The Need For A Motivated Workforce To Improve Productivity

VERİMLİLİĞİN ARTIRILMASINDA MOTİVASYONA SAHİP BİR İŞGÜCÜNE İHTİYAÇ

Augusto Umba Manuel Maria

Öz

Bu araştırma özellikle işletme kapsamındaki işgücünün motivasyonuna değinmektedir. Araştırma, insan yönetimi araştırmaları alanına geniş ölçüde katkı sağlayan sistematik ve kapsamlı bilgi sağlamaktadır. Bir şirketin daha yüksek bir işgücü verimliliği için işgücünü nasıl motive tutabileceği konusunda faydalı bilimsel bilgiler sağladığı için insan yönetimi kapsamındaki şirketler için özel bir ilgi görmektedir. Uygun bilimsel literatürden yararlanılarak işyerinde çalışanların nasıl motive edilebileceği ve bunun neden hayati önem taşıdığı konusunda faydalı bilgiler sağlanması istenmektedir. Böylelikle, araştırmada genel olarak motivasyonu üretkenliği artırmada önemli bir faktör olarak incelemek amaçlanmaktadır. Araştırma konusunun teorik olarak çalışılması ve geliştirilmesi amacıyla öncelikle, çalışılan konuyu açıklayan ilgili bilimsel literatür taranarak genel bir literatür taraması yapılır. Araştırma iki ana analiz noktasından oluşmaktadır. Araştırmanın ilk ana noktası özellikle işyerindeki motivasyonla ilgilenmekte olup işletme kapsamındaki motivasyonla ilgili tüm ilginç bilimsel kavramları ve teorileri açıklamaktadır. Araştırmanın ikinci ana noktası özellikle üretkenlik ile ilgili olup işletme kapsamındaki üretkenliğe ilişkin tüm ilgili bilimsel kavramları ve teorileri tanımlamayı amaçlamaktadır. Araştırmanın diğer noktaları genel olarak araştırma konusuyla ilgili diğer ilgi çekici konuları ele almaktadır. Araştırmanın amacına ulaşabilmek için genel olarak araştırma konusunu kavramsallaştıran bilimsel literatür teorik olarak incelenerek kavramsal bir araştırma yapılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada kavramsal araştırma, araştırmanın belirli bir konu hakkında mevcut bilgilerin gözlemlenmesi ve analizi yoluyla yürütüldüğü bir metodoloji olarak tanımlanmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Motivasyon, İşgücü, Verimlilik.

THE NEED FOR A MOTIVATED WORKFORCE TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY

Augusto Umba Manuel Maria[1]

Abstract

This research particularly refers to motivation of the workforce in the business context. The research provides systematic and exhaustive knowledge that contributes extensively to the area of people management research. It gains a exclusive attention for organizations within the context of people management as it provides useful scientific information about how an organization can keep its workforce motivated for  greater labor productivity. By drawing on suitable scientific literature, it is desired to provide useful information about how to motivate workpeople in the workplace and why it is essential. In this way, the research aims to analyze motivation as a crucial factor to improve productivity. In order to theoretically study the topic of the research and develop it, firstly, a general literature review is conducted by searching the relevant scientific literature that describes the topic under study. The research consists of two main points of analysis. The first main point of the research deals particularly with motivation in the workplace, describing all the interesting scientific concepts and theories about motivation in the business context. The second main point of the research copes particularly with productivity, aiming to describe all relevant scientific concepts and theories about productivity in the business context. The other points of the research deal with other interesting subjects related to the topic of the research in general. In order to reach the objective of the research, conceptual research is conducted by theoretically reviewing the scientific literature that generally conceives the topic of the research. In this study, conceptual research is defined as a methodology in which research is conducted through observation and analysis of currently available information about a given topic.

Key Words: Motivation, Labor Force, Productivity.

Introduction

An organization is required to adopt strategic policies focused on an effective management that prioritizes workpeople in order to ensure labor productivity in the workplace. A people-first management approach refers to prioritizing the well-being and experience of the workpeople. It involves a series of activities that are able to influence morale of the workpeople and boost motivation in the workplace. It implies seeing each member of the staff as a unique individual with needs, dreams and concerns that need to be met. A workplace needs to be created that encourages individual willpower, where workpeople feel comfortable performing their duties efficiently and effectively and, if necessary, also being able to share their feelings, concerns and challenges. Improving working conditions, actively encouraging, offering well-being programs, recognition and incentives can help workpeople feel more connected and motivated in the workplace. When an employee feels valued and noticed by his/her organization, he/she is less likely to look for other opportunities and his/her productivity tends to increase. It is precisely from this perspective that it is crucial to invest in effective management practices in organizations.

An effective management is one that goes beyond financial results, aiming for the sustainable growth of the entire organization. It takes into account the well-being and satisfaction of the workforce and other stakeholders in the organization. An effective management focused on well-being leads to improved operational efficiency and enhanced engagement of the workpeople. An accurately and precisely defined effective management process is crucial for a sustainable organization. It is about how efficiently and effectively an organization uses its authority to steer the workforce or itself to success. The lack of an effective management in the organization leads to a poor productivity.

It is critical for an organization to make and keep the workforce motivated in order to improve its productivity. It is essential to understand what makes an employee content in the workplace in order to keep him/her productive. A workplace that provides well-being to its workforce is used to be a more productive one, as it improves morale and invests in the psychological health of one’s labor force. An unmotivated workforce prevents the organization from accomplishing operational performance, as it leads the organization to face a series of challenges in the achievement of getting work done. Therefore, the organization needs to routinely evaluate its workplace and how it facilitates the well-being of the workforce in order to ensure that workpeople are operating at their maximum productivity levels.

In addition to the need for an organization to motivate its workpeople so that they can improve their labor productivity, there is another reason why it needs to establish a workplace focused on the well-being of the workforce. The other reason for this is the ethical obligations of the organization directed to its labour force, as well as social compliance with new regulations and standards of the industry. Regardless of the reason why an organization wants to implement effective management practices that may prioritize workpeople, it always benefits from doing so. It is extremely important for an organization to embrace its workpeople and give them a due attention, as they are the cornerstone that sustains the growth of the business.

As an impetus for growth of the business, motivation needs to be continually present at all levels of the organization. It is directly related to labor productivity. The more motivated the employee is, the more productive he/she is. Motivation can be understood as the employee’s will, determination and commitment to being within the organization. In this sense, high motivation leads to commitment to work and interest in staying in that job. A motivated professional is a happy one, satisfied and engaged with the organization. As a result, his/her productivity and performance are high and he/she tends to achieve all his/her organizational goals and deliver results above expectations. Workpeople are the drive for growth of a business. So, if an organization aims for increasingly satisfactory results, it needs to increasingly value its most precious asset to increase motivation in the workplace.

This research particularly refers to motivation of the workforce in the business context. The research holds significant value as it provides systematic and exhaustive knowledge that contributes extensively to the area of people management research. It gains an exclusive attention for organizations within the context of human resource management, as it provides useful scientific information about how an organization can keep its workforce motivated for a greater labor productivity. By drawing on suitable scientific literature, it is desired to provide useful information about how to motivate workpeople in the workplace and why it is vital. In this way, as a general objective, the research aims to analyze motivation as a crucial factor to improve productivity. In order to theoretically analyze the topic of the research and develop it, firstly, a general literature review is conducted by searching the relevant scientific literature that describes the topic under study. In order to reach the objective of the research, conceptual research is conducted by theoretically reviewing the scientific literature that generally conceives the topic of the research.

1. Workforce in the Business Context

Nowadays organizations need to be interpreted as living networks that produce effective contexts of meanings for a common body of knowledge and rules of conduct that are capable of generating a specific and unique identity and organizational culture. Organizations, therefore, also need to be effective permanent workplaces for social interactions where their specific patterns of meaning are constructed and reconstructed, which give them their personality and organizational culture. It is with this collection of factors that success in the business is promoted (Machado, 2014:362).

The characteristic that defines workforce management guides an approach to managing people that views workpeople as assets and bears in mind that the performance of the organization is achieved with strategic investments in these assets, by implementing policies focused on the well-being of the workpeople, such as hiring and/or retaining employees, effective talent management and other worker-friendly practices. According to Baron and Armstrong (2007:35), the perspective that positions the workforce as an engine for organizational development has a broad theoretical basis in the theoretical framework “Resource-Based View”, proposed by Barney in 1991. The basic assumption of this theory is that the performance of an organization can be explained by the way how its resources are managed and used. For Soares (2013:79), the resources of the organization are all the assets, capabilities, organizational processes, attributes, information and controlled knowledge that allow it to design and adopt strategies that improve its efficiency and effectiveness. These resources are applicable to human resources management, skills management and performance management and support the idea that emphasis should be placed on people as decisive resources for organizational development.

The organization is a human and complex system with typical own characteristics to its organizational culture and climate. This set of variables need to be continually observed, analyzed and improved in order to result in motivation and productivity (Chiavenato, 1983:298). There is no production without human labor. Due to that, since the beginning, economic theory has considered labor as an essential factor for production and, therefore, for economic growth (Amaral et al., 2008:79-84). As a human and complex system, an organization consists of individuals who aspire to find what they need to be happy in the workplace. The organization needs to pay close attention to the well-being of its workpeople and continually work to motivate them. Motivation is crucial for effective production in the workplace, as it improves morale and invests in the psychological health of workpeople. A happy workforce is more productive than another one.

2. Effective People Management

The activity of people in organizations presupposes acting in group in which individuals have their own wills, but what unites them and is common to them are the objectives of the organization. Because, as organizations are made up of people, these in turn, in a special way, need to be managed to achieve the established objectives (Moura, 2013:151).

People management is the set of policies and practices necessary to conduct aspects of the management position related to people or human resources, including recruitment, selection, training, rewards and performance evaluation. It is the field that builds talent through an integrated set of processes and takes care of organization’s human capital that is the crucial element of its intellectual capital and the basis of its success (Chiavenato, 2010:9).

Managing people is a complex work and involves a set of activities. Part of these activities may be directed to developing and implementing programs or practices for the personal development of the workpeople. It is necessary to enable workpeople to constantly develop in order to continue performing their role well. If the workplace does not inspire motivation, morale and psychological health of the workpeople decline and, consequently, their required level of performance decreases. Workpeople constantly need to receive incentives that encourage them to do their work efficiently and effectively. Not only that, but it is also important for the organization to care about the personal development of its workpeople.

 Personal development must be understood as the set of actions that are carried out to provide each employee of the organization with his/her physical, mental and social well-being towards his/her satisfaction and fulfillment as a human being (Moura, 2013:152-155). By social well-being refers to the result that arises from a set of strategies and actions that an organization adopts to not only create a harmonious work environment for a worker, but also to help him/her progress in society while he/she is employed. According to Machado (2014:366), organizations must be managed in a virtuous manner, in order to achieve the due conciliation of three major objectives, such as the development/fulfillment of individuals, the success of organizations and the common good.

It is crucial to understand that managing people properly is about how the organization efficiently and effectively manages its workpeople through effective practices that engage them in performing their work well (Heyns, 2018; Tokarz and Malinowska, 2019; Rahaman, 2020). These effective practices have to lead to improvement of workforce morale and optimization of the production levels. Effective people management is one that promotes motivation, engagement, professional qualification to the point of reflecting all work in results of the organization. Managing people properly involves understanding the workpeople who constitute the organization. It means that understanding the workpeople’s motivations, personalities as well as their career and personal goals. Active listening as well as empathy and a people-first management approach lead to a deeper mutual understanding of all people in the organization.

3. Motivation in the Workplace

In general, motivation is a willingness of an individual to make an effort to perform a certain activity. It is the entire class of impulses, desires, needs and similar forces. In the workplace, motivation can be understood as the employee’s will, determination and commitment to being within the organization to carry out their duties. According to Demirci et al. (2019:203), motivation is a drive to be willing to carry out a task, take an action or accomplish a goal, usually for a desired or expected result, which is also associated with high organizational performance. According to Teixeira (1998:120), saying that managers motivate their subordinates means that they develop actions that they hope will satisfy the desires, impulses and needs of their workpeople, inducing them to act in the desired way. There is no doubt, therefore, that motivation dynamizes and channels behaviours towards a purpose. Behaviors are developed – initiated or changed – in a certain direction based on specific stimuli (or incentives). Developing a high level of motivation in workpeople is one of the fundamental concerns of any manager, whatever their level of activity in the organization. But the way managers act in this domain has a lot to do with their basic beliefs about human nature.

Motivation is the desire that directs people to behaviour. If people do not perform the desired behaviour, there is a lack of motivation. Motivation is when people act with their own wishes and desires and make efforts to achieve a certain goal (Koçel, 2011:620). The success of managers and businesses is measured by the achievement of goals. For this reason, managers can encourage their employees to behave in a way that will achieve the organizational goals. In this respect, motivation has a close relationship with both personal and organizational performance. There are many methods that increase the motivation of the workforce. For example, clarity of goals has a significant impact on employee motivation. If the goal to be achieved is well determined and the employee wants to achieve this goal, thinking about the goal will motivate him/her to work. Reward is another motivational tool. A reward given as a result of the work done or if the goals are achieved will motivate workpeople. The interest of managers in workpeople, receiving their opinions and suggestions, supporting them, and sharing their problems are factors that increase motivation. Every business may have its own motivational tools. The important thing is to benefit from these tools at the right place and at the right time (Saruhan, 2018:179-180).

Motivation is related to high organizational performance. Thus, it is one of the topics most discussed by managers who recognize that workforce satisfaction leads to satisfied customers and, eventually, greater market shares and profits (Demirci et al., 2019:203). A happy workforce implies a more successful organization. Motivation tools have to be applied in the organization, such as flexibility, annual leaves, bonuses for high-performance achievers, regular training sessions for workforce and giving workpeople more autonomy to make important decisions (Hitt et al., 2012:398).

3.1. Basic Process of Motivation

Motivation can be influenced by external factors such as incentives, rewards and social pressures, but it is also driven by internal forces such as personal values, beliefs and emotions. The motivation process consists of interconnected stages that are defined as need, stimulation, and satisfaction. The fact that needs cause behaviors and therefore the feeling of satisfaction is experienced constitutes the motivation process. For Demirci et al. (2019:203), the basic process to motivate the workforce begins with needs, continues with actions to meet the needs and results in satisfaction and rewards.

It takes a basic process to motivate a workforce in the workplace. This process begins with changing needs depending on workers and circumstances. As every worker has needs of this or that type, motivation is a basic tool for all managers to create an efficient, effective and happy workplace. The motivation process continues with actions aimed at meeting the needs of the person, others and, mainly, managers. The result of these actions are intrinsic satisfactions and rewards from within the person or extrinsically from outside. According Demirci et al. (2019:203), the satisfaction and also the relief when completing a mission or innovating a product is an intrinsic reward. Satisfaction obtained from outside in the form of company shares, promotion, or praise from the team leader is an extrinsic reward. It is highly crucial that a manager maintains a balance between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Workpeople who obtain job satisfaction only through internal or external rewards will eventually seek another type of reward. This situation can be explained in the hierarchy of needs theory. The different phases of a basic motivation process, for example the choice and extent of rewards, vary according to the circumstances of each organization. It should also be noted that the results of an action in the workplace are two-sided, such as rewards and penalties. The application of penalties changes according to the style of management. Therefore, an employee is encouraged to fulfill a task and contribute to objectives of the organization, either through rewards or by not being punished.

3.2. Psychological Theories of Motivation

Researching the different needs of employees has led to the emergence of the concept of motivation theories. A motivation theory can be defined as an idea or assumption proposed and defended by a scholar/researcher about the variables that affect human motivation, based on the results of a research/study carried out on the subject (Soyer at al., 2022:1-16). A motivational theory aims to identify and analyze the factors that stimulate people’s behavior. The theories of motivation are directly related to factors that can directly or indirectly influence people’s attitudes as well as reflect on their behaviours (Dweck, 2024:1-8). Psychological theories of motivation in the workplace can be grouped by content and by process. While content theories analyze the process that directs the individual by addressing the individual’s needs and internal factors, process theories examine the individual’s thoughts and external factors to act towards a goal.

Content theories focus on people’s needs that result in certain behaviors and actions to meet them. A content theory therefore discusses various needs that motivate people to contribute to the goals of the organization. A tip for managers regarding content theories on motivation is that they should try to understand employee needs, how to structure managerial and organizational tools to meet them, and what type of behavior to expect as a result of meeting employee needs. Process theories focus on people’s behaviors that can be affected by environmental factors beyond needs. The important point for managers is how to get workpeople to repeat these behaviors or not (Demirci et al., 2019:204-207). In this work, for content theories, the hierarchy of needs theory and the two-factor theory are explained. For process theories, equity theory is explained.

3.2.1. The Hierarchy of Needs Theory

The hierarchy of needs theory, published by psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1943 in his book “The Theory of Human Motivation”, is one of the first and best-known approaches to motivation. Early motivation theories form the basis of current practices for motivating the workforce in an organization.

Hierarchy of needs theory proposes that people are motivated by multiple needs that are in a hierarchical order (Demirci et al., 2019:205). Abraham Maslow presents a theory of motivation according to which human needs are organized and arranged into levels, in a hierarchy of importance and influence. This hierarchy of needs can be visualized as a pyramid. At the base of the pyramid are the lowest needs (physiological needs) and at the top, the highest needs (self-realization needs). He introduces five types of needs, such as 1) psychological needs, 2) safety needs, 3) social needs, 4) esteem needs and 5) self-actualization needs (Chiavenato, 2003:329-330):

• Physiological needs constitute the lowest level of all human needs, but are of vital importance. At this level are the needs for food (hunger and thirst), sleep and rest (tiredness), shelter (cold or heat) and other physiological needs. Physiological needs are related to the survival of the individual and the preservation of the species. These are instinctive needs that are born with the individual. They are the most pressing of all human needs. When any of these needs are not satisfied, it dominates the direction of behavior.
• Safety needs constitute the second level of human needs. These are needs for security, stability, seeking protection from threat or deprivation, and escaping danger. They arise in behavior when physiological needs are relatively satisfied. When the individual is dominated by security needs, his or her organism as a whole acts as a security-seeking mechanism and security needs function as almost exclusive organizing elements of behavior.
• Social needs arise in behavior when the lowest needs (physiological and safety) are relatively satisfied. Social needs include the need for association, participation, acceptance by peers, exchange of friendship, affection and love. When social needs are not sufficiently satisfied, the individual becomes resistant, antagonistic and hostile towards the people around them.
• Esteem needs are the needs related to the way in which the individual sees and evaluates himself. They involve self-appreciation, self-confidence, the need for social approval and respect, status, prestige and consideration. They also include the desire for strength and adequacy, for confidence in the world, independence and autonomy. Satisfying esteem needs leads to feelings of self-confidence, value, strength, prestige, power, ability and usefulness. Their frustration can produce feelings of inferiority, weakness, dependence and helplessness which, in turn, can lead to discouragement or compensatory activities.
• Self-actualization needs are the highest human needs and are at the top of the hierarchy. They are related to the realization of one’s potential and continuous self-development. This tendency is expressed through the impulse that a person has to always become more than they are and to become everything they can be.

Hierarchy of needs theory as an explanation of the motivation process place emphasis on people’s internal needs and the behaviors that result from the effort to reduce or satisfy these needs. The so-called motivational cycle begins with a stimulus to satisfy a certain need that manifests itself, which generates tension that translates into a state of imbalance in the organism. As long as this need is not satisfied, the tension does not ease, and the imbalance remains. A new situation of balance will only be reached when the individual is able to put into practice appropriate behaviors to satisfy this need. If, despite the actions carried out by the individual, the satisfaction of the need is not satisfied, the desired balance will naturally not be achieved. The individual then reaches a state of frustration (for not having achieved the objective that can satisfy their need) or the effect produced may result in compensatory behavior, that is, the reduction in tension occurs through compensation that replaces the (unverified) satisfaction of that need (Teixeira, 1998:120).

In order to implement the hierarchy of needs theory in the workplace, on the one hand, a manager needs to promote a culture of recognition and inclusion to satisfy the needs of social belonging; consider to implement flexible work schedules to accommodate physiological needs of the workpeople and provide development and leadership programmes to meet esteem and self-actualization needs (Chen, et al., 2024; Pârjoleanu, 2020:293-309). On the other hand, employees are advised to look for work that aligns with their core values and offers a sense of purpose, advocate for a supportive work environment that recognizes their contributions and pursue continuous learning and self-improvement to move towards self-actualization.

3.2.2. The Two-factor Theory

The two-factor theory investigates the relationship of the workpeople with work. The two-factor theory is introduced by Frederick Herzberg, a clinical psychologist, who conducted interviews with workpeople in order to find out when workpeople are satisfied and when they are dissatisfied, that is, when they are motivated and unmotivated to work. The research consisted of asking workpeople two basic questions to understand what stimulates job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Based on the information collected, he developed the theory and published it in 1959 in the book “The Motivation to Work”. The results of the interview proposed that the job factors that caused employee satisfaction were significantly different from the factors that caused dissatisfaction. The results suggested that workpeople mentioned dissatisfaction based on extrinsic factors such as working conditions, supervision, interpersonal relationships, safety and pay. On the other hand, job satisfaction is based on intrinsic factors such as achievement, responsibility and success.

Herzberg formulated the two-factor theory to explain the behavior of people in work situations. For him, there are two factors that guide people’s behaviour, such as hygiene factors and motivational factors (Chiavenato, 2003:333-334):

• Hygiene factors, or extrinsic factors, are located in the environment that surrounds people and encompass the conditions within which they perform their work. As these conditions are managed and decided by the organization, hygiene factors are beyond people’s control. Hygiene factors include salary, status, safety, social benefits, type of leadership or supervision that people receive from their superiors, physical and environmental working conditions, management policies and guidelines, interpersonal relationships, internal regulations and other related factors. They are contextual factors and are located in the external environment that surrounds the individual.
• Motivational factors, or intrinsic factors, are related to the content of the position and the nature of the tasks that the individual performs. Motivational factors are under the control of the individual, as they are related to what they do and perform. They involve feelings of individual growth, professional recognition and self-fulfillment, and depend on the tasks that the individual performs at work.

Hygiene and motivational factors are independent and are not linked to each other. The factors responsible for people’s professional satisfaction are completely disconnected and distinct from the factors responsible for professional dissatisfaction. The opposite of job satisfaction is not dissatisfaction, but lack of job satisfaction. Also the opposite of professional dissatisfaction is the absence of it and not satisfaction. The two-factor theory assumes that job satisfaction depends on motivational or satisficing factors. The challenging and stimulating content or activities of the role performed by the person. On the other hand, job dissatisfaction depends on hygiene or dissatisfaction factors. The work environment, salary, benefits received, supervision, colleagues and general context surrounding the position held. To continually provide motivation at workplace, Herzberg proposes “task enrichment” or “job enrichment”. Job enrichment consists of replacing the simple and elementary tasks of the position with more complex tasks to accompany the individual growth of each worker, offering them conditions for challenge and professional satisfaction in the role. It depends on the development of each individual and must adapt to his/her individual characteristics of change (Herzberg, 1966 apud Chiavenato, 2003:334-335 and Teixeira, 1998:127-128). It can be vertical (elimination of simpler tasks and addition of more complex tasks) or horizontal (elimination of tasks related to certain activities and addition of other different tasks, but at the same level of difficulty) (Ward et al., 2024; Bandhu, 2024).

3.2.3. Equity Theory

Being one of the theories of justice, equity theory was developed in the 1960s by John Stacey Adams, a behavioral and workplace psychologist. He stated that workpeople seek to maintain equity between the inputs they bring to a job and the outputs they receive from it relative to the inputs and outputs perceived by others. According to Teixeira (1998:130), the equity theory highlights each person’s personal perception of relative reasonableness or justice in a work situation, comparing their performance and corresponding benefits with the performance and benefits of others in similar situations. According to this theory, individuals are motivated to reduce any and all perceived inequalities in treatment. To do this, they fight to equalize the relationships between each other’s outputs and inputs, sometimes acting on the inputs, other times, on the outputs. For example, some workers who perceive inequity may make less effort or spend more time doing the same job. Others demand higher salaries or other benefits. Still others may adjust their perception of equity after a reassessment of their efforts. The perception of inequity can occur in a wide variety of situations in an organization, such as definition of functions, promotions, transfers, etc., but it is generally in terms of money (salaries, for example) that takes on more serious aspects. Managers cannot forget that often a small inequity in the eyes of the manager can be very important in the minds of those directly affected by it.

The equity theory proposes that an individual seeks equal and fair treatment in relation to equal contributions. Thus, the theory emphasizes justice, impartiality and equality. According to the theory, workpeople will be motivated when they see that they receive the same amount of treatment compared to others. In the other words, workpeople evaluate the ratio of inputs like time, effort and ability to outputs like pay, promotion and recognition compared to similar ratios of others (Demirci et al., 2019:208). If the proportion is equal to all workpeople who are in the same circumstances, the individual perceives the workplace and managers as fair and may be motivated to contribute further to the goals of the organization. If the individual feels that he/she is being devalued or treated unequally in relation to other workers who are in the same circumstances or who are contributing less than him/her, then there is a perception of inequality. An individual who perceives that he/she is being treated unequally may react in a certain way that changes from one to another. Some tend to keep silent or change their efforts and outcome at work. Others may prefer to create a false self-perception or damage the perception of those with rewards, or yet, decide to leave team membership or job. An individual at the workplace seeks equal treatment in terms of pay, promotion, social benefits and recognition.

4. Productivity

Production is a complex process of creating and delivering value. Almost everything that is produced in modern society is done by organizations. Production has always been the fundamental core of all activities of organizations in general. In a context of high competitiveness as in current times, production requires a convergence of resources and efforts and, mainly, the full use of organizational skills to offer high quality products and services at competitive prices (Chiavenato, 2014:2). Production is the process of transforming intermediate consumption (materials and external services) into consumer goods (products or services) (Carvalho, 2004:19). Production process is the set of actions and sequence of steps that an industry must follow to produce a product or provide a service. In the production process, the efficiency and effectiveness of the workforce is essential to achieve productivity performance. According to Carvalho (2004:18), productivity performance is a function of how the value component linked to effectiveness (doing the right things) is combined with the value component linked to efficiency (doing things right). For Gupta and Martin (2014:18), production is a big umbrella that always includes services and often includes manufacturing.

All production activities strive to meet customer needs while meeting performance criteria such as flexibility, time and quality, and to do this at the lowest cost. The most common indicator used to measure the success of production activities in this sense is productivity. Productivity is generally defined as the ratio of output to the input used to produce it. In organizations, output can be goods or services, while input consists of labor, raw materials, energy and other resources. The more effectively an organization uses its resources, the greater the productivity (Kağnicioğlu, 2018:46). Productivity depends not only on the efficient way in which goods and/or services are produced, but also, to a high degree, on the effectiveness of what is produced, being determined by market needs and demand (Carvalho, 2004:31).

Current economic growth is associated with increased productivity (Soares, 2010:66). Productivity is a crucial business variable that directly impacts the company’s overall success. Increased productivity raises net profits (Gupta and Martin, 2014:26). Productivity is defined as the relationship between a certain measure of production and another measure corresponding to the factors used, translated into an indicator that illustrates the effectiveness of the outputs and the efficiency of the inputs of a given production system. It is the process that relates the efficient way in which goods and/or services are produced and the high degree of effectiveness of what is produced, being determined by market needs and demand (Carvalho, 2004:17-31). Productivity translates into the efficiency of resources and the effectiveness of activities (Soares, 2010:255). Productivity is an overall measure of the ability to produce a good and/or service. It is the real output of production compared to the real input of resources (Gupta and Martin, 2014:49).

4.1. Organizational Productive Capacity

The development of the market economy, with the expansion of spaces and the increase in competition at a rapid pace, awakens in entrepreneurs and managers the concern of creating a company that presents itself on the market with productive capacity (Carvalho, 2004:13). Productive capacity of an organization refers to the maximum amount of products or services that an organization can produce, with the available resources, in a certain time. It is crucial that a manager knows the productive capacity of his/her organization so that he/she can better manage his/her organization. The greater the organizational production capacity, the better. But it needs to be aligned with demand so that there are no problems with lack of stock and/or excess of stock. Knowing the periodic production capacity helps to make more assertive decisions and maintain ideal stock levels, avoiding excess and/or lack of materials and products. This is how an organization makes a good material management.

A company’s capacity for growth is closely related to the productivity performance of productive factors and the increase in innovation, reflected in research and technological development efforts. Management searches for alternatives that correspond to a certain value, as a result of the optimization between the needs to be achieved (effectiveness) and the resources used for that purpose (efficiency) (Carvalho, 2004:13-18).

4.2. Measurement of Productivity

Productivity is one of the main areas of interest of business management. Every business collects data generated in the production or service system in order to evaluate its own activities. Resources that are directly or indirectly related to production, such as labor time, machine maintenance expenses, training costs, rental expenses, and energy use, are used in efficiency calculations. Similarly, in order to measure the productivity of a company, relevant data must be collected and combined from all sub-units. Productivity measurement may vary depending on the organization for which the calculation is made. For instance, for a non-profit organization, high productivity may mean low costs, while for a for-profit organization, productivity is an important indicator for determining the competitiveness of the company (Kağnicioğlu, 2018:46-47). Productivity measures the performance of the organization’s processes for doing work. Productivity is defined as the ratio measure of output (O) divided by input (I) (Gupta and Martin, 2014:26). It is generally calculated by the ratio “Productivity = Output/Input”. This measure of productivity compares the quantity of goods or services produced in a given period of time and the quantity of resources used in the production of those goods or services in the same period of time.

Productivity measures are benchmarks for comparing system performance against other systems over time. Comparisons include questions such as “how is A’s performance over time?”; “how does A compare to B?”; “how do A’s departments compare?”; “How does A compare to the industry average?”; “How does A compare to the best in the industry?”, etc. Labor productivity is a frequently used measure of productivity, where productivity is a ratio of units of output produced to input labor resources expended per unit of time (Gupta and Martin, 2014:50).

Productivity growth is an indicator of how productivity in a certain period has changed compared to the previous period. Productivity increase can be calculated with the following formula “Productivity Increase = [(Current Productivity – Previous Productivity)/Current Productivity]×100” (Kağnicioğlu, 2018:47-48). Productivity calculations can be calculated based on a single input, multiple inputs, or all inputs. Total productivity, partial productivity and multi-factor productivity calculations, depending on the number of inputs taken into account, are explained below, respectively;

• Total productivity is the name given to the productivity calculation in which all inputs of the system such as labor, material and capital are taken into account. It is the productivity calculated as the ratio of output to all inputs. It is generally calculated by the formula “Total Productivity = The Value of the Product or Service Produced / The Value of all Input Used for Production”.
• Calculating productivity based on a single input variable is important to measure how effectively each input is used. Particularly, partial productivity, which is the most frequently used productivity calculation in production management, is calculated by dividing the output to a single input. It is the productivity calculated as the ratio of output to just one input. Partial productivity, also called single factor productivity, can be named according to the input used in the calculation. Its calculation types are; “Machine Productivity = Output/Machine Time”, “Labor Productivity = Output/Labor Time” and “Energy Productivity = Output/Amount of Energy”
• In some cases, productivity may need to be calculated as the ratio of output to multiple inputs. In this case, the entries must be expressed in the same unit in order to be collected. Multifactor productivity is productivity calculated as the ratio of output to several inputs.  It is generally calculated by the formula “Multifactor Productivity = All Outputs of Goods and/or Services /Total Input Resources Expended”

5. Relating Motivation and Productivity

Productivity is a crucial business variable that directly impacts the company’s overall success, as improved productivity increases profitability (Gupta and Martin, 2014:26). Production has always been the fundamental core of all activities of organizations in general. In a highly competitive context, production requires a convergence of resources and efforts and, above all, the full use of organizational skills to offer high quality products and services at competitive prices. After all, producing and producing well are not exactly synonymous. The secret lies in operational excellence – the challenge that separates successful organizations from the rest (Chiavenato, 2014:2). In order to be successful an organization needs operational excellence. In order to be achieved, operational excellence requires the organization to maximize its performance in terms of productivity. Only a qualified and motivated workforce can maximize its productivity performance, as an unmotivated one tends to have low levels of production. According to Shepperd (1993:67-81), low productivity occurs when there is a lack of motivation. Lack of motivation occurs when the individual believes that there is no value in participating, that there is no connection between his/her contributions and the achievement of a desired outcome, or that the expense of contributing is not worth it.

It is critical for an organization to make and keep the workforce motivated in order to improve its productivity. It is essential to understand what makes a workforce content in the workplace in order to keep it productive. A workplace that provides well-being to its workforce is used to be a more productive one, as it improves morale and invests in the psychological health of one’s labor force. An unmotivated workforce prevents the organization from accomplishing operational performance, as it leads the organization to face a series of challenges in the achievement of getting work done. In order to improve the productivity of an unmotivated individual, it is suggested that the organization adopt solutions that can lead to improved productivity, such as giving incentives for contributing, making contributions mandatory and lowering the cost of contributing.

Improving knowledge-worker productivity is one of the biggest challenges in the twenty-first century. There are six major determinants of knowledge-worker productivity such as 1) offering a clear task definition, 2) assigning responsibility for productivity to workers themselves and provide autonomy, 3) using continuous innovation, 4) continuous learning and teaching, 5) focusing on quality and not only quantity of output and 6) treating knowledge-worker as an “asset” rather than a “cost” (Drucker, 1999 apud Gupta and Martin, 2014:49-50). Among the aforementioned main determinants of knowledge-worker productivity, the sixth determinant stands out in this work, as it refers to the importance of the workforce to improve productivity. By definition, an asset is a valuable resource that can generate revenue, provide utility or contribute to the wealth of its owner. When this concept is applied to workforce, it becomes clear that workpeople are the cornerstone of any business, driving its success. Therefore, the workforce must be continually valued to be motivated and engaged in order to carry out its tasks efficiently and effectively. Valuing people takes into account the diversity of desires and needs that, once identified and used in the definition of organizational strategies, plans and management practices, promote the development, well-being and satisfaction of the workforce.

The success of the organization increasingly depends on the knowledge, skills, creativity and motivation of the workforce. People’s success, in turn, increasingly depends on opportunities to learn and an environment favorable to the full development of their potential. In this context, the proposition of people’s participation in all aspects of work stands out as a fundamental element for achieving synergy between teams. People with different skills and abilities form high-performance teams when they are given autonomy to achieve well-defined goals (Moura, 2013:169). In order to create and enhance a positive work climate in an organization, it is necessary to carry out a proper assessment based on what is filtered through the perception of its different stakeholders, their experiences and accumulated values. An adequate response must be given to external requests but also, and above all, in the decisive contribution of the internal motivational reinforcement of all its workpeople to the organizational project to which they belong and which they must feel pride and value (Brandão, 2013:144 apud Machado, 2014:369).

Conclusion

This research aimed generally to analyze motivation as a crucial factor to improve productivity. In order to theoretically study the topic of the research and develop it, firstly, a general literature review was conducted by searching the relevant scientific literature that describes the topic under study. In order to reach the objective of the research, a conceptual research is conducted by theoretically reviewing the scientific literature that generally conceives the topic of the research. The research consisted of two main points of analysis. The first main point of the research dealt particularly with motivation in the workplace, describing all the interesting scientific concepts and theories about motivation in the business context. The second main point of the research coped particularly with productivity, aiming to describe all relevant scientific concepts and theories about productivity in the business context. The other points of the research dealt with other interesting subjects related to the topic of the research in general.

In order to understand the reason for changes in behavior, satisfaction, creation of a happiness climate in the workplace, psychological theories of motivation were theoretically analyzed. Psychological theories of motivation suggest ways how to motivate the workforce in order to get work done efficiently and effectively. In order to keep the workforce motivated and engaged at work, the hierarchy of needs theory suggests that a manager needs to promote a culture of recognition and inclusion to satisfy the needs of social belonging, consider to implement flexible work schedules to accommodate physiological needs of the workpeople and provide development and leadership programmes to meet esteem and self-actualization needs. The two-factor theory proposes job enrichment which consists of replacing the simple and elementary tasks of the position with more complex tasks to accompany the individual growth of each worker, offering them conditions for challenge and professional satisfaction in the role. Job enrichment can be vertical (elimination of simpler tasks and addition of more complex tasks) or horizontal (elimination of tasks related to certain activities and addition of other different tasks, but at the same level of difficulty). The equity theory proposes that managers continually apply equal and fair treatment to workpeople in relation to equal contributions. Managers cannot forget that often a small inequity in the eyes of the manager can be very important in the minds of those directly affected by it.

It should be highlighted that it is crucial for an organization to set out a motivational workplace. Motivated workpeople understand their role as partners in the organization. In this way, they strive to find solutions and get involved with business results. The result of this is high productivity. Productivity improvement is the natural path to motivation. That is why it is said that both go hand in hand. If the workplace promotes motivation and inspiration for workpeople, it is consequently a high productivity workplace. However, it is important to emphasize that motivation does not arise on its own. It is necessary to support and enable the individual to be engaged and motivated in order to work efficiently and effectively and, consequently, generate high productivity. Therefore, the human resources sector faces the task of creating a workplace conducive to the development of workpeople motivation and providing them with the necessary support to increase their productivity and develop their performance. Motivation is linked to the expectations of each employee. Therefore, the human resources department needs to find out these expectations and propose actions that align the needs of the employee and the organization.

Motivating workpeople is a strategic approach that managers need to discover by observing the workforce and matching workpeople’s mind-set with organizational culture and motivation theories. All motivation theories may not be suitable for all scenarios, that is why managers need to understand their organization and needs of their workforce. Therefore, matching the considered approach to the workpeople’s and the organization’s capacity and resources is very important to improve productivity.

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Genişletilmiş Özet

Bir şirketin, işyerindeki işgücü verimliliğini sağlamak için çalışanlara öncelik veren etkili bir yönetime odaklanan stratejik politikalar benimsemesi gerekmektedir. İnsan odaklı bir yönetim yaklaşımı, işçilerin refahını ve deneyimini önceliklendirmek anlamına gelmektedir. İşçilerin moralini etkileyebilen ve işyerindeki motivasyonu artırabilen bir dizi aktiviteyi içermektedir. Bu, personelin her bir üyesini, karşılanması gereken ihtiyaçları, hayalleri ve endişeleri olan benzersiz bir birey olarak görmek anlamına gelmektedir. Bireysel iradeyi teşvik eden, çalışanların görevlerini etkili ve verimli bir şekilde yerine getirirken kendilerini rahat hissettikleri ve gerekirse duygularını, endişelerini ve zorluklarını paylaşabildikleri bir işyeri yaratılmalıdır. Çalışma koşullarını iyileştirmek, aktif olarak teşvik etmek, refah programları sunmak, takdir ve teşvikler sağlamak çalışanların işyerindeki daha bağlantılı ve motive hissetmelerine yardımcı olabilmektedir.

Bir çalışan, kuruluşu tarafından değerli ve fark edilmiş hissettiğinde, başka fırsatlar arama olasılığı daha düşüktür ve üretkenliği artma eğilimindedir. Tam da bu bakış açısından, kuruluşlarda etkili yönetim uygulamalarına yatırım yapmak çok önemlidir. Etkili bir yönetim, finansal sonuçların ötesine geçerek tüm şirketin sürdürülebilir büyümesini hedefleyen bir yönetimdir. İşgücünün ve şirketteki diğer paydaşların refahını ve memnuniyetini hesaba katmaktadır. Refaha odaklanan etkili bir yönetim, operasyonel verimliliğin artmasına ve çalışanların katılımının artmasına yol açmaktadır. Doğru ve kesin bir şekilde tanımlanmış etkili bir yönetim süreci, sürdürülebilir bir şirket için hayati önem taşmaktadır. Bir şirketin, işgücünü veya kendisini başarıya yönlendirmek için yetkisini ne kadar verimli ve etkili bir şekilde kullandığıyla ilgilidir. Şirketindeki etkili bir yönetimin olmaması, verimliliğin düşmesine yol açmaktadır.

Bir şirketin üretkenliğini artırmak için işgücünü motive etmesi ve motive tutması kritik öneme sahiptir. Bir çalışanı üretken tutmak için işyerindeki neyin mutlu ettiğini anlamak esastır. İşgücüne refah sağlayan bir işyeri, moralini iyileştirdiği ve kişinin işgücünün psikolojik sağlığına yatırım yaptığı için daha üretken bir yer olarak kullanılmaktadır. Motivasyonsuz bir işgücü, şirketin operasyonel performansa ulaşmasını engeller, çünkü şirketin işi tamamlamada bir dizi zorlukla karşı karşıya kalmasına neden olmaktadır. Bu nedenle, şirketin çalışanların maksimum üretkenlik seviyelerinde çalışmasını sağlamak için işyerini ve işgücünün refahını nasıl kolaylaştırdığını rutin olarak değerlendirmesi gerekmektedir.

Bu çalışma özellikle işletme kapsamındaki işgücünün motivasyonuna değinmiştir. Uygun bilimsel literatürden yararlanılarak, işyerindeki çalışanların nasıl motive edilebileceği ve bunun neden hayati önem taşıdığı konusunda faydalı bilgiler sağlanması istenmiştir. Böylelikle, çalışmada genel olarak motivasyonu üretkenliği artırmada önemli bir faktör olarak incelemek amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma konusunun teorik olarak çalışılması ve geliştirilmesi amacıyla öncelikle, çalışılan konuyu açıklayan ilgili bilimsel literatür taranarak genel bir literatür taraması yapılmıştır. Çalışmanın amacına ulaşabilmek için, araştırma konusunu genel hatlarıyla ele alan bilimsel literatürün teorik olarak incelenmesi yoluyla kavramsal bir araştırma yürütülmüştür. Bu çalışmada kavramsal araştırma, araştırmanın belirli bir konu hakkında mevcut bilgilerin gözlemlenmesi ve analizi yoluyla yürütüldüğü bir metodoloji olarak tanımlanmıştır. Çalışma iki ana analiz noktasından oluşmaktadır. Çalışmanın ilk ana noktası özellikle işyerindeki motivasyonla ilgilenmekte olup işletme kapsamındaki motivasyonla ilgili tüm ilginç bilimsel kavramları ve teorileri açıklamıştır. Çalışmanın ikinci ana noktası özellikle üretkenlik ile ilgili olup işletme kapsamındaki üretkenliğe ilişkin tüm ilgili bilimsel kavramları ve teorileri tanımlamayı amaçlamıştır. Çalışmanın diğer noktaları genel olarak araştırma konusuyla ilgili diğer ilgi çekici konuları ele almıştır.

İşyerindeki davranış değişikliğinin, doyumun, mutluluk ikliminin yaratılmasının nedenlerini anlamak amacıyla motivasyona ilişkin psikolojik teoriler teorik olarak incelenmiştir. Motivasyona ilişkin psikolojik teoriler, işlerin etkili ve verimli bir şekilde yapılabilmesi için işgücünün nasıl motive edilebileceğine dair yollar önermektedir. İşgücünü motive ve işyerindeki meşgul olmak için, ihtiyaçlar hiyerarşisi teorisi bir yöneticinin sosyal aidiyet ihtiyaçlarını karşılamak için bir tanınma ve dahil etme kültürü teşvik etmesi gerektiğini ileri sürmektedir. Ayrıca, çalışanların fizyolojik ihtiyaçlarını karşılamak için esnek çalışma programları uygulamayı ve saygınlık ve kendini gerçekleştirme ihtiyaçlarını karşılamak için gelişim ve liderlik programları sağlamayı düşünmek gerekmektedir. İki faktörlü teori, pozisyonun basit ve temel görevlerinin, her çalışanın bireysel gelişimine eşlik edecek daha karmaşık görevlerle değiştirilmesini ve onlara rolde meydan okuma ve mesleki tatmin için koşullar sunulmasını içeren iş zenginleştirmeyi önermektedir. İş zenginleştirme dikey (daha basit görevlerin elenmesi ve daha karmaşık görevlerin eklenmesi) veya yatay (belirli faaliyetlerle ilgili görevlerin elenmesi ve aynı zorluk seviyesinde farklı görevlerin eklenmesi) olabilmektedir. Eşitlik teorisi, yöneticilerin çalışanlara eşit katkılar açısından sürekli olarak eşit ve adil muamele uygulamasını önermektedir. Yöneticiler, genellikle yöneticinin gözündeki küçük bir eşitsizliğin, bundan doğrudan etkilenenlerin zihninde çok önemli olabileceğini unutmamalıdır.

Bir şirket için motivasyonel bir işyeri düzenlemenin hayati önem taşıdığı vurgulanmalıdır. Motive olmuş çalışanlar şirketteki ortaklar olarak rollerini anlarlar. Bu şekilde çözümler bulmaya ve iş sonuçlarına dahil olmaya çalışırlar. Bunun sonucu yüksek üretkenliktir. Üretkenlik iyileştirmesi motivasyona giden doğal yoldur. Bu yüzden ikisinin de el ele gittiği söylenmektedir. Eğer işyeri çalışanlar için motivasyon ve ilham sağlıyorsa, sonuç olarak yüksek üretkenliğe sahip bir işyeridir. Ancak, motivasyonun kendiliğinden ortaya çıkmadığını vurgulamak önemlidir. Verimli ve etkili bir şekilde çalışmak ve dolayısıyla, yüksek üretkenlik üretmek için bireyin katılımını ve motivasyonunu desteklemek ve sağlamak gerekmektedir. Bu nedenle, insan kaynakları sektörü, çalışanların motivasyonunun gelişmesine elverişli bir işyeri yaratma ve üretkenliklerini artırmak ve performanslarını geliştirmek için gerekli desteği sağlama göreviyle karşı karşıyadır. Motivasyon her çalışanın beklentileriyle bağlantılıdır. Bu nedenle, insan kaynakları departmanının bu beklentileri bulması ve çalışanın ve şirketin ihtiyaçlarını uyumlu hale getiren eylemler önermesi gerekmektedir.