Economics Coursework

Iram Qureshi

To what extent is Marks and Spencer successful at motivating their employees?

Introduction

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is a , with 760 stores in around the world. It is one of the most iconic and widely recognized chain stores in the UK with 520 stores, and is the largest clothing retailer in the country, as well as being a multi-billion food retailer. Most of its shops sell both of these categories. It also has a third line of business selling homewares such as bed linen, but this is far smaller than the other two. In 1998 it became the first British retailer to make a pre-tax profit of over £1 billion.-direct quote from Wikipedia website (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marks_&_Spencer)

Motivation towards better performance depends on the satisfaction of needs for responsibility, achievement, recognition and growth. Needs are felt, and their intensity varies from one person to another and from time to time, and so does the extent to which they are motivating. Behaviour is learned, earned reward encourages even better performance, thus reinforcing desired behaviour.

Taylor’s Four Principles of Scientific Management

In 1911 Frederick Taylor published his work “The Principles of Scientific Management”. In this he described how the application of the scientific method to the management of workers could greatly improve productivity. Scientific management methods called for optimizing the way that tasks were preformed and simplifying the jobs enough so that workers could be trained to perform their specialised sequence of motions in the one “best” way.

After years of different experiments to determine optimal work methods, Taylor proposed the following four principles of scientific management:

* Replace rule of thumb work methods with methods based on a scientific study of the tasks

* Scientifically select, train and develop each worker rather than passively leaving them to train themselves

* Cooperate with the workers to ensure that the scientifically developed methods are being followed

* Divide work nearly equally between managers and workers, so that the managers apply scientific management principles to planning the work and the workers actually perform the tasks

Drawbacks of Scientific Management

While scientific management principles improved productivity and had a substantial impact on industry, they also increased the monotony of work. The core job dimensions of skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback all were missing from the picture of scientific management.

While in many cases the new way of working was accepted by workers, in some cases they were not. The use of stopwatches often was a protested issue and led to a strike at one factory where “Taylorism” was being tested. Complaints that Taylorism was dehumanizing led to an investigation by the United States Congress. Despite its controversy, scientific management changed the way that work was done and forms of it are continued to be used today.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow developed a theory that influenced many different fields including education, this wide influence is mainly due to the high level of practicality in his theory. Maslow believed everyone had the same needs which can be organised into a hierarchy system. The needs at the bottom are basic needs concerned with survival; these needs must be satisfied before someone can move to the next level. Each level of need is dependent on the levels below.

Maslow took the idea that although all needs are instinctive, some needs take precedence over others and created his theory of the hierarchy of needs. The lower the need is in the pyramid, the more powerful it is. The higher the need is in the pyramid, the weaker and more distinctly human it is. The lower needs on the pyramid are basic and similar to those possessed by animals, but only humans possess the higher needs.

The first four layers of the hierarchy pyramid are what Maslow called "deficiency needs" or "D-needs:" people don’t feel anything if they are met, but feel anxious if they are not met. Needs beyond the D-needs are "growth needs," "being values," or "B-needs." When fulfilled instead of going away, they motivate further.

The Physiological Needs.

The base of the pyramid is formed by the physiological needs, including the biological requirements for food, water, minerals and air. They also include the need to keep a pH balance and the right temperature. We also have the need to rest, to be active, to sleep and get rid of wastes. They are the needs for basic survival.

The Safety and Security Needs

When the physiological needs are largely taken care of, an individual can concentrate on the second level, the need for safety, stability and security. A person will become increasingly interested in finding safe circumstances, predictability and protection. In this section a need for structure, for order and some limits are also included. People get the need to feel safe within their environment; this refers to emotional and physical safety.

However a negative point of view of this shows people become concerned with their anxieties and fears, instead of hunger and thirst. In most adults, these needs show themselves in the form of urges to have a secure job, a fixed pension and a house in a safe area.

The Love and Belonging Needs

When the physiological needs and the safety needs are taken care of, a third layer of feeling loved and like you belong, needs to be taken care of. People start to crave the need for affectionate relationships such as a partner, friends or even children. People show these needs through the desire to get married, to have a family and be identified with a group. This need also includes what people look for in a career.

A negative point of view shows people become more vulnerable to feeling lonely and have social anxieties.

The Esteem Needs

When the physiological needs, the safety needs and the love and belonging needs are taken care of, people begin to look for a little self-esteem. Maslow believed there were two versions of esteem needs, one lower and one higher.

The lower need is the need for respect, dignity, fame, reputation, attention, recognition, status, appreciation, glory and dominance. The higher need is the need for confidence, achievement, independence, freedom, self-respect, mastery and competence. The difference between the higher and lower needs is the higher form, once achieved, is harder to lose.

The recognition from other people gives a feeling of being accepted, having a status, and self esteem which results in confidence and feelings of adequacy. A lack of the esteem needs gives feelings of inferiority and discouragement.

Self Actualisation

Maslow believed that after all four needs have been achieved, people will move onto self-actualization. He believed that once self-actualization has been achieved, people will experience a mood he referred to as "transcendence". During this people become aware of the fullest potential human beings can achieve.

Frederick Herzberg

In 1950 Herzberg conducted research into factors affecting job satisfaction; the studies included interviewing employees to see what pleased them and what displeased them. Herzberg found that the factors which caused satisfaction, and motivation, were different to what caused dissatisfaction. The motivation-hygiene theory was developed to explain these results, the satisfying factors were called motivators and the dissatisfying factors were called hygiene. They were called hygiene factors as they were seen as maintenance factors, they were necessary to avoid dissatisfaction however they would not achieve satisfaction if avoided.

Factors which lead to Job Satisfaction or Dissatisfaction

The table shows the top six factors showing satisfaction and dissatisfaction, listed in order of importance. Herzberg emphasised that the factors that cause satisfaction and dissatisfaction are two different feelings and cannot be treated as the opposites of each other. The opposite of dissatisfaction is not satisfaction, it is no dissatisfaction. The same principle applies to satisfaction, the opposite is no satisfaction.

This is a preview of the whole essay

According to Herzberg movement is when somebody does something. However motivation is when somebody wants to do something. Herzberg believed pay would not motivate employees. He claimed employees could be bribed to move, they would do enough to get the bonus, however they wouldn’t be motivated enough to work to their full potential.

He advised against piece rate payments as he believed it only encouraged movement. He claimed it reinforced behaviour, making it difficult to change their working methods. He suggested having salaried employees as they know their pay is safe and work hard because they want to.

Management Implications

In the motivation-hygiene theory, management should provide hygiene factors to avoid employee dissatisfaction aswell as essential factors to the work so employees are satisfied with their jobs.

Herzberg also said job enrichment was essential for motivation and it is a continuous management process. Herzberg claimed:

* The job should be challenging enough to use the full ability the employee has to offer.

* Employees who show higher skills and ability should be given higher responsibilities

* If a job cant use an employees full abilities the company should try to change their tasks or replace them with a lower skilled employee. If an employees skills aren’t being fully utilised it will result in motivation problems.

Paul B Thornton

In his 1999 book “Be the Leader, Make the Difference”, Thornton proposed an integrating framework that takes various leadership ideas and reconstructs them into a model which can be quickly understood, studied and implemented by managers in order to develop an efficient leadership style and lead their organization better. The model is based on the premise that leaders exist to guide individuals, who don’t always know what they can accomplish, why they should accomplish it, or how to accomplish it. Due to this the leaders can provide confidence, coaching and challenge. Thornton called this the 3-C Leadership Model.

The shape of a triangle is extremely appropriate for the 3-C Leadership Model as there is no particular order in which they should be carried out and it is necessary for them all to be balanced. A balance is highly important because without confidence a highly challenging task will make the employee feel unmotivated and have low self esteem. However if an employee is given confidence then they can face a highly challenging task with the help of some coaching. When the employee is given a balance of all three then they are motivated and more efficient, they also have a higher level of satisfaction in their work.

Challenge

Confidence Coaching

Giving Challenges

Giving challenges is the most common form of leaders trying to motivate employees as they raise their targets and set increasingly higher goals. Due to human nature most employees don’t want to leave their comfort zone and be given high goals, which they aren’t sure they can achieve.

To help challenge employees, leaders can:

* Give employees a large variety of different tasks by introducing them to different aspects of the business. A new assignment is a new challenge and new skills are picked up.

* Set very high goals so the employees have no choice but to leave their comfort zones and put in hard work.

* Share the goal and vision of the company, helping the employee to be inspired

* Use the best practices and results as a challenge for the employees to beat.

When the employees achieve their challenge, it is important to keep setting new challenging targets so they know they can achieve more.

Building Confidence

According to Thornton, challenges bring people out of their confidence zones, hence usually dropping their confidence levels. Due to their lack of confidence the challenge will seem even more difficult, therefore one of the main responsibilities of a leader is to build their employees confidence so they can work to their full potential and achieve their challenging targets.

Although many motivation theorists claim the way to achieve motivation is through self affirmation and positive thinking, Thornton argues this is not the case. Thornton believed for a person to successfully achieve confidence they must actually accomplish their targets and achieve something. Whilst people are working on their targets they accumulate more knowledge and abilities which results in a more long lasting realistic self confidence.

Using this premise, leaders can help their employees build self confidence by:

* Focusing on positive achievements rather than their deficiencies

* Reminding them of all their past accomplishments

* Verbally congratulating them and expressing confidence in them

* Physically expressing confidence in them by delegating responsibility and authority to them

Coaching

A coach is someone who supports, explains, demonstrates, instructs and directs others via encouragement and asking questions. Coaching employees can help them understand how their role effects the main stragedy and can enable them to make more accurate decisions, aswell as feeling more involved. However employees shouldn’t be over coached as it could diminish their initiative and make them more dependant.

Using this premise, leaders can help coach their employees by:

* Continuously showing self improvement and acting as a perfect example

* Using outstanding examples of other employees to show how tasks can be accomplished

* Giving the employees a task to complete and providing immediate feedback

* Giving employees situations to think through which will improve their understanding

Elton Mayo

The Hawthorne experiments were a series of studies carried out on workers to see what motivated them in their work. Surprisingly as various conditions were manipulated each change increased the productivity of workers, including the eventual change back to normal conditions. Not all conditions were changed for the better and they included things like pay, rest breaks, light levels, humidity etc. Professor Elton Mayo believed essentially it was the fact that the workers felt they were being paid more attention that increased their level of productivity. This is now called “The Hawthorne Effect”.

Strength of The Hawthorne Effect

* The workers concerns are clearly identified

* If it is accurately modelled, it solves productivity issues in a sustainable long term basis

* There is a consistency in the assessment of the working situation for managers so they can carry out long term envisioning

Limitations of The Hawthorne Effect

* It is difficult to identify the critical working environment attributes as most are basic, organisation dynamics

* Critical working attributes are constantly changing and the model would need to be constantly updated to reflect the actual situation
* As a whole, the accuracy of the model is highly inter correlated with the judgement of the manager.

Analysis

Marks and Spencer Pay and Benefits

According to the Marks and Spencer website, “We regularly check our salaries against other retailers to make sure we're competitive”. Basic pay is reviewed every year and extra performance rewards are given to recognise individual achievement.

For all store purchases at Marks & Spencer, staff are given a 20% discount card. They are also given an additional 20% discount card to give to either their partner or a member of their family and there’s no limit on the amount of goods you can buy with discount.

Additional benefits for Marks and Spencer staff include SAYE for all employees, more holidays the longer you work for them and optional subsided company benefits such as health and dental care. Many extra benefits are offered, some which are exclusive for employees of Marks and Spencer such as, money-off deals with RAC membership, discounted airport car parking and offers on holidays, theme parks and sports club membership.

These will result in employees feeling like they are valued and cared about; they will feel indispensable to the business and should increase their motivation. By knowing that they are cared about and offered opportunities such as SAYE, if they choose to get involved then they will be even more motivated as they will have a personal interest in the companies growth. Given that some of the offers are exclusive to M&S staff such as offers on holidays and discounted airport parking, these are benefits which the majority of people would enjoy and appreciate. Staff are likely to feel even more motivated to work hard and be able to gain some reward, especially in the form of discounted holidays.

Theme parks and sports club memberships can be enjoyed by not only the employee but by friends and family too. This should strongly help to motivate staff as they are given the opportunity to enjoy a long term thing, with people whose company they enjoy. This should make the staff feel valued and taken care of as M&S it not only providing discounted enjoyment for them but for their friends and family too.

A weakness in the M&S benefits system is staff could lend their discount cards to a large number of friends or family and this would result in Marks and Spencer losing out on the money they would have otherwise made. Another weakness is that if one member of staff is given a reward or bonus for working hard, this could cause envy and demotivation for other members of staff as they could feel ignored and uncared for.

Next Pay and Benefits

In comparison to Marks and Spencer, Next are given a 25% discount on most items for themselves and immediate family. This is 5% more than Marks and Spencer and should help the employee feel more valued and cared about. The fact that the discount is for staff and their immediate family will also benefit Next as it is a way of them securing customer loyalty. As the family of the staff get a 25% discount they will shop as much as possible at Next.

Staff will be offered a choice of pension schemes, this will enable them to feel valued and taken care of. This should also increase their level of efficiency as they will feel as if they are genuinely cared about. Employees are also given the opportunity to subscribe to a subsidised healthcare scheme and are offered free life insurance. This should make the employee feel as if their lives are valued and cared about, and should result in them feeling more motivated.

A weakness in the reward system is that if one staff member is chosen for the bonus, this would motivate them but be demotivating for other staff. This is as they would feel ignored and that their hard work has not been recognized, and other people are rewarded and they are not.

Marks and Spencer

INTERNAL

EXTERNAL

INTERNAL

EXTERNAL

By conducting my SWOT analysis I have analysed the Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for Marks and Spencer and its rival Next. Although Marks and Spencer has more Weaknesses than its rival, I think that their advantages are the relevant ones needed to successfully motivate their employees.

To keep employees motivated I think it’s important for them to be offered a discount at the store they work for, this is done by both Marks and Spencer and Next. However Next offer their employees 25% and Marks and Spencer only offer 20%. Although there is a difference of 5% I don’t think any staff will feel demotivated knowing that another firm offers more of a discount. The discount offered to staff will also benefit the company as it will increase company loyalty. As both companies allow a discount for the family of employees, I think this is very important as it enables the employees to feel as if the company cares about their family as well as them.

The longer an employee works for M&S, the more holidays they are allowed to take. This allows the employees to feel appreciated as they are given holidays and allows M&S to ensure their staff are motivated, long term and efficient.

Both Next and M&S offer subsided company benefits, both offer a healthcare scheme, Marks and Spencer also offer dental care and Next offer a life insurance scheme. Although these are two different things it shows that companies have seen the importance of offering company benefits to employees as it motivates them and shows that the company is a pleasant and caring environment to work in. I think Marks and Spencer will be more successful at motivating their employees with their benefits as they have offered dental care instead of life insurance, most people would prefer to go for dental care as it is expensive and people do not like thinking about death.

Marks and Spencer employees are offered SAYE which is an opportunity to buy shares at lower prices. This is very motivating to the staff as they feel they are valued. If they actually buy the shares then they will increase their efficiency and feel more motivated to work hard as they will have a personal interest in their shares being worth more.

Next have offered all employees a choice of pensions so they can choose which ever one suits them, this should help employees feel more motivated as they know the company is looking after them in the long term and not only for now. They will be left feeling needed and taken care of and this will increase their level of motivation.

The SWOT analysis shows that more benefits are offered with Marks and Spencer as they also offer money-off deals with RAC membership, discounted airport car parking and offers on holidays, theme parks and sports club membership. This will all contribute to the employees feeling more motivated and enthusiastic as they work because they will know that the harder they work the more they will be rewarded.

Questionnaire Results

13 people said that Marks and Spencer was their first job, this shows that nearly half the people that answered the questionnaire where new recruits. This shows that Marks and Spencer have developed the image of a good work atmosphere which is why so many people are constantly applying for jobs there. 17 people said that this was not their first job, showing that although they have worked in other places they are now choosing to work at Marks and Spencer. They will also have more knowledge of other work environments so will be able to compare their past experience of working to the conditions at Marks and Spencer whilst answering the questionnaire.

15 people said that they were happy with the relationship they shared with management and other members of staff, this is half the people asked. This shows that half of the people working at Marks and Spencer were happy and content with the relationship they had with other staff. 11 people said mostly, showing that although there may be a few aspects that they disagree on, they generally get along and enjoy there relationship. 4 people answered no, which is less than 1/6 of the people asked, this shows that there is a low level of dissatisfaction.

This shows that Marks and Spencer have been successful at keeping a good working atmosphere, and encouraging staff to be friendly with each other. The fact that such a low number of people are unhappy with their relationship with other staff member is surprising in such a large organisation.

14 people said they felt motivated at work and 12 people said they mostly felt motivated when they went to work. This shows that overall the majority of people were content and motivated when they went to work. This is a very high number and shows that Marks and Spencer are successful at keeping their employees motivated. 4 people answered that they were not motivated when they went to work, although this is a very low number this could still be an issue as their lack of motivation could result in them being inefficient and being a loss to the company.

This shows that most of the staff working for Marks and Spencer do feel motivated and as the majority are feeling motivated the companies efficiency should be increased. The fact that there are members of staff who are unmotivated should be taken into account and action should be taken. They should talk to the staff and encourage them to talk about what they could do to help increase there motivation, this will positively affect both the employee and Marks and Spencer.

For this question, employees were asked to list in order of preference, the factors which motivated them most at work. 25 people put their first choice as their salary, showing that Marks and Spencer must have a good enough salary that keeps such a high number of their employees motivated. 2 people answered that the working condition was their highest motivation factor; this shows that Marks and Spencer have a good working condition as it is more motivating then the salary. 1 person chose recognition as their highest motivating factor, showing that the praise and recognition they were given for their hard work is the most motivating thing for them. 1 person chose responsibility, showing that the trust they are shown whilst given responsibility is the most motivating thing for them. 1 person chose their relationship with peers as their most motivating factor, showing that they must enjoy their work atmosphere and the relationship they have with their co-workers enough that it is their motivating factor.

Overall these results show that although the salary is the thing which most employees are motivated by, some people are motivated by different things. The fact that Marks and Spencer has such a wide range of positive schemes for their employees encourages them to feel motivated. This shows that Marks and Spencer staff are given responsibility, recognition, have good working conditions, have set good relationships between employees and have a very good salary.

Employees were asked to tick as many boxes as they felt fit, 23 people answered they felt safe, 16 people felt loyal, 25 people felt valued, 24 people felt taken care of, 4 people felt invisible, 1 person felt dispensable, 3 people felt they were taken advantage of and 3 people felt bullied.

The majority of people answered that they felt valued, safe, loyal and taken care of. This is a very good sign showing that Marks and Spencer is successful as making their employees feel motivated as these feelings are key essentials to good performance. The negative points shown by this question is that 4 employees felt that they were invisible, and 3 employees felt bullied and taken advantage of. This shows that there are a low number of employees who are having a bad time at work and this should be sorted out as soon as possible. Marks and Spencer should sort this out as dissatisfaction about their treatment could result in workers being unmotivated, underperforming and being inefficient.

Interview with Ex-Marks and Spencer Employee

Name: Aurora Carr Position: Customer Assistant

1) How long did you work with Marks and Spencer?

* 3 Months

2) Did you enjoy working there?

* Yes, it was my first job and it was a great experience!

3) If you were going to get another job, would you reapply for Marks and Spencer?

* Yes definitely, that would be my first choice but I would apply to a store closer to home.

4) What did you enjoy most about working there?

* Well the pay was absolutely great, and we got 20% of for staff discounts so I started to do all my shopping from M&S. The atmosphere between the staff was actually amazing and I loved working in such a laid back environment, because it was my first job I was quite scared but everyone was so friendly I felt like I had been there for ages.

5) Would you recommend people to work for Marks and Spencer?

* Yes I think everyone would enjoy working for M&S, because it has a perfect balance. Everyone works hard and good work it recognised and rewarded, but at the same time we all have a joke and a laugh together. (Laughs) There’s no point lying so the pay is actually great, money never fails to motivate anyone!

6) Did you feel motivated to work hard at Marks and Spencer? Why?

* M&S had lots of schemes that made employees try their hardest at work, for example I knew that if I got 3 customers to sign up for the M&S Credit Card I would get a £5 gift voucher. Things like that really help people to work hard, I always tried to work hard because my manager was on really good terms with me and I didn’t want to let her down.

This was an interview with an ex Marks and Spencer employee, the answers show that Marks and Spencer had a hard working but laid back environment which encouraged employees to feel comfortable and work hard.

As we can see by Ms Carr’s answer, she felt motivated to work her hardest as she knew she would receive bonuses, e.g. a gift voucher. She also felt motivated to work hard due to her relationship with her manager, being on terms with her manager made her want to work hard to receive recognition and praise. This shows that having your achievements recognized and knowing that you will receive bonuses is a large motivator.

The fact that Ms Carr would recommend people to work for Marks and Spencer shows that she has had a good experience and enjoyed working there, this shows that M&S have been successful in having a good environment and keeping their employees motivated and happy. This is a vital point to ensure that employees work efficiently, if they feel happy and motivated then they will work better and be more productive.

The pay and discounts offered to employees are obviously a large motivator as we can see Ms Carr has said it was one of the things she enjoyed about working for M&S. We can also see that the majority of employees who answered the questionnaire said their pay was their largest motivating factor.

Media Analysis

As we can see in Article 1 Marks and Spencer will be expanding and creating 10,000 jobs. We can see that there profits leapt 28% and due to this staff will be rewarded for their hard work. The highest ever bonus pot will be shared between the 72,000 employees, £91 million will be set aside for employee bonuses. This shows that M&S staff should feel motivated to work their hardest and stay loyal to the company as they are rewarded and treated so well. The fact that they will be given bonuses due to the rising profits of the company will motivate them further and encourage them to help build the company as they will also personally benefit.

Article 2 shows us that Marks and Spencer gave a budget to each store for them to reward the staff as they saw fit. This is a better method as the manager will know who has been putting in hard work and working to the best of their abilities. This will also result in the employee and boss relationship being strengthened and this could be an incentive for some people to work harder. The fact that the manager will determine how much of a bonus people get and who gets it could be demotivating as the manager may have a personal grudge against certain employees. However if the manager has been trained and is motivated themselves then they will work in the interest of the company. The fact that staff are given money instead of a small gift is also more motivating and efficient as it will enable them to buy what they want and will also result in wasted presents.

Article 3 shows how much Marks and Spencer prioritise motivation for their employees. M&S hired Mary Gober a New York business guru to speak to all 56,000 staff in mass sessions; the estimated bill came to £10m. Although they were heavily criticised for their multi million pound motivation exercise Keith Cameron, HR director at M&S, defended the idea and in his quote he says, “M&S wants a new, motivated, trained workforce with good careers”. The fact that Marks and Spencer were willing to spend so much money and didn’t select a few employees but sent all employees to the motivation talks shows their commitment to make their employees feel valued and motivated. As a result of this, employees should feel more willing to work and feel more motivated and this should result in them being more efficient.

As we can see in Article 4, Marks and Spencer run an Employee Volunteer Awards. There are individual awards for best volunteer and fundraiser, group awards for fundraising and cause related business and charity fundraising. This shows that M&S are recognizing the hard work put in by staff and they are being rewarded, this will increase the employees’ motivation as they will know that the harder they work the more they will be rewarded and praised.

Overall the media analysis has shown that Marks and Spencer spend a lot of time and effort in rewarding and recognizing their employees’ achievements. This will inevitably end in the staff feeling more motivated and working their hardest. After looking at these articles, I can see that M&S have successfully set up several ways of trying to increase their staff motivation.

Market Share

2007 Britain’s favourite retailers per category according to TNS Worldpanel – Total respondents (2006 rank in brackets where different to 2007)

This is a chart showing a report from TNS market researchers, this is the third year that they have conducted the study on behalf of Retail Week. In clothing and footwear, Marks and Spencer was the clear winner with Next coming second. This shows that people have voted for M&S over Next, there could be a number of reasons for this however this reflects that they have found what they want and been given the right treatment. This will also make the employees feel more motivated as they will see that the company they work for has been voted the best store for clothing and footwear, this will make them feel proud and more motivated to work for an established company with such a good reputation.

Evaluation

After looking at the SWOT analysis I think that Marks and Spencer are successful at keeping their employees motivated. The fact that they offer both good pay and good benefits is appealing and allows the staff to feel relaxed but motivated to work to their best ability. The discount and benefits that are offered to the staff and their family will make the employees feel loyal and cared about. This is very important as it allows the staff to feel comfortable and happy where they work and results in them feeling motivated to achieve the best they can, either for the company or for a bonus. The discount will also encourage employees and members of their family to shop at Marks and Spencer and hence it will increase customer loyalty. However some people will not find pay or benefits motivating and may need other factors to feel motivated.

The employee questionnaire results show that out of 30 people only 4 people said they didn’t have motivation when they went to work and 4 people said they were not happy with their relationship with other members of staff. Marks and Spencer is a large organization and that out of 30 people for 4 people to say were not motivated, this is a very small minority amount. However Marks and Spencer should deal with this issue as soon as possible as the dissatisfaction could easily spread amongst staff and will affect the way they are working.

25 people said their highest motivating factor was their salary, this shows that the majority of people are working hard due to the large pay they get. This shows that Marks and Spencer’s benefits scheme would be largely appreciated by these people as they obviously work hard and appreciate getting rewards and bonuses for all their work. The majority of people answered that they felt valued, safe, loyal and taken care of at work which shows Marks and Spencer are successful at looking after their employees and making them feel they have an enjoyable and safe atmosphere to work in.

The media analysis shows that Marks and Spencer have spent a lot of time and money on schemes to motivate and encourage their employees to work to their full potential. Although they have been criticised for the amount of money they have spent on motivating their employees, M&S have stuck up for their schemes and stressed that they consider employee motivation to be one of the most important things for a business. This shows that Marks and Spencer do consider motivation to be important and due to this they continuosly spend time and money on their employees. Comparing this with the questionnaire results we see that a high majority of employees said they were motivated when they go to work, this shows that Marks and Spencer are successful at keeping their employees motivating.

Overall we can see that Marks and Spencer are successful at motivating their employees, they spend time and effort on planning outings and schemes to keep staff feeling needed and cared about. Although Marks and Spencer have not stuck to a particular motivation theory; instead they have managed to successfully combine them to suit the majority of people. Their pay and reward system is set out to motivate those people who get motivated most with pay. Marks and Spencer have recognised that there are people who need other things to be motivated and therefore they give praise, recognition and rewards for their employees achievements. They also keep good relationships between all employees including managers.

To keep up the high level of motivation, Marks and Spencer will need to talk to the 4 members of staff who said they were unmotivated and try to sort this problem out. If this is not sorted, other employees could listen to their complaining and start feeling unmotivated. They must also continue to keep providing schemes and talks to keep the motivation of the staff high. After looking at all the data and evidence here, I can conclude that Marks and Spencer are successful at motivating their employees.

Economics Coursework

This is a preview of the whole essay

Document Details

Related Essays

Economics Report on Budget

Economics - Monopolists

Economics of Healthcare

Economics - Data Response January 2006