Application of motivation concepts in a modern organization

 

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN 

INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF BUSINESS

 

“Management and Marketing” Chair

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C O U R S E P A P E R

 

for the “Personnel Management” course

 

on the topic:

 

«APPLICATION OF MOTIVATION CONCEPTS IN A MODERN ORGANIZATION»

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepared by:

4^th year student

Full time, group МN - 0901

Sankova K.A.

 

Checked by:

Senior Lecturer,

Lipovka A.V.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almaty

2012

CONTENTS

 

Pages

 

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………….3

 

CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF MOTIVATION IN AN ORGANIZATION

 

1. Content theories of motivation……………………………………………….....4
2. Process theories of motivation………………………………………...……….7
3. Motivation aspects in modern organization ……………………………..…...10

 

CHAPTER 2. ANALYSIS OF MOTIVATION CONCEPTS APPLICATION IN “ADIDAS GROUP” LTD

 

2.1 Analysis of business activities in “adidas Group”…………………….………12

2.2 Assessment of motivational concepts application in “adidas Group” Ltd. Kazakhstan ……………………………………………………………………….16

 

CHAPTER 3. DEVELOPMENT OF EMPLOYEE MOTIVATIONAL PROGRAM FOR “ADIDAS GROUP” KAZAKHSTAN

 

3.1 Design of the employee motivational program……………………………….21

3.2 Implementation of employee motivational program………………………….24

 

CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………….……..29

 

LIST OF REFERENCES………………………………………………...……….30

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Employee motivation has always been a central problem for leaders and managers of any organization. Unmotivated employees are likely to spend little or no effort in their jobs, avoid the workplace as much as possible, exit the organization if given the opportunity and produce low quality work. On the other hand, employees who feel motivated to work are likely to be persistent, creative and productive, turning out high quality work that they willingly undertake.  

The reality is that every employee has different ways to become motivated. Employers need to get to know their employees very well and use different tactics to motivate each of them based on their personal wants and needs. Salary or monetary compensation is no longer serving as a motivator but just enough to satisfy some of employees’ needs. In fact, the general norm today is that no organization can pay the worth of a worker and there must be other means devise to keep the best brains from looking outside or putting forth application letters while on the job.

All this confirms the relevance of the theme of motivation in the world today and in the activities of any company.

Motivation comes from within us such as thoughts, beliefs, ambitions, and goals. The people who are most interested in motivation studies are managers of people because they may provide insights into why people perform at work as they do, and as a result provide managers with techniques to improve worker productivity. 

The main objective of this course paper is to improve motivation program of the company. Goals of the work are to investigate employee motivation tools and methods in modern organization basing on content theories of motivation and provide possible solutions to problems occurred.

The object of the research is represented by “adidas Group” Kazakhstan Ltd. and particularly of Human Resource Department of the company.

The subject of the research is employees of the organization.

The first chapter of the work highlights theoretical aspects of motivation in organization. Such aspects as content, process, and modern theories of motivation are considered.

The second chapter is focused on analysis of motivation concepts application by the example of “adidas Group” Kazakhstan Ltd. The analysis performed on the basis of Maslow hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s two-factor theory, and Alderfer’s ERG theory of motivation. All necessary information about functioning of company’s HR Department also included in the second chapter.

The third chapter of the course work reveals the proposal of development incentive program of motivation for “adidas Group” Kazakhstan by improving the old one, basing on various theories of motivation. Another issue considered in the chapter is the ways, methods and tactics that should be used in order to guarantee successful implementation of new motivational program in the company.

CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF MOTIVATION IN AN ORGANIZATION

 

1.  Content theories of motivation

 

Motivation can be defined in a number of ways. It is a word used to refer to the reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior - especially human behavior that involves hard work and effort. Such as a need, a drive, a state of being, a desire to achieve a goal or an ideal. 

The term motivation is derived from the Latin word “movere”, meaning "to move." Motivation can be broadly defined as the forces acting on or within a person that cause the arousal, direction, and persistence of goal-directed, voluntary effort. Motivation theory is thus concerned with the processes that explain why and how human behavior is activated.

According to Motivation and Leadership at Work /1, p.35/, in the early twentieth century researchers began to examine other possible explanations for differences in individual motivation. Some researchers focused on internal drives as an explanation for motivated behavior. Others studied the effect of learning and how individuals base current behavior on the consequences of past behavior. Still others examined the influence of individuals' cognitive processes, such as the beliefs they have about future events. Over time, these major theoretical streams of research in motivation were classified into two major schools: the content theories of motivation and the process theories of motivation.

Content (or need) theories of motivation focus on factors internal to the individual that energize and direct behavior. In general, such theories regard motivation as the product of internal drives that compel an individual to act or move (hence, "motivate") toward the satisfaction of individual needs. The content theories of motivation are based in large part on early theories of motivation that traced the paths of action backward to their perceived origin in internal drives. Major content theories of motivation are Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Alderfer's ERG theory, Herzberg's motivator-hygiene theory, and McClelland's learned needs or three-need theory.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Abraham Maslow developed the hierarchy of needs, which suggests that “individual needs exist in a hierarchy consisting of physiological needs, security needs, belongingness needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs” /2, p.25/. All types of needs are represented in Figure 1. Physiological needs are the most basic needs for food, water, and other factors necessary for survival. Security needs include needs for safety in one's physical environment, stability, and freedom from emotional distress. Belongingness needs relate to desires for friendship, love, and acceptance within a given community of individuals. Esteem needs are those associated with obtaining the respect of one's self and others. Finally, self-actualization needs are those corresponding to the achievement one's own potential, the exercising and testing of one's creative capacities, and, in general, to becoming the best person one can possibly be. Unsatisfied needs motivate behavior; thus, lower-level needs such as the physiological and security needs must be met before upper-level needs such as belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization can be motivational.

 

Figure 1. Maslow’s Hierarchy  of Needs

 

Applications of the hierarchy of needs to management and the workplace are obvious. According to the implications of the hierarchy, individuals must have their lower level needs met by, for example, safe working conditions, adequate pay to take care of one's self and one's family, and job security before they will be motivated by increased job responsibilities, status, and challenging work assignments. Despite the ease of application of this theory to a work setting, this theory has received little research support and therefore is not very useful in practice.

Alderfer’s ERG theory

The ERG theory is an extension of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Alderfer suggested that needs could be classified into three categories, rather than five. These three types of needs are existence, relatedness, and growth. Existence needs are similar to Maslow's physiological and safety need categories. Relatedness needs involve interpersonal relationships and are comparable to aspects of Maslow's belongingness and esteem needs. Growth needs are those related to the attainment of one's potential and are associated with Maslow's esteem and self-actualization needs.

The ERG theory differs from the hierarchy of needs in that it does not suggest that lower-level needs must be completely satisfied before upper-level needs become motivational. ERG theory also suggests that if an “individual is continually unable to meet upper-level needs that the person will regress and lower-level needs become the major determinants of their motivation” /3, p.51/. ERG theory's implications for managers are similar to those for the needs hierarchy: managers should focus on meeting employees' existence, relatedness, and growth needs, though without necessarily applying the proviso that, say, job-safety concerns necessarily take precedence over challenging and fulfilling job requirements.

Motivator-hygiene theory

Frederick Herzberg developed the motivator-hygiene theory. This theory is closely related to Maslow's hierarchy of needs but relates more specifically to how individuals are motivated in the workplace. Based on his research, Herzberg argued that meeting the lower-level needs (hygiene factors) of individuals would not motivate them to exert effort, but would only prevent them from being dissatisfied /4, p.48/. Only if higher-level needs (motivators) were met would individuals be motivated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2. Dependence of hygiene factors from motivation factors.

 

The implication for managers of the motivator-hygiene theory is that meeting employees lower-level needs by improving pay, benefits, safety, and other job-contextual factors will prevent employees from becoming actively dissatisfied but will not motivate them to exert additional effort toward better performance. To motivate workers, according to the theory, managers must focus on changing the intrinsic nature and content of jobs themselves by "enriching" them to increase employees' autonomy and their opportunities to take on additional responsibility, gain recognition, and develop their skills and careers.

McClelland's learned needs theory

McClelland's theory suggests that “individuals learn needs from their culture” /5, p.19/. Three of the primary needs in this theory are the need for affiliation, the need for power, and the need for achievement. The need for affiliation is a desire to establish social relationships with others. The need for power reflects a desire to control one's environment and influence others. The need for achievement is a desire to take responsibility, set challenging goals, and obtain performance feedback. The main point of the learned needs theory is that when one of these needs is strong in a person, it has the potential to motivate behavior that leads to its satisfaction. Thus, managers should attempt to develop an understanding of whether and to what degree their employees have one or more of these needs, and the extent to which their jobs can be structured to satisfy them.

 

1.2 Process theories of motivation

 

Process (or cognitive) theories of motivation focus on conscious human decision processes as an explanation of motivation. The process theories are concerned with determining how individual behavior is energized, directed, and maintained in the specifically willed and self-directed human cognitive processes. Process theories of motivation are based on early cognitive theories, which posit that behavior is the result of conscious decision-making processes. The major process theories of motivation are expectancy theory, equity theory, goal-setting theory, and reinforcement theory.

Expectancy theory

In the early 1960s, Victor Vroom applied concepts of behavioral research conducted in the 1930s by Kurt Lewin and Edward Tolman directly to work motivation. Basically, Vroom suggested that individuals choose work behaviors that they believe lead to outcomes they value /6, p.33/. In deciding how much effort to put into a work behavior, individuals are likely to consider:

• Their expectancy, meaning the degree to which they believe that putting forth effort will lead to a given level of performance.
• Their instrumentality or the degree to which they believe that a given level of performance will result in certain outcomes or rewards.
• Their valence, which is the extent to which the expected outcomes are attractive or unattractive.

All three of these factors are expected to influence motivation in a multiplicative fashion, so that for an individual to be highly motivated, all three of the components of the expectancy model must be high. And, if even one of these is zero (e.g., instrumentality and valence are high, but expectancy is completely absent), the person will have not motivation for the task. Thus, managers should attempt, to the extent possible, to ensure that their employees believe that increased effort will improve performance and that performance will lead to valued rewards.

In the late 1960s, Porter and Lawler published an extension of the Vroom expectancy model, which is known as the Porter-Lawler expectancy model or simply the Porter-Lawler model /7, p.93/. Although the basic premise of the Porter-Lawler model is the same as for Vroom's model, the Porter-Lawler model is more complex in a number of ways. It suggests that increased effort does not automatically lead to improved performance because individuals may not possess the necessary abilities needed to achieve high levels of performance, or because they may have an inadequate or vague perception of how to perform necessary tasks. Without an understanding of how to direct effort effectively, individuals may exert considerable effort without a corresponding increase in performance.

Equity theory

Equity theory suggests that individuals engage in social comparison by comparing their efforts and rewards with those of relevant others. The perception of individuals about the fairness of their rewards relative to others influences their level of motivation. Equity exists when individuals perceive that the ratio of efforts to rewards is the same for them as it is for others to whom they compare themselves. Inequity exists when individuals perceive that the ratio of efforts to rewards is different (usually negatively so) for them than it is for others to whom they compare themselves. There are two types of inequity under-reward and over-reward. Under-reward occurs when a person believes that she is either puts in more efforts than another, yet receives the same reward, or puts in the same effort as another for a lesser reward. For instance, if an employee works longer hours than her coworker, yet they receive the same salary, the employee would perceive inequity in the form of under-reward. Conversely, with over-reward, a person will feel that his efforts to rewards ratio is higher than another person's, such that he is getting more for putting in the same effort, or getting the same reward even with less effort. While research suggests that under-reward motivates individuals to resolve the inequity, research also indicates that the same is not true for over-reward. Individuals who are over-rewarded often engage in cognitive dissonance, convincing themselves that their efforts and rewards are equal to another's /8, p.167/.

 

Inequity (underrewarded)       Equity     Inequity (overrewarded)

 

Figure 3. Equity Theory equations of underreward inequity, equity and overreward inequity.

According to the equity theory, individuals are motivated to reduce perceived inequity. Individuals may attempt to reduce inequity in various ways. A person may change his or her level of effort; an employee who feels under-rewarded is likely to work less hard. A person may also try to change his or her rewards, such as by asking for a raise. Another option is to change the behavior of the reference person, perhaps by encouraging that person to put forth more effort. Finally, a person experiencing inequity may change the reference person and compare him or herself to a different person to assess equity. For managers, equity theory emphasizes the importance of a reward system that is perceived as fair by employees.

Goal-setting theory

The goal-setting theory posits that goals are the most important factors affecting the motivation and behavior of employees. This motivation theory was developed primarily by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham. Goal-setting theory emphasizes the importance of specific and challenging goals in achieving motivated behavior. Specific goals often involve quantitative targets for improvement in a behavior of interest. Research indicates that specific performance goals are much more effective than those in which a person is told to "do your best." Challenging goals are difficult but not impossible to attain. Empirical research supports the proposition that goals that are both specific and challenging are more motivational than vague goals or goals that are relatively easy to achieve /9, p.113/.

Several factors may moderate the relationship between specific and challenging goals and high levels of motivation. The first of these factors is goal commitment, which simply means that the more dedicated the individual is to achieving the goal, the more they will be motivated to exert effort toward goal accomplishment. Some research suggests that having employees participate in goal setting will increase their level of goal commitment. A second factor relevant to goal-setting theory is self-efficacy, which is the individual's belief that he or she can successfully complete a particular task. If individuals have a high degree of self-efficacy, they are likely to respond more positively to specific and challenging goals than if they have a low degree of self-efficacy.

Reinforcement theory

This theory can be traced to the work of the pioneering behaviorist B.F. Skinner. It is considered a motivation theory as well as a learning theory. Reinforcement theory posits that motivated behavior occurs as a result of reinforcers, which are outcomes resulting from the behavior that makes it more likely the behavior will occur again. This theory suggests that it is not necessary to study needs or cognitive processes to understand motivation, but that it is only necessary to examine the consequences of behavior. Behavior that is reinforced is likely to continue, but behavior that is not rewarded or behavior that is punished is not likely to be repeated. Reinforcement theory suggests to managers that they can improve employees' performance by a process of behavior modification in which they reinforce desired behaviors and punish undesired behaviors / 8, p.192/.

1.3 Motivation aspects in modern organizations

 

Motivation in a modern organization considered to have a wide range of meaning and embrace huge amount of aspects. However, one that can unite all of them is dependence of customer satisfaction from employee motivation. In the modern world, the service sector is developing everywhere and in incredibly awesome pace. This situation requires a special approach by employers to their subordinate 

According to Harvard professors Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria, people are driven by the need to acquire, bond, comprehend and defend. In the workplace, employees are driven to acquire things that boost their self-image, which may include pay, status and reputation. The drive to is the desire to feel they belong to the organization and have connections with their co-workers and department. The drive to comprehend is about making sense of the workplace and how their work affects the organization and its customers. They also want jobs that challenge them and give them opportunities to develop new skills. The drive to defend is more commonly known as resistance to change. Employees want to hang onto the processes and tools with which they are most familiar /10, p. 113/.

Motivational techniques that meet workers' drive to acquire are most effective when rewards are linked to performance. It proposed that rewards may not necessarily be bonuses or raises. The most effective ones were considered such as recognition of superior performance; announcement of individual and team achievements in staff meetings; providing high-performing employees with opportunities to learn new skills or mentor new workers, and have a "hire from within" policy.

Motivation importance is another approach for modern organization that can provide following benefits. First of them is ability to put human resources into action. Every concern requires physical, financial and human resources to accomplish the goals. It is through motivation that the human resources can be utilized by making full use of it. This can be done by building willingness in employees to work. This will help the enterprise in securing best possible utilization of resources.

The second is represented by employees’ efficiency level improvement. The level of a subordinate or a employee does not only depend upon his qualifications and abilities. For getting best of his work performance, the gap between ability and willingness has to be filled which helps in improving the level of performance of subordinates. This will result into increase in productivity, reducing cost of operations, and improving overall efficiency.

Next is the fact that motivation leads to achievement of organizational goals.

The goals of an enterprise can be achieved only when the following factors take place : presence of best possible utilization of resources, co-operative work environment, employees are goal-directed and they act in a purposive manner, and goals can be achieved if co-ordination and co-operation takes place simultaneously which can be effectively done through motivation.

Another fact is that motivation leads to stability of work force. Stability of workforce is very important from the point of view of reputation and goodwill of a concern. The employees can remain loyal to the enterprise only when they have a feeling of participation in the management. The skills and efficiency of employees will always be of advantage to employees as well as employees. This will lead to a good public image in the market which will attract competent and qualified people into a concern. As it is said, “Old is gold” which suffices with the role of motivation here, the older the people, more the experience and their adjustment into a concern which can be of benefit to the enterprise.

From the above considered, it can be concluded that motivation is an internal feeling which can be understood only by a manager since, he is in close contact with the employees. Needs, wants, and desires are inter-related, and they are the driving force to act. These needs can be understood by the manager, and he can frame motivation plans accordingly. Motivation, therefore, is a continuous process, since motivation process is based on needs which are unlimited. The process has to be continued throughout.

It can be summarized by saying that motivation is important both to an individual and a business. Motivation is important to an individual as:

• Motivation will help him achieve his personal goals.
• If an individual is motivated, he will have job satisfaction.
• Motivation will help in self-development of individual.
• An individual would always gain by working with a dynamic team.

Similarly, motivation is important to a business as:

• The more motivated the employees are, the more empowered the team is.
• The more is the team work and individual employee contribution, more profitable and successful is the business.
• During period of amendments, there will be more adaptability and creativity.
• Motivation will lead to an optimistic and challenging attitude at work place.

It could be concluded that motivation in a today organization cannot be overemphasized. Motivation now serves as a vital tool to get the aims, goals and objectives of an organization achieved. In different modern organizations this motivational tools are used not the same way. In order to be successful, organizations choose the best one and apply it with consideration of its employees’ features. Despite everything, the main essence of motivating tools remains the same and bases on content, process and modern theories of motivation. Analogy of theories of motivation and its practical use in a modern organization is considered in Chapter 2 by the example of “adidas Group” Ltd Company.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 2. ANALYSIS OF MOTIVATION CONCEPTS APPLICATION IN “ADIDAS GROUP” LTD

 

2.1 Analysis of business activities in “adidas Group”

 

Adidas AG is a German multinational corporation that designs and manufacturers sports clothing and accessories based in Herzogenaurach, Germany. It is the holding company for the adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company (including Ashworth), and Rockport. Besides sports footwear, Adidas also produces other products such as bags, shirts, watches, eyewear, and other sports- and clothing-related goods. Adidas is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second biggest sportswear manufacturer in the world.

Adidas was founded in 1948 by Adolf Dassler, following the split of Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik between him and his older brother Rudolf. Rudolf later established Puma, which was the early rival of adidas. Registered in 1949, Adidas is currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, along with Puma.

Newsday’s “adidas Group” company goal as a Group is to lead the sporting goods industry with brands built upon a passion for sports and a sporting lifestyle. Inspired by their heritage, they know that a profound understanding of the consumer and customer is essential to achieving this goal. To anticipate and respond to their needs, adidas all over the world continuously strive to create a culture of innovation, challenging their selves to break with convention and embrace change. By harnessing this culture, they push the boundaries of products, services and processes to strengthen company’s competitiveness and maximize the Group’s operational and financial performance. This, in turn, will drive long-term value creation for organization shareholders.

Company’s culture is continuously shaped by influences from the past and the present as well as their future aspirations. The whole corporation wins as a team through open communication, collaboration and shared values found in sport /11, p.60/. Therefore, a corporate culture of performance, passion, integrity and diversity by creating a work environment that stimulates innovation, team spirit, and achievement based on strong leadership and employee engagement are strongly promoted in company.

Creating long-term value for adidas Group shareholders through significant operating cash flow generation drives overall decision-making process. Therefore, company is focused on rigorously managing those factors under control, making strategic choices that will drive sustainable revenue and earnings growth, and ultimately operating cash flow. Across its operations, managers pursue the avenues for growth which expect to be most value-enhancing, with particular emphasis on improving group profitability. In addition, rigorously managing working capital and optimizing capital structure remain key priorities for organization. Furthermore, it is committed to increasing returns to shareholders with above-industry-average share price performance and dividends.

As a Group, adidas targets leading market positions in all markets where it competes. However, it has been prioritized to invest based on those markets which offer the best medium- to long-term growth and profitability opportunities. In this respect, it is placed a considerable emphasis on expanding activities in the emerging markets, particularly China, Russia and Kazakhstan, as well as building market share in underpenetrated markets for the Group such as the United States No matter in which market company operates, it recognizes that consumer buying behavior and the retail landscape are unique. Therefore, to fully exploit market opportunities, it tailors distribution strategy to present brands to the consumer in the most impactful way. This is achieved by following a distinctive but coordinated channel approach. To this end, Group strives to provide customers with superior service to secure prime shelf space for brands, while continuing commitment to building a strategic competency in retail and e-commerce.

Every “adidas Group” Ltd. employee is responsible for driving innovation. Therefore, it fosters a culture of challenging convention and embracing change, and requires all areas of the Group to generate at least one new innovation or meaningful improvement per year. In particular, leaders believe that technological evolution and cutting-edge design in products are essential to achieving sustainable leadership in the industry. Beyond this, enhancing services for customers and implementing more efficient and effective internal processes are other areas where organization strives to innovate /11, p.71/.

In Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan (CIS region), “adidas Group” Ltd is responsible for the marketing and distribution of adidas, Reebok, Rockport, Reebok-CCM Hockey as well as TaylorMade-adidas Golf. In Kazakhstan and CIS, the company is considered to be number one in the sports goods market and one of the leading retail companies with a chain of more than 700 corporately owned stores. In Kazakhstan headquarters are based in Almaty. The Company currently have 10,000 employees in CIS; the vast majority of them working in own stores. Adidas brand stores are located in 16 cities of Kazakhstan, and their total number was 53 in 2011.  More than 700 employees are working for the company.

HR Department of organization is very important. In “adidas Group” Kazakhstan Human Resources Department covers following key roles:

• Executive role – in this role the HR department are viewed as the specialists in the areas that encompass Human Resources or people management.
• Audit role – in this capacity the HR department checks other departments and the organization as a whole to ensure all HR policies such as Health & Safety, Training, Staff Appraisal etc are being carried out in accordance with the company’s HR policy.
• Facilitator role – in this role, the HR department helps or facilitates other departments to achieve the goals or standards as laid out in the HR policies of the organization. This involves training being delivered for issues that arise in the areas relating to people management.
• Consultancy role – the HR department advises managers on how to tackle specific managing people issues professionally.
• Service role – in this capacity the HR department is an information provider to raise awareness and inform departments and functional areas on changes in policy.

Organizational Chart of HR Department of “adidas Group” Kazakhstan is

represented below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4. Organizational Chart of HR Department

 

The employees in the organization are referred to the one of the most important component for the implementation of becoming the global leader in the sporting goods industry strategy.

The main idea in the company that employee satisfaction drives commitment, commitment drives engagement, and engagement drives business performance. Consequently, engagement defined as one of the Group’s key performance indicators for measuring efforts to sustain a “performance culture”.

In 2010 according to the first Group-wide employee engagement survey outstanding participation rate was 90% and an engagement score which places company close to the top-performing organizations within the consumer goods industry. This score was underpinned by employees’ high level of confidence in senior leaders, their perception of clarity concerning the Group’s strategic direction, as well as an open and constructive work climate.

In fight to have the right team in place by focusing activities on the implementation and execution of Group’s Human Resources strategy, “adidas Group” all over the world proposed Three-pillar Human Resources strategy, that include following:

• Creating a working environment that stimulates team spirit, passion, engagement and achievement;
• Expanding performance culture based upon strong leadership;
• Being an “employer of choice” /11, p. 102/.

To reach their personal best, “adidas Group” employees are offered a wide variety of training and development opportunities, building on their strengths, improving their skills and overcoming their own challenges. The highest priority is to match individual employee aspirations with organizational needs. The framework for all development activities is set by the adidas Group Competency Model. Detailed out for all hierarchy levels, it ensures consistent and transparent performance, talent and career/succession management.

Company’s global Performance Evaluation and Planning tool (PEP) is the cornerstone of performance management at the Adidas Group. Based on business targets as well as job tasks and competencies, each employee is evaluated and receives feedback at least once a year. Building on defined development goals, employees are offered and supported with targeted development activities both on- and off-the-job. In 2011, PEP is consistently used in all business units of the Adidas Group. The online version has coverage of 76% Group-wide. The target for the end of 2012 is to reach an online coverage of 96% /11, p.109/.

The Company’s goal is to harmonies the commercial interests of the “adidas Group” with the private and family needs of employees. The Work-Life Integration Programme includes family-oriented services, flexible work time and place, people development and leadership competence related to work-life integration.

As a global company, “adidas Group” attract people with different ideas, strengths, interests and cultural backgrounds to ensure achievement of goals. A high degree of diversity is already represented within the workforce. At our Group’s global headquarters, for example, employees from more than 60 nations work. The Policy structured to assure an environment that embraces diversity through various initiatives, such as networking events, intercultural training and the activities of work-life integration department.

The “adidas Group” has set specific goals which are in line with orporate culture as well as employee structure. It is planned to increase the proportion of women in management to between 32% and 35% by 2015 (currently: 27% worldwide)   that is shown in Table 1. To reach this goal, company is increasing the proportion of women in leadership development programmes to 35% in order to support female employees to take leadership positions in all areas of the company.

At the beginning of the year, the Supervisory Board of adidas AG already committed to increase the degree of female representation to at least three female members at the next election in 2014, with at least one to be on the shareholders’ side.

 

Table 1 - Proportion of male and female workers in the “adidas Group” Ltd.  for 2011

Total number of employees	46,824
Male	50%
Female	50%
Management positions proportion (in %):
Male	73%
Female	27%
Average age of employees (in years)	30
Average length of service (in years)	3.5
Average annual training hours every employee (in hours)	17.0

In addition, the adidas Group is focusing on programmes which give employees with children the option to combine their careers with family life, regardless of gender. For example, since 2002, more than 70 children have been able to attend a child-care facility at company premises in Canton, USA, and a day-care centre for 100 children is scheduled to open in 2013 at the Group’s global headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

Aspects and practices considered above are relevant and actual for Adidas Group CIS.

 

2.2 Assessment of motivational concepts application in “adidas Group” Ltd. Kazakhstan

 

Motivation is important in keeping employees and getting them to perform above average. Motivating employees can be done in a lot of ways, some more expensive than others but all quite effective. Incentives are motivational tool that is very popular in “adidas Group” Kazakhstan. Incentive is an act or promise for greater action. It is also called as a stimulus to greater action. Incentives are something that is given in addition to wagers. It means additional remuneration or benefit to an employee in recognition of achievement or better work. Incentives provide a spur or zeal in the employees for better performance.

First of all it should be mentioned that Adidas incentives system differentiates with accordance to the category which employee belongs to. These categories are represented by managerial staff and non-managerial staff. Managerial staff incentives in its turn divide to the Grade. The grade is a level that provides a person with a particular package of incentives. The grade usually depends on the position that a person occupies in the company. An example of Grade system subdivision is represented in the Table 2.

For nonmanagerial staff incentives are represented by monetary incentives that include bonuses and monitory rewards that are spread on the competition basis. 

The motivation strategy in “adidas Group” Kazakhstan is constantly developing, and now it has already had special tools and techniques. The reward and incentives system of the company can be considered with accordance to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Based on Maslow's theory Adidas Company has to provide their employees with lower level needs. In order to support first level of hierarchy of needs that includes physiological needs, company should set compatible salary, provide with food during working hours and give good shift to let them live their own life so they can have a rest as well.

The series of incentives that will satisfy need are presented by high rate of the salary, annual bonuses at the end of financial year that vary according to grade employee belong to, 50% reimbursement of dinners, a paid leaf or paid vacation for the managerial staff of the “adidas Group” Ltd. Company. Nonmanagerial staff of the company supported by relatively high level of salary, with comparison to other retail companies, bonuses that are differentiates from month to month, once on half a year or annually. Another way to motivate with bonuses’ system considered to be competition among stores in particular local region, country-wide or even in the CIS scale.

 

Table 2 - Grade system of staff in “adidas Group” Ltd. Kazakhstan.

Positions		Compensations and perks
Grade	Post level	Corporate mobile phone	Corporate car	Medical insurance				Discount cards Limit	Fitness
				Travel abroad		VMI	Accident insurance
Management
M1 - S2	Upper management and  General director	+	+	+	TOP		+	50,000 $	+
M2	Middle management (Divisional management)	+	+	+	Standard		+	25,000 $	+
M3	Middle management (Sub divisional management)	Depends on the character of work	If necessary	+	Standard		+	25,000 $	+
M4	Middle management (Team leaders, project managers)	Depends on the character of work	If necessary	+	Standard		Depends on the character of work	10,000 $	+
SPECIALIST
P1	Senior specialist	Depends on the character of work	-	+	Basic		Depends on the character of work	10,000 $	+
P2	Specialist	Depends on the character of work	-	+	Basic		Depends on the character of work	10,000 $	+
P3	Junior specialist	Depends on the character of work	-	+	Basic		Depends on the character of work	5,000 $	+
P4	Junior specialist	Depends on the character of work	-	+	Basic		Depends on the character of work	5,000 $	+