This case tells about management at Big Bison Resorts discussing ways to motivate employees to be more productive and satisfied. Within two weeks, the chief executive officer was working together with the “frontline staff” (Bateman et al., 2019, p. 399) and began to doubt the effectiveness of the Employee of the Month program. To create positive motivation, top managers should establish a connection across departments, find out the needs of the staff, and build a work environment in which people will be happy to serve.
From the CEO’s story, it became clear that working at Big Bison Resorts is more about teamwork than individual work. In this case, although the Employee of the Month program should reinforce positive behavior, it is likely to lead to the opposite result, inciting rivalry between people from the same team. This program will demonstrate the inequality of employees, emphasizing that someone is better and others are worse. Big Bison Resorts employees would perceive the Employee of the Month program as unfair, as there is a whole team working and only one person receiving the award. However, employees’ potential reaction would be much more positive if the management would involve them in improving their jobs.
Furthermore, if considering programs such as the Employee of the Month, rewarding not one person but the whole team for this setting would be more appropriate. With the right goals and reward-worthy set, such a method would be an exciting experience. One team would compete with another team, thereby increasing the company’s overall productivity through diligent work as well as maintaining teamwork within that group, improving skills and mutual understanding.
Every Employee wants to feel substantial and indispensable: anyone will work better if they know that their work is appreciated. Moreover, everyone wants to be heard because people often have different expectations and desired working conditions. Employees may need more tangible or relevant rewards, such as an extra day off per month or an improved staff lounge. Perhaps they would like to receive better health insurance or some benefits from the company itself, for example, the opportunity to use the services of Big Bison Resorts at a corporate discount. As for cooks, for example, they can ask to have more autonomy, make changes to the menu, and develop new dishes or signature desserts. Feedback must be provided in both directions, up and down. Managers should probably invite all of their employees of all ranks to take a survey or write suggestions to improve motivation and workflow. However, these questionnaires must be strictly anonymous because otherwise, employees may not provide truthful answers. After analyzing the collected information, it will be helpful to give feedback through meetings so workers know they are being heard.
This case demonstrates that management and employees lack communication and understanding. Managers believe they can decide what is best for employees, but this is not the case. Involving employees in improving their work will show those things that were not noticed before and indicate mistakes in the work of the bosses. If the company’s management hears its employees and understands what is best for them or what will motivate them, it will lead to overall positive results. Employees will feel significant, get a desirable work environment or rewards, and work for the company’s improvement. The management of the company will be satisfied with productivity, profit, happy employees, and customers. When all parts of one mechanism start working together, then the company will prosper.
While thinking of my previous job experiences, I can suggest two things to make the job more motivating for employees. The first is to set a high level of mutual understanding and eliminate misconnection between regular staff and management. Managers need to show that they are the same people, hard workers just in the other position — create the appearance not of a vertical dependency but a horizontal one. The second is to set monetary awards to show how much the management appreciates other staff’s work. If the economy is slumped, these awards can be insignificant; the very fact of their presence will give enough motivation.
Reference
Bateman, T. S., Snell, S., & Konopaske, R. (2019). Management: Leading & collaborating in a competitive world (13nd ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.