1000 word essay 4 source

Running Head: TRAINING AND MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE [use a shortened version of your title in your header] 1

TRAINING AND MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE 7

Training and Motivating Employees to Improve on Performance

Kyle B. Amstead

University of Maryland University College

April 4, 2019

Hi, Kyle,

This is a fine first effort for your Four Source Essay. Your topic is an important one, and some of the articles you’ve located provide insightful information on the importance of training and motivation for employee performance

However, there is some work to be done in order for your assignment to meet the minimum requirements as a synthesis essay. When you revise, consider the following:

(1) Synthesize your sources, and don’t “list” them. Unlike a standard research paper that may cover one source at a time, this essay is meant to bring them all together in a conversation over common issues. As it stands, your essay covers one article at a time, one after the other. What it needs to do is to focus on at least two specific issues (maybe the importance of training and the importance of motivation?), and then explore how the research supports these two issues. Each section should integrate at least two sources together, like the Onion Router essay we read for Week 3. You can refer to any of the content on this from Week 3 and 4, and check out this helpful webpage as well.

(2) Provide details on the study and avoid vague generalities. We can know without doing any research that training and motivation likely benefit employee performance. But what we might need to know from research is exactly how this works. This is what should be shared in this essay—the specific details that reveal the “how” and “why” of your topic. From reading your paragraphs, the reader has little idea of what each of the studies entailed, and how each contributed to the discussion in its unique way. Details like the study methodology (e.g., a survey of 100 employees), where it took place (e.g., Bahrain, a bank in Pakistan), and specific results (the exact factors that influence training results) should be included. Direct quotes with explanations should also be added.

Follow the rubric below and these annotations when you revise.

rubric_FourSource_Essay_2018_2019

(not graded yet)

The paper meets the word-count requirement	1000 words or more	800-999 words	700-799 words	600-699 words	fewer than 600 words
see the columns to the right	10 points	8 points	7 points	6 points	0 points
Introduction and thesis	Excellent	Good	Fair	Needs improvement	Does not pass
introductory paragraph introduces the topic	5 points	4 points	3.5 points	3 points	0 points
thesis statement is clear and strong	7 points	5.6 points	4.9 points	4.2 points	0 points
Body of the essay	Excellent	Good	Fair	Needs improvement	Does not pass
The four sources take different perspectives, opinions, or conclusions on some aspect of the topic, and these distinctions are clear in the writing	20 points	16 points	14 points	12 points	10 points
the four sources are synthesized, not simply listed, with coherence and unity demonstrated in the paragraphs	10 points	8 points	7 points	6 points	0 points
features paragraphs in which sources are used to support the arguments and integrating the sources with a balance of paraphrase and summary along with direct quotations	15 points	12 points	10.5 points	9 points	0 points
Conclusion	Excellent	Good	Fair	Needs improvement	Does not pass
summarizes the topic or provides additional relevant context to the topic	5 points	4 points	3.5 points	3 points	0 points
the document demonstrates accurate grammar and punctuation	Excellent	Good	Fair	Needs improvement	Does not pass
sentence accuracy	5 points	4 points	3.5 points	3 points	1 point
word-level accuracy	5 points	4 points	3.5 points	3 points	1 point
punctuation	5 points	4 points	3.5 points	3 points	1 point
APA format	Excellent	Good	Fair	Needs improvement	Does not pass
references cited correctly in the paper	4 points	3.2 points	2.8 points	2.4 points	0 points
references listed accurately on the "references" page	6 points	4.8 points	4.2 points	3.6 points	0 points
other APA style features are demonstrated (font, running head, page numbers, etc.)	3 points	2.4 points	2.1 points	1.8 points	0 points
Overall Score	Excellent 90 or more	Good 80 or more	Fair 70 or more	Needs Improvement 60 or more	Not passing 0 or more

Transfer rubric feedback to general feedback for the assignment submission.

Introduction

Employees are major stakeholders and contribute to the overall productivity within an organization. There are a variety of factors that could influence their performance[,] ranging from personal, company-based and external. An organization should identify factors that contribute towards improved recruitment, retention and organizational results. Training employees and motivating them are aspects that determine [word choice: “influence”?] how they perform in the workplace. Corporate leaders can build successful companies when they focus on the well-being of their employees. The workers need up to date skills to keep up with the dynamic nature of the business. Organizations need to focus on the performance of their workers by empowering them [with…?]; enhancing effectiveness in the training programs and retaining motivated workers to realize the overall improved productivity. [Meaning is unclear.]

[This is a very vague introduction. You introduce the general idea that motivating employees and training them properly make them better performers, but this is not a new or unique idea that requires research. What specific research will you review below? For example, what are the factors that need to be considered in employee performance? What kinds of training or motivations will be discussed here?]

Empowering Employees to Improve Performance

Employee empowerment is a form of motivating employees, and public organizations have widely adopted the concept with a core aim of promoting innovativeness, enhancing job satisfaction and improving the overall performance. Two theoretical perspectives have emerged which are managerial and psychological aspects of employee[‘]s empowerment. The managerial perspective explains the element as a relational construct describing how the managers share their power and authority with the employees who lack it (Fernandez & Moldogaziev, 2011). The psychological perspective sees employee empowerment as a motivational construct. Instead of viewing employee empowerment as power sharing, scholars have redefined it to integrate a complex motivational process where the aim is to enable the workers to act.

Empowering employees is regarded as a managerial approach in which organizations are enabled to improve their innovativeness, competitiveness and being responsive to customers. [This has already been stated above.] Empowerment unleashes the creative talents of workers such that they enhance the quality of the services that they offer. The pragmatic finding of several studies indicates that productivity and effectiveness are improved by power and information sharing, rewards and resources to the employees (Fernandez & Moldogaziev, 2011). Empowering employees in both the private and public sector also increases job satisfaction, commitment, and involvement which are aspects that contribute to enhanced performance. [This needs more details on the study itself. What empowerment practices in particular were studied, and how?]

Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Employee Training

Training employees focus on enhancing systematic approaches to improve their performance. It is a method that requires money, energy and time. [What method are you discussing in particular here? Or is this just training in general?] Organizations are required to conduct an evaluation of the training programs and also an assessment of the impact the training will have on the performance of the employees and their behavior (EL Hajjar & Alkhanaizi, 2018). Training workers is indeed a significant aspect that results in the attainment of organizational goals and objectives. It increases employee’s competency and productivity concerning job requirements. An organization that trains its workers show its commitment to them, and in turn, they feel more challenged, appreciated and satisfied by their roles.

Several factors influence the effectiveness of the training. These are training contents, training environment, facilities and material, training schedule and presentation style. The training activities that are selected should aim at improving the processes of learning and teaching. They can be interactive, web-based training or instructor-led sessions among others (EL Hajjar & Alkhanaizi, 2018). The training environment should be sufficient such that it does not detract employees from learning. Among the aspects that need to be considered include seating arrangement, the trainee's attitude, and the building space. Training facilities should offer a technologically advanced and flexible environment for learning. A well-developed training schedule should be implemented such that it addresses relevant issues with the primary aim of motivating the employees. Finally, the presentation style matters because the trainer should mainly focus on motivating the workers to improve their desirability of learning new skills and ideas (EL Hajjar & Alkhanaizi, 2018). [This paragraph offers more specific detail, but there is little information on the actual study done in Bahrain. Include a brief description of the study itself and the specific results that were found.][What other studies might this be synthesized with?]

Retaining Motivated Employees

Firms should also focus on having motivated employees retained in their roles. This is because they dedicate numerous resources to enhance skills that are related to the firm, stimulate collaborations and workers commitment with a major aim of increasing the performance of the organization. The mobility of workers is highest among those who are productive, and this may be challenging to any employer whose significant investment has been in human capital and have expectations of recovering by making profits. Labor turnover is costly to an organization (Martin, 2018).

One approach that organizations can use to retain motivated employees is the working environment and their attitudes. [Mixed construction: “working environment and their attitudes” is not an approach in itself.] The environment should stimulate the worker's efforts and enhance their attitudes so they will not want to leave their job. The work environment for employees should create a calling that encourages information sharing from the higher management; they are provided with voice channels, training, compensations (monetary and non-monetary) among others (Martin, 2018). Motivating employees will translate to high performance and thus more productivity. The motivation strategies that an organization implements greatly determined the retention rates of employees.

Impact of Training and Motivation on Employees Performance

There are a myriad of factors that contribute towards the overall employee's performance and thus the productivity of an organization. The factors include the working environment, management behavior, technology, motivation and training (Khan, 2012). [The findings from this study indicate that training trumps all of the former, right? Include details here that explain that this is bank study and its methodology, which is somewhat questionable given that it was survey-based.] Organizations need to apply performance management, which will ensure that the workers produce high-quality products and services. To ensure quality output, training is required so that the workers are aware of their job specifications and have the required skills as well as the ability to use new technologies that emerge. Training increases the levels of motivation, and this is beneficial to improving the overall performance (Khan, 2012). The two factors which are training and motivation constitute a direct relationship with performance.

Conclusion

[An e]Employee’s performance plays a major role in the productivity and competitive advantage of an organization. When the employees are intrinsically motivated, their job satisfaction and performance will improve. Training will ensure that they have up to date skills to perform the needed tasks and it also increases their motivation. The organizations, therefore, have a duty of empowering their workers, ensuring effectiveness in their training and motivation which will increase retention of qualified workers and thus consistent and improved performance.

References [center header; list on a separate page with a page break; use hanging indents for all entries.]

EL Hajjar, S. T., & Alkhanaizi, M. S. (2018). Exploring the Factors That Affect Employee Training Effectiveness: A Case Study in Bahrain. SAGE Open, 8(2 Doi:10:1177/2158244018783033.

Fernandez, S., & Moldogaziev, T. (2011). Empowering public sector employees to improve performance: does it work? The American Review of Public Administration, 41(1), 23- 47. doi/10.1177/0275074009355943.

Khan, M. (2012). The impact of training and motivation on the performance of employees. Business Review, 7(2), 84-95.

Martin, L. (2018). How to retain motivated employees in their jobs? Economic and Industrial Democracy, 1-44, doi/10.1177/0143831X17741528.