Motivation Theories in Project Management

Motivation Theories in Project Management In this assignment I will present my views about some motivation theories and how they can be applied or not applied when running in a project mode Introduction About Societe Generale Albania Banking sector continues to be one of the most important economic sectors and one of the most rapid growing businesses in Albania in the last 10 year (Bank of Albania, 2010, www.bankofalbania.org). Societe Generale Albania, previously named Banka Popullore, started its activity on 1st of Mars 2004. In 18th of April 2007, Societe Generale Group acquired 75.01% of the shares of this bank. The bank has its head office in Tirana and is present allover Albania with 41 operation branches. At the end of 2009, the bank had 379 employees, both Albanian and French nationality (Annual Report 2009, 2010, www.societegenerale.al). About the case study Being on the most important economic sectors has created enough space for operation of 17 Banks in a relatively small market like Albania. With such a high competition it is very important that banks stay always in line with economic developments and react fast toward customer needs for new products or adaptation. Our bank is quite small and there are frequently high pressures for sharing resources in order to complete in time and with budget different operational or business initiatives. These needs has made mandatory for bank management to apply a matrix organizational design in our organization. Such organizational structure are quite complex when it comes to management and control of staff performance, as they bring the employee in front of two managers, the department manager and the project manager. Now days project management is becoming a key component of the success for eveyr organization in any sector and such the motivation of employees working in projects is of a great interest for both the project manager, as the main beneficiary, and the organization. There a lot of researches and studies for motivation in standard organizational structure, but the topic is considered as less explored when it comes to project management (Dwivedula and Bredillet, 2009). Theories of motivations Motivation is the driving force within individuals that compels them physiologically and psychologically to pursue one or more goals to fulfill their needs or expectations, (Lam and Tang, 2003, p. 61). Why do managers need motivation? If we agree that an output of motivation is control, than we may say that a manager needs motivation to make people do the things he wants and stop doing the things There are currently a lot of theories to explain the nature of motivation and help mangers on addressing it according to their needs. These theories do not conflict between them, which means the manager can use any of them or even combine them. In my assignments I will be focused in 2 theories; The hierarchy of needs as the most first one and most well known by all kind of managers and The dual-structure theory since it was developed based on a research on engineers and accounts, which is about the same environment and employee nature as in my bank. The Hierarchy of Needs This is one of the most well know need theories of motivation and was developed by Abraham Maslow in 1940. According to this theory the needs are organized in 5 main groups of needs that stay together in the form of a pyramid (Maslow, 1943): Physiological Needs; they stay in the bottom of the pyramid and include the basic needs of every human been such as: the need for food, drink, education, medical care, etc. Every organization can provide these needs by providing good working condition and a salary to their employees. Security Needs; includes the need for feeling safe and secure, having a secure job, having a home and a future. The organization can satisfy these needs by offering job continuity, health and retirement plans. Belongingness Needs; includes the needs of humans to love and be loved, to be accepted by others, to take and give friendship. Most of this needs get satisfied by the family ties, but this is not enough since we spend a considerable time of our life in our works. Managers and direct supervisors can play a significant role to satisfy these needs by encouraging the work in group, enhance their communication with employees and provided basis for social interaction between employees. Esteem Needs; the needs of this group in be divided into two major needs, the need for self respect and the need for being respected by others. The organizations and managers can satisfy this by job title, awards, recognition of merits, benefits etc. Self-Actualization Needs; is the highest level of the hierarchy and includes the need we have to be the one we want to be in order to be self fulfilled. If all the other levels of the hierarchy are fully satisfied, it does not remain a lot for the managers to do to satisfy this need, all they need to take care off is make sure the individual has a challenging job and that other needs in lower level become deficient. According to the theory the needs of each level should be satisfied before going to the next level until we reach the self-actualization needs, however if during our road to the top of hierarchy, a lower level of need become deficient again the individual returns to that level (Moorhead and Griffin, 1995). Despite the fact that the theory is well recognized among many organization and managers due to the intuitive logic and easy understanding, the theory is not fully validated either by Maslow or any other research, in contrary many deficiencies have been identified (Wahba and Bridwell, 1976) It is important to mention that the most basic needs are provided by the top management of an organization and more we go up in the hierarchy of needs more we go down in the level of management responsible to satisfy these needs and turn them in motivator for improving job performance. The Dual-Structure Theory The theory was developed by Herzberg on late 1950s based on a research with a couple of hundred engineers and accounts (Herzberg, 1968). The finding of this research proved that different set of factors were connected with different feelings about work. The motivation of an employee goes in a two step process, first satisfying the employee (eliminate any factor which may bring dissatisfaction) by hygiene factors and second go with motivation factors. The motivation factors would result at the end with satisfied and motivated employees who can have a long term and positive job performance. The combination of these factors can set employee in four situations (Herzberg, 1987): Satisfied and motivated employee. The target situation for having the best performance. Satisfied but not motivated. The manager should find the way to apply motivation factors and change the status; otherwise the de-motivated employee will bring low productivity and bad quality. Not satisfied but motivated. The company should change its policies and rules and try to change the situation. An employee is not expected to stay to long in this status. Not satisfied and not motivated. The worst situation, both company and managers have a lot to do. These employees will bring to the business apart from the low productivity and bad quality a lot of complains, strikes, no communication. The hygiene factors, when they exist are in placed by the company strategy and/or governments rules and they are not directly related to the performance and ability of anybody. In opposite with them, the employee can get the motivation factors only by his involvement and his work. (McCrimmon, 2008). The theory has been analyzed more than any other theory in the field of organizational behavior (Pinder, 1998) and the results are quite contradictory. Studies and researchers which use the same method support the theory, other ones criticize it for the research population used, which is limited only to accountants and engineers, for not taking into account the individual differences, since a motivation factor can depend individual age and/or organizational model (House and Wigdor, 1967). Herzbergs theory states that money does not motivate employees but only satisfies them (Herzberg, 1968), due to this statement the theory is widely discussed and analyzed in studies and researches about the rewarding and motivation (Beel, 2007).The rewords supporters are totally against it and they say it does not have evidences to prove that money is not a motivation. Another aspect of critics is the fact that the theory does not take in consideration the circumstances, what does motivate an employee today, not necessary satisfy and motivate another one tomorrow (Robbins, 2005). Visual presentation of the dual structure theory (http://www.tutor2u.net/business/people/motivation_theory_herzberg.asp, Nov 2010) Motivation in Project management PRINCE2 manual defines a project as: a management environment that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to a specified business case. Another definition is: a temporary organisation that is needed to produce a unique and pre-define outcome or result at a pre-specified time using pre-determined resources. Being a temporary organization and with specific targets, the project organization is a more complex structure than a normal organization unit and different rules and practices are applied in every aspect of organizational behavior, including motivation. In 2008, our bank started a project for migration of existing core banking system into a new and modern one as part of the group strategy for mutualization of IT services. The project team was composed by more than twenty employees coming from different departments and sectors, covering many different positions such as; translators, business analysts, IT developers, organization and even a public relationship specialist. We knew since the beginning that such a challenging and multidimensional project could not succeed without a motivated team. Why do we need motivated staff? Is motivation the only factor for having a good performance? Conclusion Projects by definition are a temporary organization, this automatically excludes some motivation techniques which become irrelevant due to the time required to give their effects. What should we do? Should we leave motivation only to be applied in standard organizational structure?

Why Africa Is the Poorest Continent

Africa: The Poorest Continent in the World By Haile Hamlett You have just been kidnapped and the war lord has gotten you so addicted to drugs you’ll do anything for him to get them. Or you can’t go to school because you have to stay home and take care of your siblings because you parents died of AIDS. This is just some of the things the citizens of the poorest continent in the world go through every day. Thirty six percentof people in Africa are living on less than a dollar a day.Sixty nine percent of the population in Africa is living with HIV. Another very overlooked reason is that there isn’t enough clean wate r. Those are just a few of the reasons that Africa has become the poorest continent in the world. The education in Africa is very poor, which leads to many of the problems in Africa. Only 52% of kids are enrolled in primary education and the percent goes down as they get older. The largest reason for poor education in Africa is because there isn’t many places fit to be a school or people to employ as teachers.Most people who do receive an education are in big cities or go overseas to get their education; people who live in rural areas find it harder to get a proper education. The poor education leads to issues finding jobs that could provide more money. If there was a better educational system there would be more job opportunities and more money being offered. Out of the estimated 31. 6 people who have AIDS/HIV worldwide, 21. 6 million of them live in Sub-Saharan Africa. One main reason it’s so high in Africa is because it’s transmitted more often.This is because people don’t have enough money to get the medication they need, and have kids or pass it on, therefore infecting yet another person. Of course, AIDS isn’t caused by poverty itself, but caused by HIV. But poverty can be the reason that could make somebody more eligible to get it. Poverty can make it hard for people to get information on AI DS/HIV or how to properly prevent it. Also when you don’t have the money you can’t get tested so you could be living with HIV and not even know it. ______ has reported that about one billion people in Africa don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. Without water you cannot grow crops which could help you feed your family or you could sell them for money to get other necessities. Without water you cannot stay hydrated while working tedious hours in the fields or out hunting. Often the nearest water source is miles away and you have to bring a jug and fill it with, often dirty, water, and carry it back to where you live. The water can create a healthier place and help slow down the spread of diseases.Although Africa is the poorest continent it could be considered â€Å"rich† with all the natural resources that can be found throughout Africa. Africa has a lot of natural resources including oil, diamonds, gold, coal, petroleum, and tropical fruits, an d because its population is so spread out many of them have not even been touched. Africa is also rich with culture, even though many of the people are below poverty line they still find a way to have fun and live life. Africa may be poor in some ways but is rich in ways that can’t be taken from them.

Vikings, Civilized?

In the year AD 789, the Viking Era began. They came across the sea from the region now called Scandinavia. Hundreds of years later, there were many Vikings living in all corners of Europe because their homelands couldn’t support their growing population. The Vikings for a long time had a bad reputation. People feared the Vikings, describing them as vicious vandals and barbaric raiders. That is what the Vikings are mostly remembered for today. Aside from all the raiding and looting of towns the Vikings did, in their homelands, they had a certain level of civilisation in their culture.The name ‘Viking’ translates to ‘pirate’ in Norse; a language spoken by the Vikings. The Vikings were very fierce and brutal fighters. 4 years after the Vikings settled in England/Europe, they violently raided the monks of Lindisfarne. The war party struck quickly and unexpectedly. The monks at first thought they would be safe, living in a monastery and sacred place, but t hey were wrong. The people of Lindisfarne were defenseless, making it easier for the Vikings to steal treasures, burn down buildings and murder monks.The Vikings were violent and heartless towards others. They would torture their victims and did not hesitate to kill anyone†¦ including innocent babies. After raiding the monastery, the Vikings longships would sail home loaded with goods and captives. The Vikings would raid and loot through towns as they travelled. Their swords and axes caused terror and fear wherever they went. They had many cruel and disturbing ways to kill people. One of the most popular ways they used is called a butterfly cut, which ended up with the victim’s lungs hanging out.They would also drown people in the sea until they died. Some Vikings called ‘The berserkers’ were worked up with drugs before and in battles which made them wild and somehow, pain free. Despite the Vikings status as raiders, not all Vikings voyages were violent. Alt hough they might loot and destroy one town, they would go to another in peace and trade goods. While some of the popular belief of Vikings being nothing but ruthless fights are correct, contrary to belief, the Vikings culture and way of life is less barbaric than most may think.In addition, Vikings were very skilled craftspeople. They were expert sailors and shipbuilders. Their longship sailed all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The Vikings built many types of boats like small rowing boats, trading and transport ships and of course the mighty longship used for raids. The Vikings were excellent navigators, and with their longship, could travel far distances. Furthermore, the Vikings had a very structured and stable society. They had equal rights, their own religion and language which are all signs of a civilised culture.The Vikings honored the dead and evidence from a number of primary sources reveal that the Vikings would bury the dead in mass graves, in deep pits, in wagons and b oats. Cremation was another common burial practice for Pagan Vikings. The Viking’s society was divided into 3 groups. The Jarls who were the privileged, rich and powerful ones, the Karls who were the middle class made up the majority of the Viking society. They were the craftspeople, farmers and merchants. On the bottom of the Viking society were the Thralls.Most of them were slaves and did the heavy work. The Vikings would have festivals with music, storytelling and games In conclusion, saying the Vikings were nothing but ruthless, bloodthirsty savage beasts would be unfair. Yes, they did attack and kill many innocent people but that does not mean their society was uncivilised. The Vikings were the master of the seas and were skilled at many things. They had a structured society and had their own beliefs. In saying that, the Vikings were far less barbaric than most think.

Global Population essays

Global Population essays One of the biggest problems with the world today is our rapidly growing global population. With the current population being at over 6 billion, every second five people are born and two people die which means the population grows by 3 people per second. I predict that if we do not do something about this problem soon, the Earth is going to reach its maximum capacity and we will slowly run out of resources, which could cause wide-spread famine and eventually lead to the population dropping down to a normal level again, or perhaps there may be a natural disaster such as a worldwide earthquake that would leave only a select 1000 people living. We need to act now to prevent a disaster such as this happening. I believe that if we teach sex education properly in all of our schools, and the people of the world are able to accuire birth control easily when they need it we can stop this expeditiously growing problem. Our survival depends on population control and also better management of our precious natural resources. Because we are very limited in the amount, natural resources need to be managed accordingly. We should plan a new way to manage the planets natural resources. As our population grows, most of our problems will only worsen. These problems include air and water pollution, not enough fresh water, too many overcrowded schools, quality of life may become worse, taxes increase, crimes increase, people with out jobs or homes, soil pollution. The chance of having one natural disaster take down all of the population but a select few is extremely slim, but possible. Earth has a unique way of working, and if there are too many people on the planet, mother nature may take control. We need to find other methods of controlling the population so that we do not have to suffer through death or the death of loved ones. We can stop this problem, but it wont just happen, people have to do s...

Summary of Children Need to Play, Not Compete

Summary of Children Need to Play, Not Compete In Children Need to Play, Not Compete, Jessica Statsky argues that organized sports are not suitable for children between the ages of six and twelve and should, therefore, be replaced by sports that emphasize on fitness, cooperation, and sportsmanship. Statsky claims that highly organized sports such as Peewee Football and Little League Baseball are played according to adult standards with undesirable effects on the development of children. She goes on to state that the physical action that is necessitated by overly competitive sports exposes children to danger through injury. The danger to children is not only limited to physical injury as Statsky asserts that competitive sports pose psychological dangers to children.† The author claims that the games are counterproductive to children and they only serve to provide occasions for parents and coaches to fulfill their fantasies and needs. She reveals that the obsession with winning leads to adults degrading the quality of the pla ying experience for children. Statsky provides examples of incidents where brawls have broken out between adults as a result of completion. Statsky concludes by proposing that local programs which emphasize sportsmanship, cooperation and fitness should replace the overly competitive programs currently in place. (197 Words).Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Summary of Children Need to Play, Not Compete specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Response to Children Need to Play I strongly agree with Jessica Statskys article Children Need to Play, Not Compete. As a person who underwent a childhood in which I was exposed to competitive sports, I agree with Statsky’s proposal that the high competition in children sports should be done away. I agree with the authors observation that the competitive nature of the games takes the fun element out. From my childhood experiences, sports were always more fun when they were un dertaken in a spirit of cooperation and friendliness. When winning became the dominant factor, everything changed, and the game could no longer be played in a fun atmosphere. In my opinion, a significant strength that the author demonstrates through her article is that she uses words that are vivid in her descriptions. For example, her portrayal of the scene where the player in the Peewee Football game takes himself out of the game by faking a stomach ache is very moving. By such vivid descriptions, the reader can paint a mental image of the negative effect that excessive competition can have. Statsky’s treatment of the subject is balanced, and the arguments expressed by the author are not restricted to the side she supports but also the opposition. Statsky does not shy away from presenting the opinion of the proponents of competitive sports for children. She frequently references the Little League Online which is a website that advocates for competitive sports among children . The author especially gives ethical considerations to the other points of view. After stating that children run the risk of physical injury as a result of competitive games, she quotes the proponents of competitive sports activities who document that the injury risks are infrequent. By doing this, Statsky gives us a balanced view on the issue as opposed to only giving space to her point of view. This increases the credibility of the essay to me since the author is not trying to use the ignorance of the reader on the matter to force her point home. The author also makes use of statistics to reinforce her claims, therefore, making them more credible. For example, she asserts that according to a study, â€Å"90% of children would rather play regularly for a losing team rather than warm the bench for a winning team†. Even more importantly, the author includes references as to which studies she is referring to, therefore, increasing the validity of the results since one can conf irm her reporting should they wish to.Advertising Looking for assessment on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For all the strengths of the article, I find Statsky guilty of using many generalizations which may not necessarily be true for the majority of the population. She states that in instances where children are not injured, fear of being hurt detracts from their enjoyment of the sport. while this may be the case for some or even a majority of the children, it is highly unlikely that it is the case for all the children involved in competitive sports. Statsky’s presents a strong argument, and her case is made especially compelling by the author’s use of authoritative sources to back up her argument. Through this, it is clear that children risk not only physical but also psychological damages as a result of overly competitive programs. I agree with her assertion that this situation should be reversed and less competitive sports programs devised for children to ensure that children have a fun and constructive childhood. Statsky, Jessica. Children Need to Play, Not Compete. Bedford Books. Print.

Buddhism Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Buddhism Reflection - Essay Example It is because of this evolution and varying schools of thought that causes confusion when it comes to better understanding the underlying factors connected with the quest of man to achieve self-salvation. To begin with, most of the schools of thought are united in the idea that there are 4 Noble Truths that can guide the way of life of a person who is hoping to achieve Nirvana or a Buddha like status of self-salvation. These four truths include (â€Å"Buddhas Four Noble Truths†) : Acknowledging the above mentioned truths of Buddha is the beginning of enlightenment of a person. Through meditation, self-examination, and self-reflection, one can discover at what point of life he is at in relation to the four truths and in the process, help him analyze how he might move forward from his current point of being. Only by growing as a person, through the achievement of the four truths can a person claim to have achieved self-salvation. Regardless of which school of thought you subscribe to in Buddhism, be it the India or Chinese based school of proselytyzing, the goal of each school is the same, personal salvation. A sense of salvation that comes from within a person who, through the altering of his way of life, has finally managed to free himself from the constraints of the material world in order to achieve a higher sense of intellectual and spiritual achievement. This particular sense of salvation can only be reached by the person once he accepts that our world is not permanent and hence, should not be clung to. This will then allow a person to clean his thoughts and actions in an effort to achieve a Zen like status in life. The Four Noble Truths that guide the path of a Buddhist is what also helps him decipher how he can improve himself in order to benefit others. Buddhism, in my opinion, once viewed from the point of view of a symbiotic, sentient relationship between human beings, leads us to

Strategic leadership in hospital nonprofit organizations. explain Term Paper

Strategic leadership in hospital nonprofit organizations. explain problems with leadership, mission, budgetting and financial ma - Term Paper Example These include governance, volunteer programs, fundraising and granting, non-profit budgeting and accounting and public policy skills. Problems with leadership, mission, budgeting and financial management in hospital non-profit organizations Budgeting and financial management According to Goodman and Pennings (1997), non-profit organisations require highly customised forms of budgeting. The problem is that these budgeting skills are not taught in general management learning institutions. Non-profit hospitals have to fix their long list of needs within the limited pool of resources available in an attempt to achieve its objectives and meet the needs of the society. This is because the finances received by non-profit hospitals in most cases are low below what they need for effective service delivery. This attempt to satisfy everything for the sake of everyone usually results to ineffectiveness in non-profit hospitals (Bernd et al, 2004). Non-profit hospitals can operate as donor-faced, community-faced or agency-faced. Those that are donor-faced or agency-faced have to be very ken not to annoy their financiers so as to ensure their continuity. This means that the hospital organisation have a hard time in ensuring that no-patients overstay in the hospital so as to keep their financial expenses within the expected limits. Any such occurrences usually brings a lot of losses to the hospital unlike a profit making hospital in which patients pay for their medical and general expenses (Bernd et al, 2004). A budget should reflect the expected expenditure verses expected income as well as act as an executive control tool. However, in non-profit organisations, budgets are usually drawn just for formality purposes. Non-profit hospitals use non-scientific finance budgeting methods. These methods lack scientific calculation and analysis. Such methods do not take into account changes expected in the hospital environment. As a result of this, such budgets are not in a position to exert the required financial control in the hospital (Forbes, 1998). Non-profit hospitals are usually exempted from taxes. This has a disadvantage in that they are not allowed to access equity markets. This becomes a big challenge when the hospital needs capital to fund its projects because it blocks their ability to get capital from multiple channels. This means that the management has to greatly reduce expenses in other areas so as to get capital to fund the new project. Consequently, this impacts on the quality of services offered. Narrowed financial channels usually present a rick of financial crisis in non-profit hospitals. Alternatively, the hospital can opt to wait for donor funding for the project yet such funds could not be forthcoming in the near time (Bernd et al, 2004). Non-profit hospitals lack organisation and highly skilled personnel for its financial management. These cause them to lack the concepts and experiences of advanced enterprise financial control. At the sa me time, some non-profit hospitals lack clearly defined financial objectives in their management. These hospitals have to ensure that their mission to offer social benefits does not overtake the reality that a hospital is a market economy. Non-profit hospitals usually encounter a problem of investment in the course of their financial management. Many at times, there is blindness in investing the capital acquired. For example,