Motivation

Motivation gives workers the desire to complete a job quickly and

well. People work in order to satisfy certain needs. A worker can
become well motivated by a business successfully meeting the needs
of that person.
As a result of having those needs satisfied, the best-motivated
workers will then help an organisation to achieve its own objectives
as cost-effectively as possible. Managers need to be aware of
workers' needs and objectives.

Well-motivated workers benefit the businesses they work for in

several ways:

•The level of productivity will be high, increasing the

competitiveness of the business.

•Workers will be keen to stay with the business, reducing the costs
of labour turnover.

•Workers will be more likely to offer useful suggestions to help the

business achieve its objectives.

• They will often work hard to seek promotion and responsibility.

Taylor and scientific management

Taylor's aim was to reduce the level of inefficiency that existed in the
American manufacturing industry. He argued that any productivity
gains could then be shared between business owners and workers.
The scope for efficiency gains in early twentieth-century
manufacturing plants was huge because:

•most workers were untrained and non-specialised

•they were poorly led by supervisors and managers who had little
training

•there was rarely any formal selection or appraisal

system of employees

•most workers were recruited on a daily basis with no security of

employment.

Taylor's scientific approach to improving worker output or

productivity

1 Select workers to perform a task.

2 Observe them performing the task and note the key elements of it.

3 Record the time taken to do each part of the task.

4 Identify the quickest method recorded.

5 Train all workers in this quickest method and do not allow any
changes to it.

6 Supervise workers to ensure that this best way is being carried out
and time them to check that the set time is not being exceeded.

7 Pay workers on the basis of results, based on the economic man

Results of Taylor's work

Business managers considered Taylor's emphasis on increasing

efficiency and productivity to be the route towards greater profits.
At this time, the first mass-production and production-line
techniques were being introduced. Workers specialising in one task,
strict management control over work methods, and payment by
output levels were important features of these early production
lines.

Mayo and human relations theories

He initially assumed that working conditions, such as lighting, heating

and rest periods, had a significant effect on workers' productivity.
The results surprised all of the observers. As conditions of work were
either improved or worsened, productivity rose in all groups
including the control group. Mayo had shown that:

Working conditions in themselves were not important

in determining productivity levels.

Other motivational factors needed to be investigated before

conclusions could be drawn.

The Hawthorne effect: the conclusions of Mayo's work

Mayo drew the following conclusions from his work:

•Changes in working conditions and pay levels have little or no effect

on productivity.

• Consultation with workers improves motivation.

•Working in teams and developing a team spirit can improve
productivity.

•Giving workers some control over their own working lives, such as
deciding when to take breaks, improves motivation.

•Groups can establish their own targets, and these can be greatly
influenced by the informal leaders of
the group.

Evaluation of Mayo's research for today's businesses

•Since Mayo's findings were published, there has been a trend

towards giving workers more of a role in business decision-making.
This is called worker participation.

•Human Resources departments have been established to try to put

the Hawthorne effect into practice.

•Team or group working is applied in many types of modern business

organisation. It offers the greatest opportunities for workers and
businesses to benefit from the Hawthorne effect.

• The idea of involving workers, taking an interest in their welfare

and finding out their individual goals, has opened up new fields of
research for industrial psychologists.
Maslow and human needs

Limitations of Maslow's approach

Criticisms of Maslow's hierarchy include:

•Not everyone has the same needs, as is assumed by the hierarchy.

•In practice it can be very difficult to identify the degree to which

each need has been met and which level a worker is on.

•Money is necessary to satisfy physical needs, yet it might also play a

role in satisfying the other levels of needs. High incomes can increase
status and esteem.

• Self-actualisation is never permanently achieved. Jobs must

continually offer challenges and opportunities for fulfilment,
otherwise regression will occur.

Herzberg and the two-factor theory

His conclusions were that:

Job satisfaction results from five main factors: achievement,

recognition for achievement, the work itself, responsibility and
advancement. He called these factors the motivators. He considered
the last three

motivators to be the most significant.

Job dissatisfaction also resulted from five main factors: company

policy and administration, supervision, salary, with others and
working conditions. He termed these hygiene factors.
considered that the hygiene factors had to be addressed by
management to prevent dissatisfaction. However, even if they were
in place, they would not, by themselves, create a well-motivated
workforce.

motivators (motivating factors): aspects of a worker's job that can

lead to positive job satisfaction, such as achievement, recognition,
meaningful and interesting work, responsibility, and advancement at
work.

hygiene factors: aspects of a worker's job that have the potential to

cause dissatisfaction, such as pay, working conditions, status and
over-supervision by managers.

The consequences of Herzberg's two-factor theory

Higher pay and better working conditions will help to remove

dissatisfaction about work. However, on their own, they will not lead
to effective motivation. Herzberg argued that it is possible to
encourage someone to do a job by paying them - he called this
movement. However, movement does not mean that someone
wants to do the job well- that would require motivation. Motivation
to do the job well would exist only if the motivators were in place.
Herzberg did not claim that pay does not matter, but that it moves
people to do a job and does not motivate them to do it well.

A business could offer higher pay, improved working conditions and

less heavy-handed supervision of work. These would all help to
remove dissatisfaction, but they would all be quickly taken for
granted. If work is not interesting, rewarding or challenging, then
workers will not be satisfied or be motivated to offer their full
potential. This does not change whatever the pay level offered to
them.
The motivators need to be in place for workers to be prepared to
work willingly and to always give of their best. Herzberg suggested
that they could be provided by adopting the principles of job
enrichment. There are three main features of job enrichment and, if
these are adopted, then the motivators exist:

• Complete units of work: Typical mass-production

methods often lead to worker boredom.
Herzberg argued that complete and identifiable units of work should
be assigned to workers. This might involve teams of workers rather
than individuals on their own.

•Feedback on performance: Regular two-way communication

between workers and managers should give recognition for work
well done and could provide incentives for workers to achieve even
more.

•A range of tasks: To challenge and stretch a worker, a range of tasks

should be given. Some of these may, at least initially, be beyond the
worker's current experience. This fits in well with the level in
Maslow's hierarchy
Evaluation of Herzberg's work for today's businesses

There is little doubt that the results Herzberg drew from his work
have had a significant impact on business practices today:

Team-working is now much more widespread, with whole units of

work being delegated to these groups.

Workers tend to be made much more responsible for the quality of

their own work rather than being closely supervised by quality-
control inspectors.

Most firms are continually looking for ways to improve effective

communication, and group meetings allowing two-way
communication are often favoured.
McClelland and motivational needs theory

David McClelland (1917-1998) pioneered workplace motivational

thinking, developed an achievement-based motivational theory and
promoted improvements in employee assessment methods.
Achievement motivation

A person with a strong motivational need for achievement will seek

to reach realistic and challenging goals and job advancement. There
is a constant need

for feedback regarding progress and achievement. This helps provide

a sense of accomplishment.

Authority/power motivation

A person with this dominant need is motivated by having authority.

The desire to control others is a powerful motivating force. This
includes the need to be influential, to be effective and to make an
impact.

Affiliation motivation

A person whose strongest motivator is the need for affiliation has a

need for friendly relationships and is motivated by interaction with
other people. These people tend to be good team members as they
need to be liked, popular and held in high regard.

McClelland stated that these three motivational needs are found to

varying degrees in all workers and managers. The mix of needs
characterises a worker's or manager's behaviour, in terms of both
what motivates them and how they believe other people should be
motivated. McClelland believed that achievement-motivated people
are generally the ones who make things happen and get results.
Process theories

Process theories emphasise how and why people choose certain

behaviours in order to meet their personal goals and the thought
processes that influence behaviour. Process theories study what
people are thinking about when they decide whether to put effort
into a particular activity. Vroom is one of the process theorists.

Vroom and expectancy theory

Victor Vroom (1932-) suggested that individuals choose to behave in

ways which they believe will lead to results that they value. His
expectancy theory states that individuals have different sets of goals.
They can be motivated if they believe that:

•There is a positive link between effort and performance.

•Favourable performance will result in a desirable

reward.

•The reward will satisfy an important need.

•The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the work
effort worthwhile.

His expectancy theory is based on the following three beliefs:

•Valence - the depth of the desire of an employee for an extrinsic

reward, such as money, or an intrinsic reward, such as satisfaction.

•Expectancy- the degree to which people believe that putting effort

into work will lead to a given level of performance.
•Instrumentality- the confidence of employees that they will actually
get what they desire, even if it has been promised by the manager.

Vroom argued that if even one of these conditions or beliefs is

missing, workers will not have the motivation to do the job well.
Therefore, according to Vroom, managers should try to ensure that
employees believe that increased work effort will improve
performance and that this performance will lead to valued rewards.