Workplace motivation techniques Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Workplace motivation techniques - Research Paper Example Their review also indicated that social recognition improved performance by 17% while feedback improved task performance by only 10%. All three factors when combined improved performance by 45%. Perry and Mesch concluded that feedback combined with social recognition and monetary incentives produced the most desirable effect on performance (Perry and Mesch 505). Perry and Mesch investigated motivational interventions in service and manufacturing industries and found that performance improvements were larger in manufacturing than in service industries (Perry and Mesch 506). While financial, non-financial and social rewards produced the strongest effect in manufacturing organizations, financial reinforcement produced a stronger effect on task performance in service industries. Ventrice in his research on effects of motivational intervention on performance found that financial incentives significantly affected performance quantity but not quality (Ventrice 122). He, however, found that the type of task did not affect the relationship between financial incentives and performance quality. Other researchers found that goal setting and monetary incentives influence performance independently. Perry and Mesch in their work on incentives found that merit pay resulted in positive outcomes especially for individuals but different institutional arrangements affected the feasibility and effectiveness of merit pay (Perry and Mesch para10). They concluded that merit pay was at best moderately effective. Carroll, on the other hand, found that merit and pay-for-performance systems were ineffective in the public sector as they had little positive impact on employee motivation and organizational performance (Carroll 67). He attributed this result to insufficient fund allocation for merit pay and the lack of managerial and organizational characteristics necessary for an effective pay-for-performance