Provide a precise definition for motivation.

1. Provide a precise definition for motivation.

2. What can a manager do to improve their employees’ motivation?

3. Give an example of a time when a manager’s actions increased their employee’s motivation and how this affected the entire organization.

UNIT III STUDY GUIDE
Leading as a Manager:
Communicating and Motivating
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit III
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
3. Recommend ways to motivate employees by applying a human behavior theory, a leadership
theory, and a leadership style.
10. Apply managerial skills, principles, and decision-making strategies to the implementation of
business best practices.
Reading Assignment
In order to access the following resource(s), click the link(s) below:
Benson, D. (2015). The five fundamental tasks of a transformational leader. Physician Leadership Journal,
2(5), 58–62. Retrieved from
http://go.galegroup.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=oran9510
8&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA431445071&asid=e5932b254c6458cfd8952d03cf09a2e6
Nistorescu, A. (2012). The importance of communication skills for business professionals. Annals of Eftimie
Murgu University Resita, Fascicle II, Economic Studies, 516–523. Retrieved from
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc
t=true&db=bth&AN=92535248&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Pignatelli, A. (2015). 4 ways to boost employee performance and job satisfaction. Government Executive, 1.
Retrieved from
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direc
t=true&db=bth&AN=108835565&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Quick, T. (1988). Expectancy theory in five simple steps. Training and Development Journal, 42(7), 30–
33. Retrieved from
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=bth&AN=9083413&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Unit Lesson
YouTube Video for Unit III
Click here to view the video for Unit III (1m 36s).
Click here to access a PDF of the video transcript.
BBA 3602, Principles of Management
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UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
We begin Unit III with an article
Titleon The Google Way of
Motivating Employees. Although a relatively new company,
Google is already legendary in this area. Read the article
and watch the video as a way to start thinking about the
manager’s role in communication and motivation.
Communication as both an information transfer effort and
social bonding measure is practiced across a number of
animal species. Of course, communication among humans
is unmatched and remains an underpinning of our
civilization from ancient times until now. The
communication process is always the same: The sender
has a message and encodes it a certain way to transmit it
clearly to an intended receiver or multiple receivers. The
receiver, with knowledge of messages, succeeds in
receiving and then understanding the message
(Nistorescu, 2012).
Laura Gentile from the EPA (right)and Cindy Mauro
brainstorm ideas working in the FEMA Community
Relations Command post tracking and supporting
the CR Teams in the field.
(Rieger, 2004)
What can go wrong? Almost everything, as we learn from
our social or procedural communication blunders starting
from childhood. It stands to reason that the ability to
communicate effectively is a key component in the mosaic
of skills leaders must master to be successful managers.
Scholars and other experienced authors routinely address
issues of professional communication in their writings.
Communication is a huge subject and is more than can be covered in this course. The following points are but
a brief overview of how to achieve effective communication in the professional environment:




Be brief and clear. Lengthy descriptions and explanations add detail and can help us look impressive,
but stop. For understanding, there is no better way to serve the organization than to communicate
brief and clear messages. Managers do well to speak and write clearly and not too much.
Be professional. A self-controlled and businesslike demeanor is the hallmark of professionalism and
is reflected in efficient, purposeful, and unemotional communication. As managers, we can violate this
by including anger, frustration, smugness, glee, distaste, or panic in our communications.
Be correctly understood. The sender will always understand more about the transmitted message
than the receiver. Communications are better when reviewed and refined so they fit the purpose and
intended effect as closely as possible. We often practice this skill on the spot by “choosing our words”
or refraining from speaking at all! Written communication, though, such as email or social media, is
more enduring and requires more deliberate effort to avoid confusion or adverse reactions.
Communicate for a purpose. Managers generally have too much to do in the time available. For that
reason, a manager should ask before sending communications of any kind (spoken, written): Do we
need this communication? What purpose will it serve? These questions may also help prioritize
communications.
There are many good reasons for communicating. One may be to help motivate others as part of an ongoing
leadership effort. As with communication and leadership, the practice of motivating others with the purpose of
fostering a willing performance toward an established goal has been unchanged since antiquity. The practice
of good communication is integral to the art of motivation.
Managers can motivate others by applying human behavior theories. One theory is Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs. Here, people are understood to pursue physical survival needs first and needs for comfort and
prestige last. Another is Vroom’s expectancy theory, which posits that people will be motivated to choose a
course of action that matches the best available reward if they believe the reward is realistic (Quick, 1988).
How do managers put theory into practice? Often, it is done over time, one act at a time. As Takash (2015)
offered, motivation to sustain efforts and “stick to business” can be fostered by managers careful to behave
well in adverse situations as well as calmer ones. Optimism is contagious, but only if it is believable, and a
manager’s optimism is believable only if it is realistic as matched to the situation. In other words, a false
bravado or other façade when the situation obviously calls for a different approach may backfire among
BBA 3602, Principles of Management
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organizational members. Finally, listening and providing frequent situational updates
compassion
and a
UNIT x reflect
STUDY
GUIDE
consideration for members’ situations; these actions also allow the manager toTitle
learn from the members in the
local or national group.
Professional managers can follow a leadership theory that will not only serve their business or profession
interests, but act as their philosophical guide through life. One such example is transformational leadership. It
is the art of sharing a situation, providing a clear vision of how to get to a valued goal, and demonstrating that
the organizational members are important every step of the way (Benson, 2015). How do managers
demonstrate such an overarching theory? Charisma is part of transformational leadership, but it is not enough
by itself. Adolf Hitler was charismatic! There must be more to
inspiring leadership than charisma. Putting others first, even
though a manager’s status is ranked above the others, is a key
part of transformational leadership. It includes frequently
checking on their welfare as whole persons rather than treating
them as cogs in a wheel. Servant leadership is a component of
this. It is the difference between telling others to “move that box
over there” and picking up one corner and saying, “let’s move
this box over there.”
Managers have a choice of leadership styles to follow. Much of
the time, with situations changing from moment to moment,
managers use their social skills and knowledge to read a
situation and frequently apply a familiar leadership style that
may fit the situation; in so doing, they are practicing situational
leadership. The term describes a category of theories as well as
a range of leadership styles (Pignatelli, 2015). Other approaches
will be explored in the next unit.
Ed Conley, External Affairs Director Region VII,
address the meeting of RISC (Regional
Interagency Steering Committee) on public
information issues and the creation of a
planning group to work on new ideas.
Will one style fit every situation? Probably not. Certainly miscues
and mistakes can be made—perhaps proving that management
is an art as much as it is a science. In general, though, when a
manager invests time away from the numbers aspect of
leadership and toward shifting focus and control to
organizational members, the manager succeeds in making a
leadership style come to life.
(Rieger, 2008)
References
Benson, D. (2015). The five fundamental tasks of a transformational leader. Physician Leadership Journal,
2(5), 58–62.
Nistorescu, A. (2012). The importance of communication skills for business professionals. Annals of Eftimie
Murgu University Resita, Fascicle II, Economic Studies, 516–523.
Pignatelli, A. (2015). Four ways to boost employee performance and job satisfaction. Government Executive,
1–3.
Quick, T. (1998). Expectancy theory in five easy steps. Training and Development Journal, 42(7), 30–33.
Rieger, M. (2004, September). FEMA – 10808 – Photograph by Michael Rieger taken on 09-13-2004 in
Florida [Image]. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEMA_-_10808__Photograph_by_Michael_Rieger_taken_on_09-13-2004_in_Florida.jpg
Rieger, M. (2008, November). FEMA – 39524 – RISC group meeting in Colorado [Image]. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FEMA_-_39524_-_RISC_group_meeting_in_Colorado.jpg
Takash, J. (2015). Motivation needed now more than ever: Four steps that work. American Salesman.
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