Motivation in the Business World - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 13 Words: 3923 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Motivation is the factors that determine the grounds for engagement in a particular behavior by a person or persons. It attached with the beginning, route, the level of involvement and the sustaining at a particular level of behavior of a person. The grounds for a particular behavior may include the determinants which are varying from basic human needs to higher level of social needs. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Motivation in the Business World" essay for you Create order Motivation can be reflected through the energy and commitment of the individual or group to perform a certain task or tasks (Joseph 1989). The employee motivation is a crucial factor for every business at a same or sometimes at a higher level with compared to other businesses. It affects the every aspects of the business. The basic level of the motivation is reflected by the hard working work force. At this stage the productivity will be high and hence the cost of labor per unit will be reduced. However the mere improvements in productivity will not be the single factor that a firm can achieve by motivating its workforce. Motivated employees are performing to a high standard level of performance where favorable impacts over the customer satisfaction and the shareholder value can be gained. The motivated employees are less likely to engage in industrial actions or such other violence actions against the company. The employee conflicts and grievances may lower. Further the motivated employees would work effectively under minimum supervision. They will be enthusiastically learning new things relating to their jobs that would enhance the quality of performance. Building or creating motivated employee force is a difficult task by which a high amount of effort and money are absorbed. More importantly the culture, leadership style and the management style affect the employee motivation. Therefore the motivated employee force is becoming a competitive source to the company. There are various theories that are built regarding employee motivation. Various philosophers have presented various models on employee motivation. Their efforts and numerous case studies on this topic show the importance of the subject matter to the todays business context. This assignment will present an introduction of those theories and the practice of those theories in the todays business environment with relevant case studies. Motivation Theories There are several theories of motivation of various philosophers such as Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Theory, Herzbergs Two Factor Theory, Douglas McGregors Theory X and Theory Y, Kurt Lewins Force Field Theory, Victor Vrooms Expectancy Theory, F.W. Taylors Scientific Management, etc. At lower levels of the Maslows hierarchy of Needs theory the monetary benefits are considered to be the motivation factor. At the higher level of the hierarchy factors such as social respect, recognition, sense of belonging and empowerment are powerful than the monetary factor of motivation. Accordingly Maslow suggested that the money is a lowest important factor as a motivator of employees. McGregor has included money in his Theory X category and explained it as a poor motivator and in theory Y category he has placed social recognition and praise suggesting that they are strong motivators other than money. This section of the assignment will present explanations of those important theories o f motivation before understand the practical usage of those theories to generate a motivated workforce (Werther and Davis 1985). Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Theory This theory composed of two parts; classification of human needs and relating classes to each other. The classes of needs are as follows. The theory explains the order of the fulfilling needs as follows. Person begin from the bottom line of the hierarchy and will try to satisfy the very basic physical needs of hunger, thirsty, shelter, etc. When he has satisfied these needs then they are not motivators further. Hence he moves upward of the hierarchy. Then the person would seek for the safety at work, job security, etc to ensure his survival at workplace. Having ensured that he is safe his curiosity then will search for social needs such as belongingness, love, friendships, etc. the person would seek for colleagues to work with, share information, team work, communication, etc. Then the esteem needs will come forward. This is the need for being praised, given recognition or evaluation for a job well-done. The people normally seek for respect of others while sharing th e happy and sorrow. Self-actualization is the way a person perceives himself. It measured by the extent of success and the amount of challenge of work. There are several problems attached with this model where as it has greater potential to appeal in the business world such as, It is no clear when would be a certain level is considered as satisfied Individuals may respond differently regarding the same need Sometimes individual behavior reflects the reaction for more than one need Model has ignored several conditions such as bearing a low-pay by an employee expecting future benefits Some critics argue that this model explain the behavior of middle-class workers in UK and USA (Forshaw and Korn 2010) Herzbergs Two Factor Theory This is a content theory of motivation whereas the main theory is the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs. Herzberg carried out a research utilizing 200 engineers and accountants. They were asked to memorize the situations when that they felt positive or negative feelings at their job and the reasons there of. According to his findings he presented a two-steps approach to understand employee motivation and satisfaction which are called as Hygiene factors and Motivator factors. There are several factors that can be used to eliminate the unpleasant working conditions at work. These fcators are called a Hygeine factors. These factors may include one or all of the following factors. Working conditions Company policies Administration Quality and the way of supervision Eetent of inter-personal relationships Salaries, wages and other financial benefits The job security The individuals need for personal growth determines the motivaor factors of the particular person. Motivator factors actively create job satisfaction when they exist. If those factors are effective then the individuals performance would be of above-average. The motivator factors may, Opportunity for growth in the job Entrusted responsibility Social status Recognition among others Challenging work Sense of achievement (Stephen 2002) Herzberg model more identical to the Maslows theory yet it focus specially on the higher levels of the hierarchy of needs. The factors in the lower level of the hierarchy are considered as generating dissatisfaction only when they are not met with. Motivator factors are specific to the job itself such as how interesting the work is and how much of responsibility whether it assumes. The hygiene factors are considering the factors that are related to the environment of the job such as the safety working environment and the resources to complete the job assigned. These factors facilitate or able the employees to perform the job rather motivate to do the job with an extra effort and interest. Herzberg identified pay as a Hygiene factor. According to his theory the businesses are required to adopt the democratic approaches to motivate employees. These approaches may include one or more of the followings. Job Enlargement: Employees are given a range of tasks that are in various areas of the business or fields. However these tasks must not assume much responsibility if so the motivation to the tasks would less. Job Enrichment: this assigns the employees with more complex tasks which are attached with the completion of full work unit. The tasks will be of more challenging and interesting. And at the end the employee will feel a sense of achievement. Employee Empowerment: Here the employees are delegated with more power to make decisions on the areas attached to their jobs. The responsibility of the decisions made also to be held by them. (Musselwhite 2004) F.W. Taylors Scientific Management Taylor has formed several assumptions about the human behavior at work base on observations of the research he carried out participating US steelworkers. Man is a rational economic animal who concerned with maximizing his economic growth. People respond as individuals and not as groups. People can be treated as standardized machines Taylor simply described that the motivation factor of people at work is money. He suggested that the pay based on the rates produced by an each worker will induce him to produce more and more to earn more. Further the employees who do not achieve target of a daily production should be paid less in order to induce them to meet daily target. And the employees who exceed the target production should be paid more to induce them to keep that productivity and to motivate others. Accordingly managers job is to tell the employees what to do and the employees target is to complete that and to be paid according to their production (Tripathi 1991) W hen presenting this theory Taylor has ignored that there are many individual differences which would affect the motivator factors of the employees. However his methods were highly implemented by the business world which experienced a higher productivity and lower unit cost. It also gave the beginning kick to the mass production. Workers were unhappy with the Taylors methods since it assigned them with boring, repetitive work that required them to effort greatly to maximize the earnings. The employees were treated as machines and business people redounded employees as the productivity grew. These situations lead many industrial disputes and industrial actions by the workers (Mathis and Jackson 2000). This model is closely related with the autocratic leadership style. Douglas McGregors Theory X and Theory Y This theory presents two extremes of the behavior of people at work as theory X and theory Y. No individual would be necessarily categorized into one category but the whole behaviors will be in between the ends of X and Y. The characteristics of the two categories are as follows. Theory X Workers Theory Y Workers Dislike Work and avoid working as much as possible Who are lackof ambition Willing to be led by someone else than taking risk Highly seek for security and self-survival Managers will have to impose a management system of coercion, control and punishment to achieve the business objectives through such employees Highly interested in working and enjoy it Interested in taking risks and responsibilities Like to try new things and take challenges Work is considered as a source of satisfaction or punishment depending on the working conditions The management would face a challenge of creating a working environment that enable these employees to show their creativity and responsibility Elton Mayo Mayo suggested that employees are not mere considering the money and can be better motivated by giving them the opportunity to meet the social needs of the individuals. This is the Human Relationship Scholl of thought by which the managers are focused on considering more about the peoples relationship aspect understanding the how workers enjoy interactions. Mayos theory based on the extended research carried out in the Hawthorne factory of the Western Electric Company in Chicago. From that research Mayo came into conclusion that employees can be better motivated by; Effective communication among managers and workers Greater manager involvement in employees working life Working in groups or teams Accordingly it is suggested that the greater use of team work, high involvement of managers in the workers working life, and encouraged two way communication would be benefiting the companies. The Mayos theory is more closely running with the paternalistic management style. ( www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Definition_Employee_Motivation.html(Accessed on 03/05/2011) Role of Other Factors It is highly considered that the way of motivating employees is the financial rewards. However there are many other aspects of the scenario that would be considered by the managers and executives to motivate their subordinates. The factors would be different on the individual basis which will need to put more effort into their work. Such factors may include followings. Organization Culture The organizational culture has a direct relationship with the employees performance and level of motivation. If the elements of the culture fit with individuals background, values, beliefs, norms and expectations then the employees are automatically willing to work in the organization. If the corporate culture is built on the teamwork, encouragement, collaboration, evaluation, then the employees is likely to be motivated to put more efforts to bring the organizational objectives accomplished. More often employees seek for their leaders direction and support, and at the same time they look for the collaboration of teammates and co-workers (Werther, Davis, Shwind, Das and Miner 1985). Relationship with Leaders The leadership style can be significantly influence the motivation of employees. The qualities of the leader will determine the extent to which the e employees are contributed to the organization. If the leader is unfair, do not provide clear instructions, and negatively look at the things then the employees will lose their desire to work hard to accomplish the goals. The organizations leaders must communicate with its employees openly so that the employees are clear about the things that they are required to do. (Source: https://tutor2u.net.business/people/motivation, (Accessed on 01/05/2011) Management Style The organizational culture, the situation and the expectations and personality of the subordinates will determine the suitable style of a manager. The characteristics of the managers style would be of no fit with the changes in the organization and the cultural changes accompanied by that change. As an example in past the authoritarian style of the managers was appreciated with the bureaucratic organizations, but today the interest is more focused on participative or empowered managers who admire the democratic policies of management. Many of the management theories are supporting the that sort of management styles such as Total Quality Management, Management by Objective, employee empowerment, self-managed work teams, etc. A comprehensive review of the management styles and their contribution to motivated work force will be presented below. Management Style Description Contribution to Motivated Work Force Participative Management Share information with employees and participate them in the decision making process Employees are entrusted with the responsibility of running their own departments and determine the appropriate policies and procedures Not suitable to adapted by every organizations and at every levels This is a remedy to the poor morale and low productivity that gain the results very soon to the organization Redistributed power will enhance the willingness to work If the culture supports and if the employees are competent enough then the participation will result in effective decisions and productive operations. Giving the employees recognition as they are important as the mangers and the stakeholders will satisfy their esteem needs. Theory X and Theory Y These theories are based on several assumptions. It explains two extremes of the involvement and utilizing efforts and energy to accomplish tasks by the employees Theory X explains the negative side of the performance and theory Y represents the positive side of the performance Considering the poor performance as the total fault of the employee by Theory X and therefore employees are motivated by the extrinsic rewards such as money, promotion, appraises, etc. The low productivity is considered as the fault of the management. Theory Z It represents the good characteristics of the both Japanese management and the Western management styles. The theory has combined those features of the management at every level of the organizations. The characteristics of this theory included long-term employment, less specialized career path, group decision making, informal control, etc. Concerns the all levels of needs of the employees. Concerning the employee well-being satisfies the physical and security needs of the employees. Team work and group decision making satisfy the social needs Encouragement to take risks and responsibilities will satisfy the higher level of needs such as self-esteem and self-actualization Management By Walking Around Managers can gather as much as possible information regarding the policies, procedures, employee matters, and other work related information Manager can maintain proper relationship with employees so that he would be considered as a counselor or advisor by the employees Leaving decision making responsibility with the employees will achieve the fastest response time Close relationship with manager will let the employees to present their suggestions, complaints and grievances as soon as they occur Self-Managed Work Teams This is a derivation of the employee empowerment The teams will comprise of about 10-15 employees who require minimum supervision Delegates the authority to decide on simple work related aspects such as how to spend money, what work to undertaken, etc Total Quality Management The all functions of the management are integrated to achieve a high quality product Quality is the responsibility of all employees and teamwork The customer satisfaction is highly recognized Recognition is given from CEO to lower level employees to maintain quality Shared commitment to achieve the organizational objectives Encourages employees to grow, learn and participate in the business operations actively Encourages the continuing change and adaptation to the changing environment Management by objective Employees are participated in the establishing goals and objectives Overall organizational objectives are converted into employee objectives Steps are setting goals, participative decision making, implementing plans and performance feedback High involvement of the employees in decision making and goal setting related to their jobs Managers are empowered to implement, control their plans and performance. This motivate the managers to work hard for the company Periodical review of the employees performance will give the employees a sense of completion and will let them know what the areas to be improved more are. This will induce them to take more efforts to achieve the goals established with their participation Employee Empowerment The organization structures are change and the decision making is lapsed with the lowest levels of the organization The objectives of the empowerment is to speed up the decision making and giving solutions to problems regarding the business operations, give employees the opportunity to grow, and to lower organizational cost to managers by assigning them to various other projects Employees will be trained to take high responsibilities and make more accurate, effective decisions quickly A sense of belongingness of the work they are engaged in will generate within the employees They think that the company is their own one and work hard to attain day-to-day work successfully www.ehow.com/about 5387352 definition-employee-motivation.html, (Accessed on 02/05/2011) The managers are obliged to select the suitable style for managing their subordinates and work which is suited to them, their subordinated personalities and general characteristics, the department they are ass igned with and in general to the whole organizational setting and its culture. Management style highly correlated with the level of performance of the employees and outcome of the operations under their control. Managers must be delegated with the certain amount of authority and then their role becomes a nature of a leader. Then he must use suitable leadership traits to motivate and direct their subordinates to achieve the departmental/organizational objectives or outcome (Mathis and Jackson 2000). Reward System A properly designed reward system must be there in the organization by which the employees can attain such benefits. Employees must have the confidence that they can be rewarded with established performance criteria of the job. Further the rewards must be fairly distributed so that the employees can clearly identified that there is no any discrepancy over them. If the rewards are based on the performance evaluation procedure then all processes may transparent and the employees must clearly see that the evaluations are put on regularly and fairly (Joseph 1989) Job Title The job title will give the respective employee an idea about his role within the company, the extent to which he can contribute the accomplishment of organizational objectives. When the employees are aware about their importance to the organization they are automatically motivated to work hard to make their job effective (Deming 1986) Monetary Benefits Whether the money is being derecognized as a positive motivator it has proven to be more effective in practice. Selecting the right remuneration package for the employees is a challenge for nowadays. A number of ways are in use to motivate employees over their work such as; Time-rate pay Peace-rate pay Performance related pay Shares and share options Bonuses Commissions Pension There are several aspects of money to be an important motivator such as; Pay helps to satisfy many other needs of person such as esteem needs, safety needs, etc It is an important cost to the company It helps to attract competent employees It helps to retain skilled and competent employees It is subjected to various legislations such as National Minimum Wage (Cherrington 1994) Motivation in Practice Case Examples The Tesco Plc The UK giant retailer, Tesco Plc has provided its large workforce to join the company as prospective shareholders. Staff is enabled to be a part of the Tescos profit by share allocation based on their performance. The number of shares allocated to each employee is determined by the number of days worked in an each period. The Department of Education The UK Departmental Education Sector is in the view that the teachers pay must be linked to their performance. In 2002 the British government introduces a performance based bonus scheme to give rise to the teachers pay and to retain the existing staff and to attract new staff to the teaching sector. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority The NDA has utilized many theoretical perspectives of the employee motivation to motivate its employees. The NDA Way shows that several phenomena which is based on the fulfillment of Maslows Hierarchy of Needs as follows. Always acting safely and responsibly Building talent and teams Challenging themselves Learning from experience Being open and transparent Confronting problems Delivering whet they promised The NDA implemented the strategies like job enrichment, job enlargement, and job rotation, empowerment to effectively affect the employees motivation to carry out the organizational objectives effectively and efficiently. Its focus was to ensure that the employees are acquiring a range of skills and proficiency making the work is more interesting and challenging. Further the company introduced the flexibility into the workforce. The NDA involved in wide range of projects which are each project is of a unique challenge. Hence the authority required peop le with flexible people to work in teams and willing to learn continually and to take responsibility. Their team work and relationships were based on the Mayos Human Relations School of motivation. The NDA build relationships on a win-win basis. The staff encouraged to build necessary skills and competencies to adapt the variety of the work involved by the authority. The employees are delegated with Personal Development plans with SMART objectives and provide the path to professional development as well. Conclusion Motivation is crucial factor of the success of the organization these days. There are various theories have been presented by various philosophers regarding the motivation of employees. Management, leadership, and organizational culture are key determinants among the factors affecting employee motivation. Every job has the probability of motivation or demotivation the employee. Motivation affects the every aspects of the business and strongly affects the level of productivity. Whether some philosophers have considered money as a low motivator it has a high influence of persons life and hence still it is valid as motivator. The reward system, job title, periodical performance reviews can also be considered as motivators. Many organizations have adapted the teachings of theories like Mayo, McGregor to create a motivated employee force. A motivated employee force would benefit the company by lowering the unit cost, high productivity, maintaining quality, etc. the motivation is s imply the work harder to accomplish the organizational goals effectively and efficiently by its workforce. Only a motivated workforce will be able to bring the organization to a successful position in the todays dynamic competitive market environment.

Why Truman Chose to Drop the Atomic Bomb - 895 Words

Americas decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan was only done to assert our position over the Soviet Union, and Japans surrender was only an extra accomplishment of the attack. During the years 1939 to 1947, numerous conferences were held to discuss diplomatic matters, and the strive towards getting Japan to accept an unconditional surrender. The Japanese had already been weakened, and the military predicted that they would eventually be forced to surrender in a short amount of time. Even the scientists who worked on the atomic bomb agreed that it was unnecessary to drop the bomb on Japan, since their surrender would be evident in the near future. Therefore, the United States decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan had nothing to do†¦show more content†¦The atomic scientists also agreed that dropping the atomic bomb had nothing to do with the surrender of Japan. By this time in the war, Japan was essentially already defeated. (Doc. F) James Byrnes , an atomic scientist, argued that dropping the bomb needed to be done in order to limit Russias influence and power in Europe. Other scientists also agreed that the bomb was used to shorten the length, casualties, and costs of the war. (Doc. H) If the war had carried on, and the atomic bomb had not been used, it is predicted that monetary costs would have skyrocketed. Although Japan was already on the brink of surrender, getting them to do so would have cost a large amount of money. Dropping the bomb on Japan was done in order to ultimately decrease the cost of the war. Japans unconditional surrender was not the main goal of the atomic bomb, it was to instill fear in the Soviet Union, and put the United States in the top diplomatic position among the great powers. The American government, and military agreed that a Japanese surrender was evident in the near future. The atomic scientists also justified that Japans surrender was only an extra accomplishment, and the primary goal of the bomb was to intimidate Russian forces, and lessen their power in Europe. Overall, dropping the atomic bomb was purely a diplomaticShow MoreRelatedHarry Trumans Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb1314 Words   |  6 Pagesdecision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified? A. Plan of Investigation Research Question: To what extent was Harry Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki justified? This investigation assesses President Harry Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It will determine whether or not his decision was justified. This investigation will scrutinize the reasons that made Harry Truman feel inclined to drop atomic bombs overRead MoreAtomic Bombs On Hiroshima, Japan, And The United States1202 Words   |  5 PagesUnited States dropped the first of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima, Japan. 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International Relation of South East Asia

Question: Write an essay on "International Relation of South East Asia". Answer: Learning from Mie Oba paper The ASEAN Countries are eager to create a regional community of their own, since the First ASEAN Summit, held in 1976 (Oba 2014). The Declaration of the ASEAN Concord stated that the member states should strive to develop a regional identity of their own and contribute fully towards creating a strong foundation of the ASEAN community (Oba 2014). After a series of Concords and Summits, it was decided that the creation of an independent ASEAN community should be made, to maintain prosperity and stability in the South East Asian region (Oba 2014). The ASEAN countries are aiming to create a true community with universal values (like democracy, protection of human rights, establishing a set of rules and others) (Oba 2014). The creation of a separate region for South East Asia is in the top priority lists of ASEAN and consists of three pillars, namely Economic, Political and Security and Socio-Cultural. (Oba 2014) Learning from Zakaria Bin Ahmed Paper The Association of South East Nations (ASEAN) celebrated its 40th year anniversary with demonstrated magnitude of peace and least possibilities of a war like situation (Ahmad 2012). The ASEAN Charter has made propositions for unique ideas for the community building purpose, keeping in mind the mid-life crisis of the association (Ahmad 2012). The dilemma deals with the idea of expanding the ASEAN beyond the boundaries of South East Asia to engage with China's exponential growth and the steady development of the Indian Subcontinent (Ahmad 2012). There should be an understanding of the driving force of ASEAN, particularly for the founder countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore (Ahmad 2012). These nations represent the continental and maritime activities of the region and are the key drivers of ASEAN. The ASEAN is considered as significantly larger than the parts of its individual components (Ahmad 2012). There is more emphasis on ASEAN regionalism, on the completion of 40 years. There are sense and initiative for the achievement of "One Southeast Asia" (Ahmad 2012). Learning from Donald Weatherbee paper There is a significant level of cooperation between the South East Asia nations and the ASEAN. Indonesia undertook the chairmanship of ASEAN during the period 2009-2011 and the stewardship of the country was praised for meeting the challenges of community building (Weatherbee 2012). The activist agenda of Jakarta helped ASEAN to achieve peaceful, prosperous and democratic community by the year 2015 (Weatherbee 2012). The Bali Concord III, initiated by Indonesia, attempted to lead the decision making activities of ASEAN on international matters. There was a tendency of South East Asia to include the United States and China for playing specialised roles (Weatherbee 2012). China could act as the economic partner and America could act as the security provider, safeguarding the peace of the region. There was a level of tension in the quality of government in Myanmar (Weatherbee 2012). In 2014, Myanmar was rewarded the chairmanship of the group by ASEAN. There was a rising dilemma with the South China Sea and the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) (Weatherbee 2012). The region about the South East Asia is unique and different from other Asian regions in several ways (Acharya 2014). The region is heterogeneous in nature with different religions and different forms of government. The region has huge wealth disparities and underlying social, economic and demographic characteristics of the South East regions economies (Acharya 2014). The economies of the region are at different levels of economic and industrial development with different GDP per capita (Acharya 2014). The two powers in the region namely China and Japan have a long-term political, economic and cultural influence on the South East Asia nations (Acharya 2014). The integration process of regional development and the industrialisation of the South East Asia are closely interconnected (Acharya 2014). There have been rapid changes in the trends of regionalism in South East Asia. The future would witness a lot of new initiatives applied to an increasing portion of this particular region (Ac harya 2014). The term regionalism deals with the preferential trade liberalisation or certain discriminatory trade liberalisation since the term discrimination is often synonymous with preference (Krishna 2013). There are certain obstacles concerning the regionalism of South East Asia (Krishna 2013). The agriculture is the central problem as it is the main source of livelihood for the majority of the developing countries included in the South East region (Krishna 2013). The South East region displays the highest rate of growth in the intra-regional trade. The region is transforming itself into an important source of imports and not only exports (Krishna 2013). The future of the regionalism of South East Asia believes that each country should cooperate with each other and imbibe values such as national sovereignty, peaceful resolution of conflicts and non-intervention in the domestic politics (Dent 2013). There are several roadways which have led to the formation of Roadmap for the ASEAN community (Oba 2014). The roadmaps consist of IAI Work Plan, ASCC Blueprint and APSC Blueprint. The creation of an ASEAN community was proposed by the 1976 Declaration of ASEAN Concord (Sukma 2014). There is an emerging proposition for creating a regional community, with a specific vision. The future of the regionalism of South East Asia looks promising if there is an adoption of the right approach (Asfa and Ahmed 2015). The identity of the South East region should be developed. There is a greater need for appreciation of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) and its success should be valued (Asfa and Ahmed 2015). The countries should provide their full assistance to SAARC as this association has led to several gains. The regional objectives should be prioritised and streamlined with the national priorities (Asfa and Ahmed 2015). There is a need of sensitization of the Functional Ministries, for understanding the importance of the regional cooperation (Asfa and Ahmed 2015). The physical and the virtual connectivity of the South East Asian region need to be developed so that it addresses the needs of the less developed countries (Asfa and Ahmed 2015). References Acharya, A., 2014.Constructing a security community in Southeast Asia: ASEAN and the problem of regional order. Routledge. Ahmad, Zakaria Bin. (2012). ASEAN beyond 40. East Asia 29(2), 157-166. Asfa, R. and Ahmed, M., 2015. PROSPECTS OF REGIONALISM: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SAARC AND ASEAN.Asia Pacific-Annual Research Journal of Far East South East Asia,33. Dent, C.M., 2013. Paths ahead for East Asia and AsiaPacific regionalism.International Affairs,89(4), pp.963-985. Krishna, P., 2013. Preferential trade agreements and the world trade system: a multilateralist view. InGlobalization in an Age of Crisis: Multilateral Economic Cooperation in the Twenty-First Century(pp. 131-160). University of Chicago Press. Oba, Mie. (2014). ASEAN and the Creation of a Regional Community. Asia-Pacific Review 21(1),63-78. Sukma, R., 2014. ASEAN beyond 2015: The imperatives for further institutional changes.ERIA Discussion Paper. Jakarta: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia. Weatherbee, Donald. (2012). Southeast Asia and ASEAN: Running in Place. Southeast Asian Affairs, 3-22.

Setting Content Engagement KPI Goals Beyond Pageviews

One of the most important parts of content marketing is figuring out works and what doesn’t for your audience. Effective content leads to more awareness, loyal customers, sales and revenue over the longer term. But over half of marketers cite measuring the effectiveness of their content as their biggest challenge. To help determine if your content is working, I’ve put together a list of some of the most important metrics to track. Why Shouldn’t I Just Look at Pageviews Your pageviews measure your content’s performance, but those numbers tell you more about traffic than actual engagement. There are several other KPIs that can give you a significantly more accurate picture of how well your content resonates with your audience. What Metrics Should I Look At? Bounce rate: This KPI is defined as the percentage of website visitors who leave without viewing any of your other content. A high bounce rate for your website means that visitors are not finding a compelling reason to stick around. Many factors could lead to a high bounce rate: Your pages might load slowly Your content may not align well with the keywords you’ve chosen Your content isn’t easy to skim through or understand Your site’s navigation could use improvement You don’t give them a reason or opportunity to look at more content Dwell time: This refers to the amount of time a user spends on a page. The more time visitors spend on your content, the more it is likely to be resonating with them. Boosting dwell time requires many of the same tactics needed to improve your bounce rate: producing better-quality content improving site navigation suggesting recommended content in an effort to get visitors to read something else Pages per visit: The average number of pages per visit is another good way to measure how compelling your overall content is. Well-written, engaging content should inspire visitors to keep clicking and reading. This metric can also be impacted by your site’s navigation. Social shares: Tracking your content’s social shares is essential. In a survey of nearly 400 SEO professionals, this metric was voted as the most important KPI in content marketing. Social shares are a great way to measure your content’s reach, with each share making it more likely that key influencers and prospects will see your content. Another benefit of social shares is that they promote buzz around your content. People are more likely to assume a piece is important and worth reading when someone they know has already signed off on it. Likes and comments: When users take the time to interact with your content, especially by commenting on it, it’s a clear indicator of engagement. They want to be part of the community and conversation surrounding the content. Content that’s being actively commented on attracts other readers to join the conversation and adds value for both your brand and audience. There are many ways to measure the effectiveness of a content marketing campaign. Although pageviews are a commonly quoted metric, they only reveal one piece of the puzzle. Using a wide range of KPIs will give you a better picture of how users respond to and interact with your content and how it is contributing to you reaching your content goals. Interested in learning more about business blogging? Check out How to Launch and Grow a Successful Business Blog