Motivation Can Improve Team Outcomes Essay

After eight weeks of working with a group of six members, the most important learning experience was learning how to use motivation in a group work. Accurately apply motivation can improve team work efficiency and outcomes. This essay will provide a critical thinking about how to use motivation in a group and discuss which aspect need improvement when apply motivation in a group. In this task, will be concentrate on three areas to reflection and analysis about how to apply motivation in a group. They are ‘managing groups and teams’, ‘planning’ and ‘leadership’. From these three areas to disclose some practical experiences, and make these practical experience relate to management theories. The first section is discussed and analysis the special understanding about the stages of group development, why people join a group and how to use motivation impact people join a group. The second section is discuss and analysis planning process, why organization need to setting a clear goal and how setting goal can provide a motivation encourage people work hard and increase work efficiency. The last section is discussing and analysis the activity of leadership and how a good leader through all kinds of methods to create employee’s work motivation and stimulate employees work hard and efficient, help organization achieve goal. From these three section, it will be argued that suitable apply motivation in various management field, will increase our group work efficiency, improve work outcomes, and successful help group completed a high quality work, achieved the group’s high goal. Group already became a really popular work method in recent year. Lots of organisation and government department use team work to complete task, and achieved organisational goal. Team has all kinds of type, such as project team, management team, work team, virtual team and parallel team. Although team have various type, but the project team is the most popular type of team. Project team is include employees who group to solve a specific problems, develop a product, or in some other way focus their energies in a limited time task, when the task completed, the team will be disband (Davidson et al. 2009, p440). Our team work in the eight weeks period is project team, because we are together discuss some problems and solve it, together completed presentation during 8 weeks. When the presentation is completed in week 10, our team would disband. One group’s evolvement need passes through several stages. When the development of group passes through these stages, the group will be disbandment. A well-know model of group development is the sequential-stage theory. In this theory, the group or team develops through some stages of development. The theory’s model clear shows that there have five distinct stages to group development. The five stages are forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. The group development will follow the specifically order to completed (Davidson et al. 2009, p444). Everyone has their own motivation to join a group. Different people have different situation, people have variety of reasons to join a groups and teams. The first stage, forming, provides a platform so that everyone can have an opportunity to join any groups. According to a study by Robbins et al. (2006, p488), ‘Forming is the first stage of group development in which people join the group and then define the group’s purpose, structure and leadership’. So, it can be see that when the group development, the first things is people join the group. Therefore, motivation was occurred at the forming stage, because when people join a group, they usually have some motivations to join that group. Davidson et al. (2009, p442) state that people join groups and teams for a variety reasons, they often have some motivations to join a group. These motivations can be interpersonal attraction, group activities, group values and goals,needs satisfaction and instrumental benefits. From the evidence, it can be clear that when people join a group, they have some motivations. Such as person join a group, that group’s goal with the person’s goal same, and also people join a group because that group can satisfy people’s needs. Bosso (2003, pp399-403) claims that the reason of some organisation fail is because lots of organisational members leave organisation and find a new job in other organisations. Because the original organisation cannot give members lots of benefits, these benefits most are in terms of money. The organisation not has loyal members because it not has motivation to keep original members and attract new members. From the evidence, it can be see that people’s motivation to join an organisation is a really important factor for organisational success. If an organisation not have some special things to attract people, so people will be not join this group, because they are not have motivation to join the organisation. The organisation will be lost lots of talents and ultimately lead to failure. Our group work in week 2, we are also have some motivation to join a group. I am an international student, so I am joined a group have many local students. My motivation to join a group have many local students is because local students have language and cultural advantages, and also we all have a same task goal. This can make my work easier and more easily to achieve my task goals. With local students work together also can improve my English. So, my motivation to join that group is can help me to achieve the task goals and improve my English. We also have same motivation to form that group, the motivation is we are have same task goal. The same motivation make us work more happy and congenial, this can increase our work efficiency. When people work in a group, it also has some motivation to encourage people work more hard and efficient. For example, a group of people climbing a mountain, in this period tethered together can climb only as fast as its slowest member. From that example, the least capable group member tends to work harder than when working individually (Gockel et al. 2008, p1316). From the evidence, it can be see that people work in group, will be have stress to work harder. In a group, have most ability’s member also help other members work, make group work efficient and more easily achieve goal. In eight weeks group work, our group has some stresses to stimulate us work hard, this is a kind of motivation to make us work efficient. Therefore, from these analysis and practice experiences, management needs to clear understand what is people’s motivation to join an organisation then make organisation have some special things to attract talents join the organisation, this can help organisation more easier to success. Manager also needs make employees work in a group, because this can create motivation to encourage employees work hard, improve group work outcomes. Planning is an important part when people do a task. A good planning can directly affect group work efficiency and outcomes. There are at least four reasons to do a planning. Planning provides direction, reduces uncertainty minimises waste and redundancy and sets the standards used in controlling (Robbins et al. 2006, p238). These reasons can significantly reveal planning can give organisational or group’s work brings huge benefits. When manager do a plan, they need clear understand the environmental context. If managers do not understand the environmental context, they are unable to develop efficient plans. Understanding the environment is necessary the first step in planning (Davidson et al. 2009, p238). In an organisation, have many different kinds of plan. Plan generally includes three levels. They are strategic plans, tactical plans and operational plans. Strategic plans are the plans developed to achieve strategic goals. Tactical plans aimed at achieving tactical goals, is developed to implement specific parts of strategic plan. Operational plans focuses on implement tactical plans to achieve operational goals (Davidson et al. 2009, p243). From these kinds of plan, we can find these plans all is use to achieve some goals. So, an organisational goals setting also is a really important part in planning. Organisation setting goals have four important purposes. First, goals provide guidance and a unified direction for people in the organisation. Second purpose is goals can dramatically influence other areas of planning. Third purpose is goals can provide some motivations to employees of the organisation. The final purpose of goals is serving an effective mechanism for evaluation and control (Davidson et al. 2009, p239). These purposes make lots of managers set more suitable goals in organisation. Suitable goals can increase organisational work efficiency. However, from the group experiences that the motivation occurred in the third purpose, goals can provide some motivations to employees of the organisation. For example about athletes, Stratton (2005, p31) states that setting goals can increase athletes’ motivation, these motivations most are athletes internal motivation. These motivations can encourage athletes to develop new skills and strategies to improve performance. The goal can be all kinds of goals. Such as athletes hope become professional athletes or qualifying for the Olympics. When athletes have a goal, they will have motivation to encourage self training hard and improve skills to achieve the goals. Goals not only provide motivation to athletes, it also provides motivation to all kinds of people. Such as organisational employees and university’s students. When people have a goal, they will have motivation to work hard and improve work skills, ultimately achieve the goal. Motivation also occurred our group in week 4, we are doing a planning and setting group goals. When we setting the group’s goal, we decide set a difficult goals. We hope get a high mark in the presentation assessment. A difficult goal motivates our group work hard and improves work skills to increase our work efficiency. Although a goal difficult to achieve can provide a motivation to encourage people work hard thereby improve work efficiency, but if the goal is really difficult to achieve, this will be bring some negative impact to people’s motivation. Even people not have motivation to work. Shalley, Oldham and Porac (1987, pp553-554) argues that individuals who were assigned an easy goal, they will be easier to achieve the goal and not have motivation to work hard. But if the individuals assigned a goal is really difficult, no one can attained the goal, and this also make people not have motivation to work hard. Form the evidence, it can be see that if the people’s goals too easy or difficult, they will be not have motivation to work hard and improve work efficiency. Because the really easy goal people can easier to achieved, they do not need work hard, but if the goal is really difficult, nobody can attained it, people will think they cannot achieve the goal, then give up it and not have motivation to work. In our group, although we are decide the goal is difficult to achievement, but the goal is not too difficult, because this assessment not hard, we can through work hard and improve work skills to achieve the goal, get a high mark. From analysis these theories and relate practice experiences in group, manager should do a good planning and carefully setting goals in organisation, because a good planning can make organisation work have a logical structure and a suitable goal can provide motivation to employees, encourage employees work harder, thereby improve organisational work efficiency. Leadership is a really important part in management, most organisation attain success the leadership is the necessary factor. A good leadership can make organisation more solidarity, have a logical structure to work, thereby improve organisational work efficiency. Although Management and leadership have some relations, but leadership is not similar managership. Manager and leader have some basic distinctions. Managers are focus on accomplish goal, through planning, organising and controlling to make organisation achieve orderly results. Leaders are focus on influence, through guide in direction, uild commitment and convince others of a vision to change organisation, make organisation work more effective, and improve organisation outcomes. Some of the basic distinction between leadership and management conclude for four main activities. The four main activities are creating an agenda, developing a human network for achieving the agenda, executing plans and outcomes (Davidson et al. 2009, pp351-352). However, one leader’s behaviour can significantly impact employees work situation and efficiency. Different leader have different attitude about how to affect an organisation work. They are using all kinds of method to change group work situation, increase group work efficiency, make group better, and ultimately help group achieve goals. Motivation is a really important method when leader lead a group work, they often use motivation to encourage employees work hard, thereby improve group work efficiency. Leader can apply all kinds of method to provide motivation to encourage employees work. Such as reward, when employee perfect completed a task and only use a little bit time to achieved group’s goal, the leader will be give the employee some rewards. These rewards can motivate other employees work hard because employees will think if they perfect complete the task, they also can get reward. Leaders’ behaviour can direct impact employees’ work motivation, may be some smalls behaviours also can make employees have motivation to work hard, such as daily communication. Jamail (2009, p13) states that, in everyday’s morning, when leader go to the office, walk around and talk to every person, try to remember every person’s name and know their work situation, pump up employees, these can make employees have motivation to work hard and improve their work efficiency. From this evidence, it can be see that some small behaviours of leader also can affect employees work efficiency. In everyday’s work, leader only needs to spend some times to communicate with their employees, pump up employees, know their work situation and help them solve some problems. These can make employees think their leader regard them, is a good leader and have confidence to complete a good work. So, employees will be having motivation to work hard. Therefore, leader can through communication to know employees’ work situation and provide motivation to employees, encourage employees to work hard and improve group outcomes. Leader through daily communication to provide employees’ work motivation, the motivation language also is an important method to motivate employees work hard. Mayfield (2009, p9) argues that a high level of motivation language can significantly improved employee performance, increase employee’s work efficiency. Such as empathetic speech, when employee does a hard task, the leader can talk to this employee â€Å"you can do it†, these can make the employee have confidence to do the task, thereby motivate employee work hard and more effective. When employee completed a task, leader also can say â€Å"Good job†, this also can make the employee have confidences to do other tasks, improve the employee’s work motivation. In our group, we have a serious problem. Our group not has a clear leadership, we do not decide who is our group’s leader. When we work together, our group has a member really lazy, she didn’t work hard. But our group not have a leader, nobody to monitor the member work and also nobody to provide motivation to the member encourage she work hard. So, that dramatically affected our group work efficiency, postpone our group’s work progress. Through the group experiences and management theories, leader is really important to a group, because group leader can through daily communication and motivation language to provide motivation to their employees, encourage employees work hard and increase work efficiency, thereby improve group outcomes. In conclusion, it can be concluding that motivation is a really important part in management. It can occur in all kinds of management theories. Through 8 weeks group work, find motivation occurs in people form a group, setting group goal and planning and leader change a group. Manager need clear to understand what are people’s motivations to join a group, and make group have charm to attract talent join. These can help group success. Managers also need make employees work in a group, because work in a group can have some stresses to motivate employees work hard, improve organisation outcomes. If manager want their group work effective, they can setting a suitable group goals. Suitable group goals can motivate group work hard. Manager also need make group have a leader, because group leader can use daily communication and motivation language to provide motivation to members, encourage group members’ work hard and improve group outcomes. Therefore, manager clear understand motivation and accurate use motivation can directly improve group outcomes.