Dr Milos Besic

MOTIVATION IN INDUSTRIAL SECTOR IN RASINA REGION

The idea

Basic idea of this service learning project is to increase the motivation in state or municipality owned factories in Rasina region. After the crash of socialist economy more then few huge industrial enterprises get into deep economical problems in Rasina region. Although there were more then few attempts in order to privatize those factories, because of absence of good offers they remain to be owned by the state or municipality, i.e. they are in public/state sector. Since they are employing significant number of people, they can not be close as well. So, the political and economic decision was to improve these factories in any possible point of view and to set them as market oriented self-sustainable subjects.

College of industrial management has been involved in this process. We offered our expertise and knowledge in many areas (technology, mechanics, organization, management, human relations etc.). After first business scanning one of the most prominent problem that has been identified was the problem of motivation of the employed at all levels. People who work in those factories simply don't see any way out, they are totally de-motivated and inert, showing no desire to improve their situation. They simply don't believe that anything is possible to be done, which absolutely is not trough.

Student involvement

The main issue of the organizational behavior as a discipline is to teach the students how to establish good human relations skills as well as to solve the motivation problems in the organizations. This is the main point of service learning project I hereby propose. During this service learning project the students will be engaged in those enterprises, trying to identify and solve the motivation problems. Moreover, they will have to use their human relation skills in order to implement their findings and proposals based on motivation analysis. As a professor I am going to help them in all the phases of their work, and hopefully we will improve the motivation in the factories in question.

Goals

The main goals of the project are:

Developing the skills of the students and these are:

  • Building a questionnaire for measuring the motivation
  • Collecting data in the enterpriseData analysis and producing the outcome ideas
  • Proposing the measures for improving the motivation
  • Estimation of the proposed measures in terms of their successful implementation in the factory
  • Using human relation skills in order to implement proposed measures
  • Implementation of measures as such
  • Follow up and monitoring the outcomes of the implemented measures
  • Systematic observation in the factory as a method
  1. Improving the motivation in the factory as important vehicle for the future development of the enterprise
  2. Increasing the capacities of the managerial staff of the factories
  3. Implementation of new practices in the system of functioning of the enterprises as such
  4. Improving the economic level of the municipality and social community in general

Conclusions

Although I don't have much experiences in service learning project I assume it is about learning and serving. With regards to this project students will learn how to transform their theoretical knowledge into practical. They will learn how to measure and implement different models of motivation in accordance to different motivation theories. Also, they will learn how to do some very useful practical methodological things such as collecting, processing and analyzing the data. During the group work in the classroom they have to present their ideas and findings and to discuss about them with other students. Finally they have to use their human relation skills in order to implement their proposed measures. So it seams that there are more then few educational aspects in this project.

On the other hand, this project will serve the factories and social community. Improvement of the motivation in the factories in question is very important for their economic efficiency. Moreover, new approach in management will be realized and this is important from the sustainable point of view. Finally, the whole social community will benefit if we increase the economic level of the enterprises in question.