Motivation Flashcards
All 22 cards in this deck
What is motivation in a business?
The desire or willingness of employees to work hard and do their job well.
Give one advantage to a business of having motivated employees.
Productivity rises, so the cost of producing each product falls and the profit margin rises.
How does motivation help a business retain employees?
Employees enjoy working there, so they are less likely to leave and the business avoids recruitment costs.
How can reducing the size of the workforce affect the employees who remain?
They worry about losing their jobs, so motivation and productivity fall.
How can failing to pay employees on time affect a business?
Employees become demotivated and may leave, so productivity falls and recruitment costs rise.
What is remuneration?
The total financial reward an employee receives for their work, such as wages or salary.
What is a bonus as a method of motivation?
An extra payment on top of normal pay, given for good performance or for meeting a target.
What is commission?
A payment to an employee based on a percentage of the value of the sales they make.
What are fringe benefits?
Extra rewards given to employees on top of pay, e.g. a company car, staff discount or private healthcare.
How does promotion motivate employees?
It moves an employee to a more senior job with higher pay and status, rewarding their effort and giving them something to work towards.
Give one reason a pay rise may not increase motivation.
Employees may value non-financial factors, such as interesting work or autonomy, more than pay, so the effect of a pay rise may be small or short-lived.
Give one non-financial method of motivating employees.
Any one of: job rotation; job enrichment; autonomy.
What is job rotation?
Moving employees between different tasks or jobs so their work is more varied.
What is job enrichment?
Giving employees more challenging and interesting tasks and greater responsibility in their job.
What is employee autonomy?
Giving employees the freedom to make their own decisions about how they do their work.
Give one benefit to a business of job rotation.
The workforce becomes more flexible, as employees are trained in different jobs, so production can continue if someone is absent.
True or false? A bonus is a non-financial method of motivation.
False. A bonus is a financial method; non-financial methods are job rotation, job enrichment and autonomy.
Name two ways a business could improve employee retention.
Any two of: training and development; financial rewards such as a bonus or promotion; job rotation, job enrichment or autonomy; flexible hours.
True or false? Job rotation means giving an employee more challenging responsibilities.
False. That is job enrichment; job rotation means moving employees between different tasks.
How does motivation help a business attract employees?
A business known for having happy, well-rewarded staff gains a good reputation as an employer, so more good applicants want to work there.
Give one benefit to a business of job enrichment.
Employees gain new skills and feel trusted with more responsibility, so they are more motivated and better prepared for senior roles later.
Give one benefit to a business of giving employees autonomy.
Employees who choose how to do their work feel trusted, so their motivation rises, and they may come up with more creative ideas.