How to motivate and satisfy the staff? The process of motivation lately is heard more and more. In organisations it is important to know how to motivate the staff in right way. Nowadays we have many motivation theories; they show us that there are many motives, which influence people’s behaviour and performance. The manager must judge the relevance of these different theories, how best draw upon them, and how they might effectively be applied in particular work situations.

There are content and process motivation theories. Content theories – focus attention on the apparent needs drives and wants of individuals.Process theories – concentrate on the processes involved when individuals make decisions about things that they perceive as important to them. Motivation always starts with how managers think about their people, because thoughts are powerful.

People respond to managers’ expectations. If manager expect them to be successful, they will live up to his expectations. If he expects them to fail, they will! Once one man said – “People have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody. Open, fair places where people have a sense of what they do matters.And where that sense of accomplishment is rewarded in both the pocketbook and the soul.

” I agree to this statement, because motivation has to involve the ‘soul’ and the pocket. The Hawthorne Experiments prove that, when employees feel that they are important, and that the management values their work, they will produce high performance even if some aspects of working conditions are poor. A person’s motivation, job satisfaction and work performance will be determined by the comparative strength of sets of needs and expectations, and the extent to which they are fulfilled.Satisfaction is not the same as motivation. Job satisfaction is more of an attitude, an internal state. Motivation is a process, which may lead to job satisfaction.

The situations people find most satisfying and rewarding are invariably those which provide the opportunity to satisfy job content: a sense of achievement; some act of recognition and appraisal; authority and responsibility; growth advancement and self-development; and the nature of the work itself – variety, creativity and a challenge.So, if we want to motivate and satisfy our staff, we have to know that most people bring more or less three kinds of needs to their organisational existence: a need to be rewarded for what they achieve, a need to be accepted as a unique person, and a need to be appreciated, not only for the function performed, but also as a human being. And I always say that everybody needs an interface with the superiors, the contact with person, because it is important to have good labour relationships.Expressions: Job satisfaction Highly creative solutions Organisational problems Clearly defined objectives Working conditions High performance Economic rewards Person’s choice of action Careful recruitment Work environment All managers have a duty to motivate their teams Motivation Labour relationships Person’s experience of a job Perspective Quality of working life Quality circles Supervision Job enrichment Job design Used Literature: 1. Sewel R.

The 12 Pillars of Business Success, Kogan Page, 1996 – 163 p. 2. Cole G. A.

, Organisational Behaviour Theory and Practice, DP Publications Ltd, 199 – 120 p. 3. Mullins L. J. , Management and Organisational Behaviour, Pitman Publishing, 1996 – 480 p. ----------------------- Ventspils University College Economics and Management Department COURSE ASSIGNMENT “HOW TO MOTIVATE AND SATISFY THE STAFF? ” Year I Group 3.

2 Student Liene Cernavska Ventspils 2001