Bachelor Thesis on Effective Leadership to Motivate Employees in an Organization

BACHELOR THESIS ON EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES IN AN ORGANIZATION

Name

Course

Date

Contents

Abstract        

Effective Leadership to Motivate Employees in an Organization        

Introduction        

Relevance        

Problem Statement        

Limitations of the Study        

Definition of Terms        

Methods and Structure        

Methodology        

Purpose of the Research        

Research Approach        

Data Collection        

Analysis of the Results        

Validity of the Inferences        

Theories of Motivation        

Self- Determination Theory (SDT)        

Intrinsic Motivation        

Extrinsic Motivation        

Herzberg Two-Factor Theory        

Leadership Theories        

Situational Theories        

Behavioral Theories        

Analysis of Questionnaire        

Link between Leadership and Motivation        

Conclusion        

Abstract

The society continues to experience a lot of changes both in the operations of the business and management. This has led to transformation in the interaction of the employees and the leaders. The concept of motivation has arisen as the contribution of the workers to the progress of the business continues to change. Theoretical approaches have been formulated focusing on the use of employee motivation as a determinant of the level and quality of production. As such, the idea of motivation seems to be intertwined with that of leadership in a business setting. It can be seen that motivation is what drives the workers to achieve the targets set as an intrinsic factor. This is a general feeling that one gets when they decide to set off to work every morning. It has been revealed to have an impact on job satisfaction and the productivity levels. Leadership, on the other hand, entails the proper management of resources including the workers to ensure that the objectives of the business are met. Indeed, leadership has an influence in the level of motivation of the employees. A positive link between leadership and motivation has been shown to lead to increased productivity and better achievement of the set targets. In this thesis, the relationship between leadership and motivation will be explored to understand the key concepts that link the two. Also, the contribution of various theoretical models of leadership and motivation will be investigated to explain how the relationship can be enhanced. For the purpose of the thesis, Deci’s model of self-determination and the two-factor models of motivation will be used to understand the impact of motivation to the employees. Also, in order to relate motivation and leadership behavioral and situational concepts of leadership will be used.

Effective Leadership to Motivate Employees in an Organization

Introduction

The need for good leadership continues to increase calling for better ways of handling the employees as they are at the centre of production. The financial crisis that has been experienced in the business world due to reduced productivity and increased unemployment requires better strategies for it to be alleviated^[1]. The situational crisis has led to invention of different strategies to deal with the conflicts. It is to this regard that the concepts of motivation and leadership become relevant to the business world today. Most companies and organizations are looking for better ways of dealing with the workers to improve their motivation and commitment to work. This is not an easy thing and requires expertise on the part of the leaders for it to be effective. The issue with employee’s contribution in the business world has been neglected for a long time.

Most of the original theorists only focused on the levels of production disregarding the employees that did it^[2]. To illustrate this, most of the workers experience harsh conditions at work expressing the poor attitudes that the leaders harbored towards them. It is during this period that employees had to work for longer hours, in poor conditions and still get the lowest wages. It was a time when the measure of one’s work gained the recognition and nothing beyond that^[3]. This was the era of conservative theories that were focused on the output rather than the input to describe progress and leadership in the business.

Currently, though, the issue has changed with most of the organization involving the employees in most of the leadership position^[4]. The role of the employee is now recognized and appreciated. The businesses have realized the importance of motivating the employees not only as a way of appreciating them but also to assure the retention of employees. The rate of employee retention has been a growing issue for many organizations as the level of job satisfaction has been decreasing with each day. According to recent studies, some of the companies could not even retain employees for a period of two years. This has adverse effects on the company as the time between recruitment and hiring takes lot of time. This period leads to decrease in the level of productivity as the new recruits have to be inducted in the job. These costs can be avoided if the company adapts better ways of motivating the employees and ensuring job satisfaction for the employees. The first study that was undertaken to establish the relationship of employee motivation and leadership in 1986 revealed a lot of important insights.