Managing Employees

Question

Research paper is an argumentative essay, which means that you will be taking a position on an issue about a topic and arguing for that position. Your position on an issue is called a thesis statement/arguable claim. Without such a thesis statement in the essay’s introduction, the essay has no focus. In the body of your essay, you will be building a case for your position. Building a case involves supporting your arguments with documented research material

Sample paper

Managers all over the world can agree that more efficiency and productivity are demanded in this century than ever before in history. Businesses are working towards increasing performance in order to achieve growth. Managers have to overcome numerous challenges in order to gain competitive advantage over other companies in the industry. The advancement in technology hassled to the innovation of efficient techniques of operation. However, as the technologies continue to evolve, managers are encountering more challenges since there maybe the need to increase the number of employees with technical and professional skills. Nowadays, the fortune 500 companies are adopting different management strategies in order to stand out and more importantly to remain at the top. Managers are expected to be leaders. This means that they do not just delegate duties and exercise authority. They participate and lead the employees to increase the productivity of each one of them. Managing employees can be done through employee motivation, employee engagement, adopting good leadership skills and equipping employees with knowledge and skills (Moffett).

The greatest asset of a company is its workforce. Companies that are investing more in their employees are realizing extreme growth. The old styles of management cannot be used to manage the knowledge employees. Their expectations range from status, operational autonomy to job satisfaction. This is the main reason why managers are shifting their attention to the employees as a way of growing the company. Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) and employee commitment are concepts that began to rise in the twentieth century. These concepts are based on the fact that within employees’ commitment and ability lays efficiency and productivity. Managers have a responsibility to ensure that employees are fully focused on their jobs. Employers have come to appreciate that the foundation of a productive and efficient workforce is employee engagement. When management proposes any initiatives that can propel an organizational higher they are only fruitful when employees are involved and engaged fully.

Employee engagement ensures that the productivity of each one of them is maximized in order to increase the revenue generated. Regardless of the size of the company, market focus or technology, issues of employee retention are still challenging in order to overcome this, positive and strong relationships between employees and their managers should be built and managed. Human capital is the most vital part of an organization and they should be persuaded and influenced to increase performance. Companies need to focus on different management strategies in order to gain competitive advantage and achieve their goals and objectives. There are still a few organizations that do not believe that proper and efficient management of employees will increase a company’s objectives. Until an organization satisfies and motivates its employees, they will likely fail to fulfill their tasks and achieving the goals of the organization will become harder. The focus of this research is to show how organizations can achieve success and effectiveness through employee motivation and engagement. Although there are other factors that propel an organization higher, managing employees effectively is proving to be an essential element of success.

Among economic, financial and human resources, there are other aspects that are more essential in giving a company competitive edge. Some of the factors that enhance employee performance include employee satisfaction, training and development, employee motivation, job security, performance appraisals, compensation, and organization structure among others. A good manager will invest in their employees by constantly being a source of motivation as a way of influencing their performance. A motivated employee is focused on meeting personal and organizational goals by fully directing their efforts in the right direction. Many research projects have confirmed that motivation pushes an organization towards success since provoking employees ensures that they are constantly looking for ways to improve their work practices. It is therefore important that an organization manages employees by influencing them positively and appreciating their contribution. Employees portray the values and beliefs of an organization. The achievement and fulfillment of an organization’s goals and objectives is heavily dependent on how employees are managed (Manzoor).

There is immense competition and pressure for every organization to be competitively relevant in their industry. Changes, developments and innovations are increasing daily and it is essential that every organization that is fixated on success to ensure that it is easy to keep up. This means that employees are expected to give their best under very strenuous circumstances. This can be challenging if the relationship between employees and their seniors is strained. Motivated employees who have a sense of belonging can be counted to always keep the organization on toes with its competition. According to Audrey Choi, the most competitive and successful companies are not those that are focused on creating money but those that focus on sustainability facts such as employee motivation, environmental and social issues. This is because they set themselves apart from the beginning which makes customers and investors drawn to them. By the end of the day, they generate more profit than those companies that are not focused on making differences (Choi).

Every employee wants to earn a reasonable pay for their contribution. The most fundamental and effective method of employee appreciation is through financial compensation. No other motivation technique can measure up to money and how effective it can be to influence employees positively. Financial compensation has the supremacy to magnetize, maintain and motivate employees to achieve higher performance. Research has established that employee satisfaction can positively improve the performance of employees. Management should use rewards as a management tool to achieve effectiveness through influencing the behavior of individuals and groups. Most organizations use pay, bonuses, promotion, and other types of rewards in order to push employees towards higher productivity. Using salaries as the motivating factor require managers to adopt salary structures that include the importance the organization attaches on each job, performance, pensions, and fringe benefits, special and personal allowances among others.

Leadership entails doing things the right way. In order to have employees trust and follow a leader and the organization, they should be motivated. There are countless theories that imply that leaders and their employees raise and motivate each other to higher levels. Motivation stems from wanting to do the right thing to the organization. A successful leader will adopt motivation as an active process towards the growth of the company. In addition, empowerment is also a big source of motivation that benefits the organization and the employees. This creates a win- win connection between employees and organizations. This is an ideal environment for all the stakeholders involved. Vital human capacities tend to flourish faster and effectively through empowerment. Empowered employees tend to focus on their jobs and any work that has additional importance. Employees will be naturally drawn to situations that will lead to constant progress. When they are empowered, employees execute their thoughts and novelties with delight, enthusiasm and a sense of belonging which will eventually lead to increased performance. The result of empowerment is having responsible and accountable employees who prefer to focus on the organization’s benefits rather than their own. In addition to empowerment trust goes a long way in ensuring an organization’s success

Trust is an important aspect in managing employees. Employees want to trust their seniors and have their seniors trust them that they will effectively handle the tasks assigned to them. The slightest sign of mistrust can have adverse effects on an organization’s success. Knowing that they can trust and can be trusted is enough motivation for employees. Trust determines the strength of relationships between managers, their employees and other relationships outside the organization. It is therefore important to understand the effects of motivation on an organization’s success. No matter the resources an organization has, high productivity is highly dependent on the level of employee motivation. Workers can be trained in order to improve their effectiveness. Therefore, a good manager will know how to manage employees to benefit the organization and also give them a chance for their careers to grow. Unappreciated employees have a negative outlook on their job and other things in general. It is therefore difficult for them to deliver their best especially if they are made to feel like their contribution does not matter. Managing employees efficiently ensures sustainable growth to the organization and gives it a unique competitive edge. Different but an equally effective way of managing employees is employee engagement.

Employee engagement is an aspect that is interwoven with the success of an organization. Research has shows that there is a strong relationship between employee engagement and performance outcomes such as productivity, employee retention, safety, profitability and consumer loyalty. In addition to this, engaged employees increase their employer’s chance to achieve revenue growth that is above the industry average. Double digit companies are known to engage their employees fully which explains why they register remarkable growth. When employees are fully engaged, achieving consumer satisfaction becomes easier. There three general behaviors portrayed by an engaged employee. Firstly, an employee acts as an advocate for the organization to fellow co-workers and the outside world. In addition, the employee refers potential customers and employees to the organization. Secondly, the employee is focused on remaining an employee in that organization despite the fact that there are other job opportunities elsewhere. Finally, the employee strives to contribute to the organization’s success by working extra hours, taking initiative and dedicating more effort to the job.

When employees are not engaged, they end up wasting their talents, time and effort that could otherwise be useful to the organization. In addition, they settle and they are not fully committed to improve their performance. They do not undertake challenging initiatives which means that the opportunities to grow are minimized. Lack of engagement does not keep employees around since every employee wants to work for the best organization where their skills and efforts are needed. This leads to employees leaving the company for any opportunity that seems better than what is already available. In addition, customer satisfaction in organizations that have low employee engagement levels is barely achieved (Markos and Sridevi 1-8).

There are various strategies that managers can apply in order to ensure that they engage their employees to the maximum.

Start it on day one- managers should carry out effective recruitment to ensure they have the best talent. Coupled with orientation programs, effective recruiting is the foundation that should be laid on an employee’s first day.
Start it from the top- leadership commitment is essential for establishing the mission, vision and values of an organization. Unless the top executive believe, own and pass it down to managers and employees, employee engagement might not be easily achieved. Enhancement of leadership should be encouraged so as to make employee engagement a reality. It means a lot to the employees when their leaders lead by example.

Two-way communication- managers should encourage communication. Employees should have a chance to give their opinions before the management arrives at a decision. There should clarity and consistency about what is expected of employees. Participative decision making portrays power sharing and makes employees have a sense of belonging.

Give opportunities for advancement and development- independent thinking should be encouraged and once employees understand their job autonomy, they should have the freedom to decide how to execute their work. Leaders should manage using results rather than manage every single process.
Providing resources- managers should ensure that all the resources required by the employees are available. These resources include physical, financial, material, and information among others that enhance effectiveness.
Provide training- this would enable employees to be up to date with what is required in their fields. Trainings give employees a chance to gain knowledge and sharpen their skills. When employees are more conversant with their jobs, their confidence increases and their can perform their duties under minimum supervision.

Have a strong feedback system- a performance management system should be developed to show the level of engagement of managers and employees. This is to ensure that everyone is accountable. Regular employee engagement surveys should be conducted to single out factors that enable employee engagement to thrive. When the research is conducted, it is important to narrow down to consider a list of factors that should be applied in different areas.

Leadership should be encouraged over managing. Good managers are focused on doing things right while good leaders are focused on doing the right things. However, there are those who mistake managing for being authoritative and bossy. A good manager does not need to make his position known by making people fear him instead, he should lead by example and inspire employees to be and do better. However, management and leadership are aspects that are responsible for shaping and organization and therefore they are inseparable. An organization should engage employees in articulating its mission and vision. However, this should only happen when they have the right team. The mission and vision of the company can only be achieved if all of its members are aware of the direction that it is headed (Murphy).

The new technologies are responsible for the drastic change in the global market practices. Traditional work methods are replaced by new forms of working that requires a new set of skills. Many mangers have become aware of the growing need of having employees who have the required combination of skills in order to gain competitive advantage. The skills of employees are very vital in the success of an organization. It is paramount that employees go through regular training in order to sharpen their skills. This enables employees to increase their performance and raises the revenue generated by an organization. For employees to be rewarded with promotions, they need to refine their skills regularly. The level of one’s education determines the job s they are assigned, the more skills one has acquired, the more marketable their career becomes. Employees are going back to school to learn and familiarize themselves with what is required in their jobs.

The responsibilities of managers are becoming more technical and broad business knowledge is required of them. A study shows that most managers are opting to undertake management or business courses in order to get the qualifications required for the job environment. Continuing to acquire formal education is one of the best ways to propel ones career. Every employee wants a well paying job with a good status. These jobs require qualifications and experience. In some developed countries such as Germany and France, there exists a legislative support and regular partnerships between education institutions and employers this ensures that employees are equipped with the right skills that an organization requires to increase productivity.

However, in other countries, there is no support for employee education. Managers are expected to cut costs whenever possible and they have to deliver short term financial returns. Investing in human assets becomes hard in such countries especially when the return on investment cannot be quantified or if the investment is long term. Many institutions only lend money on short term basis. Employers in places such as the UK are faced with this challenge and they find it hard to compete by having long term investments on their employee development. Most of these companies prefer to use lower skilled labor because they incur lower costs. Alternatively, they can also source their employees from the external labor market.

Staff training and carrying out development activities is essential for the growth of an organization. Not only are the skills of the employees improved to fit the needs of the organization, managers and employees get an opportunity to get updates in important areas such as staff management and administration, sales, finance, and marketing. New employees should be trained in order to familiarize themselves with their roles. Employees are particularly supposed to have research and analytical skills. Organizations are always carrying out research about markets, products and their acceptability by customers among many others. This requires employees to be able to conduct research and analyze the information to come up with conclusive and useful results.

Employees should have good communication skills in order to make it easier for them and their seniors to do their work. Some employees interact with customers and it is therefore important that they are clear and be able to engage with customers effectively. An organization should regularly carry our competency- based assessments in order to determine the performance of employees. These assessments help the management to decide when the employees should go through training and career development programs. Employee competencies can be integrated into hiring practices, performance appraisals, on boarding orientations and succession planning (Jane).

In conclusion, an organization should invest in its employees in order to achieve their goals and objectives effectively. Managing employees efficiently will give an organization an opportunity to grow and gain competitive advantage. In a world full of innovations and developments, organizations should empower their employees in order to get the best from each one of them. Employees should be motivated through financial compensation, rewards and promotions among other things in order to increase their productivity. In addition, employees should be engaged fully so that they can feel like part of the organization. Finally, for employees to give their best, they require the right skills. Regular staff training and development programs will equip employees with knowledge and skills that a dynamic business market require.

Works Cited

Manzoor, Q. (2011). Impact of Employees Motivation on Organizational Effectiveness. Business Management And Strategy, 3(1). <http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/bms.v3i1.904>

Markos, Solomon and M. Sandhya Sridevi. “Employee Engagement: The Key To Improving Performance”. International Journal of Business and Management 5.12 (2010): 1-8. Web. 4 Mar. 2017.<http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijbm/article/viewFile/6745/6332/>

Murphy, Mark. “Great Leaders And Great Managers”. Dentaleconomics.com. N.p., 2008. Web. 4 Mar. 2017.<http://www.dentaleconomics.com/articles/print/volume-98/issue-9/columns/murphys-law/great-leaders-and-great-managers.html>

Choi, Audrey. “Audrey Choi: How To Make A Profit While Making A Difference : TED.Com : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive”. Internet Archive. N.p., 2015. Web. 4 Mar. 2017. <https://archive.org/details/AudreyChoi_2015S>

Moffett, Shawn. “Business Article Rough Draft (1)”. Slideshare.net. N.p., 2015. Web. 4 Mar. 2017.<https://www.slideshare.net/ShawnMoffett/business-article-rough-draft-1-46042617 >

Jane, Mary. “Most Important Employee Skills In The Workplace”. Smallbusiness.chron.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 4 Mar. 2017.<http://smallbusiness.chron.com/important-employee-skills-workplace-24708.html >