Motivation i stora organisationer, En fallstudie över hur Microsoft motiverar sina anställda

Sammanfattning: Theoretically, when an organization grows large it has to formalize its structure and exercise control by more regulations. The negative side effect might in turn be demotivated employees (machine bureaucracy). However, practice seems to contradict theory. Therefore, we decided to investigate how a large company, in this case Microsoft, succeeds in creating motivation despite some machine bureaucratic tendencies. The essential findings are that the employees feel motivated by the fact that they are allowed freedom with responsibility. Furthermore, they enjoy closing larger deals and at the same time they experience a sense of fulfilment related to prevailing conditions. Another interesting result is Microsoft´s value as a trade mark. Several of the persons interviewed explicitly mention that they feel proud of their work place. The main conclusions are, in the light of these observations, that Microsoft has the ability to create a balance between trust, freedom and responsibility. The frames, i.e. the goals, are non-negotiable and the employees are evaluated in a formal manner on a regular basis - circumstances that may affect the motivation in a negative respect. At the same time, the motivational value steaming from extensive freedom, outweigh these negatives, resulting in motivated employees.