Relationship Between Public service Motivation

Question: Discuss about the Relationship Between Public service Motivation. Answer: Introduction: The underlying scenario represents the team management and an information technology administration in the organization Datacom. The scenario highlights the team that undertakes the project of HoloLens practice, where the entire team faces a challenge regarding their team collaboration and project. The company Datacom has provided their services since 1965 and is known for their successful digital transformation and technologically advanced project for the betterment of people and their living standard (Datacom.co.nz 2017). The team comprises of software developers, business analysts and the project managers and the problem arose when the managers received the credit for the accomplishment of the project. The team of the software developers complained that their have done lot of efforts that is not appreciated and the benefits that the organization received is mostly for the managers of the project. Emma Smith of 28 years works for the organization that is Datacom for 3 years and is working as a full-time software developer for many IT projects that the concerned company accomplished. She is selected for a crucial project of HoloLens practice with other 14 developers along with a team leader named Amy Jason, who is 35 years of age. Mason Taylor, 50 years is the project manager for the entire practice and liable for the presentation of the companys first real-world project in New Zealand. The manager also collaborated with outstanding presentation and communication with the Information Systems and Operations Management Department" of University of Auckland" and Auckland Museum. The developed projects attain huge success in its objectives like visualization to gesture, 3D holograms into the field of vision, speech recognition and its ability to view real-world objects through another person's HoloLens device from a remote location. The project manager, Mason Taylor, gives all these illustrations regarding the project and its use. Emma Smith noted that the project manager did not mention any of the developer's names and thus very unsatisfied with the event. She believed that without the hard work of the entire developing team, the project manager would not be able to achieve the success for the project. Even Greg Davidson, Datacom Systems Managing Director greeted the project manager for the success. However, Greg Davidson acknowledged the team leader for the accomplishment of one of the innovative projects. He also assures for the promotion and some executive pay to the team leader and project manager. In this scenario, the lack of acknowledgment of the entire developing team can be seen as they have put their effort and technological skills on the HoloLens practice. Apart from Emma Smith, Alice Reid, 30 years is also unhappy with the decision of the managing director as the developing team suggested the idea of the formulation of the concept app that targets the motor vehicle industry for selling cars without the need for a single vehicle sitting. The team leader did not highlight these efforts of developing a team to the project manager and managing director. The entire scenario thus represents the lack of acknowledgment, group dynamics and motivation for the next projects. This may be lead to the poor performance of the developers, future conflicts with the team leader to low employee retention. A critical analysis of the scenario Lazaroiu (2015) defines that the level of desireof an employee to work for the organization is known as motivation. Motivated employees not only engaged with their work by they also serve their best for the betterment of the organization and their satisfaction with the organization. Moreover, Marthouret and Sigvardsson (2016) also stated that motivation drives the productivity of the company and promotes self-discipline among the employees. It is also evident that if employees are motivated in the workplace, they will show continuous better performance by learning required skills that can drive the profitability of the concerned organization. Content theory - Alderfers ERG Theory Alderfers ERG theoryalso indicates the basics of the Maslow's theory that is physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, self-esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Pinder (2014) depict that in order to motivate the employee it is required to motivate them from more than one level at the same time compared to the Maslow's theory. Thus, the existence needs comprises of the physiological needs (basic needs food and shelter) and safety needs (job security and retention) of the Maslow's theory. In addition, relatedness need comprises of social needs (social acceptance and gatherings) and self-esteem needs (job recognition, acknowledgment from senior authorities); while the growth factors resemble the presence of self-esteem and self-actualization needs (financial and non-financial benefits) (Maslow 2013). It is thus, can be said that, according to the Alderfers ERG theory there is a lack of growth factors in the concerned organization, Datacom. Emma Smith and other developers of the HoloLens project feel unsatisfied from the behavior of their higher authorities. During the project, the team leader supports and directed them to accomplish the crucial program but after the event for the representation of the project, the rest of the team member did not receive any appreciation or benefits. Secondly, the managing director, Greg Davidson also appreciates the team leader but has not mentioned the team member. This may lead to de-motivation in further projects or less employee retention in the organization. This aspect thus, illustrated the lack of safety needs among employee, as the leaders do not highlight their effort to managing directors and especially to the project manager. Process theory - Adams equity theory Miner (2015) suggested that in the context of motivation, fairness in the working approach plays a crucial role. Even if employees do not get any financial and non-financial benefits, equity among all the working personnel irrespective of the designation and judging people based on the ability provides a sensation of motivation. Lee and Raschke (2016) moreover depicts that the equity theory can be applied by evaluating the output of the employees based on their loyalty, adaptability, hard work, flexibility, effort and enthusiasm towards the organization. In this given scenario, the equity is not followed. It can be seen from the scenario that Amy Jason, the team leader and Mason Taylor, the project manager does not give credit to the software developers team and thus, the team felt dissatisfied. Moreover, in the event, when the project manager and the managing director illustrate the projects and tits benefits to the local people, there was a lack of acknowledging. In addition, the managing director thanked the team but assured promotion and executive pay only to the team leaders and the project manager. Mentioning financial and non-financial benefits is not assured for the team members in the given scenario. Group Dynamics The concept of group dynamics resembles the situation of the behaviors and psychological processeswithin a team or a social group. Levi (2016) illustrates that in decision-making behavior and creating techniques that are innovative and effective can be ensured through group dynamics. Turner (2014) furthermore depicts that the leadership factors, personal factors and environmental factors are important aspects for a team's cohesion. The leadership skills comprise of the strategic thinking, collaborative style and communication skills; while of the personal factors majorly comprises of income, age and occupation (Obholzer 2016). On the other hand, the environmental factors in the team cohesion are the combination of the above two aspects. Moreover, Levi (2016) portrays that analyzing the group outcomes and individual outcomes also determines the environmental factors of the group dynamics. Leadership Factor- Turner (2014) stated that effective management skills and vision regarding a business goal drives the efficiency of the leadership of a managing authority. In the given scenario, it can be seen that the software developing team work collaboratively along with the team leader and the project manager. Moreover, it is also evident from the case scenario that the project manager of the Datacom for the HoloLens project only with the team leader and not with the team members. This is the prime reason; the project manager does not include the effort of the team members in the event. Thus, lack of communication skills is absent in terms with the developing team. Personal Factors- Salin and Hoel (2013) stated that income, age and occupation are the crucial factors that determine the personal factors. Jetten and Hornsey (2014) also affirm that the skills, knowledge and characteristics of an individual are important for group dynamics. In the given scenario, Emma Smith, Alice Reid, and others who are the team members of the HoloLens project seems to get more recognition in the workplace regarding their work, as they are desire to establish themselves as an efficient employee for their job security. Levi (2016) furthermore depicts that, the income of the individual depends on the recognition they receive regarding their work and thus the higher the recognition; the higher will be the financial benefit that they will receive. It is also evident that the managing director Greg Davidson, having experience regarding the business objective of Datacom and thus can evaluate whether the project of HoloLens has accomplished their goals of activities and depending on it Greg Davidson is liable to given acknowledgment to the desirable. However, in this scenario, only the effort of the team leader is appreciated thus, the absence of personal factor regarding the income factor is seen. Environmental Factors- This factor comprises of the evaluation of the team cohesion that relies on the group outcomes and individual outcomes. According to the scenario, only the group outcomes are highlighted but the individual outcomes are not mentioned by any of the members of the organization. Communication Communication plays a crucial role in the motivation of the employees. Zhang and Venkatesh (2013) depict that in order to distribute information and building an effective relationship between employees and managers, communication is important. The effective communication also ensures the knowledge sharing ability so that organizations employee can communicate with their higher authorities regarding a better alternative so that a project can be successfully accomplished. In the given scenario, the team members communicate with the team leader and this can be seen through their suggestion for the formulation of an application that can be used by the automobile industry. This innovative move, through which automobile retailer can sell their cars to customers. Customers can experience the interior of the car without being physically present and test a car. Additionally, the suggestion of the team leader results in the extraordinary results that are users can interact with a life-sized holographic car sitting in the front seatalong with the facility of listening to the engine. Moreover, it can also be seen that the project manager lacks in effective communication skills. The concerned person only communicates with the team leader regarding the progress of the project and not with the software developer team. This results in a lack of motivation as the team members cannot see equity in the organization and it may result in a poor interpersonal relationshi p with the higher authority. Another barrier is the absence of fraternization, which can be seen from the acknowledgment of the managing director to the project manager. Miller (2014) stated that it is not possible for every person to have knowledge in every aspect. The managing director of the organization is liable for aligning the organizational culture with the ability of the working personnel. This context is also absence in the scenario of the Datacom. The managing director of the organization only measure the outcome of the project and the benefit that the organization will get but he will not aware of the technical skills and efforts required for accomplishing the entire project. This results in inefficient communication among the organizations leader and the employees. This not only leads in inequity but also de-motivates the working personnel. Additionally, processing inefficiencies can also be the result that can be illustrated for the less communication of the project manager and the employee. Project manager directs communicate with the client and their orders, if the manager does not communicate with the employees directly, they cannot make the proper changes and amendments in the project as not every time the team leader understand the requirement of the client as directed by the project manager. Cherian and Jacob (2013) stated that an organization could attain effective business outcomes if all the employees are provided with proper recognition and opportunities not only for their personal development but also for accomplishing the organizational performance. Recommendation on motivation Recommendations Application in the workplace Personalized employee recognition during project Belle (2013) depicts that this innovative reward system encourages the employee to make short-term goals and achieve them in order to get rewards. These personalized rewards can be a couple of movie tickets, football ticket, gift certificates to shops or an extra leave to spend with family. In context with the provided scenario, team members should be offered these gifts on achieving short-term goals like the correct execution of the application coding, successful visualization of the gadgets and others. Enhancement in responsibility Gupta and Shaw (2014) depicts that every organization should provide a chance for the self-development of the employee. This allows the employee to show their potential on the desired work they are given. Belle (2013) furthermore portrays that, managing authorities should offer challenging roles and responsibility to the employee to assess whether they can manage in the crucial times. In the context of provided situation, the team leader should rely on efficient employee and offer them a chance to be the leader for a day so that the managing power of the employee can be evaluated. Communication Informal and formal communication plays a crucial role in motivating the employees. Formal communication can be official meetings and conference; while information can be gathering outside the office (Dasgupta 2013). In the given scenario, the project manager can take the developing team out for dinners or movie to enhance the interpersonal relationships and a feeling of equity. Table 1: Recommendation on motivation (Source: Created by Author) Recommendation on group dynamics Recommendations Application in the workplace Defining role and responsibility All the working personnel should know their roles and responsibility and a copy of the document have to be prepared that can be presented to the managing authority so that they can be aware of every member of the organization and their working progress (Cummings and Worley 2014). In the context of the given scenario, a checklist of the roles and responsibility of the individual team member should be given to the project manager and the managing director so that they can assure that the project is accomplished by everyones effort and can provide them recognition. Enhancing the problem solving ability Mone and London (2014) stated that it is crucial to identify the drawbacks of the current working procedure so that alternate ideas can be implemented for a better outcome. In the given case scenario, team leader on seeing that a member has adopted a behaviorthat is not fruitful for the project, effective measure like taking about their difficulty and requirement or suggesting them for an alternate way should be taken. Providing Feedback Marthouret and Sigvardsson (2016) mention that whether the outcome is positive and negative, it is important to provide feedback. His not only let the employee know regarding their performance also they feel motivated that their effort has been analyzed. In the given context, the team leader must assess the work of developing the team and celebrate the small achievement and give feedback on improving the failures. Table 2: Recommendation on Group Dynamics (Source: Created by Author) Recommendation on communication Recommendations Application in the workplace Implementation of communication tools Miller (2014) stated that an organization must implement new communication tools like video conferencing, bulletins, postings, and memos to enhance the communication with every member of the organization. In the context of the given scenario, video conferencing can be used during the working time in between the managing direct and the team members and a face-to-face communication of the project manager with the tea members so that effort of each software developer can be communicated. Meetings and unofficial gatherings Datacom must take their employee out for informal gatherings apart from business meetings to motivate them and to celebrate their achievements. Zhang and Venkatesh (2013) defines that employee can share their experience and share the knowledge during the projects that they have attained to enhance the friendship and understanding among them. Table 3: Recommendation on Communication (Source: Created by Author) Reference List Belle, N., 2013. Experimental evidence on the relationship between public service motivation and job performance. Public Administration Review, 73(1), pp.143-153. Cherian, J. and Jacob, J., 2013. Impact of self efficacy on motivation and performance of employees. International Journal of Business and Management, 8(14), p.80. Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014. Organization development and change. Cengage learning. Dasgupta, P.R., 2013. Volatility of workload on employee performance and significance of motivation: IT sector. 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