Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe that Gerrard still plays a pivotal role in the success at Liverpool FC. He inspires and motivates his team-mates even during their darkest hours to seek some sort of light. He always leads by example and would always want the best out of himself and also his teammates. The teammates are shaped under the exemplary leadership of Gerrard as he tries to get the best out of them. He is now the well deserved captain of Liverpool FC. I believe that Gerrard is the heart and soul of his loving club, Liverpool FC.

What are the different motivational theories? How are the Liverpool Football Club's players motivated?

Basically, there are 3 main motivational theories:

Herzberg's Motivation- Hygiene Theory

This theory focuses more on the job satisfaction of employees.Factors that causes dissatisfaction(hygiene factors) and what causes satisfaction(motivational factors)

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

The five categories build upon each other so that a person will only strive to fulfill the higher-level needs when those at the lower level have been met.

McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y

Theory X is assumptions that employees dislike work and Theory Y is assumptions that employees like work.

I believe that Herzberg's Motivational Theory is most appropriate theory. It differentiates the factors that satisfies and dissatisfies a job clearly. If followed, it would definitely benefit the productivity of output of a certain organization.

Liverpool Football Club's players motivation:

Liverpool players are motivated by the fans or more famously known as 'The Kop'. The atmosphere that they give when the team plays at their home-ground, Anfield, would give the oppositions the chills. This states that Liverpool FC players are motivated by non-financial incentives. Another factor is definitely the wages and bonus rewards.

From what is stated above, it shows that Liverpool Football Club's players are motivated by not only financial incentives but also non-financial incentives. The support that the teams get from the fans, raises high spirit and atmosphere in the stadium that drives the players to deliver the best performance that they can give which would lead to glory. That is complimented by the wages that they earn.

References:

• "Herzberg's Motivators and Hygiene Factors - Team Management Training from MindTools.com." Mind Tools - Management Training, Leadership Training and Career Training. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. <http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_74.htm>.
• McLeod, Saul. "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs." Simply Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. <http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html>.
• "My Anfield: Liverpool's problem is one of motivation." My Anfield. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. <http://www.myanfield.net/2007/10/liverpools-problem-is-one-of-motivation.html>.
• "Theory X and Theory Y." Colocation | Broadband Wireless | Dedicated Servers | Web Design & Development | DSL | Web Hosting | Infinity Internet. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. <http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/xy.html>.
• "Tommy Smith: Liverpool FC should have no need for motivation at Aston Villa - Liverpool Echo." liverpoolecho. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. <http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/tommy-smith-liverpool-fc-should-3011169>.

How does the Liverpool Football Club's players (employees) train and develop?

Melwood Training Ground. Liverpoool's training ground.

Liverpool's training is basically both on-the-job training and off-the-job training. Off-the-job training is when the players learn about the tactical theories such as the position in where they play. On-the-job training occurs when they players go through a series of drills such as dribbling a ball. This is really good as the fusion of the both of this would definitely better the performance of the players during a game as they develop their knowledge of the game and improve their skills, techniques, stamina and the rest when they train.

Gerrard training at Melwood

References:

• "Melwood - Liverpool's Training Ground." Liverpool FC This Is Anfield. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. <http://www.thisisanfield.com/clubinfo/melwood/>.

How does recruitment happen in Liverpool Football Club? Is Steven Gerrard involved in the process?

A player scout at a football game.

In order for Liverpool FC to recruit players, they would first need scouts to watch a selected footballer play a football game to evaluate him at first hand. If he's findings suits the football manager's requirements then the manager would try to sign that footballer on a professional contract.

Liverpool's Youth Academy is where young talent is developed and nurtured. Gerrard is one of the fine products of this prestigious Academy. 

Players’ over-price wages that they earn are major incentives that thrives a player to join a club. However, there are other incentives too which is quite significant. These incentives are the football club's status and the footballer's passion to play. Liverpool FC has a very rich history and unique fans. These attract players.

Gerrard is not involved in all of this as he is only the football captain. Nevertheless, Gerrard tries to keep players in the team to prevent them from moving to another club. 

Gerrard persuaded Suarez to stay at LFC.

References:

• "Liverpool F.C. Academy." Liverpool FC Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. <http://liverpoolfc.wikia.com/wiki/Liverpool_F.C._Academy>.
• Collins, Paul. "Luis Suarez says Steven Gerrard persuaded him to stay at Liverpool." Mail Online. N.p., 1 Nov. 2013. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2483682/Luis-Suarez-says-Steven-Gerrard-persuaded-stay-Liverpool.html>.

What is the organizational structure in Liverpool Football Club?

Liverpool Football Club possesses a functional organizational structure:

Each portion is grouped according to its purpose such as the marketing department and the finance department. This helps the organisation a lot because each member of each portion can put all their focus on that portion alone and not mixing around with the other portions whereas their work would increase intensely causing their job satisfaction to decrease. The chain of command for LFC moves from the bottom to the top. 

The Liverpool squad however has a flat organizational structure. This is because each player is given the same responsibilities by the manager. This structure helps in keeping the whole LFC united because the players are considered equal which in this case influences the corporate culture of Liverpool Football Club as the bond between players, managers and fans gets stronger and tighter.

References:

• Alexis Writing. "Different Types of Organizational Structure | Chron.com." Small Business - Chron.com. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/different-types-organizational-structure-723.html>.

What type of leadership style does Steven Gerrard embodies?

Steven Gerrard is an autocratic leader of Liverpool FC. During any game, Gerrard would communicate with his team-mates using hand signals since the atmosphere is the stadium is very noisy where players on the pitch could barely hear what his teammates are saying and also the fact that the pitch is really huge. Being the captain, Gerrard has to instil confidence in his team and motivate them to push on even when they are losing a game. He also accepts feedback on his performance and how he could improve on them.

Gerrard with teammate, Xabi Alonso

References:

• Yashasvid. "Captain, Leader, Legend – Steven Gerrard." Empire of The Kop. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. <http://www.empireofthekop.com/anfield/2013/08/03/captain-leader-legend-steven-gerrard-by-yashasvid/>.

What are the different leadership styles?

Autocratic

This style of leadership means that an individual would have complete control but only considers a little input from his/her subordinates.

Democratic

Democratic leaders are leaders that include the opinions of their team members in the decision-making progress. This would make the subordinates feel more valued.

Laissez-Faire

This sort of leader allows their people to work on their own. However, this type of leadership can also take place by character.

Bureaucratic

Bureaucratic leaders are leaders that obey the rules very seriously.

Personally, I believe a leader who is democratic and also autocratic would best suit a workplace. This is because, they would get work to be done quickly and efficiently whereas they will also consider a wide variety of ideas and opinions that would benefit the organization/company. Apart from that, their subordinates will also feel valued because of democracy therefore they would be more productive.

References:

• "Leadership Styles - Leadership Skills from MindTools.com." Mind Tools - Management Training, Leadership Training and Career Training. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. <http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_84.htm>.

Who is Steven Gerrard?

Steven Gerrard

One of the greatest English midfielders in history, Gerrard is a vital player for the Liverpool side and has made himself a legend at Anfield(LFC’s home ground).  He is now the captain of his boyhood team, Liverpool (since 2003) and also England. He is considered an inspirational figure for club and country.

“He has become the most influential player in England, bar none” – Alex Ferguson on Gerrard

  

What famous footballers and managers had to say about Gerrard

He is regarded as one of the best footballers in Europe. 

Steven Gerrard's club and country stats

Steven Gerrard club stats

Best Moments

Gerrard heads the ball into the back of the net in the Champions League final. That goal sparked a great comeback win for the Reds.

Gerrard, as club captain lifts the Champions League trophy after that hard-fought win

Corporate Culture of Liverpool FC

The name Bill Shankly is well-known in the Liverpool family. He started a revolution that made Liverpool to what is today. He set out a vision in 1959 when he became the manager of Liverpool.

“Whether you are a player, manager, director, or fan, you are equal” – Bill Shankly

He believed that everyone was equal and with this the Liverpool family became ever more united. Over the years, the bond between the fans and the club grew even stronger. Managers that succeeded Bill Shankly built on the foundations that he set out. Now, Steven Gerrard is the identity of Liverpool Football Club.

References:

1.  "BBC SPORT | Football | Europe | AC Milan 3-3 Liverpool (aet)." BBC News - Home. N.p., 25 May 2005. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. 
2. Simon Steers. "The Cultural Complexities Of Liverpool Football Club | The Tomkins Times | News, Opinion, Statistics and Discussion about Liverpool FC Football Club." The Tomkins Times. News, Opinion, Tactics, Statistics and Discussion about Liverpool Football Club (LFC). Chris Rowland, 25 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. <http://tomkinstimes.com/2012/04/the-cultural-complexities-of-liverpool-football-club/>.
3. "Steven Gerrard Bio, Stats, News - Football / Soccer - - ESPN FC." ESPNFC. ESPN, 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 Nov. 2013. <http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/7935/steven-gerrard?cc=4716>.

What does leadership mean?

The nature of leadership is basically a characteristic that can be learned. It is not something that people are born with. A natural leader is someone that people would follow even if they don’t have a title of a leader. A natural leader is someone that would lead a certain charge from the front not someone who would sit back and command others to accomplish certain tasks. Apart from that, leaders are people that others would follow out of respect as opposed to fear.

“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority” —Kenneth Blanchard

Leaders are people who can influence the behaviours of others without having to rely on force or people whom others accept as leaders. Therefore, I believe that leaders are made. Anyone can learn how to exemplify leadership.

References:

1.  BILL MCBEAN. "The 5 Characteristics Of Great Leaders | Business + Innovation." Fast Company. N.p., 24 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. <http://www.fastcompany.com/3004914/5-characteristics-great-leaders>.
2. "What is leadership? definition and meaning." BusinessDictionary.com. N.p., 10 Jan. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. <http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/leadership.html>.