Employee Motivation
Angelie Johnson
ABS 415
Instructor Mark Bova
November 17, 2014

Employee Motivation In this paper I will be discussing Wal-Mart and Southwest Airlines motivation for their employees. As you see in this paper the companies have implemented successful motivational plans but do not involve monetary reward/compensation for the employees. It is important for the companies to have more pros than cons to represent a great staff and to run a successful business. When you are fully motivated and productive you will have more people to feel the need to stay and work with your business for a long time. Since the relationship with the employee and the manger is the most important factor influencing engagement, the responsibility will fall on the management or leader to improve the motivational levels of his/her employees. Employee motivation is needed in all companies in order to have a successful business. Wal-Mart is a company that has been around for a very long time. This company has many employees around the United States. You cannot go any where with out seeing a Wal-Mart in some town. Motivation is alive through all levels of positions at Wal-Mart. This company motivates employees in many different ways in order to prove that the company is not only care about profit they can gain from employees but also employees’ crises. One of the facts proved about this motivation is the used of term “association” instead of “employee”. Being an associate for Wal-Mart myself for approximately three years, I can tell you first hand they motivated us to be the best at what we do before very shift. The manger will give us this little pep talk before we started or shift. We only received a pat on the back and a job well done for our people skills. I loved my job and the associates I worked with because we were a family that worked together. There are more pros than cons in the company in which I will compare with Southwest Airlines later in the paper. Southwest Airline is known for their friendly customer service. They will not have this accomplishment without the great leader and his/her employees. Southwest Airlines are first, the company is defined as "excellent" according to the criteria established by Peters and Waterman (Goyer, 1978). Second, management-employee relations, organizational training and strong leadership are identified as the sources of employee motivation. Third, loss of strong leadership and organizational structure are discussed as possible future problems influencing motivation and service (Bunz &Maes, 1998). Southwest Airlines will support their employees by showing the best way to keep their company successful. They use the four P’s in which include product, price, place, and promotion. The four P’s are very important when implementing the best business. This company empowers people to make their company more successful. They do not have a reward system for their employees because there are to many workers under the company. Their leaders of the company make sure her/she hire the best for the company. This will give them the opportunity to help their employees be the best at what they do for the company.
Pros and Cons of Wal-Mart Incentive Plans Their pros focus of human resource management is another strength. Wal-Mart does not treat employees as subordinates, but rather as associates. Thus, management is given much decision-making power. They make employees feel important and motivated. These pros have helped Wal-Mart be successful in their companies all over the United States. The main pro will give the employee to chance to move up to a manger position for being at the top of the list of being the best employee. The con of being a Wal-Mart employee is not being able to have an incentive to push us to feel like an associate. As an employee we want to feel like our work we are doing in appreciated at all times. Just because they call us associates and not employees does not mean they like our hard work. I must say everyone does not feel this way. This is why I feel the pros are more important than the cons.
Pros and Cons of Southwest Airlines Incentive Plans
Southwest Airlines is on top when it comes down to their employees. They believe in making sure their employees are at a leadership stand point at all times. The communication from their leader will keep us as employees in a family atmosphere. This is a great incentive as a whole for us. The pros of the company are being able to move around and not stay in one place to achieve the goal we have set for ourselves. The leaders treat us like we are their family. We do not have any cons because we are treated with the up most respect in the company. The Southwest Airline is the best company to work for. Wal-Mart and Southwest Airlines were successful because they made sure they have the best leaders to keep their company successful. Needs-based theory of motivation contends that employees have needs and will perform when their primary and secondary needs are met. In the absence of need satisfaction, satisfaction with work will decline and they will no longer be motivated to work (Daft, 2014). These practices were successful because the employees were treated like family and not just a worker for their company. This is how all of the companies in the world should make their employees feel. Employees are the most important part to running a company. If it was not for a great leader to hire an employee to help make their company be successful, then there will not be a company. Most companies depend on their leader to make the best decision on hiring an employee for their company. These two companies have the same motivation for their employees. Their motivation is to treat them like family and not a worker. These are great companies to be a part of.

References
Bunz, U. K., & Maes, J. D. (1998). Learning excellence: Southwest Airlines' approach. Managing Service Quality, 8(3), 163. doi:10.1108/09604529810215594
Daft, R.L. (2014). The leadership experience (6th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. ISBN: 9781435462854
Goyer, R. S. (1987). APPLICATIONS FROM IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE BY THOMAS PETERS AND ROBERT WATERMAN, JR. Association For Communication Administration Bulletin, (59), 53-54.