2.1 - motivating employees Flashcards
motivating employees
what is motivation?
the reason why employees want to work hard and effectively for the business
why do people work?
- for money- to pay for necessities and luxuries
- security- knowing your job and pay are safe
- social need- feeling part of a group/organisation and meeting new friends
- esteem needs- feeling important and needed
- job satisfaction
what is Taylor’s theory?
money is the main force that motivates employees to work at a company
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
- Self actualisation
- esteem needs
- social needs
- safety/security needs
- psychological needs
benefits of a well motivated workforce
- high output per worker. increased efficiency - decreases average costs and therefore increasing profits.
- willingness to accept change e.g. new working methods
- more willing to communicate effectively with managers e.g suggestions how to improve quality
- decreased labour turnover - lower recruitment and selection costs
- lower absenteeism - increased output and efficiency
how can each of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs be achieved in the workplace?
- self actualisation - promotion and being given more responsibility
- esteem needs - praised for work/given rewards e.g. employee of the month
- social needs - team bonding, social events, colleagues that support you
- safety needs - job security, safe working environment
- psychological needs - being given a wage/salary to pay rent and buy food.
what is Herzberg’s two set theory?
according to Herzberg, humans had two sets of needs:
- set 1: basic needs, he named these hygiene factors
- set 2: needs which enabled humans to grow psychologically, he named these motivators
he believed fulfilling the hygiene factors doesn’t lead to motivation but if they weren’t satisfied this could lead to demotivation
examples of hygiene factors
- good working conditions
- good relationship with supervisor and work colleagues
- salary/wage
- job security
examples of motivators
- recognition
- achievement
- promotion
- the work itself
financial methods of motivation
- wage
- piece rate
- time rate
- salary
- bonus
- commission
- profit sharing
what is wage?
- it is paid every week
- it can be paid in two ways: piece rate and time rate
what is time rate and what are the benefits and drawbacks?
wage that is paid by the hour
- easy to calculate by the company
- employee knows exactly how much they should be paid
- good and bad workers get paid the same amount of money. leads to demotivation of good workers
what is piece rate and what are the benefits and drawbacks?
workers paid depending on the quantity of products made. the more they make, the more they get paid.
- encourages workers to work faster and produce more
- workers may focus on making a large amount of products and so rush their work, impacting the quality of the products
what is salary and what are the benefits and drawbacks?
salaries are paid monthly. its an amount of money paid per year and divided and paid in 12 monthly amounts
- only has to be distrusted once a month so less time consuming for the HR and finance department
- employer has the money in their account for longer than If they were paying wages (weekly)- improves cashflow
- workers may prefer to be paid weekly
- no payment for extra time worked- demotivating employees
what is a bonus and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
a lump sum paid to workers when they have worked well or reached a certain target
- motivating for employees to try and achieve the bonus
- workers like being recognised for their achievements (Maslow & Herzberg support this)
- bonuses can become ‘expected’ every year and if they are not paid employees can become disappointed
- resentment may occur if some employees get bonuses and others don’t
