INTRODUCTION

This essay presents a case study of Management Solutions with emphasis on three key
management subject matter - motivation, stress and well-being at work, and team and
team work. The essay presented a literature review of each solution, analyses the
present condition of the solution at Management Solutions and make
recommendations for future actions.

1. MOTIVATION

Introduction
All employees share a commonality in that they are human, and that human beings
perform at their highest levels when they are inspired to do so (Ibrahim and Brobbey,
2015). Because of its impact on productivity, motivation is a crucial factor in the
business world. However, one of the toughest challenges managers face is inspiring
workers to give their all at all times (Morgan, 2014). Motivation encompasses not
only the drive to act, but any and all aspects of behaviour and action. As the definition
goes, "motivation" refers to an emotional response. The study of human motivation
has revealed two primary forces at work in the world, both of which have been linked
to productivity in the workplace. Biological drive is an internal force, while extrinsic
motivation is the desire to gain positive reinforcement and avoid negative
consequences from one's environment. A third force, intrinsic motivation, was
identified later on, and it has to do with how much fun it is to carry out the task itself
(Reeve, 2018). Initially, intrinsic motivation was considered secondary to extrinsic
and hedonic drives.

Motivation at Management Solutions

Management Solutions is a software firm in Belfast that provides various clients with
a safe hybrid Document Management System (DMS) that they offer and then provides
support. There are a total of 12 software companies working for the company, each of
whom is responsible for a certain client's demands. That's why it's crucial for
businesses to develop effective methods of maintaining employee motivation. In turn,
this aids the efficiency and effectiveness of the work performed by Management
Solutions employees across the board, regardless of their specific positions within the
company.

To put it simply, motivation is what makes people act in particular ways. These
influences can stem from the way employees are being instructed to behave, the
quality of their work, or their determination to see the organisation through to its
goals. In order to ensure that their staff can adjust to these changes, businesses need to
be aware of the forces that will be employed. The success of Management Solutions'
strategies depends on the company's recognition that intrinsic motivation is not
enough to guarantee exceptional output on its own. It implies that a worker's output is
proportional to his or her level of motivation and expertise. There are three types of
knowledge that can be used to characterise this ability: mental skills, mechanical
skills, and psychomotor skills. For instance, Management Solutions invests in its staff
by funding training programs that help them develop their potential in the workplace

Management Solutions uses Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg's Two-Factor

Theory of Motivation. Since different theories have different effects on workers, it is
possible for an organisation to use more than one approach. Maslow's hierarchy of

1
needs is the starting point. From the most basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid to
the most advanced at the top, there are a total of five categories covered by this
theory. There are two distinct levels of satisfaction in the hierarchy of needs
represented by the pyramid: those for basic, physiological needs and those for more
abstract, psychological needs. Psychological, social, and safety needs fall under the
category of lower-order needs, while esteem and self-actualization needs fall under
the category of higher-order needs. According to this theory, in order for a person to
feel complete, they must attend to their most fundamental needs as obtained from the
hierarchy of needs. If a person's physiological needs aren't met, they can't move on to
the next level of the pyramid, which is their safety needs. In the same vein, meeting
their needs on higher levels requires gradual progress. Management Solutions was
able to effectively motivate their staff because they met all five levels. Management
Solutions pays its employees competitive wages, satisfying one of the needs at the
bottom of Maslow's hierarchy: the need for basic survival needs like food, water,
shelter, and clothing.

Management Solutions provides health benefits to employees after the first level is
met, so this is one of the measures taken to safeguard their health and safety.
Management Solutions, offers its employees the chance to work in a collaborative
environment and a variety of shifts. Having their social needs met aids in their ability
to get along well with co-workers. Management Solutions has built a culture of trust
and respect among its staff and is using a survey to learn their thoughts and feelings in
depth. This is crucial for preserving the morale of their staff. Lastly, after the
aforementioned conditions have been met, Management Solutions offers its
employees training and development opportunities, as well as a Personal
Development Plan, to help them develop their professional abilities and encourage
self-evaluation, ultimately allowing them to contribute to the company's success to the
best of their abilities.

Herzberg Two-Factor Theory, is the second. This theory divides the world into two
categories: hygiene factors and motivator factors. Workplace hygiene considerations
centre on the nature of the work being done. Dissatisfaction on the job can arise if
basic sanitation standards aren't met. Consider such factors as compensation, working
hours, interpersonal relationships, company policies, and working conditions. On the
other hand, the activities that make up one's job are the primary focus of motivating
factors. Satisfaction with one's work and enthusiasm for one's career are direct results
of how well the factors that inspire them are addressed. A few examples include
success, fame, power, responsibility, and development. Management Solutions, by
applying this theory, was able to keep their employees happy and productive.
Management Solutions did a good job of controlling the hygienic conditions and the
incentives. These can be seen in the resources they offer their staff. In terms of
workplace sanitation, Management Solutions provided its employees with everything
they could have asked for. This includes generous pay and benefits packages, a
pleasant working environment, positive interactions with management, and
accommodating schedules and policies.

Management Solutions aids their progress by offering training and education

programs that will help them become more effective workers and future leaders in the
company. To help their employees reach their full potential within the company, they
also offer them a personal development plan. Management Solutions uses both of

2
these to its advantage, and as a result, its employees have greater happiness and
fulfilment in their work. Also, it helps keep employees enthusiastic about their work.

Finally, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and the Herzberg Two-Factor Theory are used
by Management Solutions management to inspire their staff. Management Solutions
has found that using both methods has helped them meet their business objectives,
fostered stronger relationships among employees, and altered the outlooks of long-
time employees.

Recommendation
Based on the above, I would recommend that:

1. Since Management Solutions have been acquired by Workflow, a large number of

Workflow clients have taken on the Management Solutions document management
system within a relatively short period of time. The software development team
numbers have not increased. The company’s management should increase the size of
its Human Resources division to better oversee its compensation and reward
programs. A solid human resources department will guarantee the timely and trouble-
free administration of all incentive and benefit plans. Additionally, by increasing the
size of HR, more employment opportunities will be made available, leading to the
need to hire more people. Working conditions and employee morale will both benefit
from a well-oiled system. This will facilitate the group's timely achievement of its
aims. Furthermore, it will aid the company in keeping its current staff. Human
resources recruitment can, interestingly enough, even target candidates from direct
competitors.

The idea is to use SWOT analysis to figure out where your competition's strengths
and weaknesses lie, and then exploit those weaknesses to their advantage.

2. The company will be able to achieve their goals of attracting and retaining talented
workers by creating an environment that is conducive to both. Workers will be more
motivated if the work system is improved. When systems are intuitive, workers can
get more done in less time. The company’s management may, for instance, opt to
upgrade its infrastructure to the latest and greatest available. Besides boosting morale,
this is a sure-fire way to pull in some top talent and keep hold of your current staff.

3
2. STRESS AND WELL-BEING AT WORK

Introduction
Since stress is exhibited in everyday life as a factor that might put people's
psychological and physical health at danger, it is one of the concepts most studied and
mentioned in psychology (Layous, Chancellor and Lyubomirsky, 2014). There are
three main schools of thought when it comes to dealing with stress: (i) the
physiological, or "fight or flight," approach; (ii) the environmental, or "external,"
approach; and (iii) the psychological/cognitive, or "internal," approach, in which the
focus is on the individual's evaluation and perception of the stressor. Finally, majority
of the papers I looked at referenced this last method (Cox, Kuk and Leiter, 2017).

It all comes down to how we feel about an incident, says Resick (2014). Therefore, an
individual's perception of the expectations of the workplace and his or her own ability
to meet those demands play a role in the development of stress in the workplace. To
put it another way, the work-related stress process can't start unless workers identify
the situation and environmental demands as stressors and internalise the belief that
they lack the tools to cope with them, eliciting reactions that have detrimental impacts
on their health and well-being. Recent studies motivated by the Positive Psychology
movement have been attempting to understand how these processes can interfere with
people's health and well-being, which is no small feat given the complexity of the
stress phenomenon, which is permeated by a series of psychological, social, and
biological processes that involve human-environment interaction (Parks and Titova,
2016).

The field of study known as "Positive Psychology" places an emphasis on the bright
side of life by investigating the factors that contribute to people reaching their full
potential and remaining in good mental and physical health. Scholars of organisations
have also joined this trend, giving rise to numerous research conducted within the
workplace that highlight the significance of character strengths, good emotions, and
ethical practices as precursors to job satisfaction (Wellbeing at work - WBW).
(Pagán-Castaño, Maseda-Moreno and Santos-Rojo, 2020.) Positive affective emotions
(e.g., enthusiasm), low levels of negative affective states (e.g., worry), good
psychosomatic health, and cognitive states (e.g., aspirations and judgments about job
satisfaction) are all part of what it means to be happy in one's work life. Fluctuations
in well-being indicators appear to be influenced by a number of factors, including
work-related stress, personal resources like self-esteem and emotional stability, and
the work-home interface. Consistently unfavourable outcomes for employees have
been linked to work-related stress, as measured by a variety of psychological and
physiological well-being indicators (Tesi, Aiello and Giannetti, 2019).

However, when faced with what they consider to be stressful situations, these people
respond in unique ways. The majority of research finds a negative correlation between
stress and WBW, however there is a growing body of research trying to pin down the
circumstances in which stressors may not have a negative impact on WBW (Kaplan,
S., Bradley-Geist, J.C., Ahmad, Anderson, Hargrove and Lindsey, 2014). Resilience,
as well as tactics for managing one's emotions (emotional self-regulation) and dealing
with stressful events, have been the subject of several studies for their potential to
alleviate distress and boost mental health and happiness.

4
Stress and Well Being at Management Solutions
Management Solutions is a software company that promotes the mental well-being of
its employees by putting initiatives into place in stores. Management Solutions
employees have reported that they are not content with the income. Low pay is
identified as one of the indicators of job stress (Mosadeghrad, Ferlie and Rosenberg,
2011). Every one of Workflow's product-specific software development teams is
located in the south of England. The Management Solutions team learned that the
Workflow software engineers work an identical on-call schedule and are often
compensated with a £12,000 on-call premium in addition to their annual wages. The
Software Development Manager explained the disparity between the £4,500 on-call
premium received by the Management Solutions team and the £10,000 on-call
premium received by the Workflow developers by noting the higher cost of living and
labour competition in the South of England compared to Northern Ireland. Even if the
Workflow developers' base pay is higher because of this reason, the Management
Solutions team doesn't see why the on-call premiums should be any different. The
Software Development Manager was angry when they brought it up again, saying that
they had previously been given an explanation and should stop bringing it up.
Although some programmers have contemplated filing a formal complaint with HR
about this issue, no one has done so yet since no one wants to "go around" their new
manager and because there are rumours that Workflow HR is not the most effective
department.

Dunne's Stores is a good example of a place of business that does provide help for
mental well-being to its employees. According to the findings of Dunne workers
(2018), employees claimed that their mental health had been negatively affected as a
result of their low hours, low income, and precarious job because it did not sustain
them or their household.

Recommendation
The degree to which an individual is happy in their job has been found to have a
significant bearing on their well-being and on the mental health outcomes such as
depression, anxiety, and stress (Wood, Van Veldhoven, Croon and de Menezes,
2012). As a result of this discovery, I recommend that the company’s management put
into action to improve job satisfaction in order to raise both mental health and overall
well-being as well as the number of organisational support services.

During the induction phase of the employment process, it is extremely crucial for
Management Solutions’s management to convey information to employees on issue of
relationships with establishing friends in the workplace (co-workers and
communication), as it would be beneficial for Management Solutions to ensure that
employees connect with one another. This would assist boost mental health and job
happiness. In order to ensure that people are building relationships with both their co-
workers and their managers or supervisors, this could also be carried out between co-
workers and employees. This is significant since a research conducted on software
developers indicated that positive interactions with co-workers led to the greatest
improvements in both job satisfaction and mental health. Working in a software
company requires a lot of collaboration from employees, therefore this aspect of the
job is also quite vital (Tracey, 2021).

5
Due to the fact that research has shown that employees who feel lonely at work are
more likely to quit their jobs, co-working connections are also significant from the
standpoint of the employer. Even though the company have offered psychological
programs to improve the mental health of their employees, such as counselling
support programs, there are other considerations that need to be taken into account. A
better control of work schedules and hours, as well as measures to prevent employee
burnout and improve their ability to maintain a healthy work-life balance, are two
other aspects that need to be taken into account. It is also extremely important for
companies to keep a close eye on the physical nature of the work their employees are
doing and to devise strategies to prevent their workforce from becoming overworked.

6
3. TEAM AND TEAMWORKING

Employees are required to cooperate with one another, share information, confront
differences, and sublimate personal interests for the greater good of the team when
they are working in teams because the need to harness individual potentials through
teamwork has necessitated the shift from working alone to working in teams. This
shift was necessitated by the necessity to harness individual potentials through
teamwork. One definition of a team is simply a collection of individuals working
together toward a similar objective. The concept of a team refers to a collection of
individuals who cooperate toward the common goal of resolving issues or achieving
the objectives they were formed to achieve. A group of people who get together or are
brought together with the intention of achieving some stated objective(s) within a
given time limit can also be referred to as a team.

Mobolade and Akinade (2021) described teams as effective work groups whose
effectiveness hinges on the degree of motivation, co-ordination, and purpose and
whose synergy provides an energy/creativity that is beyond them as individuals. They
found that teams were more effective than individual workers. It has come to the
attention of Jeston (2014) that teams have come to be seen as a vital component in the
functioning of firms in the modern-day business context. Therefore, teams need to
have clearly defined membership, a sense of group consciousness, and a sense of
having a common goal (Fransen, Kirschner and Erkens, 2011).

In order to achieve a common goal, members of a team pool their separate initiatives,
capabilities, and advantages towards a common goal or cause, with the end goal being
to achieve outcomes that are significant for both the individuals of the team and the
company as a whole. Teamwork provides both individuals and organisations with a
number of benefits that assist them in attaining their goals of growth and
improvement. The members of the team will always hold each other accountable and
urge each other to focus on efficient work approaches. As a result, some of these
benefits include better solutions to work difficulties, improved co-operations, and
improved production. Employees will have more friendly competition and will use the
team pressure influence to keep each other motivated to attain established goals or
targets when the workplace focuses on the team's aims.

According to (Fapohunda, 2013), a work team is able to establish positive synergy

through harmonised effort, which causes individual efforts to result in a level of
performance that is higher than the sum of the inputs. Because of this, teams enable
their individual members to improve upon their skills, abilities, and knowledge by
learning from each other while they are working in a team, and as a result, it enables
them to produce effectively and efficiently in comparison to employees who work
individually in organisations.

On the other side, the term "teamwork" refers to the cooperation among members of a
work group to accomplish a shared objective or series of tasks (Dinh and Salas, 2017)
This is one of the most successful strategies to decrease organisational hierarchy
while simultaneously increasing employee involvement. It is also one of the most
critical techniques to improve employee involvement. Collaboration within a
company is vital due to the fact that success can only be achieved by combining the
individual talents and when individual members of a team come together with

7
common objectives and a focus on the group's overall performance, only then will the
benefits of working on a team begin to become apparent. The ability to trust one's co-
workers to deliver what they promise, the willingness to assist when it is required,
cooperation and the blending of one's strengths with those of others, open
communication, effective conflict resolution, and unity of direction are all benefits
that can be generated through teamwork. Effective teamwork enables people of an
organisation to collaborate productively, and increases the organisation's productivity
as well as its morale and the overall quality of the product or service it provides
(Mobolade and Akinade, 2021).

Additionally, it facilitates the resolution of conflicts between members of the

workforce and can make a significant contribution to profitability and efficiency in
the workplace and organisation

Teams and Teamwork at Management Solutions Plc.

Teams are an essential asset for every company because of the crucial role they play
in determining the overall performance of an organisation. Teams are not the same
thing as groups in any way, shape, or form; this is a crucial distinction that must be
kept in mind at all times. Teams are organised in a formal fashion, and their leaders
are chosen through a formal process. Cooperation within groups is the major
emphasis of every other category of organisational structure. This is due to the fact
that collaboration helps firms achieve their goals in a logical and timely manner, and
it also helps employees by giving them greater responsibility. Both of these benefits
are a direct result of the positive effects of teamwork.

Management Solutions is in a position to exercise efficient command over the

collective performance of its staff because it organises workers into shift-based teams
at the floor level. Instead of taking orders from management, the members of the team
are answering to a leader who directs their actions.

The delegation of authority in this manner provides the appropriate degree of latitude
for the group to carry out its responsibilities in an effective manner. The efficiency
with which activities are carried out, the speed with which stock levels are refilled,
and the manner in which customers are treated are all going to be influenced by the
effectiveness of the group. Employees are given the duty as well as the power that
they require in order to carry out their obligations as part of a work group system in
an effective manner. Standardised procedures and recognition systems have been put
into place so that it can be ensured that all of the members of the group will achieve
the goals that have been established for their performance.

Recommendation
Management Solutions’s management should improve their teamwork by doing
things like publicly praising those who turn in high-quality work or achieve
significant goals. It is more probable that individuals in a team will continue in the
same spirit if they are acknowledged for producing high-quality work, and as a
consequence, the group as a whole will develop a better comprehension of what
makes excellence. Utilisation of this strategy can result in the establishment of a

8
culture with a high value placed on excellence. One cannot reasonably anticipate
changing the culture of an organisation before having taken those initial steps. As a
result, Management Solutions ought to make the most of situations in which there is a
potential to cultivate both culture and cooperation, such as when there is an
opportunity to award staff members for their great work and contributions to the
company.

Increased emotional loyalty among the individual members of a team is one of the
three traits that go into making up a well-connected team, which in turn has an effect
on the culture. This is one of the characteristics that contributes to the success of the
team. This kind of emotional commitment can be cultivated among members of a
team by encouraging collaboration and heaping praise on those who do high-quality
work. The following characteristics fall under this category:

1. A person can be said to have trust in someone when they have faith in the
dependability and reliability of that other. Teamwork requires acknowledging and
appreciating one another's skills and capabilities, as well as recognising that these
skills and capabilities enable everyone to work together to overcome challenges. In
addition, teamwork requires acknowledging that these skills and capabilities enable
everyone to overcome challenges.
2. A great sense of devotion to one's team is one of the defining characteristics of
emotional loyalty.

9
References

al Habibi, B., 2019. HR practices of Marks & Spencer, Selfridges, Primark, and
Sainsbury’s (Doctoral dissertation, University of Science & Technology).

Cox, T., Kuk, G. and Leiter, M.P., 2017. Burnout, health, work stress, and
organizational healthiness. In Professional burnout (pp. 177-193). Routledge.

Dinh, J.V. and Salas, E., 2017. Factors that influence teamwork. The Wiley Blackwell
handbook of the psychology of team working and collaborative processes, pp.13-41.

Fapohunda, T.M., 2013. Towards effective team building in the

workplace. International journal of education and research, 1(4), pp.1-12.

Fransen, J., Kirschner, P.A. and Erkens, G., 2011. Mediating team effectiveness in the
context of collaborative learning: The importance of team and task
awareness. Computers in human Behavior, 27(3), pp.1103-1113.

Glassdoor, 2021. Management Solutions Reviews. 

https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Management Solutions-Reviews-E10250.htm
(Accessed: 21 October 2021)

Ibrahim, M. and Brobbey, V.A., 2015. Impact of motivation on employee

performance. The case of some selectedMicro Finance Companies in Ghana, 2(5),
pp.45-62.

Jeston, J., 2014. Business process management: practical guidelines to successful

implementations. Routledge.

Kaplan, S., Bradley-Geist, J.C., Ahmad, A., Anderson, A., Hargrove, A.K. and
Lindsey, A., 2014. A test of two positive psychology interventions to increase
employee well-being. Journal of Business and Psychology, 29(3), pp.367-380.

Layous, K., Chancellor, J. and Lyubomirsky, S., 2014. Positive activities as protective
factors against mental health conditions. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 123(1),
p.3.

10
Mobolade, G.O. and Akinade, M.E., 2021. TEAM BUILDING AND TEAMWORK
IN ORGANIZATIONS: IMPLICATIONS TO MANAGERS AND EMPLOYEES IN
WORK PLACES. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT, SOCIAL
SCIENCES, PEACE AND CONFLICT STUDIES, 4(1).

Morgan, J., 2014. The future of work: Attract new talent, build better leaders, and
create a competitive organization. John Wiley & Sons.

Mosadeghrad, A.M., Ferlie, E. and Rosenberg, D., 2011. A study of relationship

between job stress, quality of working life and turnover intention among hospital
employees. Health Services Management Research, 24(4), pp.170-181.

Pagán-Castaño, E., Maseda-Moreno, A. and Santos-Rojo, C., 2020. Wellbeing in

work environments. Journal of Business Research, 115, pp.469-474.

Parks, A.C. and Titova, L., 2016. Positive psychological interventions: An

overview. The Wiley handbook of positive clinical psychology, pp.305-320.

Reeve, J., 2018. Understanding motivation and emotion. John Wiley & Sons.

Resick, P.A., 2014. Stress and trauma. Psychology Press.

Tesi, A., Aiello, A. and Giannetti, E., 2019. The work-related well-being of social
workers: Framing job demands, psychological well-being, and work
engagement. Journal of Social Work, 19(1), pp.121-141.

Tracey, A.M., 2021. What Workplace Influences Predict the Levels of Stress, Anxiety
and/or Depression Amongst Casual and Managerial Workers in the Retail Sector? A
Quantitative Investigation into the workplace-related influences that contribute to
poor mental health outcomes amongst managerial and Non-Managerial Workers in
Ireland (Doctoral dissertation, Dublin, National College of Ireland).

Wood, S., Van Veldhoven, M., Croon, M. and de Menezes, L.M., 2012. Enriched job
design, high involvement management and organizational performance: The
mediating roles of job satisfaction and well-being. Human relations, 65(4), pp.419-
445.

11
12