5036 Asm2 GBS210986
5036 Asm2 GBS210986
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Motivation strategy ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Briefly introduce various motivational theories and discuss the main impact of motivation on
organizational performance. (P5) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.1. Content theories of motivation -------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2. Process theories of motivation --------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.3. Impacts of motivation on organization performance Aliababa -------------------------------------
2. A detailed and comprehensive motivational strategy for the selected organization ------------
2.1. Motivation strategies should consider both internal and external motivation in addition to
social, cultural and organizational variables (M4) --------------------------------------------------------
2.2. How motivational strategies support the achievement of organizational goals (D2) ------------
2.3. The link between strategy and organizational performance improvement is clearly relevant to
the selected business (D2) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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INTRODUCTION
Alibaba is the name of the largest online commerce in China and, by some measures, the entire
world. Alibaba processes more transactions than any other e-commerce firm. Alibaba has consistently
raised the quality, made investments in cutting-edge equipment, and increased both local and
international distribution. In order to significantly contribute to the company's achievement of this
annual target, special attention was paid to the development of the human resource department's highly
skilled jobs. Alibaba doesn't put pressure on its staff and instead cultivates a welcoming workplace.
As a result, the primary goal of this research is to identify some ways that Alibaba may increase
employee motivation and forge a solid business team to carry out the strategy.
I. Motivation strategy
1. Briefly introduce various motivational theories and discuss the main impact of
motivation on organizational performance. (P5)
Motivation theory is a method of examining a person's motivation and how this affects their
conduct, whether for personal or professional purposes. Every sector of society should consider it, but
business and management in particular should. A motivated employee is more productive, which is
the key to having workers who are more profitable. (knowledgehut, n.d)
According to McClelland's need theory, there are three main wants that most individuals have,
and each need is matched with a certain personality type that is driven to meet that need. Managers
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may be able to determine employee needs by using McClelland's need theory, which will assist them
position staff members in environments where they may succeed and accomplish their objectives.
• Need for affiliation: According to the affiliate theory, people desire to fit in with a group and be
accepted by others. This idea can assist managers in determining if a worker will function
effectively in a team environment and learn from the experience.
• Need for achievement: Some workers have an inherent desire to rise to key positions. These
people could be competitive and have a high standard of work ethics.
• Need for power: Some employees are motivated by the desire to have an influence on others, their
coworkers, and the workplace.
A psychological theory called Maslow's hierarchy describes the different requirements that must
first be met before a person can move on to more complicated demands. The five stages of the
hierarchy of needs are as follows: Physiological, Safety, Socialization, Esteem, Self-actualization.
(Indeed Editorial Team, 2022)
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Figure 3: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (Mcleod, 2022)
The dual-factor theory, also known as Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory or the two-factor
theory, contends that there are two distinct sets of workplace variables that can either result in job
satisfaction or job discontent (Herzberg, 1966; 1982; 1991; Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 1959).
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Applying company:
Alibaba applies McClelland's Need theory into the workplace. Alibaba expects its first-line
managers to demonstrate their fundamental abilities and practical supervisory capabilities, such as
making the right recruiting decisions and creating productive teams for the business. This illustrates
how important the managers' decisions are to the company. Workers would also have the opportunity
to advance. Additionally, the business need association. During debriefing sessions, employees are
encouraged to share lessons learned from projects and events. Employees are additionally rewarded
by the corporation through a number of variable-pay plans. These shares are a benefit offered to
employees. This helps with employee retention and motivation to work better. (Bartleby, n.d)
At Amazon, financial rewards are a major factor in employee motivation. Employees' "hope for
money" serves as a powerful incentive and keeps them going. Every employee has an enormous carrot
in front of them, and as you approach it, it gets bigger and bigger. When a worker is aware of the
visibility of their future salary today, such knowledge becomes motivating. Employees are inspired to
work hard and sprint toward that future. Amazon uses Maslow's theory of needs to help encourage
its staff through chances for learning, professional development, and a positive work environment.
John Stacey Adams, an American psychologist, created the Adams Equity Theory in 1963. It concerns
striking a balance between an employee's input of effort and output of the resulting product (output).
Work ethic, aptitude, and excitement are examples of input. The output can include things like
compensation, acclaim, and accountability. An employee's satisfaction and motivation are increased
by a healthy balance between input and output, which boosts productivity.(Toolshero, n.d)
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Figure 5: The Equity Theory of Adams (Sketchbubble, n.d)
This idea was created by Edwin A. Locke in 1968 for his essay titled "Toward a Theory of Task
Motivation and Incentive." In this article, Locke demonstrated how explicit and quantifiable
objectives increase employee motivation and increase the likelihood that these goals will be attained.
(Indeed Editorial Team, 2022)
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Vroom's expectancy theory
Expectancy: the conviction that greater effort will produce greater results, i.e., if I work harder, this
will be better. This is influenced by factors like the availability of suitable resources, the capacity to
do the required tasks, and having the help needed to complete the task
Instrumentality: the idea that you will achieve a worthwhile goal if you work hard enough. how much
a first-level result will influence a second-level result. This is impacted by factors like clear awareness
of the connection between performance and results, such as the reward "game's" rules, have faith in
the decision-makers who will determine who will benefit from the outcome, and transparency of the
procedure used to determine who receives what result.
Applying company:
By applying Vroom's theory, the Chinese website TaoBao (a branch of Jack Ma-led Alibaba)
redefines how e-commerce has traditionally been understood on Chinese Singles Day every year. The
process of social cognition provided by Vroom's theory represents individual differences in job
motivation. According to the expectancy theory, changing a person's effort-to-performance
expectation, performance-to-reward expectancy, and reward valences may be done in order to inspire
them. This has management implications for employee motivation.
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1.3. Impacts of motivation on organization performance of Aliababa
Figure 7: Annual e-commerce revenue of Alibaba from financial year 2012 to 2022 (Statista, 2022)
Chinese internet sales generated around 592.71 billion yuan in revenue for Alibaba Group's
fiscal year that ends March 31, 2022. This is equivalent to around 93.5 billion dollars in the United
States. Alibaba and the Chinese online retail industry. The gross merchandise volume of China's e-
commerce market was estimated to be 11.76 trillion yuan in 2020 and was projected to increase during
the following years. The Alibaba Group's revenue for the fiscal year 2022 was 853.06 trillion yuan,
or around 134.6 trillion USD. (Statista, 2022)
The corporation made the most money in 2021 on Singles' Day, a celebrated Chinese holiday
that serves as the antithesis of Valentine's Day. Chinese singles around the nation celebrate being
single and proud on November 11 by giving themselves gifts in particular. Alibaba's online retail
platforms reported a cumulative GMV of China than 84.5 billion US dollars during the Singles' Day
sales in 2021.
Employee Satisfaction
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Alibaba previously claimed that happy employees work 12 hours a day, six days a week. In
order to increase staff morale, Alibaba offers extra benefits. In order to raise morale following a
difficult year, the firm has improved the well-being of its staff by providing more paid time off, larger
allowances, and flexible work schedules. The business is faced with stringent regulatory oversight,
intense rivalry, and falling stock prices. The majority of Alibaba's workers are content with their
positions. Because they believe their job may have a significant influence on others, employees say
they love working here. Employees at Alibaba assert that they are highly independent and adaptable.
Alibaba's pay and benefits, even for part-time workers, are quite competitive. (Zhang, 2021)
Numerous studies have shown that internal motivation influences employee attendance in
organizational activities. Attitudes, behaviors, and performance in the workplace are influenced by
cultures. According to studies, Alibaba workers may not have a big desire for autonomy at work. To
be inspired to engage in professional activities and to feel that their office is an extension of their
home. To be motivated to join in work activities at Alibaba, employees need to have their primary
psychological needs met, which may make them feel as though their office is an extension of their
home and that they are thrilled and passionate about the work they are doing. (McLaughlin, 2020).
DeMers (2015) considers motivational strategies as one of the key aspects of an organization's
long-term success. To maintain personnel, Alibaba needs a strong motivation strategies. DeMers
(2015) claims that there is some sort of self-sustaining connect with culture, society, and employee
retention. Employee turnover is decreased by a strong corporate culture. In a similar vein, company
culture will develop stronger the longer people stay (Schein, 1990). It is essential for survival and
growth to identify an effective organizational culture that benefits employees, build a company with
happy and dependable employees, nurture employee community, promote a planned atmosphere at
work, and adjust the organization to its external motivation.
2.2. How motivational strategies support the achievement of organizational goals (D2)
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Another definition of motivation is anything that encourages employees to work hard by
meeting or appealing to their needs. According to Mullins (2010), the fundamental idea of motivation
is a force that pushes people to work toward an organizational objective in order to satisfy a need or
expectation. Each employee enters an organization with personal aspirations that are typically
dissimilar from those of the organization. In order to achieve specific goals, management must focus
and integrate workers' ambitions with those of the organization. Alibaba provides unrivaled customer
service. There is a staff of xiaoer to settle any disputes between clients and vendors. However, Alibaba
cares about its employees as much as its customers. "Customers first, employees second, stockholders
third" is the company's motto. Additionally, he resists shareholder pressure and consistently seeks a
profit, even when the company experiences a decline. The business not only has a lovely and healthy
campus, but it also provides loans with no interest. He also keeps them inspired. These and other
elements combine to produce a committed workforce that is eager to put in long hours. Additionally,
several staff have been with Alibaba for a long time. Employees are motivated by success when that
success translates into material reward for them. (Amis, 2022)
2.3. The link between strategy and organizational performance improvement is clearly
relevant to the selected business (D2)
Strategy is the link between the organizational performance improvement. A mirror of strategy
is the pattern of activities and strategies management creates to accomplish the desired performance.
The development of a strategy shows a managerial commitment to follow a certain course of action
for growing the business, attracting customers, pleasing them, competing successfully, managing
operations, and improving the company's financial and market performance. Alibaba's strategy
therefore focuses on how management aims to grow the business, build a loyal customer base,
outperform rivals, operate each functional component of the company, including research and
development, sales and marketing, distribution, finance, and human resources, and enhance
performance. The flexible management of resources and tools, as well as the requirement that the
production system be customized to the life cycle of the organization, are two of the most important
aspects of manufacturing. The novelty value or product maturity level are important considerations
when choosing Alibaba's best strategy. In order to create a strong innovation organization, Alibaba
focuses on those specific areas that offer a long-term competitive advantage.
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1. Explain the concept of performance management and discuss different
performance management methods with specific examples (P6)
Continuous approach
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Traditional approach
An employee's performance is examined throughout the course of the year in this typical
method to performance management. It seeks to assess a worker's performance throughout the course
of the year, following which the worker is given an assessment letter. The conventional method is an
annual event where a management reviews the employee's performance from the previous year.
Although this approach is still used in certain businesses, it is ineffective. (Synergita, 2022)
Making a clear distinction between leaders and staff is autocratic leadership. This approach
places all of the responsibility for making decisions on one person. Direction is expected to be
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followed, and choices are made swiftly. Democratic leadership is consultative, with team members'
individual perspectives being sought out by the leader. Leaders take more time to make decisions and
take into account the opinions of important stakeholders. Most decisions are delegated to reliable team
members under participative leadership. Leaders delegate tasks to people based on their skills and
provide guidance as required.
For a company or organization to succeed and develop over the long term, continuous
improvement is essential. People who are working to develop continuously may benefit or suffer as a
result of your leadership style. A person's personality, their degree of self-worth and confidence, and
ultimately the corporate culture and leadership style are the three main factors. The culture of a
business is influenced by its senior management's ideals, convictions, and leadership style. Therefore,
organizational leaders must adapt their ways of thinking and leading in order to encourage continual
development within their workforce.
To encourage and support ongoing staff progress, a participatory leadership style is essential.
This entails approaching issue solutions pro-actively as opposed to reactively. It also requires creating
autonomous teams with team members who are capable of leading problem-solving sessions inside
their particular teams or departments. Teams have to go from a dependent to an interdependent state
so they may operate more independently. Working in this fashion enables employees to stand back
from routine responsibilities and come up with creative ideas before presenting them to management.
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Another crucial element for employee satisfaction is continuous improvement. Establishing
trust is necessary at all levels, including that between management and employees, as well as between
individuals and groups like teams. It takes effort and dedication on the part of manegement to foster
an attitude of continuous improvement inside a business. In order to advance beyond simple job
execution to always coming up with new and better ways to accomplish things, leaders must make
sure that staff receive enough coaching and assistance. Any business that commits to the process and
properly understands the advantages of continuous improvement will reap great rewards.
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• Alibaba is one such instance of a well-known company using continuous performance
management. Alibaba is a rapidly expanding firm with innovative applications that will satisfy the
demands of numerous clients all over the world, but in order for the business to accomplish these
objectives, it must cope with various external variables that might negatively influence it. affect the
company's expansion. opened the way for the business to grow its financial sustainability and generate
more profit. As seen in the following study, Alibaba made a significant amount of profit. This result
shows how Alibaba was able to rule the online industry because it had fewer management issues. It
also demonstrates that making money is the key to success. (Speedypaper, 2019)
• Besides Alibaba, some businesses also apply performance management approach such as
ByteDance company. The traditional approach of ByteDance for performance management is to
assess performance against KPIs. ByteDance employees perform administrative work rather than sales
or manufacturing activities, therefore it might be challenging to quantify their effort. Based on the
amount, quality, and progress of the task, work efficiency is assessed. The second is employee
accountability, which is measured based on factors including a person's willingness to participate in
corporate operations and knowledge of working practices. The staff's capability is assessed based on
their professional knowledge and sense of duty at work in the third step. (Xiaoye SHI, 2019)
Management and leadership approachs are two distinct but interrelated concepts. Management
is the act of allocating resources to accomplish stated tasks in the most efficient manner, while
leadership is the process of developing innovations to achieve greater outcomes than the original.
The most essential and important resource in every organization is its people, thus leaders and
managers must put special emphasis on fostering employee growth, encouraging initiative and
innovation, and setting up the ideal environment for workers to perform to the best of their abilities.
It is inevitable that the emphasis will move from management to leadership. For effective leadership,
managers and leaders require certain attributes.
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characteristics as well as managerial and leadership positions within each business. Businesses
nowadays must deal with a variety of business situations, including dealing with financial institutions,
analyzing data, automating repetitive work, and monitoring all customer-related procedures. It is
crucial that they pick the appropriate leadership and management methods for their company.
B2B businesses are always changing. Alibaba has a strict inventory management strategy,
different from the traditional management approach of counting books in favor of digital
transformation and data entry in performance management for continuous improvements. The use of
new software applications saves time and money by doing away with the need to assign workers to
manually count, record, and cross-examine stock across many locations. In order for warehouse
management to quickly address any errors or problems, inventory control solutions may also
immediately warn users when they are discovered.
Alibaba is a large company with significant growth potential. However, there are few of
recommendations for the business from the research of leadership and management approaches to
performance development. Firstly, The business should honor and reward excellent talent. Rewarding
strong and great performers during that month will encourage employees to work harder and be more
receptive to new information. Secondly, as Alibaba companies primarily focus on cloud management,
B2B, and AI technology, it is advised to entirely forsake conventional approaches. Alibaba
should make the most of these advantages to grow the company and enhance performance
management in order to ensure continuous improvement. Thirdly, employees should feel heard and
encouraged by managers and leaders by having assistance setting goals. To make work more easy and
to enhance performance management so that continual improvement is ensured, should monitor
progress, select instructions, and point employees to relevant issues.
CONCLUSION
As one of the greatest businesses in China today, Alibaba has achieved impressive strides in its
development. It currently occupies the ninth spot on the list of 2020's most significant and high-
earning global corporations. One of the most important things that Alibaba worries about is inspiring
employees in order to achieve sustainable development in the future. Maximizing employee
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motivation not only helps individuals improve their personal capabilities but also aids the organization
in expanding its domestic and international clientele.
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