What’s your company’s greatest strength? Here’s how to identify and leverage that potential.
In any organization, three main factors predictably represent the primary areas of focus: human resources, infrastructure, and financials. Most organizations, especially in our region, tend to place their focus predominantly upon financials, with infrastructure coming in a close second; but somehow, human assets end up getting neglected.
Scientific studies have proven that in business, the importance of each factor can be quantified as follows:
Human Assets – 64%
Infrastructure – 20%
Financial Resources – 16%
“Studies show that that the greatest strength in any organization lies in its human assets, which are generally attributed the least amount of emphasis.
Studies show that that the greatest strength in any organization lies in its human assets, which are generally attributed the least amount of emphasis. Actually, this is where focus should be most heavily invested in order to achieve the highest possible productivity and attainment of goals.
This brings us to Vroom’s expectancy theory, and what organizations should do to match employees’ expectations.
Vroom’s theory assumes that behavior results from conscious choices between alternatives, the purpose of which is to maximize pleasure and reduce pain. Basically, employee motivation is exceptionally important for individual performance as well as for the organization as a whole.
Vroom’s theory is based upon the following factors:
Valence: This refers to the emotional and psychological reactions people exhibit with respect to rewards systems. Management must discover what employees value the most in terms of rewards given for excellent performance (money, gifts, promotions, time off, or benefits).
Expectancy: Each employee holds varying expectations and levels of potential for achievement. This information can sometimes remain hidden, especially in the case of employees who do not show themselves much or express their expectations, but are capable of achieving more than management assumes. Therefore, management must discover what kinds of resources, training, or supervision each employee needs.
Instrumentality: Promises made by the organization could represent a double-edged sword: one side that hits the target by satisfying the desires of the employees, and another that could easily backfire and prove deadly to both the organization and its employees. Employee perception inevitably varies as to whether they are actually getting what they have been promised. Management must assure that promises are always fulfilled for employees.
“It is crucial for organizations to realize that a positive correlation exists between effort and performance, and that good performance should result in a desirable reward equal to the effort put in by employees.
It is crucial for organizations to realize that a positive correlation exists between effort and performance, and that good performance should result in a desirable reward equal to the effort put in by employees. In any organization, the productivity cycle always starts with human assets. Once the human quotient is performing well, this will automatically lead to an improvement of operations via higher productivity rates and attainment of financial goals.
Organizations can have the best infrastructure, the most advanced technology, and all the money in the world, but without motivated human resources, nothing will work out properly for them in the end.
