Q. The following appeared in a memorandum from the head of a human resources department at a major automobile manufacturing company to the company’s managers:
“Studies have found that employees of not-for-profit organizations and charities are often more highly motivated than employers of for-profit corporations to perform well at work when their performance is not being monitored or evaluated. Interviews with employees of not-for profit organizations suggest that the reason for their greater motivation is the belief that their work helps to improve society. Because they believe in the importance of their work, they may have personal reasons to perform well, even when no financial reward is present. Thus, if our corporation began donating a significant portion of its profits to humanitarian causes, our employees’ motivation and productivity would increase substantially and our overall profits would increase as well.”
Discuss how well reasoned the above argument is. You will have to consider the assumptions that underlie the writer’s thinking. Describe alternative explanations or counterexamples that might weaken his or her conclusion. You must come up with evidence that would strengthen or refute the argument or identify what changes would make the argument more logically sound.
ANSWER:
The argument states that employees of not-for-profit organizations and charities are often more highly motivated than employees of for-profit corporations to perform well at work when their performance is not being monitored. Interviews with employees of not-for-profit organizations state that the reason for their greater motivation is the belief that their work helps to improve society. Since they believe in the importance of their work, they have personal reasons to perform well, even when no financial reward is present. Consequently, if for-profit corporations began donating a significant portion of its profits to humanitarian causes, then the motivation and productivity of the employees would increase significantly and their overall profits would increase as well.
Firstly, I agree with this argument in general. A not-for-profit organization is a type of organization that does not earn profits for its owners. All of the money earned by or donated to a not-for-profit organization is used in pursuing the organization’s objectives. Typically, not-for profit organizations are charities or other types of public service organizations. A not-for- profit organization is often dedicated to furthering a particular social cause or advocating for a particular point of view. Examples of not-for-profit organizations include Feeding America, World Food Program USA, Livestrong, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and American Heart Association. Employees of not-for-profit organizations are more inspired and activated than employees of for-profit corporations as they believe that their work helps to improve society. This belief keeps them motivated to perform even better when no financial reward is present. Thus, the employees are more productive, enthusiastic and determined towards achieving the organization’s goals.
Secondly, a for-profit organization is another type of organization which exists primarily to generate profit that is to take in more money than it spends. Unlike, not-for-profit organizations the policies of these organizations are more profit-orientated. Managers have a profit oriented mind set and aim at maximizing the revenue of the firm which in turn contributes to the profits of the shareholders or owners. Due to this difference, employees of for-profit organizations are not as adamant and actuated as the employees of not-for-profit organizations. Therefore, if these corporations donate a notable portion of its profits to humanitarian causes then the employees will be more effective and efficient in obtaining the organization’s objectives as well as their profits would increase tremendously. If these strategies are implemented accordingly, then it would benefit them in the near future. Examples of for-profit organizations include Sony, Apple, Google, Dell and Facebook.
In conclusion, the main difference between these two organizations is that one is profit-orientated whereas the other is not. Each of them is unique and operates differently. Both corporations have different mind sets and various factors cause both of them to be successful. However, for-profit organizations should implement the mentioned strategies as it would help their employees to function more systematically and efficaciously in the coming future.