Introduction
XYZ Company is a renowned business organization that operates both locally and internationally. The retail firm was established in 2002 in the outskirts of Florida, offering products and services to nearby communities. It mainly deals in grocery, electronics, clothing, and beauty services. Over the past decade, the corporation has been effectively generating passive income for the shareholders. It is managed by directors in charge of each store located in various parts of the country and those in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. Currently, the firm has about 400 active shops where consumers can purchase the commodities they sell. XYZ has employed 100,000 employees to help provide the necessary services in the stores. The company’s organizational structure is hierarchical, which allows the top management to have the full authority to make any decision regarding the needs of workers in the corporation. This aspect has made the urgent needs of staff members be addressed ineffectively. Failure to tackle the needs of workers has resulted in reduced morale among the employees causing the firm to underperform.
Generally, the success of a business organization is contributed by the effort and dedication of employees in the firm. For instance, XYZ, a retail enterprise, depends on the services of the staff members to handle and service customers effectively to attract more clients to shop from the stores. In order to create a proper system that ensures employees excel accordingly, the company’s management team must establish an organizational structure that has the potential to meet the needs of respective staff members. When employees’ demands are met, they automatically feel motivated and thus become more productive in their roles. However, this was the contrary case in XYZ firm because the business entity has a structure that does not support the desires of its workers, leaving them less inspired to perform their duties (Nobles, 2019). The operation system of XYZ does not allow the workers to share their challenges following the tiresome channel one must follow to reach the respective director of each store. The practice has significantly enhanced the lack of motivation amongst the employees as well as other underlying factors within the retail firm.
The Figure 1 below indicates the XYZ organization structure from the chief executive officer to the store employees. Based on the illustrations, directors 1, 2, and 3 provide feedback to the company’s chief executive directly. They supervise and oversee stores’ operations in different locations (Nobles, 2019). Below the rank are the departmental managers within the shops, which include sales, customer care, finance, and marketing, who are answerable to their respective directors. Last, employees on the chain perform various activities such as sales, marketing, consumer services, and other assigned duties. They forward their demands to the managers, who then direct them to the directors before reaching the owner of the business organization.
Based on the management system applied by XYZ, when employees raise a concern in their respective departments, it takes a considerable amount of time before they obtain feedback. The firm’s norms state that all issues are to be addressed by the chief executive offer, which requires directors to provide feedback. This technique has decreased the commitment and energy level of workers in the company over the past few years. Employees have significantly reduced their creativity and their work rate following the inability of the firm to manage them effectively.
The organizational structure of XYZ has facilitated several factors that have enhanced the lack of employee motivation in the company. They include poor communication between the management and the employees in various firm departments. Based on the system, staff members are not briefed frequently on critical matters such as changes in leadership, workplace issues, and other related aspects that require clarity from the management body (Nobles, 2019). The element makes employees guess what is next, making them more confused and frustrated. In most cases, the workers require more time to pass their concerns to the top authority, which derails them. Limited clear communication makes the organization unwelcoming for the employees because they strive to obtain the necessary information to facilitate their respective responsibilities. The practice has made the employees lose confidence and trust in the company.
Similarly, following the working environment created by the company’s management system, managers of various departments have taken advantage of the situation and continuously harassed the staff members on most occasions. The practice has made most workers feel discouraged and less interested in the work they perform in the company. Some employees are dissatisfied with the relationship between the directors and workers, making them have work-related stress. The poor culture has extended even amongst the co-workers leading to a toxic workplace where each employee is focused on the given responsibility without caring about the welfare of one another. The existing condition has made the staff correlation lose, resulting in individual demotivation.
Moreover, the hierarchical organizational structure has contributed to an aspect of micromanagement in the business company. Generally, employees feel motivated when they are allowed to engage in some crucial processes in the firm, such as decision-making (Irani-Williams et al., 2021). They develop a sense of togetherness, giving them the morale and energy to perform their respective roles effectively. However, in the case of XYZ retail enterprise, it is the contrary. Workers in the corporation are not allowed to involve in other activities besides offering services to the company’s customers. The departmental managers monitor what each employee is undertaking, implying that the organization does not trust the judgment of the workers. Failure to enable employees to perform some duties under no close supervision is making most of the staff members disengage from the company. The practice lowers their morale, reducing their commitment and creativity needed to improve their productivity.
Over the past years, the management of XYZ Retail Company has been rewarding employees randomly without considering performance merit. The approach favors all workers, including the ones that did not contribute effectively to facilitating the performance of the business organization. The lack of recognition of the most committed personnel has resulted in the withdrawal of the top performers. They have opted to relax and conduct their roles similar to their co-workers, who are not productive. The aspect of the same treatment is making such employees inactive and less focused on their respective responsivities. The failure of XYZ to consider and value the contribution of an individual staff member is massively affecting the morale of workers in the company.
Effects of Lack of Employee Motivation in XYZ Retail Company
The lack of employee motivation in XYZ’s business organization has affected the performance of the company negatively. Little inspiration makes workers stop focusing on the vision of the corporation. Some of the severe impacts include reduced business performance, a high rate of turnover, increased absenteeism, consistent mistakes, low creativity, poor customer service, and changes in the personality of workers (Irfak, 2022). These effects directly interfere with the overall operations of the firm.
Following the lack of employee motivation in the XYZ business organization, the company has been performing poorly in the market. As stated earlier, the success of the corporation is driven by the energy and commitment of workers toward delivering services. However, XYZ staff members have completely stopped making an effort to provide the best services to the customers in the market. The outcome has made most of the esteemed clients of the firm opt for shopping in other retail stores where their demands are satisfied. This resulted in a reduced level of sales leading to low returns for the company (Yin et al., 2019). Similarly, some employees have tarnished the firm’s name in the industry, making it lose its reputation in the sector. Such conduct has contributed significantly to the drop in revenue being experienced currently in the firm.
In the recent past, XYZ Company has registered a record-breaking turnover rate following an increasing rate of employee dissatisfaction. Most workers have been quitting their job because they feel undervalued by the firm’s management (Ann & Blum, 2019). The situation has led to many resignations leaving the business organization with a shortage of competent employees. The nature of policies and the management strategies of the entity are vital factors facilitating the rate at which workers are leaving the corporation. Furthermore, the company has failed to provide proper monetary and other benefits that motivate employees, thus making them lose interest. The increasing turnover in the organization is causing the business to have insufficient professionals that can perform technical duties hence making the performance of the company drop.
Similarly, the company is experiencing a high absenteeism rate amongst its workers. Most employees are fond of taking long breaks or miss coming to work to avoid the unwelcoming working environment in the organization (Jensen et al., 2019). In some rare cases, staff members may take considerable time during lunch breaks without considering their roles. The actions are caused by a lack of motivation that makes employees feel discouraged. Workers are focused on any possible excuse that would allow them to stay away from the workplace. Such habits make the firm underperform in the retail market where customers require the services of employees.
Another common feature of demotivated employees is a lack of concentration on their duties. When workers are disengaged from their responsibilities, they do not care about the possible mistakes that might occur during their activities. For instance, XYZ management has recorded several cases where employees in the customer care desk mishandled clients as opposed to the business norms. Most of the workers engage in such practices because they have less interest in the firm in them. The behaviors are detrimental to the company since some can result in lawsuits requiring cash bail to settle.
Employees’ involvement in business operation is essential to any business performance. When different workers come together from various backgrounds, they possess varied skills, knowledge, and competencies necessary to run and manage the company effectively. If the organization fails to create a proper atmosphere where they can advance and become innovative, their creativity reduces. Similarly, some may choose to hide their talents because they feel the management does not appreciate the effort and commitment they are offering to the firm. Such practices may make the company lose the resourcefulness of the individual hence leading to low returns from their services.
Job satisfaction is critical for the productivity of employees in an organization. When workers’ issues are considered and resolved effectively and in time by the management, they will remain committed to offering better services to the company’s customers. However, if the needs of staff members are ignored by the firm, the likelihood of the workers providing shoddy services to the client is high. In case of such occurrences, customers might not be pleased with the quality of services they receive from the business enterprise and thus may opt to shop in other stores. Poor customer service is a setback that causes the corporation to have a bad reputation in the market.
Moreover, XYZ Company is currently experiencing changes in the behavior of its employees. Most of the workers are easily angered by simple issues, unlike before. Other staff members have become sarcastic, indicating that they are suffering from a lack of inspiration from the management. Such conduct, if not curbed prior, may have side effects that reduce the morale and commitment of staff members in their respective work. Furthermore, some workers may exhibit a high level of stress which harms their performance.
Ways of Improving Employee Motivation in XYZ Retail Company
Employee motivation should be a fundamental goal of a business organization as well as the management that must ensure a proper balance between the satisfaction of workers and control of the business operations. Since the causes of staff demotivation are many, there are a number of solutions that XYZ Corporation can apply to minimize the impact of the situation in the industry. They include proper leadership, recognizing performing workers, developing a career path, eliminating the aspect of micromanagement, and effective company policies. These approaches have the ability to influence the level of workers’ enthusiasm.
Leadership is the core of business operation and determines whether an organization prospers or fails in the market. XYZ Company should structure its management into servant headship, where the directors and managers consider the needs of employees before their personal interests (Zeeshan et al., 2021). When such a culture is cultivated, it will be easier for the firm to address the urgent needs of the workers, making them feel comfortable working for the entity. The leaders should communicate effectively and direct the staff members on what is expected from them to reduce the confusion associated with unclear information. Commendable leadership will inspire employees, making them remain committed to the vision of the business.
Similarly, another aspect that XYZ Company should practice is employee recognition. Generally, workers feel privileged when their efforts are appreciated by the management. To execute this approach, managers should take note of the workers who have improved their commitment to delivering the best services to the organization. Upon noticing such individuals, the company should reward them with various benefits such as monetary, non-monetary, promotion, and other approaches that would make them feel valued (Shalini, 2020). To make it fair, the prizes should be given in the order of performance to create a sense of competition amongst the staff members, which in turn facilitates engagement.
In most cases, employees do not want to remain stagnant in their profession but to prosper to higher levels. It is necessary for XYZ business organization to define properly the career paths of its workers. Creating such a situation will make the staff members focus on the next stage of their development (Saks, 2022). To achieve this, the management has to inquire from a respective worker about their future goal, and then the firm formulates the process that would enable them to meet their professional desires. Involving employees in such growth conversations will make them understand that the industry values them and they have a future together.
Moreover, to improve employees’ motivation, the company’s management should reduce the aspect of micromanagement. Most workers are discouraged when managers keep following them after they have been assigned their respective duties. The behavior is more likely to create an environment of distrust in the workplace. To create better working conditions, supervisors should allow staff members to manage themselves, especially during undertaking critical responsibilities. The approach will make employees understand that the company values their judgment and contribution to the growth of the business. Furthermore, staff members should be involved in processes such as decision-making to validate how their opinions are valuable to the firm. The mentioned practices have the potential to inspire the morale of workers; hence when adopted, they would redirect their energy and commitment to the business operations.
Theoretical Reflection
An organization is a complex system comprising various departments under different management. It is necessary to identify the possible causes of the problem before formulating solutions. For instance, XYZ’s lack of employee motivation results from organizational structure and other factors such as micromanagement. Upon identifying the probable reasons for the problem, it becomes easier to structure plans on how the management can manage the situation, including the criteria applicable. The context of motivation is broad, and the energy rotates in a loop which, if not balanced, the firm is prone to fail. The diagram below, see Figure 2, depicts how inspiration in the workplace circulates.
Based on the chart, employee motivation is contributed by undertaking the responsibility, experiencing job satisfaction following the work conditions initiated by the company, and growth of the business organization, which is brought by the achievement of the goals. Afterward, the staff members are recognized for their effort and commitment. This can include promotion leading to advancement in the level of roles performed within the company. The procedure is connected and undergoes different stages to facilitate the aspect of workers’ motivation in the workplace.
Conclusions
Companies are significantly affected by the lack of employee motivation. When workers are not inspired, their productivity reduces, which leads to poor performance of the given business organization. There are several factors that contribute to low work morale amongst staff members. The inability of the management to resolve issues affecting workers facilitates demotivation. Micromanagement and poor communication are essential recipes for limited enthusiasm. Reduced morale causes workers low productivity, constant mistakes, and severe behavioral changes. Despite the negative impacts of poor incentives in the firm, business management can resolve the challenges through adopting good leadership and practicing employee recognition. When such approaches are implemented, an entity will have the potential to perform effectively in a competitive market.
References
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