Motivation at the workplace Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Motivation at the workplace - Assignment Example Motivation is more of psychological processes that lead to arousal, persistence and direction of one’s behavior. Intrinsic motivation is driven by enjoyment or interest in task itself and it exists within individual and not on any external pleasure (Alexander et al, 2000, p. 54). Extrinsic motivation is driven by activity performance that is focused on attaining an outcome, it rises from outside the person, and some of the forms of extrinsic motivations include threat of punishment, coercion, money and grades (Jelencic, 2011, p. 3). Competition is also a form of extrinsic motivation. In the workplace, work of manager entails getting work done by employees, for this to be achieved; managers have a role to motivate employees. Motivation entails both theory and practice and its one of the difficult subjects that touches various disciplines. In the workplace, motivation is approached by businesses in different ways as managers try their best to motivate employees to work hard, how ever, the fact is that no one can make one work where that person has no desire to work (Podroff, 2005, p. 40). Effective motivation requires the managers to shift workers mindset and understanding of employees creating the appropriate set of circumstances in the workplace. Podroff (2005, p. 40) has argued that motivation is not and cannot be coerced. Importance of workplace motivation According to Jex and Britt (2008, p. 234), motivation is central in determining intensity, duration, and direction of work-related behavior among employees, behavior here refers to activities that employees engage in at workplace. Intensity of motivation determines the energy and vigor that employees put in directing their work-related goals. In organizational psychology, common motivation dependent variables include employees’ choice, effort, and at times persistence. Motivation influences the performance and well-being of employees. Kondalkar (p.246) added that motivation reduces employeesâ⠂¬â„¢ turnover, enhances their ability to accept organizational change, and improves the image of the organization. Ways of enhancing workplace motivation Bruce (2006, p. 7) suggested various ways of motivating staff, one of them is to know their need for motivation, once the manager is able to answer the question, he/she is well placed in engaging the employees at work more effectively and influence their workplace behavior so that they can act more enthusiastically focusing on achieving the organizational goals. Managers must also recognize employees’ real motivation without relying on myths like financial incentives as the only motivator; this requires mangers to evaluate the factors that drive their employees’ motivation. Managers need to inspire employees to what is meaningful and important, for instance, they can inspire the staff to think like business entrepreneurs, to take risks and unleash their synergistic and limitless potential. Effective communication is also essential in enabling staff realize the reasons for doing what managers desire to be done, employees may not necessarily be motivated by managers reasons and objectives, they would wish to know what is in the objectives for themselves, managers therefore must communicate to them so as to evaluate their purposes and causes and connect them to organizational activities and goals. Latham (2007, p. 4) argued that motiv

Technical Report about Zigbee Network Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Technical Report about Zigbee Network - Essay Example Zigbee is a set of specifications that facilitate a low cost, low consumption power, low data transfer load and non-complex wireless mesh network. Zigbee protocol has been standardized by IEEE. In this paper, the basic attributes of Zigbee networks shall be discussed along with the network topologies, applications and components. The protocol shall also be studied with reference to the OSI model to highlight the layers where it is defined. Table of Contents Abstract ii List of Figures iv 1. Introduction 1 2. Background 1 3. Components of Zigbee Networks 3 4. Applications of Zigbee 5 5. Network Topologies of Zigbee Networks 5 6. Zigbee Specifications in OSI Model 7 7. Conclusion 8 References 9 List of Figures Figure 1: Zigbee comparison with other wireless technologies 2 Figure 2: Zigbee network in a smart home 3 Figure 3: Coordinator, Router and end-devices 4 Figure 4: Types of network topologies of Zigbee standard 6 Figure 5: OSI layers comparison with the definition of Zigbee in th e model 7 Zigbee Networks and Specifications 1. Introduction Technology has intervened to an extensive degree in the lives of humans. The intervention has made man rely on technology for his business, as well as domestic needs. The trend of transforming regular houses into smart homes has been a field of interest for researchers around the world. Gohn (2007) stated that the advancement in the domain of wireless networking and information technology has made an age-old dream come true of automating one’s house with a centralized source of control. The innovative technology that is responsible for leaping wireless technology to another level of automation is known as Zigbee. The report focuses on the components and network topologies that develop the standard and facilitate communication with devices that are placed within a close range. Section 2 discusses the background and overview of the Zigbee standard. Section 3 includes the components of a Zigbee network while Section 4 discusses the applications of the respective standard. Section 5 includes the network topologies that are followed by the standard and Section 6 defines its placement in the OSI model. 2. Background Several technologies have been developed in the past years that are based on different levels of bandwidth, ranges and degrees of power consumption. Some of the common technologies to provide connectivity with different devices around a smart home have been Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and WiMax. Leopold, Dydensborg and Bonnet (2003) provided the information that bluetooth is considered to be the first technology in the domain of Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) that gained extensive recognition and acceptance. Leopold, Dydensborg and Bonnet (2003) stated that Bluetooth offered omni-directional communication that led to the desire for a smarter technology after some years of its common usage. Stevanovic (2007) provided the information that Zigbee Alliance introduced a new standard with the nam e ‘Zigbee’. Zigbee is a standard which is meant for communication between embedded devices placed in a limited range. It was recognized as a standard under IEEE 802.15.4. Gohn (2007) stated that the main aim behind the standard was to facilitate wireless connectivity between devices such that it would possess the following attributes: Low complexity Low cost Low consumption of power Two-way communication Low load of data transfer Lonn and