Question

Drivers for private truck fleets log about 20,000 miles a year. They drive 82 percent of all medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles in the United States and account for 52 percent of the total miles traveled by commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). “The way these employees drive,” says veteran industry journalist Mike Antich, “can either increase or decrease fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions. If you change driving behavior, you have a direct impact on the amount of fuel consumed and

the amount of emissions produced. Even small increases in mpg can make a big difference.” And, Antich points out that fuel-conscious fleet managers have reported up to 30 percent reductions in fuel consumption by changing driver behavior. How? By motivating drivers to comply with company sustainability policies. Unfortunately, of course, it’s not that simple. Most drivers, according to Antich, “want to do the right thing but don’t see sustainability as part of their job responsibilities. In fact, the No. 1 reason corporate sustainability programs are not ‘sustainable’ is driver noncompliance.” According to Antich, a successful sustainability initiative, “requires developing programs that motivate employees to comply.” He goes on to argue that effective motivational programs often involve gainsharing—programs designed to share company cost savings with employees. Again, however, implementing the solution isn’t quite as easy as identifying it. Traditionally, observes Antich, gainsharing involves financial incentives, but he admits that “in today’s cost-constrained business environment, offering financial incentives [may not be] a realistic option.” Consequently, many firms have found that individual recognition can be an effective alternative to financial incentives: “Repeatedly,” says Antich, “respondents to employee surveys rate ‘individual recognition’ as a key factor that motivates them to want to excel or achieve corporate objectives.” Both scientific studies and the experiences of various companies show that the importance of employee recognition—including financial rewards—should not be underestimated in sustainability efforts, primarily because the importance of individual behavior should not be underestimated. According to a report by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a professional-services and investment-management company, many companies with active efficiency programs are finding that further improvements in sustainability can be achieved only by turning to the people who are responsible for implementing those programs. “The low-hanging fruit has been plucked,” JLL’s Michael Jordan advises clients. “You now need the participation of humans.” Nussbaum Transportation, for example, has developed a software program called Driver Excelerator, which collects and analyzes fuel-related data from various sources, including electronic control devices for capturing mpg numbers. Using the resulting data, managers award points to drivers of the 230-truck fleet for beating the company’s mpg goal. If, for instance, a driver achieves an average quarterly mpg of 8.5 against a goal of 6.5, he or she receives 200 points, which are allotted according to a three-tier system: Bronze pays $0.50 per point, Silver $5.00 per point, and Gold $8.00 per point. Some drivers in the Gold tier earn an extra $1,600 every three months. Illinois-based Nussbaum was careful to reject an “all-ornothing” system in which drivers received a bonus for meeting a target and nothing for falling short. “Our experience,” says HR director Jeremy Stickling, “shows that that’s a big demotivator” because drivers who miss out tend to blame external circumstances such as weather or load weights. In fact, Nussbaum plans to make mileage-based performance rewards a bigger portion of drivers’ base-pay rate. The idea is for drivers to get higher monthly checks instead of big quarterly bonus checks. “Guys want their money now,” notes Stickling.

Case Questions 1. How would you assess Nussbaum’s incentive program?

2. Which basic motivation concepts and theories are illustrated in this case?

3. If the motivation approach outlined in this case is indeed valid, how might it be used in other settings?

Answer 1

Answer:-

Hope this helps..

1. Nussabam’s incentive program can be a big demotivator for drivers who are not able to meet the target. Instead of all or nothing program, Nussabam could have had a relaxed benefit program in which bonus was allotted based on the extent of meeting targets. This could have been a better motivator for the drivers and their performances.

2. Content theory of motivation refers to those theories, which focus on the internal forces that aim at energizing and directing human behavior. An example of Content Theory is Herzberg’s two factor theory, also known as Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory. As per Herzberg’s theory, employee encouragement and recognition come under motivators, which aims at increasing job satisfaction at the workplace. When the employee is motivated and satisfied, his performance improves which ultimately increases the profits of the company. If the drivers are motivated by bonus and hikes, they will try to perform better to achieve the same.

Process theory of motivation aims at identifying the objective of motivation and the reason behind its occurrence. This theory highlights the efforts put by the employee in his work. An example of process theory is Reinforcement theory of motivation. Reinforcement theory of motivation is based on the principle of Law of effect. This theory emphasizes on the impact that follows an individual’s actions. People tend to repeat those actions that have positive consequence and tend to avoid the actions with negative consequences. This theory lays emphasis on the fact that the company’s environment and work conditions have direct relationship with employee’s motivation level. If the external environment of the company as well as the work conditions is favorable, then same gets positively reflected in the performance of the company as their level of motivation goes up. Drivers will try their level best to achieve the targets, so that they can crack the bonus. This will reflect in better performance of the overall company.

3. Motivation based approach is quite interesting way of keeping the employees satisfied and focused on their work objectives.

To identify the motivating factors of their employees, managers must do the following:

•Conduct employee satisfaction survey

•Conduct Myers Briggs personality test to identify the personality of each employee. This test segregates the employees under 16 personalities, each of which have characteristic motivation factor

•Take feedbacks from the employees of what is going well in company and which policies need improvement

This way, all kind of business processes can be made interesting and appealing for the employees.