Science, Technology and Development ISSN : 0950-0707 Employee Motivation and Organization Productivity (A Study of Some Selected Handloom Firms in state of Kerala) Dr. Silbert Jose S. V. Assistant Professor, Kristu Jayanti College, Bangalore. Abstract: The study investigates the Impact of Employee Motivation on Organisation Productivity of selected handloom firms in State of Kerala. The majority of organizations are competing to survive in this volatile and fierce market environment. Motivation and performance of the employees are essential tools for the success of any organization in the long run. On the one hand, measuring performance is critical to organization’s management, as it highlights the evolution and achievement of the organization. On the other hand, there is a positive relationship between employee motivation and organizational effectiveness, reflected in numerous studies. The literature shows that factors such as empowerment and recognition increase employee motivation. If the empowerment and recognition of employees is increased, their motivation to work will also improve, as well as their accomplishments and the organizational performance. Keywords: motivation, organizational performance, empowerment, market environment. I. Introduction. Employee motivation is the level of energy, commitment, and creativity that a company's workers bring to their jobs. Whether the economy is growing or shrinking, finding ways to motivate employees is always a management concern. Competing theories stress either incentives or employee involvement (empowerment). Employee motivation can sometimes be particularly problematic for small businesses. The owner has often spent years building a company hands-on and therefore finds it difficult to delegate meaningful responsibilities to others. All organizations want to be successful, even in current environment which is highly competitive. Therefore, companies irrespective of size and market strive to retain the best employees, acknowledging their important role and influence on organizational effectiveness. In order to overcome these challenges, companies should create a strong and positive relationship with its employees and direct them towards task fulfilment. In order to achieve their goals and objectives, organizations develop strategies to compete in highly competitive markets and to increase their performance. Nevertheless, just a few organizations consider the human capital as being their main asset, capable of leading them to success or if not managed properly, to decline. If the employees are not satisfied with their jobs and not motivated to fulfill their tasks and achieve their goals, the organization cannot attain success Kerala has a longstanding tradition of weaving and handloom production, dating back to hundreds of years, once known worldwide and applauded for its uniqueness. Over the years the industry has diminished; low wages and uncertainty in the employment pattern has left weavers in a state of total despair. Thousands of looms lie idle and the future of this age-old tradition looks bleak. Volume VIII Issue X OCTOBER 2019 Page No : 117 Science, Technology and Development ISSN : 0950-0707 II Literature review. Bartol and Martin (1998) consider motivation a powerful tool that reinforces behaviour and triggers the tendency to continue. In other words, motivation is an internal drive to satisfy an unsatisfied need and to achieve a certain goal. It is also a procedure that begins through a physiological or psychological need that stimulates a performance set by an objective. As compared to financial resources, human resources have the capability to create competitive advantage for their organizations. As Kalimullah (2010) suggested, a motivated employee has his/her goals aligned with those of the organization and directs his/her efforts in that direction. In addition, these organizations are more successful, as their employees continuously look for ways to improve their work. Getting the employees to reach their full potential at work under stressful conditions is a tough challenge, but this can be achieved by motivating them. Mary (1996) explains organizational effectiveness as the extent to which an organization fulfills its objectives, by using certain resources and without placing strain on its members. The goal model defines organizational effectiveness referring to the extent to which an organization attains its objectives (Zammuto, 1982), while the system resource model defines it in terms of the bargaining power of the organization and its ability to exploit the environment when acquiring valuable resources (Yuchtman, 1987). Jennifer and George (2006) defined motivation as a mental force that governs the direction of an individual’s behaviour in an organization, an individual’s level of effort, and an individual’s level of determination when faced with obstacles. In addition she stated that even with appropriate strategies and administrative structures in place, an organization can only be productive if its employees are sufficiently motivated to perform at higher levels. Hellriegel (1996) viewed motivation as any impact that brings out, guides, or sustains a person’s goal-directed behaviours. Ivancevich (1994) Suggested that motivation refers to those set of forces that triggers certain behaviours and regulates its form, course, intensity and duration. Obikeze (2005) viewed motivation as the process of guiding an employee’s actions towards a particular end via the manipulation of rewards. Kreitner (1995) described motivation as the mental process giving behaviours the will-power, drive, and tendency to act in a certain way in order to attain certain unsatisfied needs. Young (2000) also suggested that motivation could be defined in relation to forces within employees that justifies the levels, directions, and resolution as regards efforts they expend in the workplace III. Research Objectives. i. Determine the effect of employee well-being on the level of effectiveness of the workers. ii. Determine the effect of employee relationship with managers on the level of efficiency of the workers. iii. To determine the factors that increase motivation of employees in an organization iv. Examine the effect of training and career development on the level of efficiency of Employee in handloom industry. Volume VIII Issue X OCTOBER 2019 Page No : 118 Science, Technology and Development ISSN : 0950-0707 v. To examine the relationship between employee motivation and organizational performance or firm growth. IV. Research Methodology This paper is prepared upon secondary data. The data required is collected from the published and unpublished information and from the internet sources wherever necessary. Datas also collected from the direct interaction of the employees from the handloom industry. Handloom industry of Kerala Kerala handloom industry carries a vital role in states economy as well as in the field of employment. A very large number of looms are located in rural areas. The rhythm of handloom can be heard in almost every village in Kerala. There are men and women weavers for whom weaving is a way of life. In early days majority of handloom weavers followed the hereditary line. The main communities engaged in weaving are saliyas and devangas. With the available information it is clear that the saliyas and devangas migrated from the nearby princely states. During the dawn of 20th century, the Sree Narayana movement influenced Kerala society by and large prompting the caste based culture to change towards secular and modern industrious culture so that many people from traditional Thiyya/Ezhava community had taken up their employment in Handloom Industry to do away with the toddy tapping to respond with the advice of Sree Narayana Guru. These changes also have its own mark in making the present shape of Kerala Handloom Industry. Balaramapuram, being best-known places in Kerala for handloom, perhaps holds the monopoly over the traditional kasavu mundu (white cotton dhotis) and settu mundu (or mundum neriyathum). The tradition of weaving in Balaramapuram owes its patronage to the royal family of Travancore, which dates back to the end of the 18th century when Maharaja Balarama Varma brought weavers from what is now Valiyur in Tamil Nadu to weave clothing for the royal family. Traditional Balaramapuram textiles have a gold zari border and usually a simple zari stripe at the end, and are typically woven from natural cotton yarn. Recently, experiments have been done with the patterns, such as weaving the same designs using coloured yarn for the weft, and the increasingly popular mural painting sarees – where fabric paints are used to recreate traditional Kerala temple art on the pallu of the saree. Given the light weight and coarse texture of the cotton fabric, these textiles are ideal for the warm and humid climate in Kerala. Chendamangalam Handloom The array of handloom fabrics woven in Chendamangalam is much the same as what one finds in Balaramapuram, but with less emphasis on kasavu patterns. Instead, the typical Chendamangalam mundu or settu mundu has coloured borders with a matching colour stripe, with only small amounts of kasavu for ornamentation. Like in other parts of Kerala, weavers in Chendamangalam were under official patronage of the feudal family of Paliam, who served as the chief ministers for the Rajas of Cochin. In terms of the actual process, Chendamangalam textiles are woven on frame looms, and their texture is slightly heavier than what one would