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Read then Write about 200 words about employee motivation below then response to the 2 students at the end no references needed

Just-In-Time Employee Motivation

Employees respond best to informal and timely recognition of their efforts. Therefore, a manager who allows special moments to go unnoticed is missing prime opportunities to motivate their employees. Listed below are employee recognition ideas that are simple, easy to utilize, and provide targeted recognition. 1.) Create recognition business cards (RB-cards) to give after an employee completes a difficult project, achieves his/her goals, or after an employee receives special acknowledgement from a customer or coworker. RB-cards are simply a business size card that you carry with you at work. RB-cards can be either elaborately or simply designed. What is important to have on them is a blank space where you write the employee's name, an area where you can write down the specific behavior being recognized, and a pre-printed statement telling the employee to bring the RB-card to their next performance review. 2.) Create recognition memos on gold paper. A recognition memo is similar to the RB-card. It also has a blank space to fill-in the employee's name, specific behavior being recognized, and a pre-printed statement telling the employee to bring the memo to their next performance review. However, the recognition memo is read and signed by the CEO and all relevant department managers. The key to making recognition memos a successful motivational tool is to have all signers sign the memo within 48-72 hours. A recognition memo that takes 3-4 weeks to get to an employee is no longer useful to producing additional employee motivation. 3.) Create an employee "freedom" card. An employee freedom card allows an employee to take a certain amount of time off of work, usually 1-2 hours, at their leisure. The employee freedom card works best with salaried employees who have a certain degree of freedom over their work schedules. It also works best when given to an employee who has just completed a difficult work project that required him/her to put in long work hours. Similar to the RB-card, the freedom card has a blank area to write the employee's name, a blank space to record the specific behavior being recognized, and a time limit in which the employee needs to take their time off, usually within one or two weeks. The employee is not allowed to save up freedom cards. The point of the freedom card is to allow the employee to take a couple hours off work to help them recharge their batteries and to lower their stress levels. The manager should tell the employee, "In order to recognize your hard work, I would like for you to take a couple of hours off, on company time, in order to relax and recharge yourself."

A manager who is a mediocre employee motivator is a manager who provides employee recognition under the following circumstances. 1.)Recognizes the length of time an employee has been with the company versus their specific successes with the company. A good or motivated employee is not identified by the length of time he/she has worked for the company. 2.)Provides an employee with a "pat on the back" instead of giving the successful employee more responsibility and say in the direction of their work. 3.)Recognizes an employee for having the best attendance record, versus recognizing an employee who has a great teamwork attitude. An employee who is present at work each day may also be a "pain" to work with for his/her coworkers. 4.)Rewards individual employees when the company requires employees to work in teams. Nothing zaps teamwork more than rewarding an individual employee when the whole team was responsible for one employee's success. 5.)Recognizing an employee for all the hard work he/she has done over the past year, versus recognizing an employee for his/her hard work right after or when it is actually occurring. 6.)Praises employees only when you are having a good day. Many managers believe if he/she is having a bad day, why should anyone else be happy. These managers usually end up going down with their ship.

Response to

Grant Hegenauer 

Just in Time Employee Motivation

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Employee motivation is very important for bosses and managers to use to get the best out of their employees. Rewarding good employees for the work that they do helps keep employees motivated and continue to want to work hard for their boss. They will appreciate a genuine reward for something they did that was over the top and great for the company.

However, motivation has to be done correctly or else it could have a negative effect on the employee. If a boss just praises people when they are having a good day and doesn't want to talk to anyone when they are having a bad day, employees will realize this. The rewards should also be timely, meaning they should recognize the employees good work right after it happens and not wait months later. Good employees should also receive more responsibility if they are exceeding their current work duties and not just given a pat on the back by the boss.

I liked the idea of the freedom card in the article. If an employee just completed a difficult work project which has made them work longer hours than usual, the boss could give them a freedom card that would let them take a few hours off of work at their leisure while still getting paid. This shows the employee that the boss recognizes the hard work they have been putting in and appreciates them for it. 

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Evan Mabry 

Employee Motivation article response

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Motivating employees to get the best work out of them is one of the many responsibilities of being a manager. However, some managers are not very involved in motivating employees and employ mediocre motivation tactics that can anger employees and lead to them be less motivated to work.

Successful motivation tactics include giving employees tokens of recognition that benefit them whether it be a card that allows them a few paid hours off of work or a sheet of paper acknowledging hard work by their superiors. The latter can lead employees to future benefits or even pay raises.

Overall, employee motivation tactics can really improve an employees mindset and attitude at work. Nothing is more appreciated than being recognized and rewarded for long hours and consistent effort. Firms that place emphasis on motivating employees  by providing incentive will have harder working employees than firms who do not motivate employees correctly.

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