AWA ESSAYS: Analyze Issues
ESSAY QUESTION:
“Monetary compensation is the most powerful stimulus for improving employee productivity.”

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the position stated above. Support your viewpoint using reasons and examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

YOUR RESPONSE:
Some people believe that monetary satisfaction is the major factor that determines employee productivity ,others believe that employee satisfaction and the work environment play an even bigger role in determining the employee productivity.This issue is a controversial one and a closer examination reveals that to increase productivity an employee has to be well satisfied in the job he is doing.

One reason is that a person should enjoy the work he is doing rather than work just for the monetary compensation.Take for example Vego industry which manufactured the low budget car Xtel. Although Vego payed their employee the best compensation package in the automobile industry , the work environment there was not upto remark.No safety standards were implemented in the work place and the employees did not get yearly bonuses or enough paid leaves to sustain a balanced work life.The employees got frustrated with their work life which led to a decrease in their productivity and this led to strikes in the company that hampered the production of the car Xtel.The company suffered huge losses and finally in few years it had to shut down its operation.

Another example is of Patni Computers where the employees were ready to work for the company even when the company had to cut down wages during recession.This is because during the boom period the employees had a very flexible work life.The employees were given a lot of benefits and incentives.They were all treated as equals and the company provided a very safe environment for them to work.The employees had many opportunities to enhance their skills,both technical and verbal, they had many fun activities in the workplace itself which decreased the monotony of work life and thus were able to manage a balanced work life.This led to job satisfaction among the employees that led to a spectacular rise in their productivity.

In summary, while I do not totally ignore the importance of monetary compensation but it should be clubbed with importance of employee satisfaction and a healthy work environment to increase the employee productivity.