Motivation Motivation Theories

Lesson Objectives  In this lesson we will  Consider motivation other than from a financial viewpoint  Look at the motivation theories propounded by  Taylor  Maslow  Herzberg  McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y  Mayo

Investigating People Lesson 9 - Motivation Theories What is Motivation?  In the last lesson we looked at financial and non-financial rewards that going to work provides  These are only part of the reason why people work  They go to work, and perhaps build a career, because they want to satisfy specific  They go to work, and perhaps build a career, because they want to satisfy specific NEEDS

What is Motivation?  Motivation is the strength of commitment that individuals have to what they are doing  A number of theories have evolved to help understand what motivates people in the work situation. We will look at :  Taylors Scientific Theory  Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs  Herzberg’s Theory of Motivators & Dissatisfiers  McGregor’s Theory X versus Theory Y  Mayo

Taylor’s Scientific Theory  Taylor’s scientific theory claims that workers are motivated by being skilled in one particular area. They can produce a lot more this way, through specialisation. By producing more, they would get paid more; a scheme known as performance related pay

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs  Maslow classified human needs and then considered how the classes related to each other Basic needs Security needs Group needs Self-esteem needs Self fulfilment needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs  Basic needs  Required for survival – food, shelter, clothing e.g. receipt of minimum wage  Security needs  Safety, rest periods, sickness schemes  Group needs  Sense of belonging – can be problem in large organisations – managers need to form teams to recognise group needs  Self- esteem needs  Recognition as individuals  Praised for work  Efforts and rewards  Self-fulfillment  Full personal development  Individual creativity  Full use of talents and abilities MASLOW ARGUED THAT WHILST LOWER LEVEL NEEDS MUST BE MET, HIGHER LEVEL EQUALLY ESSENTIAL TO REALISE FULL POTENTIAL AND AVOID CAREER FRUSTRATION

Herzberg’s Theory of Motivators and Dissatisfiers  Hertzberg identified 9 factors he called ‘dissatisfiers’ which could cause absenteeism, low production, dislike of change and other negative actions at work

Herzberg’s 2 Factor Theory  The ‘dissatisfiers were:-  Fluctuating company policy & admin  Low pay  Poor working conditions  Confrontational relationships  Unfriendly relationships  Unfair management  Unfair treatment of employees  Feeling inadequate  No individual development

Herzberg’s Theory of Motivators and Dissatisfiers  The ‘satisfiers’ were:-  Recognition of effort and performance  Job that provides enough challenges  Sense of achievement  Assumption of responsibility  Chance of promotion

Herzberg’s Theory (also)

Some ways to achieve…  Job enlargement – workers being given a greater variety of tasks to perform (not necessarily more challenging) which should make the work more interesting.  Job enrichment - involves workers being given a wider range of more complex, interesting and challenging tasks surrounding a complete unit of work. This should give a greater sense of achievement.

McGregor’s Theory X versus Theory Y  McGregor divided managers into 2 types  Theory X Theory Y

Theory X Managers  They take the view that  People don’t really like work and avoid it if possible, so they need incentives for company to achieve aims  People need to be pushed, threatened and driven to get things done  People like to be told what to do, avoid responsibility and lack ambition; they thus need to be ‘managed’

Theory Y Managers  They on the other hand think  Work is a natural activity which people enjoy, so management must create right conditions  Employees who identify with organisation’s will be motivated to work hard  One way to do this is self-fulfillment (Maslow) – management should provide ways to do this  Given the opportunity, people learn to accept and seek responsibility  People will contribute to organisation’s objectives if they are able to  People’s full potential is rarely reached in the workplace environment

McGregor’s Theory X and Y

Mayo (the Aussie)  Mayo  Elton Mayo (1880 – 1949)  Workers are not just concerned with money  Can be motivated by meeting their social needs whilst at work  He introduced the Human Relation School of thought, which focused on managers taking more of an interest in the workers, treating them as people who have worthwhile opinions and realising that workers enjoy interacting together.  Mayo conducted a series of experiments at the Hawthorne factory of the Western Electric Company in Chicago

Mayo (cont’d)  He isolated two groups of women workers and studied the effect on their productivity levels of changing factors such as lighting and working conditions.  He expected to see productivity levels decline as lighting or other conditions became progressively worse  What he actually discovered surprised him: whatever the change in lighting or working conditions, the productivity levels of the workers improved or remained the same.

Mayo concluded that workers are best motivated by:  Better communication between managers and workers ( Hawthorne workers were consulted over the experiments and also had the opportunity to give feedback)  Greater manager involvement in employees working lives ( Hawthorne workers responded to the increased level of attention they were receiving)  Working in groups or teams. ( Hawthorne workers did not previously regularly work in teams) Therefore businesses should re-organise production to encourage greater use of team working and introduce personnel departments to encourage greater manager involvement in looking after employees' interests. His theory most closely fits in with a paternalistic style of management. Mayo (cont’d)

Activity  Think about your own life experiences both at school, work and other organisations, for example sports and other clubs you might have been involved with  Write about instances where you felt motivated or the opposite

Lesson Objectives Revisited  In this lesson we  Considered motivation other than from a financial viewpoint  Looked at the motivation theories propounded by  Taylor  Maslow  Herzberg  McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y  Mayo