Improving Productivity

Solution Preview

Productivity is often looked at as an outcome of job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is influenced by proper job design, as well as meeting the needs of various extrinsic and intrinsic motivators.

One thing to understand is that when it comes to organizational behavior, everything is context dependent. No one technique will work for all situations and chances are, as a manager, you would have to "feel out" what techniques will most likely work for your organization based largely on what your organization does, your colleagues' motivators and what goals you're trying to achieve.

Let's consider motivators before we consider motivational methods. For the most part there are two forms: intrinsic and extrinsic motivators.
Extrinsic motivators are things which are tangible, materialistic. A promotion, a bonus, earnings and gifts are examples.
Intrinsic motivators are those which appeal to the person's non-material needs and wants: a feeling of achievement, satisfaction, the feeling of having done something good, praise and respect are some examples.

Typically speaking, individuals will likely be motivated by both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators, and a part of the job of management is recognizing what they are and which to appeal to with your techniques.

Let's assume for now that extrinsic motivators like bonuses, raises et cetera are the primary and strongest motivators for your group of colleagues. Depending on your department, there are various methods you could employ. I will list some below, and what they may be best for.

Wage incentive is a method of increasing productivity and decreases employee turnover by tying pay with performance. ...