Emotions & Dissonance

Name: Gustavo Molina

Topic: Emotions & Dissonance

Memo #: 2

Option: 2

Date: 02/20/2006

One of the biggest challenges as managers is to keep employees motivated. People are so different and that is exactly where the issue lies on. But we all know that motivation has a direct impact on productivity and outcome. Nadler and Lawler in their article "Motivation: A Diagnostic Approach" talk how "Different People Have Different Types of Needs, Desires and Goals". If as managers we are capable of identifying these motives, we will have a very strong tool to maintain and improve the organization's performance.

A big difficulty comes when you have many people reporting to you; it takes times to know everyone. When I started working at Neutrogena I had around thirty people reporting to me. I performed a similar job in Peru but only had five people under me. In Peru we don't expect more than our salary; we don't have any stability so jobs are valued. I treated people with respect and they treated me the same way. I didn't have to give them many rewards or incentives for them to perform. So they were very happy with whatever I could give them. I tried to apply the same principle here but for obvious reasons, it didn't work out the same way. Many things are taken for granted at Neutrogena. Initially, I always asked people what they wanted or if for example we had a meeting, which was the best time for everybody. I could never get into an agreement with the thirty employees and there were always a few unhappy individuals with the decision. It made me feel bad because I thought I wasn't a good manager. With time, and confirming this in Mr. Sommer's O.B. class, I realized that a good manager needs to be respected, not liked. Now I still ask people what they want but I give them options (generally two), so we can agree by majority. Currently I give them gift certificates when they reach their daily goals. They are motivated and are always pushing to hit their quota. Another strategy that I use to keep them motivated is to publicly recognize their jobs. It makes them feel proud (people want to feel important) and like Wright and Cropanzano said in their article "The Role of Psychological Well-Being in Job Performance: A Fresh Look art an Age-Old Quest" people that are happy and positive perform better and are more creative.

Another aspect of motivation is mentioned by Clawson and Haskins in their article "Beating the career blues" when they said "They have lost their motivation for their chosen work and the pleasure they once derived from it. They have become, to varying degrees, disengaged from their work". This is very common, I would say it happens to most of us, when we loose focus and start thinking about non-work related things. We have low energy and we don't have the best attitude towards our job. The number one sign of career blues in my organization is absenteeism and tardies (coming late). And it makes sense, if you are not motivated why would you want to go to work. It is more an obligation than a purpose. The problem is we can play with the system, miss many days and still keep our job. At Neutrogena additionally to vacations and two personal days, we also get five sick days, five work and family days for emergencies, funeral days, jury duty, etc. Some people take advantage and use them as if they were vacations, and many times you have no way to prove that they are abusing the system. One of the things I was very clear with my subordinates is that I was going to be very strict about attendance. If they were sick