Motivation:

Motivation is the activation of goal-oriented behavior. Motivation may be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but, theoretically, it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation. According to various theories, motivation may be rooted in the basic need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating and resting, or a desired object, hobby, goal, state of being, ideal, or it may be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism, morality, or avoiding mortality.

Employee Motivation: Theory and practice

The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through employees. To do this the manager should be able to motivate employees. But that's easier said than done! Motivation practice and theory are difficult subjects, touching on several disciplines. In spite of enormous research, basic as well as applied, the subject of motivation is not clearly understood and more often than not poorly practiced. To understand motivation one must understand human nature itself. And there lies the problem! Human nature can be very simple, yet very complex too. An understanding and appreciation of this is a prerequisite to effective employee motivation in the work place and therefore effective management and leadership. Motivation theory and practice concentrate on various theories regarding human nature in general and motivation in particular. Included are articles on the practical aspects of motivation in the workplace and the research that has been undertaken in this field, notably by

Douglas McGregor (Theory X & Theory Y), Frederick Herzberg (two factor motivation hygiene theory,) Abraham Maslow (hierarchy of needs), Victor Vroom (Expectancy Theory), Elton Mayo (Hawthorne Experiments) Chris Argyris Rensis Likert and David McClelland (achievement motivation.)

Why Motivation is important?

Quite apart from the benefit and moral value of an altruistic approach to treating colleagues as human beings and respecting human dignity in all its forms, research and observations show that well motivated employees are more productive and creative. The inverse also holds true. The schematic below indicates the potential contribution the practical application of the principles this paper has on reducing work content in the organization. On the other hand, as a company owner, its not necessarily going to be the case that all of your workers are going to be as motivated as you are. Thats only natural. You have far more to gain (and to lose) by owning the company. However, if there is little or no employee motivation, you can never hope to achieve the desired results for your company. Whilst there will be some workers who are naturally motivated, there will be others who require some kind of stimulus if youre ever going to get them to be as productive as you want them to be. Remember the old adage you can lead a horse to water, but you cant make it to drink.

Company Profile
ABOUT ACI:
ACI was established as the subsidiary of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in the then East Pakistan in 1968. After independence the company has been incorporated in Bangladesh on the 24th of January 1973 as ICI Bangladesh Manufacturers Limited and also as Public Limited Company. This Company also obtained listing with Dhaka Stock Exchange on 28 December, 1976 and its first trading of shares took place on 9 March,1994. Later on 5 May, 1992, ICI plc divested 70% of its shareholding to local management. Subsequently the company was registered in the name of Advanced Chemical Industries Limited. Listing with Chittagong Stock Exchange was made on 22October 1995.

MISSION:
ACIs mission is to enrich the quality of life of people through responsible application of knowledge, skills and technology. ACI is committed to the pursuit of excellence through world-class products, innovative processes and empowered employees to provide the highest level of satisfaction to its customers.

VISION:
Endeavor to attain a position of leadership in each category of its businesses. Attain a high level of productivity in all its operations through effective and efficient use of resources, adoption of appropriate technology and alignment with our core competencies. Develop its employees by encouraging empowerment and rewarding innovation. Promote an environment for learning and personal growth of its employees. Provide products and services of high and consistent quality, ensuring value for money to its customers. Encourage and assist in the qualitative improvement of the services of its suppliers and distributors. Establish harmonious relationship with the community and promote greater environmental responsibility within its sphere of influence.

VALUES:
Quality Customer Focus Fairness Transparency Continuous Improvement Innovation

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 4027 (Four Thousand Twenty Seven)

Employee Motivation of ACI Ltd

METHODS USED TO COLLECT DATA:

I have used questionnaire containing 26 questions related to various control components to collect data. And for this I have interviewed 110 employees of ACI Bangladesh Ltd. Relating to the matter of interest. The sample questionnaire is given at the end of the term Paper.

ANALYSIS OF THE DATA:

To Sum up the questionnaire, in terms of mean, standard deviation and percentage have been used to analyze the data.

FINDINGS:
The analysis of data helps me to draw the following findings:

1) Level of autonomy. Empowering employees to have some decision making capabilities is a great way to provide motivation. Offer staff the tools to utilize their talents and want some responsibility. Most people want to have some independence as they make the day to day decisions that may arise. Some employees who are micro-managed get

frustrated and as a result become de-motivated. By offering some autonomous choices, employees feel some ownership in their jobs and as a result want to succeed. Remember to always remain a source of support that people can turn to for advice.

2) Specific goals and offer feedback using positive reinforcement. Employees want to hear they are doing a good job. If they are achieving great results -tell them. Even if they are having some difficulties, some constructive criticism through feedback goes a long way.

3) Integrate room for growth on the promotion scale Most people want to do better in job and like to feel as if they are contributing. Those employees deserve personal growth and promotion to continued development.

4) Job enrichment Some staff members bored out of their minds with the redundancy of the same tasks day in and day out. Provide a little variety by rotating responsibilities or changing the monotony in the office environment by introducing innovative ways to set about tasks.

6) Profit sharing There are some employees who prefer to feel a sense of ownership; this also gives them a direct reason to want to see the company succeed because they are financially invested. As a means to invigorate many companies offer profit sharing as a reward for strong motivation in a job well done.

7) Offer Flex-time benefits Many employee want Alternative work schedules. Sometimes employees flourish on different kinds of work schedules as opposed to the traditional (and often monotonous) 9to 5 schedules.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Level of Activity Check you understand employees needs. Ensure employee doesn't work too much. Try to fix the right person at the right place Avoid unnecessary distractions Structure Make sure that the goals for tasks are set at a high level, avoiding too much detail24

Try to allow a degree of flexibility in the way they approaches tasks provided any objectives and measures are met. Equality in the organization. Competition & Material Reward Provide Performance bonus. Increase Salary and Promotion scale. Check what constitutes fair remuneration for each employee In as far as is possible, ensure that salary, bonuses and other financial rewards are awarded equitably. Fear of Failure Avoid setting objectives that are so unrealistic that employee unlikely to succeed no matter how hard they tries. Provide employees sufficient support and that they do not feel exposed to the likelihood of failure Encourage to overcome any personal problems or issues Ensure Job security Personal Growth Support and authority to make decision necessary for accomplishing their assigned tasks. Give opportunity to exchange employees views freely in the workplace.

CONCLUSION:
A strong team needs individuals who are dedicated to giving their best at work. Highly self-motivated, committed, ambitious employees give the most to their company and get the most from their work. But if you are lacking employee motivation in the work place the effects can be dramatic. Low team morale, lack of initiative, lack of energy, mistakes and high staff turnover are just some of the clues that motivation is an issue. People are the key resource in any organization. Everyone in every organization no matter what the product, service or their position has to achieve results with and through the efforts of other people. My main premise is that in order to work effectively you need to develop insight into what motivates individuals and teams to maximize their performance. Armed with this fresh perspective, you can then manage your interaction with others to ensure that they work with a sense of commitment rather than merely complying with the minimum needed to get by.

APPENDIX:
Books: Robbins, Stephen P.; Judge, Timothy A. (2010), Organizational behavior, Pearson Education

Web: http://www.acibd.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivationhttp://www.motivationexpert.co.uk /why-employee-motivation-important.htmlhttp://www.hrvillage.com/humanresources/employeemotivation.htmhttp://www.businessburrito.com/http://www.scribd.com/doc/61711 29/Questionnairehttp://www.oppapers.com/essays/MotivationTheory/162640http://www.helium.com/items/754663-tips-for-motivatingemployees