Chief motivator

However, this does not mean that offering money always increases motivation. A minority of employees do not value money and the compensation package may be assembled in such a way that it fails to motivate. In many cases, wages do not act as a motivator because performance is not linked to rewards. For example: in the majority of jobs, pay is linked to seniority and length of service rather than efficiency and effort. This is certainly true of jobs within the government service. On the other hand, the jobs which pay is linked to performance (i.
e. the employee is on commission or piece-rate) it is most often found that the jobholder is highly motivated. Often performance is linked by factors outside the control of the individual such as the rate of a conveyer belt. In relation to these difficulties many organisations settle for establishing a rate for the job, which is paid to all the holders of the job concerned. However, the rate, which is used, will have an effect on the motivation of employees. Many organisations can only pay fixed salaries and make yearly salary adjustments.
Thus, an annual pay raise is about the only indicator the employees of such a firm have of how the organisation views their performance. In general, both the good (the motivated employee) and the poor (the satisfied employee) performer receive the same yearly gain. In Management of Organisational Behaviour3, Adams (1965) states the equity theory: “A theory of motivation that suggests that behaviour is motivated by the desire to reduce guilt or anger associated with social exchanges that is perceived to be unfair”.

According to the above theory employees balance what they put into the job with what they receive from it. If the inputs and rewards do not balance, individuals try to make them equal by changing the degree of effort they put into their work. Thus, if the money is too high they will try harder in order to match their employer’s generosity. Performance (Activity) and Motivation Motivation plays an important part in both an individual’s and a company’s performance.
Even a very well trained and very able employee will not perform well unless motivated. The relationship with performance can be expressed by the formula: Performance = ability x training x effort The above three factors are performance related. If none of these are present in an individual’s activity at work, it is not possible for that person to be motivated. Higher motivation does not always result in a direct increase in productivity because, in many jobs, other people or the pace of machines limits productivity.
For example: higher motivation amongst production line workers will not result in higher productivity because the speed of the line will determine the pace of work and the speed of the line will often be adjusted to the speed of one of the slower workers. Another example of this is a Sales Assistant in a retail shop. Increased motivation may not result in increased sales. This may depend on the number of people who actually pass the shop, consequently, not a direct link between productivity and motivation.