Fluent Essays

Instructions Review the motivational ideas or theories addressed in the readings for Unit III. Using yourself as an example, do you feel that one or more of the ideas or theories are particularly effective in motivating you, or is there a better way you can be motivated? Engage the reader in the topic with some form of creative “hook” (such as a story, quote, or example). Provide an example of a situation in which a leader used one of these theories to successfully motivate you. Next, provide an example of a situation where an attempted motivational tool did not work. What was it about the second example that did not work? Explain your answer. Your essay submission must be at least three pages in length. You are required to use at least one outside source to support your explanation. Your essay should be formatted in accordance with APA style. BBA 3602, Principles of Management 1 Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 3. Recommend ways to motivate employees by applying a human behavior theory, a leadership theory, and a leadership style. 10. Apply managerial skills, principles, and decision-making strategies to the implementation of business best practices. Reading Assignment In order to access the following resource(s), click the link(s) below: Benson, D. (2015). The five fundamental tasks of a transformational leader. Physician Leadership Journal, 2(5), 58–62. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=oran9510 8&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA431445071&asid=e5932b254c6458cfd8952d03cf09a2e6 Nistorescu, A. (2012). The importance of communication skills for business professionals. Annals of Eftimie Murgu University Resita, Fascicle II, Economic Studies, 516–523. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc t=true&db=bth&AN=92535248&site=ehost-live&scope=site Pignatelli, A. (2015). 4 ways to boost employee performance and job satisfaction. Government Executive, 1. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc t=true&db=edsggo&AN=edsgcl.424676346&site=eds-live&scope=site Quick, T. (1988). Expectancy theory in five simple steps. Training and Development Journal, 42(7), 30– 33. Retrieved from https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=bth&AN=9083413&site=ehost-live&scope=site Unit Lesson YouTube Video for Unit III Click here to view the video for Unit III (1m 36s). Click here to access a PDF of the video transcript. UNIT III STUDY GUIDE Leading as a Manager: Communicating and Motivating http://go.galegroup.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=oran95108&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA431445071&asid=e5932b254c6458cfd8952d03cf09a2e6 http://go.galegroup.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=oran95108&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA431445071&asid=e5932b254c6458cfd8952d03cf09a2e6 https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=92535248&site=ehost-live&scope=site https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=92535248&site=ehost-live&scope=site https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsggo&AN=edsgcl.424676346&site=eds-live&scope=site https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsggo&AN=edsgcl.424676346&site=eds-live&scope=site https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9083413&site=ehost-live&scope=site https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=9083413&site=ehost-live&scope=site https://youtu.be/saToShVwCcc https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/bbcswebdav/xid-75037659_1 https://youtu.be/saToShVwCcc BBA 3602, Principles of Management 2 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title We begin Unit III with an article on The Google Way of Motivating Employees. Although a relatively new company, Google is already legendary in this area. Read the article and watch the video as a way to start thinking about the manager’s role in communication and motivation. Communication as both an information transfer effort and social bonding measure is practiced across a number of animal species. Of course, communication among humans is unmatched and remains an underpinning of our civilization from ancient times until now. The communication process is always the same: The sender has a message and encodes it a certain way to transmit it clearly to an intended receiver or multiple receivers. The receiver, with knowledge of messages, succeeds in receiving and then understanding the message (Nistorescu, 2012). What can go wrong? Almost everything, as we learn from our social or procedural communication blunders starting from childhood. It stands to reason that the ability to communicate effectively is a key component in the mosaic of skills leaders must master to be successful managers. Scholars and other experienced authors routinely address issues of professional communication in their writings. Communication is a huge subject and is more than can be covered in this course. The following points are but a brief overview of how to achieve effective communication in the professional environment:  Be brief and clear. Lengthy descriptions and explanations add detail and can help us look impressive, but stop. For understanding, there is no better way to serve the organization than to communicate brief and clear messages. Managers do well to speak and write clearly and not too much.  Be professional. A self-controlled and businesslike demeanor is the hallmark of professionalism and is reflected in efficient, purposeful, and unemotional communication. As managers, we can violate this by including anger, frustration, smugness, glee, distaste, or panic in our communications.  Be correctly understood. The sender will always understand more about the transmitted message than the receiver. Communications are better when reviewed and refined so they fit the purpose and intended effect as closely as possible. We often practice this skill on the spot by “choosing our words” or refraining from speaking at all! Written communication, though, such as email or social media, is more enduring and requires more deliberate effort to avoid confusion or adverse reactions.  Communicate for a purpose. Managers generally have too much to do in the time available. For that reason, a manager should ask before sending communications of any kind (spoken, written): Do we need this communication? What purpose will it serve? These questions may also help prioritize communications. There are many good reasons for communicating. One may be to help motivate others as part of an ongoing leadership effort. As with communication and leadership, the practice of motivating others with the purpose of fostering a willing performance toward an established goal has been unchanged since antiquity. The practice of good communication is integral to the art of motivation. Managers can motivate others by applying human behavior theories. One theory is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Here, people are understood to pursue physical survival needs first and needs for comfort and prestige last. Another is Vroom’s expectancy theory, which posits that people will be motivated to choose a course of action that matches the best available reward if they believe the reward is realistic (Quick, 1988). How do managers put theory into practice? Often, it is done over time, one act at a time. As Takash (2015) offered, motivation to sustain efforts and “stick to business” can be fostered by managers careful to behave well in adverse situations as well as calmer ones. Optimism is contagious, but only if it is believable, and a manager’s optimism is believable only if it is realistic as matched to the situation. In other words, a false bravado or other façade when the situation obviously calls for a different approach may backfire among Laura Gentile from the EPA (right)and Cindy Mauro brainstorm ideas working in the FEMA Community Relations Command post tracking and supporting the CR Teams in the field. (Rieger, 2004) http://www.entrepreneurial-insights.com/google-way-motivating-employees/ http://www.entrepreneurial-insights.com/google-way-motivating-employees/ BBA 3602, Principles of Management 3 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title organizational members. Finally, listening and providing frequent situational updates reflect compassion and a consideration for members’ situations; these actions also allow the manager to learn from the members in the local or national group. Professional managers can follow a leadership theory that will not only serve their business or profession interests, but act as their philosophical guide through life. One such example is transformational leadership. It is the art of sharing a situation, providing a clear vision of how to get to a valued goal, and demonstrating that the organizational members are important every step of the way (Benson, 2015). How do managers demonstrate such an overarching theory? Charisma is part of transformational leadership, but it is not enough by itself. Adolf Hitler was charismatic! There must be more to inspiring leadership than charisma. Putting others first, even though a manager’s status is ranked above the others, is a key part of transformational leadership. It includes frequently checking on their welfare as whole persons rather than treating them as cogs in a wheel. Servant leadership is a component of this. It is the difference between telling others to “move that box over there” and picking up one corner and saying, “let’s move this box over there.” Managers have a choice of leadership styles to follow. Much of the time, with situations changing from moment to moment, managers use their social skills and knowledge to read a situation and frequently apply a familiar leadership style that may fit the situation; in so doing, they are practicing situational leadership. The term describes a category of theories as well as a range of leadership styles (Pignatelli, 2015). Other approaches will be explored in the next unit. Will one style fit every situation? Probably not. Certainly miscues and mistakes can be made—perhaps proving that management is an art as much as it is a science. In general, though, when a manager invests time away from the numbers aspect of leadership and toward shifting focus and control to organizational members, the manager succeeds in making a leadership style come to life. References Benson, D. (2015). The five fundamental tasks of a transformational leader. Physician Leadership Journal, 2(5), 58–62. Nistorescu, A. (2012). The importance of communication skills for business professionals. Annals of Eftimie Murgu University Resita, Fascicle II, Economic Studies, 516–523. Pignatelli, A. (2015). Four ways to boost employee performance and job satisfaction. Government Executive, 1–3. Quick, T. (1998). Expectancy theory in five easy steps. Training and Development Journal, 42(7), 30–33. Rieger, M. (2004, September). FEMA - 10808 - Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 09-13-2004 in Florida [Image]. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEMA_-_10808_- _Photograph_by_Michael_Rieger_taken_on_09-13-2004_in_Florida.jpg Rieger, M. (2008, November). FEMA - 39524 - RISC group meeting in Colorado [Image]. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEMA_-_39524_-_RISC_group_meeting_in_Colorado.jpg Takash, J. (2015). Motivation needed now more than ever: Four steps that work. American Salesman. Ed Conley, External Affairs Director Region VII, address the meeting of RISC (Regional Interagency Steering Committee) on public information issues and the creation of a planning group to work on new ideas. (Rieger, 2008)