How working environment can impact on motivation Essay

(A) Describe, with examples, how working environment can impact on motivation and contribute to an effective workplace in travel and tourism, covering:- * Job location In travel and tourism, the holiday atmosphere at resort contributes to a sense of well-being. Customers are happy to be on holiday and it is relatively easy to have a positive attitude to work. Whereas if you were working in a call centre where you are office bound and have to spend most of the talking to customer on the telephone. The organisation has to consider how this poorer environment can be improved so that staff remains motivated. * Working conditions and Hours of work Hours of work vary tremendously throughout the industry- some people are happy to work unsocial hours because it fits in with their lifestyle or they wish to have time off when everyone else is working. However, the overall number of hours per week should not exceed 40. * Health and safety Safety and security factors must be considered in the workplace, and legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 must be adhered to. Specific regulations also apply where food is served or where the chemical hazards, for example in a swimming pool. All these requirements are important. For some organisations a lapse in safety procedures can mean the collapse of the business and even a prosecution. Companies that organise activity holidays for children, for example must make health and safety a priority. Health and safety is important for both customers and employees. Employees need to know that they can go about their work in a safe environment and work together to ensure their customers are safe. * Equipment and Resources Sate-of-the-art equipment and a pleasant environment are important to motivate staff. * Social event Most companies have a Christmas party or social outgoing for staff. These are useful events to create camaraderie amongst staff and build teams. * Theories of motivation The motivation and commitment of employees is key to success of a team and therefore to the company. Several theorists have come up with models of motivation. The two of that we will look at are Maslow and Herzberg. 1. Maslow Abraham Maslow was an American who in the 1940’s developed a theory of motivation. The theory is valid still for understanding how people are motivated in the workplace. Employers can use it to provide conditions that fulfil people’s needs at the different levels. Maslow theory is displayed as a pyramid because employees can only move up the levels once the lower levels are fulfilled. So, an employee can’t achieve level 4 at work if they are having problems in their personal life or working with colleagues (level 3). Similarly, if they have just been made homeless (level 1) their concern will be finding shelter not performing at work. 2. Herzberg Herzberg’s theory is also known as the ‘hygiene’ theory. Herzberg identified characteristics which make people satisfied with their jobs and those which make them dissatisfied: ‘satisfiers’ and ‘dissatisfiers’. The satisfiers are factors which give people long-term motivation and enable them to enjoy their work: * The type of work * Promotion prospects * Having responsibilities * Sense of achievement * Personal development * Gaining recognition This dissatisfiers or hygiene factors need to be operating well in an organisation but according to Herzberg do not ultimately motivate people. These are: * Salary * Working conditions * Relationships with others- colleagues and managers * Company policy (B) Describe, with examples, how working relationships can impact on motivation and contribute to an effective workplace in travel and tourism, covering:- * Management style Management is about motivating people to act in certain ways so that the team can achieve its common goal. A good manager must inform, motivate and develop the team. The four types of manager/management I will be talking about are:- 1. An autocratic manager An autocratic manager makes all the decisions and announces them to the team. This person is the boss and so has full control. The main advantage of this kind of leadership is that decisions are made quickly, as no consultation is involved. Its other advantages include:- * Where there is a need for urgent action the autocrat will take control * Some team members gain security from being told what to do. Disadvantages include:- * Team members may become frustrated at their lack of control * There may not be room for the team to express creativity * There may be over-dependence on the leaders Autocratic management belongs in a traditional hierarchical structure. 2. Consultative management With consultative management, the leader still makes the decisions but discusses them with the team. The advantages include:- * The team is informed of what is going on * Open discussion is encouraged * The manager spends time with the team The disadvantages are that the team feel involved but frustrated by having no real power. 3. Democratic management With democratic management, the decision-making is shared among the team. The advantages include:- * Ideas are encouraged from everyone * There is greater involvement and commitment from team members * The team is likely to be supportive of the leader * The team is fully informed The disadvantages include:- * Some team members may not be able to cope with being involved in decision-making * The democratic process can take too long * The leader may not agree with the decisions of the team * Powerful team members may take over 4. Laissez-faire management With laissez-faire management the team is left to sort itself out and get on with its work. The manager does not get involved and therefore is not leading the team. The advantages include:- * Highly motivated and skilled people are able to get on with their tasks * The team is empowered The disadvantages include:- * New team members will be uninformed * The team may be left with little or no direction * Teamwork Teamwork skills are essential in the workplace. You must be able to work with other people in a team even if you don’t happen to like them. A team is a group of people who are working together to achieve common objectives. Even when you are not physically with other members of your team, you can work together by contributing to a sequence of activities with a common aim. If you were working as a resort representative in Spain, you would still be working in a team with colleagues in head office in the UK. 1. Team roles Good teams achieve synergy; that is, together they can achieve more than the members could individually. More ideas, energy and resources are generated as a group because:- * The team solves problems and makes decisions together * The team focuses on the priorities, with everyone working towards the same aim * The team provides a sense of belonging and a sense of status * The team provides a support network Not everyone in a team is the same- each person has their own strengths and weaknesses. If each person had the same weaknesses, the team could not work; there needs to be a balance of skills. A method of recognising individuals’ strengths and weaknesses is needed in order to build an effective team. The management expert R.Meredith Belbin has outlined nine team roles necessary for a successful team. One person can represent more than one role, as most people have strengths in more than one area. Belbin’s roles:- > Chairperson/ co-ordinator = The group leader, likely to be relaxed and extrovert, also likely to be a good communicator. They will build on the strengths of team members and give them encouragement. > Plant = The ideas person in the team, a person who is creative in looking for solution to problems, but not always good at details, and so may make careless mistakes. > Shaper = The task leader, who unites ideas and effort. Needs to be dominated and extrovert in order to make things happen. > Monitor/ evaluator = The team analyst, who is not so good at ideas but pays attention to details, thus keeping the team directed towards its target. > Implementer = The organiser of the team, who is able to make the ideas of the plant and shaper and turn them into manageable and realistic tasks. A practical, stable and disciplined person. > Resources investigator = The person who is outgoing and will explore and report on ideas and developments outside the group; is sociable and enthusiastic and good under pressure. > Team worker = A very people-oriented person, sensitive to others’ needs. The team worker has good communication skills and will be good at motivating other. A natural mediator, who will deal with any conflict within the team, this person is very good to have around in a crisis. > Finisher = A person who sticks to deadlines and likes to get on with things. Will probably be irritated by the more relaxed members of the team. > Specialist = This person is single-minded and a self-starter and provides knowledge and skills in specialist areas each of Belbin’s roles acquires a different level of important according to the objectives of the team and the stage in the team’s life. 2. team development Formal teams are part of the structure of an organisation and are planned in order to meet that organisation’s objectives. The formal team will follow rules and regulations and may meet on a pre-arranged schedule and complete administrative procedures. Examples in travel and tourism includes sales teams and marketing teams Informal teams work within or outside formal teams. They are sometimes based on personal relationships between members rather than on work roles. When you complete group work for assignments, you often choose the colleagues you wish. You choose to work with people you like and ones you know will be as committed as you are to the work. This is an informal team. There are several theories of team structure and development, which will help you to understand the effectiveness of teams. Bruce Tuckman (1965) identified four main stages of team development:- * Forming – at this stage, team members form their first impressions of each other and establish identities. They are sounding each other out and finding out what is expected of them. * Storming- the team members have, by now, become more used to each other. Members are prepared to put forward their ideas forcibly and openly; they are also prepared to disagree and so there may be some conflict and hostility. * Norming – the team now begins to establish co-operation. Conflict is controlled, views are exchanged and new standards introduced. * Performing – the team is now working together; it begins to arrive at solutions and achieve objectives. There can also be a fifth stage, called ‘adjourning’ or ‘mourning’, where the team has disbanded and the members miss being part of the team. * Job roles and lines of responsibility An organisation chart shows the structure of the company and how the work is divided into different areas. It also shows the lines of responsibility between staff, so that it is apparent who is responsible to whom. An employee studying a chart will find the possible promotions routes. The chart may show a hierarchical structure or line relationship. This is a very traditional structure and shows a chain of command with each person responsible to the person above them. It is sometimes referred to as a pyramid structure. Many organisations today would be depicted in a chart with a flatter structure. There are fewer layers of management, and each manager has a broader span of control. Restructuring of organisations often involves getting rid of middle managers, hence the flattened structure. * Channels of communication Open communication must be encouraged and ideas should be freely expressed in the workplace. There should be trust and support between team members. An effective leader can encourage good communication and shape the way the team works. * Verbal Verbal communication is the process of sending and receiving messages with words, including writing and there are different ways a person can do verbal communication 1. Telephone 2. Word of mouth 3. Video conference 4. Face to face 5. Presentation 6. Walkie-talkie 7. Meetings 8. Bluetooth/ headset (mobile phone) 9. Radio 10. Sign language * Written Written communication guarantees that everyone concerned has the same information and it provides a long-lasting record of communication for future such as 1. Books 2. Brochures/ leaflets, newspaper 3. E-mail 4. Text (written + electronic + verbal) 5. Fax (written + electronic) 6. Notice boards 7. Minutes of meetings * Electronic Electronic communication means any method used to convey a message that has been transmitted via electronic means such as e-mail, video conferencing, radio, TV, mobile phone, internet, fax etc. * Equal opportunities Legislation exists to ensure that personal receive equal opportunities and that there is no discrimination. The arts of parliament that you should be aware of are:- * Race relations Act 1976 This act makes discrimination on racial grounds unlawful in employment, training, education and the provision of goods, facilities and services. The two main type of discrimination involved in this Act are:- 1. direct discrimination:- discrimination against colour disability, citizenship 2. indirect discrimination:- discriminating a racial group * Sex discrimination Act 1975 This act makes it unlawful to discriminating against someone on the ground of gender, marital status, Gender reassignment or sexual orientation. The act was updated in 1986 to remove restrictions on women’s hours of work and then it allowed women to take h=jobs with flexible hours. This act not only covers discriminations in the workplace but in job advertisements and interviews. * Disability discrimination act 1995 This act makes discrimination against people with disabilities unlawful in respect of employment, education and access to goods, facilities, services, and premises. Employers are required to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate people with disabilities. Examples include providing specially adapted keyboards for arthritis sufferers, facilitating wheelchair access and relocating people with limited mobility to the ground floor. * Equal pay act 1970 This act was introduced to address the problem of women being paid less than men for the same work. It allows employees to claim equal value in terms of demands made on them, such as effort, skills and decisions made. There is also an EU Directive that state that for the same work or work of equal value, sex discrimination must be eliminated in all aspects of pay. * Other forms of discrimination Discrimination at work is a very serious issue and can result in large amounts of compensation being awarded following successful tribunals, not to set up policies to ensure that the workplace is free from discrimination. Measures to be taken include:- 1. Setting up a comprehensive equal opportunities policy covering all aspects of discrimination 2. Training staff in discrimination legislation and on how to implement the equal opportunities policy 3. Setting up complaints procedures for instances of discrimination * Employment rights act 1996 When someone gets a job they can aspect to receive a contract of employment. This is a legally binding agreement between the employer and the employee. Under the Employment Rights Act, the employer must give the employee a written document including the following information, in writing within 2 months of starting work:- 1. Name of employer and employee 2. Date employment began 3. Rate of pay and interval of pay 4. Hours of work 5. Holiday entitlement and pay 6. Job title and brief description of duties 7. Place of work 8. Notice entitlement and requirements 9. Sick leave entitlement and sick pay 10. Pension and pension scheme 11. Disciplinary procedures and grievance producers 12. Date of end of employment it fixed term 13. Additional details about working aboard if appropriate. * Notice board After one month of continues employment an employee is entitle to one week of notice if the employment ends. After 2 years’ employment they are entitle to 2 weeks’ notice, after 3 years, 3 weeks’ notice and so on. After 12 years the legal maximum 12 weeks’ notice is reached. A employee must also give notice of leaving to an employer. After one month of continuous employment, an employee must give a minimum of one week’s notice. Employees are entitled to normal pay during notice periods as long as they are working or available for work. * Redundancy Redundancy pay is calculated according to the employee’s age, length of service and salary. Employees can claim for unfair dismissal if they suspect: 1. There is no real redundancy 2. They were unfairly selected for redundancy Dismissal is treated as redundancy if the whole business is closing or a particular job disappears or requires fewer employees. An employer may offer alternative employment. If the employee unreasonably refuses it they are not entitled to redundancy pay. * EU Directives on hours and pay The European Working Time Directive was enacted in the UK through the Working Time Regulations 1998. This lays down the following: 1. A maximum 48-hours week, averaged over 17 weeks 2. at least 4 weeks’ paid annual leave 3. a weekly rest period of at least 24 hours in each 7-day period 4. a daily rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours between each working day 5. an in-work rest break of 20 minutes for those working hours or more per day Some sectors are excluded from the regulations; one of theses is transport. * National Minimum Wage Act 1998 This Act provides workers with a minimum hourly rate below which their wages will not fall. Those who work part time benefit most, because they are often badly paid. The Low Pay Commission advises the Secretary of State on the value of the minimum rate. A special lower rate applies to 18-to 21years-olds. * Maternity and paternity leave The Employment Relations Act 1999 provides for basic rights for maternity leave. There are three periods of maternity leave. Ordinary maternity leave is for a period of 18 weeks which coincides with the period for statutory maternity pay. This applies to all employees. Compulsory maternity leave extends to a period of 2 weeks after the birth; the employer must not permit the woman to return to work during this period. Additional maternity leave follows immediately after the original 18-weekperiod and must end within 29 weeks of the birth. Employees with at least one year’s service with an employer are eligible for the additional maternity leave. Under the same Act there are provisions to allow parents 3 months’ leave in order to care for a child. This is intended to be taken before the child is five. It is intended to be available to men and to women, in addition to maternity leave. Paternity leave is available to men to: 1. Have or expect to have responsibility for the child’s upbringing 2. Are the biological father of the child, or the mother’s husband or partner 3. Have worked continuously for their employer for 26 weeks ending with the fifteenth week before the baby is due. Eligible employees can choose take either 1 week or 2 consecutive weeks’ paternity leave (not odd days) * Statutory sickness pay An employer must pay Statutory Sick Pay to employees who become sick and who normally earn at least à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½79 per week. After 28 weeks, Incapacity Benefit or Income Support must be claimed instead. * Grievance and disciplinary procedures These must be included in the employee’s written statement or contract, or at least there must be a reference to where they can be found. Disciplinary producers deal with such maters as warnings to be given before dismissal. Warnings might arise from the following:- 1. Lack of capability or qualifications-although the employer has a responsibility to give training 2. Misconduct-which includes habitual lateness 3. Gross misconduct (for example, assault or theft) leads to instant or summary dismissal. Grievance procedures deal with complaints by employees who are not satisfied with aspects of their employment. Employees must be given the name of a person to whom a complaint can b made and should be informed of right of appeal. * Investors in people Investors in people is a UK quality standard development in 1990. Those companies who gain the award have proved that they invest in the training and development of their staff. This is beneficial to employees and also to customers and suppliers. The standard for Investors in people is based on four key principals: 1. Commitment from the top to develop all employees 2. Regular review of training and development needs 3. Taking relevant action to meet those needs throughout people’s careers 4. Evaluating training and development outcomes for individuals and the organisation in order to continuously improve These principals are subdivided into 24 indicators of effective practise, and the organisation provides evidence for assessment against the indicators. Once the organisation gets the award it is entitled to display the Investors in People logo on company literature. * ‘Buddies’ and mentoring Mentoring schemes are growing in popularity. They offer employees a one-to one relationship with a mentor, someone with greater experience and a willingness to listen and advice. The mentor and the mentee meet regularly and discuss aspects of the mentee’s job, such as career development. The mentor does not act as a line manager or superior and is never judgemental, but acts as a sounding board and is able to offer ideas and a different outlook on work issues. The Hilton hotel chain runs a mentoring scheme for its staff at all levels. Its purpose is to support staff in their career development. Mentors at the Hilton chain are often colleagues of the mentees doing similar jobs, which departs from the traditional model. All of the mentors have had mentoring training. Some companies have similar, but sometimes less formal, schemes where a new member of staff is given a ‘buddy’ as a source of information and help. * Job security Many contracts today are fixed term, especially in areas such as visitor attractions. This means that the period of employment is not indefinite but lasts for a period of months or a year or two. The reason for such contracts is flexibility for employers- they can lose staff on fixed contracts at the end of the period without penalty. However, such contracts are demotivating for staff as they worry about their future income and job prospects. C) Describe with examples, how incentives can impact on motivation and contribute to an effective workplace in travel and tourism including: * Remuneration Remuneration means how much you get paid. You would imagine that this is very important as a motivator. In fact, it is an important factor in attracting people to a company but research shows that it is not the most important incentive. * Performance related pay Bonuses are often based on overall profits and awarded to all employees- usually performance related. * Incentive scheme An example of an incentive scheme could be a competition that staff are invited to enter. The competitions may be based on generating new ideas within the company, or how to boost sales, customer satisfaction or commissions on sales. * Discounts Discounts may be given on holidays or travel for those working in the industry. Many who work in travel and tourism receive cheap travel, perhaps by going on standby if they work for an airline or by going on fact-finding trips to a destination if they work for a travel agent. * Holiday entitlement In the UK employees can expect around 4 weeks’ paid holiday per year. In the public sector more holiday is often given, but this may be balanced against lower pay. * Pension schemes A good pension scheme can act as an incentive for many people who are concerned about security in retirement. * Perks As a perk, employees in the travel and tourism industry are often provided with a uniform. They may get to travel or live aboard and be paid to live there. They may be provided with a company car. * Opportunities for promotion and progression Many employees need a challenge and if they are in the same position, doing a job they find easy, they may become bored and less efficient. Thus, opportunities to move on and face new challenges are an important incentive. Opportunities may arise within an organisation and good people are quickly promoted. You may wish to let it be known that you are interested in progression and ask to be sent on relevant training courses and conferences. D) Described, with examples, how training can impact on motivation and contribute to an effective workplace in travel and tourism including: * Training Those employers who wish o ensure an effective workplace will offer ongoing training and development to staff. There are several benefits to organisations add to their workforces. Training can: * Improve individual performance * Improve team performance * Allow staff to be better informal * Equip staff to deal with change and emergencies * Make for a more flexible workforce * Improve morale * Allow managers more time to manage through delegation of other tasks. * Induction training Employers have to provide instruction and training to ensure health and safety, and this is usually a part of induction training. The induction is the first stage of training and is given to new employees; it is important as new employees need to be made welcome and become effective in their work as quickly as possible. Induction covers: * The nature of the job * Introduction to the workplace and to staff * The lines of responsibility * Facilities such as toilets, lockers, canteen * Health and safety basics * Training opportunities * In-house training Large companies offer their own in-house training and may even write their own materials. These training courses are very beneficial as they are tailor- made to meet the needs of the company. * External courses Thousands of external courses are available. These may be specific to travel and tourism or other professional qualifications in areas such as marketing or human resource management. They may be offered by colleges, by travel associations or by private companies. Companies may allow individuals or groups to attend such courses. Some may be long term, leading to advanced qualifications, so a great deal of commitment is required on behalf of the individual.