There have been many studies made on the theory of motivation. However, the contribution of sore of the most quoted authorities on this subject will now be examined. One of the organisations that we will examine is call centre, and its functions, aims and conditions. We will apply selected theories of management in order to identify the points needed in this essay which are all about the motivation. The first theory that we will examine is by A. H. Maslow, who adopted the principal that states people are motivated by five basic needs, or as he called them the hierarchy of basic needs.
The first one, the Psychological, is a necessary need in terms of basic human needs such as: hunger, to be clothed and shelter. They needed to be fulfilled to an acceptable level. The second one is called the Safety need, which includes the adequate shelter, level of secured living standard, need of life and work place as a threat to safety. The third one is the Social need, which states that the social factor is not less important as a motivated one, and it can be seen through social grouping. Next one is the Esteen need.
It concerned with self-satisfaction and self-respect. Finally, is the Self-fulfilment need or what is called Self-actualisation, which become active when the pervious four have been satisfied. The second theory is by F. Herzberg, which is divided into two district categories, that depends on people attitude at work. The Hygiene or Maintenance factors state that a little is required to promote job satisfaction, otherwise it will lead to dissatisfaction. It linked to hygiene in medical matters, or maintenance in mechanical areas.
The above will depend on the organisational policies, style of supervision, cal of pay, social relationship with working environment and the conditions of the environment, equipment and arrangements. The other factors called the motivating factor, which can be described as a positive and longer lasting effect on work performance and related directly to the work itself, such as: achievement, recognition of achievement, the work itself, responsibility and self satisfaction. The last theory to include is by D. M. McGregor, divided into two theories.
Theory X states that average human being prefer to work as little as possible, as no ambition, dislike changes and gullible. As a result of the above factors, managers have to play a major role in order to achieve goals, (persuade, coerce, punish and reward), are needed, and people cannot be trusted without supervision. Theory Y was made upon Maslow’s concept, and states that people are naturally inclined to expend effort in working or playing, without urge to assume responsibility and a level of management to enable workforce to contribute toward organisational achievement.
A call centre is a telecommunication system, provided by some of the companies as a part of their customer service. Answering queries, selling products and many other purposes could be the main aims for a call centre. Staffs are specially trained to use the system, which is based on telephones, and computer systems. One of the Co-operations described the call centre: using the call centre makes sense for many businesses. Your customer’s calls are always answered professionally.
They are not left hanging on the phone or kept within from a business view point, it means your don’t have the worry of under utilized over head with staff simply waiting for a call. 1 This is an especially important for organisations with a seasonal business for unpredictable levels of business activity. With a call centre, resources are never idle. It is basically a teamwork career, which needs a high level of concentration in order to reduce the pressure resulted from the environment itself.
However, it could be a well paid job depends on the level of customer service provided by the staff, as well as what is called the reward system; when staff as individuals or groups have to sell or market a certain number of products within time scale. Maslow theory could be ideal to be applied in an environment like the call centre. If the basic needs are satisfied to the working team, it will enhance the ability to be more productive as a team. The assurance regarding the living standards, as well as the ideal social environment and good relationship between employees could positively lead to an outstanding result.
And lets not forget the moral issues relative to self-satisfaction such as: achievement and self-respect. They are also important and without them it will often leads to a sense of inferiority and a lowering of morals. F. Herzberg theory could be also ideal to be applied to call centres as an organization. The categories stated in the theory; the maintenance, were the right policy and the style of supervision could be a motivated factors to staff, as well as the working conditions which are important to complete the circle.
The motivating factors regarding achievement, recognition and self-satisfaction are also essential to achieve motivation. However as we can see what D. M. McGregor stated in his X theory, where he estimated the average human being as lazy, with no ambition and self-centred. The above leave the door open for managers to put some sort of pressures and strict supervision that would remove the spirit of loyalty to the organisation and would leave the organisation in a great mess. The environment itself is already full of pressures, and what are needed here would be a more flexible policy and some sort of trust.
While in theory Y, the organisation environment would be less stressful and it would be easier to achieve the aims. In an organisation like a call centre, it is necessary to have suitable, flexible and motivated policies, in order to make the environment less stressful to the staff working in that organization. The three theories discussed above provide different ideas and manners towards that. Maslow and Herzberg would appear to be perfect theories, due to the flexibility and the rewarding conditions in them.
While McGregor theory seemed to be unsuitable to apply due to the hard system adopted by the managers in managing the organisations. Different views might rise regarding which theory to adopt, specially from the decision making groups in the organisation who would be able to decide the best option, in order to improve the performance of their organisation taking to account that there will be individuals to be affected by their decision, which subsequently would affect the productivity of both organisation and staff.
