2.4 Motivation Flashcards
Frederick Winslow Taylor on motivation?
✓ There was not a direct mentioning of motivation. Standardization of working practices and enforced adoption of the most efficient ways of working were the key to ensuring maximum output in the shortest time.
Abraham Maslow on motivation?
✓ Human needs can be categorized in levels of importance. The more needs an employer can satisfy, the more motivated a worker will be.
Frederick Herzberg on motivation?
✓ Distinguished between ‘hygiene needs’ and ‘motivational needs’. Hygiene needs may be compared to the lower 3 levels of Maslow pyramid. Motivational needs (higher 2 levels of Maslow) are the ones which truly motivate workers.
John Adams’ equity theory on motivation?
Output=>input (for employees)
✓ suggests that employees will be most motivated when they can see a balance between what the put into a business and what they get out of it.
Daniel Pink on motivation?
✓ The workplace has changed dramatically since earlier observers developed their theories. Pink argues that businesses must nurture their employee’s in-built motivation.
✓ rewards or the threats of punishment actually narrow the focus and intellectual range of employees (employees focus on the reward rather than solving the problem)
Types of financial rewards?
✓ salary,
✓ time and piece rate wages,
✓ commission,
✓ profit-related pay,
✓ performance related pay,
✓ share ownership schemes and
✓ fringe payments.
Non-financial rewards?
✓ job enrichment,
✓.job rotation,
✓.job enlargement,
✓.empowerment,
✓.purpose, and
✓.teamwork.
What triggers is Intrinsic motivation?
Satisfaction from an activity itself without threats or rewards from outside. In particular:
✓The interest in the activity
✓Understanding the purpose of the activity
✓Some control over the results
Rewards as extrinsic motivators?
Rewards are extrinsic motivators – motivators that come from outside the individual. In the workplace, pay is an obvious example. Extrinsic motivators provide satisfaction that the job itself may not provide and may compensate workers for the “pain” or dissatisfaction that they experience at work.
Time-and-motion study of Taylor?
This involved breaking a job down into its component parts and measuring how long it took to perform each task. (Think of customer service of Macdonalds)
What is the main idea of Taylor?
He attempted to apply
✓scientific methods of
✓measurement under
✓controlled circumstances to
✓maximize output.
2 pillars of his ideas are:
✓ standardisation of processes
✓ there is always `the best way” and it is up to the management has to find it and make the subordinates follow it.
5 levels of the Maslow Pyramid?
From bottom up:
Basic (food, shelter etc)
Safety (family, savings job security etc)
Social/belonging/love (family, friends etc)
Self-esteem
Self-actualization
Motivators of Herzberg following Maslow pyramid levels?
- Self-esteem (respect of and by others, confidence) and
- self-actualisation
Intrinsic Motivator of Herzberg following Maslow pyramid levels?
Self-actualization (creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice)
Which of these theories assume, that the work is, by its nature, a must, not interesting and can not motivate?
Scientific management above all
Pink vs psychologist Harlow ?
Pink argues that businesses have to tap into employees’ intrinsic motivation, which psychologist Harry F. Harlow called the “third drive”
What is the first', second and third drive` of Harlow/Pink?
The first drive of humans is biological: their requirement to satisfy hunger, thirst, sex, and other biological needs.
The second drive is the response to rewards and punishments.
The third drive is intrinsic motivation, which occurs when someone gets satisfaction from an activity itself without threats or rewards from outside
What creates the third drive of Harlow/Pink in particular?`
● Autonomy – freedom in when and how they work
● Mastery – opportunities that allow employees to learn, innovate. Here the balance - easy tasks bore employees; tasks beyond employees’ capabilities cause excessive anxiety. Tasks fostering mastery are those that allow employees to “stretch” themselves and develop their skill set further.
● Purpose – Employees must know and understand the organization’s purposes
What is a commission?
Paid by results, for example, a flat fee or a percentage for each item sold.
Profit-related pay?
The amount an employee receives is linked to the amount of profit the business makes. (%)
May encourage a sense of belonging and a desire to contribute to its success.
Performance-related pay (PRP)?
Usually a bonus paid in addition to the employee’s ordinary compensation.
Ordinarily used with those employees whose productivity or output cannot be measured precisely to apply e.g. commission.Instead, staff get paid upon reaching pre-agreed targets (e.g. organizing 5 events a month, construct a building in a year etc)
2 types of Employee share-ownership schemes?
- Kind of bonus in the form of shares in the business rather than cash.
- Employee savings plan whereby employees are allowed to purchase shares through a payroll deduction
Fringe payments (perks)
Extras that businesses offer their employees:
medical insurance,
a car, etc
They often include own products at discount
Motivation, financial & non-financial rewords and culture?
In developing countries, people may be expected just to perform a series of simple, uninteresting tasks, which would be hard to link to intrinsic motivation. They may be as well unaccustomed to high enough salaries, so the financial rewards may be motivating.
in developed countries, where economies have largely shifted to the tertiary and quaternary sectors, where work tasks tend to be more complex and require cognitive processes. Thus more need of intrinsic/non-financial motivation.
Job enlargement?
Job enlargement may include job rotation or job enrichment. It may involve giving employees more tasks to do, sometimes because of a shortage of staff
It is the opposite of job specialisation
Job enrichment?
Makes the job more meaningful and rewarding, by allowing employees to use the full range of their abilities. It involves supervising employees less and making the responsibilities of the position more challenging
Job rotation?
Employee are rotated through different divisions in a business over a period of time
Empowerment?
Giving individuals more control:
●access to resources and information to do
their jobs and
● the power to make decisions
Purpose or opportunity to make a difference
Many for-profit businesses today have adopted the other-than-profit aims to their objectives.
Teamwork as motivator?
Working cooperatively with a group of people to achieve a goal.
Disadvantage of salaries as rewards?
The employer is typically has to rely on the professionalism of the staff to provide the quality and quantity expected
Disadvantage of wage (per piece)?
Employees may work quickly to get as much money as possible.
It may be that a system of checks will have to be put in place to ensure that quality standards have been met
Disadvantage of wage (time rates)?
It is possible that employees will work slowly since their pay is not based on output. If overtime rates apply then the employees may extend the work.
Disadvantage of Commission?
Employees may not have control over results (and this income). For example, during a recession sales commission will fall in many industries.
Disadvantage of Profit-related pay?
Productivity may be a consequence of the profitability of the business rather than the cause.
If profits fall then employees could experience a demoralizing loss through no fault of their own.
Disadvantage of performance- related pay (PRP
As long as the tasks are repetitive tasks that involve physical skills, PRP can enhance performance. However, when cognitive tasks are involved, productivity may be even reduced.
Disadvantage of share-ownership schemes
When offered as a bonus, the basis for awarding the bonus must be clear and, ideally, measurable to avoid accusations of favoritism.
Disadvantage of perks
Ideally merit-based perks hard to achieve and biased decision are possible.
Employees can come to expect certain fringe benefits and may become angry if some perks are taken away.
Limitation of job enrichment
Is not worth to apply everywhere. e.g. seasonal workforce
Disadvantage of job rotation
Employees go through periodic productivity dips as they begin in a new division and must go through
a training phase before they become efficient again.
Disadvantage of job enlargement
If job enlargement is nothing more than giving employees additional duties, it may increase employee dissatisfaction.
This is the opposite to Job specialisation
Disadvantage of Empowerment?
Businesses run some risk that the empowered employees will not be able to manage the
responsibility (lack of knowledge and increased costs for business)
Disadvantage of the `make a difference’
If for-profit organizations overemphasize social or environmental aims, employees may lose focus on the profit-making objectives.
Disadvantage of teamwork
Teams may not have propers combination of skills and personal characteristics
Team failures can amplify dissatisfaction
Which level of need on the Maslow pyramid satisfies a long-term contract?
Safety (job security)
Which level of need on the Maslow pyramid satisfies a a good relationships among workers?
Social
Which level of need on the Maslow pyramid satisfies a personal bonus?
(Self) -esteem
Are good working conditions a motivator according Herzberg?
NO
What kind of factor is a good salary under Herzberg’s theory?
Hygiene
