MOTIVATION OF PERSONNEL
The selected article is concerned with the motivation of personnel. For employees to be in a position of delivering or performing to their best, they must be motivated. Personnel motivation can be viewed from two broad perspectives; psychological and administrator’s or organizational. In the case of psychological perspective, factors to consider include what motivates individuals to seek employment within a criminal justice system. Individuals tend to be psychologically or mentally prepared when making certain decisions in life. The second perspective is concerned with what organization or administrators are supposed to do, to make sure that the employees within the criminal justice system have been motivated.
There are many theories which can be used in motivating personnel. Some of the conventional theories include; Needs theory, Theory X and Theory Y, Theory Z, Expectancy theory, and Maslow’s, among others. Developing an extensive knowledge of such theories plays a crucial role in enabling administrators to know factors motivating employees, hence enabling them to take the necessary actions, to ensure that employees within the criminal justice organizations have been motivated. Management should understand the needs, opinions as well as the abilities of the personnel, and communicate them appropriately.
Taking the case of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the needs leading to personnel motivation are five; physiological, safety, belonging and love, esteem and self-actualization. The needs can fall under three main categories such as; basic, psychological, and self-actualization. Under basic needs, we have physiological needs, which are mainly concerned with the functioning of the body. They include warmth, water, food, rest, etc. People work to fulfill their basic needs first, as they can’t live without them. Under the same category, we have safety needs, such as security and safety. People need physical and emotional safety in life. Next, there are psychological needs, which cover belongingness and love (inmate relationships & friends) and esteem needs like the feeling of accomplishment and prestige. The last needs relate to self-fulfillment, and they include; self-actualization, achieving one’s full potential (Stojkovic et al., 2015).
The needs presented by Maslow are realistic given that in ordinary life, people must be fulfilling certain needs before others. For instance, it is not logical for an individual who does not have food or clothing to attain self-actualization. It is after achieving one need that an individual is motivated to achieve the others. The evidence presented by Maslow is strong, considering the fact that it is factual and applicable in real life. Employees understand what they know in life, and work towards it. In the case of the administrators, they understand the stage of motivation that the employees are in, and help them in achieving the remaining needs, hence achieving the necessary motivation.
Reference
Stojkovic, S., Kalinich, D. B., & Klofas, J. (2015). Criminal justice organizations: administration and management (6th ed.). Stamford, CT, USA: Cengage Learning.
Chapter 5: Motivation of Personnel.