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Essay: Uniquely Motivating Employees: A Look at Apple’s Strategies for Improved Performance

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  • Published: 27 July 2024*
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Employee motivation has become a topic of concern for many companies in the recent past and especially those keen on improving their performance in various business aspects. ‘Motivation is the will and desire that a person has to engage in a particular behaviour or perform a particular task’ (King & Lawley, 2016, p293) It is usually categorised into three forces, i.e., persistence, level, and direction. Persistence refers to the time an individual spends on the task given. Do they move into other things now and then or do they stay until they have completed the task? Level, on the other hand, refers to the effort placed in doing the task assigned. Do the employees just stay at the workstation for the sake of implying they are working or are they focused on achieving quality work within the deadline? Direction, on the other hand, refers to where the effort is channeled for example in completing a specific task in the right way. Highly motivated employees are normally associated with the increased output, reduced absenteeism, low number of strikes and go-slows, and low turnover rates (Nadeem et al., 2014, p56). There are various methods. Various theories define the motivation framework in different organisations. These include the Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, the goal setting theory, and the Herzberg’s two-factor theory among others.

Apple Inc. has always relied on employee motivation to achieve its goals. The company has over time gained a significant market share in the phone and computer niches within the technology industry due to its focus on quality products. The customer is always the first consideration when launching any product as the company as they always believe in producing what the customer needs, not what they may like. The company is therefore associated with various creative and top-notch designs aimed at the best customer satisfaction. To realise this, the employees involved in coming up with the various designs have to be highly motivated. The company is always striving to create the right environment for production through inspiring the employees always to work hard to realise the company’s objectives.

According to the theory by Abraham Maslow, individuals are motivated by various needs which define the various stages of their lives which can be presented in a pyramid.

At the bottom of the pyramid is the various needs that define the physiological, financial, and emotional aspects of an individual. At the bottom layer, we have the physiological needs which are often very crucial to an individual’s survival. They include health, clothing, and shelter among other needs (Maslow, 2017, p63). The next layer is made up of the safety needs. An individual has to feel secure both at home and in the workplace. Having stable jobs is usually one of the drivers of motivation at the workplace as it signifies that the economic well-being of the individual is not at risk. The third tier represents the love/belonging needs. Individuals at some time in their life have to feel loved and belonging to a particular group or class. These needs can be fulfilled through appreciation and advice among other actions in the workplace. Appreciation creates the impression that one is important in the organisation and hence makes them more committed to their tasks. The next tier represents the self-esteem needs. These needs often demand recognition, appreciation and a self-image. An individual may, for example, need to appear classy by driving a particular type of car. They may also take a position against something in the society which may affect the company’s activities. It is upon the organisation to take into consideration such situations when assigning tasks and paying them for their services. The topmost tier represents the self-actualization stage which means that an individual has satisfied the various needs and achieved their potential.

Apple fulfils their employees physiological needs by paying them wages that can meet the various basic needs such as shelter, food, and clothing by having an average salary of around $108,000. The safety needs are also well taken care of through providing a safe work environment by developing safety standards and disaster management training. Job security is also a guarantee for any motivated employee in the organisation. Retirement benefits are also provided to those who leave Apple after some time there. The company also provides comprehensive medical insurance to its employees.

The company has also been at the forefront in meeting the high-order needs of its employees. The company, for example, meets the esteem needs by rewarding executives through bonuses of up to 5% at times (Apple, 2014, Npag). This is a show of approval to the company’s employees for working hard towards the fulfilment of company goals. The company also occasionally provides free iPhones to its employees. They also receive great discounts on some Apple products such as iPads and Macs. These benefits motivate the employees to come up with more better and high-quality products as they have a stake in the production.

The company has also tried to make their employees reach the self-actualization stage by organising for development and education programs which lead to more skilled and experienced employees. Apple was founded by creating a device that customers would always remain in love with. This has been attained through the years although the company did not have specific devices in mind. This has largely been caused by the company's desire to see a more experienced, creative workforce.

Another motivation technique used by Apple is the The Two Factor theory, which  was introduced by Fredrick Herzberg. The theory holds that job satisfaction is caused by some factors at the workplace while dissatisfaction is caused by a different set of factors. The theory argues that employees are for example always finding opportunities with greater satisfaction. While following these opportunities with higher rewards, recognition, and achievement, the employees must, however, prepare for greater responsibility and accountability.

The theory proposes the extrinsic factors, which are hygiene factors as the determinants of job satisfaction and the intrinsic factors which are motivators as the determinants of job satisfaction. The hygiene factors include salary, status, employment security and fringe benefits among other factors while the motivator factors include job satisfaction and acknowledgment (Herzberg, 1993, p95).

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Apple employees are motivated by this theory in various ways. The company, for example, acknowledges its employees for exemplary work in the organisation. The company has put in place a common bonus scheme when the performance improved due to a group of people. Specific individual bonuses are also given for employees whose performance was way above that of the rest. This seeks to motivate others to work in the same manner to improve the overall performance.

The hygiene factors, in this case, do not favour dissatisfaction in that the salary structure is, for example, competitive and quite fair. Employees do not, therefore, have to move to other companies in search of better salaries. Apple also offers health insurance for its employees to ensure that sickness does not hinder their functioning.

Like many other companies, Apple pays particular attention to its new employees. Not only because they want to help them adapt to the new environment but to inspire them. The new employee receives a memo which includes a speech explaining the companies expectations as well as how their contribution could affect their position. The speech is highly inspirational and is designed to motivate the individual in order to make one feel engaged. It also helps the employee to realise their goals. This is an example of Goal setting theory by Edwin Locke. The theory emphasises the need for goals in work. Goal setting may be defined as the development and formalising of various objectives attached to the various tasks an individual intends to perform. Research has shown that having challenging and specific goals that are continuously evaluated and feedback given on their attainment and which are accepted by all individuals in the organisation results to better performance and output (Locke, 1968, p161). The effectiveness of these goals is often improved by deadlines.

Apple always work to achieve the various targets and goals set by the company. The goals are always crucial in that they help in giving direction and clarifying the expectations regarding performance. One of the major goals of the company has for example been to achieve a recycling rate of up to 50%. This goal has often given a sense of direction concerning the level of efficiency needed in operations. The company also aims to create an electric car by 2019. This may, for example, define the level of investment and research needed in technology among other things.

Apple has also created a sense of autonomy within the organisation in such a way that one is free to innovate and come up with various designs that are in line with the company’s objectives. They are also not followed from point to point as they are expected to know what is expected of them. This sense of responsibility leads to better performance as opposed to continuous supervision. This was supported by the Self determination theory by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. The theory focuses on the influence of intrinsic motivation in various areas such as attitude and human behaviour. The theory though discussing some of the major elements in other theories such as the Maslow Hierarchy Theory, sets itself apart from the rest in that it only dwells on the encouragement from the external environment. The theory holds that individuals are driven by the need for personal growth and that understanding challenges and how to handle them as well as taking new experiences are the ingredients to a cohesive

8 development (Deci & Ryan, 2016, p107).

Companies have to know that while external rewards such as money, acclaim, and prizes motivate many people, intrinsic motivation may be in a better position of causing improvement in performance. Intrinsic motivation focuses on areas such as the gain of knowledge and independence. Apple, being in the highly competitive technology industry has to rely on workers/employees that are intrinsically motivated. Otherwise, it will lag behind in innovation and technology leading to a drop in its customer numbers. The company therefore always ensure that all employees gain a mastery of the organisation’s tasks and activities through offering various training programs.

Apple seems to be of the belief that priorities in satisfaction of needs may depend on the individual and the current situation. The company seems to satisfy the need within the organisation according to how it sees fit. The company, for example, may be seen to focus more on esteem needs instead of lower needs. This is for example through giving out free iPhones to its employees or through its discount program for various products such as Mac. Some people may prefer these needs over social and even safety needs. This group of people also has to be put into consideration by the company. This leads us to the ERG Motivation theory by Alderfer. The theory is a development of the Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. It recategorises the hierarchy into existence, growth, and relatedness categories. The existence category is concerned with the satisfaction of the safety and physiological needs which are crucial to any individual in the society. The relatedness category, on the other hand, focuses on the desire for interpersonal relationships with colleagues, friends, and family members. This is linked to Maslow’s social needs. The growth stage, on the other hand, focuses on the need for personal development and fulfilment. Unlike in Maslow’s theory, progression to higher needs does not necessarily mean that lower needs have been satisfied (Beck, 2004, p82).

Apple is also always aiming to prevent “frustration regression.” This concept holds that a failure to satisfy a need in the higher levels leads to frustration in the individual and subsequently a fall to previous levels. The company is always ensuring to ensure self-actualisation on the part of its employees through various training to increase their technological skills.

In conclusion, Apple has put in place various motivation techniques to ensure its employees perform according to expectations. The company, for example, focuses on fulfilling the various needs such as physiological by paying a fair salary, security needs through job security, and esteem needs through various bonuses. The company also focuses on intrinsic satisfaction through training and work autonomy among other activities. There is no doubt that Apple has made and is still making history as it contributed in our understanding of organisational behaviour.

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