. The business also needs to invest heavily into the training and development of existing employees and providing a culture in which motivation is created through reward. Furthermore the organisational culture within Wienerberger needs to be better suited to empowering employees to succeed in their roles as this is proven to make organisations more successful rather than solely focusing on key performance indicators and micromanagement. Both of these in turn work together as employee motivation greatly impacts on the organisational culture within the chosen workplace. However within Wienerberger common practices, leadership styles, human resource management and employee relations need to be standardised in order to fully utilise its employees within the worldwide company.
