Employee voluntarily began to work with a junior achievement group

The direct and immediate feedback also makes it clear to employees that they experience the results of their performance-either negatively or positively. When employees do not know why they are penalized, they may become confused, disillusioned, and demotivated; the same is true for a reward. Consider a small boy who gets in a fight with the neighbour's child. The boy's mother punishes him by saying that he will receive a spanking from his father when the father comes home from work. Six hours later the father comes home and spanks the small boy. Unfortunately, by then the boy has forgotten why he is being paddled, or, even worse, the boy has just cleaned up his room. The poor boy may think he is getting paddled for cleating his room.

This is extreme example, of course. But the point is that employees must be told why they are receiving a reward or a penalty as soon as possible after the appropriate or inappropriate behaviour.

Managerial communication is important here in several ways. First, employees must clearly understand policies and procedures. In one situation an employee voluntarily began to work with a junior achievement group. He stated that he was representing his company in this activity. Unfortunately, he was reprimanded for announcing this connection because he was told, he could not officially represent the company without the public relations director's prior approva1. The fact that the company policies were not communicated to him resulted in a penalty for exerting extra effort.

Another common example of instrumentality involves the relationship between promotions and performance. In many organizations, seniority almost automatically leads to an upgrade in title. For instance, nurses may move up in classification, teachers may become tenured, and engineers may move from a junior-to a senior-level classification. But in many instances, the employees did not know exactly what is expected of them other than longevity; consequently, when a person does not receive an upgrade for some unknown reason, frustration and bitterness may result. Clear communication between managers and subordinate ensures clear expectations and an understanding of either the rewards or penalties received. The reward-penalty structure should operate as feedback, not as a surprise!

The model we have been examining shows that employee motivation is not a simple matter. A manager cannot read about a motivational theory in the hope that this will be the key to the problem. The real key is effective, strategic communication. Theory has minimal value unless a manager is an effective communicator. All the different elements of the model must be analyzed to help establish a motivational climate which can be established through strategic communication.

While this model helps to explain how effective communication can facilitate the motiv(!.tional process, it is clearly helpful to be able to diagnose a situation where performance does not meet expectations. The following discussion presents a concrete way in which the model can be used to diagnose a situation.