STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING JOB SATISFACTION AND MORALE

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Introduction to Business MGT 211

LESSON 20

STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING JOB SATISFACTION AND MORALE

These strategies are ways to apply manager's knowledge of what provides job satisfaction

and motivates workers.

a. Reinforcement/Behavior Modification Theory--theory that behavior can be

encouraged or discouraged by means of rewards or punishments.

Most managers prefer giving rewards and placing positive value on

performance to doling out punishment.

b. Management by Objectives--set of procedures involving both managers and

subordinates in setting goals and evaluating progress. Experts agree that

motivation is the biggest advantage of MBO if it is used properly.

c. Participative Management and Empowerment--method of increasing job

satisfaction by giving employees a voice in the management of their jobs and

the company. As an example, workers who no longer report product defects to

supervisor but have the freedom to correct problems themselves, or even return

defective products to the workers who are responsible for them, have been

empowered to take greater responsibility for their own performance.

Teamwork is not for every situation. Levi Strauss dismantled production teams

in which faster workers became resentful of slower workers who reduced the

group's total output, when teach member's pay was determined by the team's

level of productivity.

i. Team

Management--employees

are

given

decision-making

responsibility for certain narrow or broad activities.

d. Job Enrichment and Job Redesign

i. Job Enrichment Programs--method of increasing job satisfaction by

adding one or more motivating factors to job activities.

Job rotation plans, for example, expand growth opportunities and the

chance to learn new skills.

ii. Job Redesign Programs--method of increasing job satisfaction by

designing a more satisfactory fit between workers and their jobs.

Job redesign is usually implemented in one of three ways: through

combining task, forming natural work groups, or establishing client

relationships.

e. Modified Work Schedules

i. Work-Share Programs--method of increasing job satisfaction by

allowing two or more people to share a single full-time job.

ii. Job sharing usually benefits both employees and employers, although

job-sharing employees generally receive fewer benefits than full-time

counterparts.

iii. Flextime Programs and Alternative Workplace Strategies--method

of increasing job satisfaction by allowing workers to adjust work

schedules

daily

weekly

basis.

Flextime can include starting later and leaving later in the day, starting

Introduction to Business MGT 211

and leaving earlier, or choosing which 4, 5, or 6 days to work during the

week while still completing 40 hours.

iv. Telecommuting

and

Virtual

Offices

Telecommuting--form of flextime that allows people to perform some

or all of a job away from standard office settings.

Among salaried employees, the telecommuter workforce grew by 21/5

percent in 1994, to 7.6 million; the number of telecommuters now

exceeds

million

employees.

The key to telecommuting is technology--networked computers, fax

machines, cellular phones, and overnight delivery services make it

possible

work

from

home

while

traveling.

Virtual office--redesigned conventional office space to accommodate

jobs and schedules that are far less dependent on assigned spaces and

personal

apparatus.

Informal work carrels or nooks and open areas can be made available to

every employee.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Modified Schedules and Alternative Workplaces

1. Employees benefit from more freedom in their professional and

personal lives.

2. Employers benefit from higher levels of commitment and job

satisfaction.

3. Flextime sometimes complicates coordination because people

who need to work together are working different schedules.

4. Telecommuting and virtual offices may not be for everyone.

Those who can work best in these new environments tend to be

disciplined self-starters who require little direct supervision

during the day and are not uncomfortable working away from

their managers and colleagues.

One other disadvantage is that it can be difficult for telecommuters to convince management

that if they are not being supervised, they are still working, a perception based on the often

erroneous assumption that "if you can see them, they are working."

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