Chapter 17- Motivation in Theory and Practice Flashcards
Motivation
Concerned with the behaviour of the individual person and someone’s will to work. Comes from enjoyment of work itself + from desire to achieve certain goals e.g. earn money or achieve promotion.
Advantages of a well motivated workforce
- Greater productivity
- Better quality
- Lower levels of absenteeism
Motivators
- To earn money
- For a sense of achievement or job satisfaction
- To belong to a group
- For a sense of security
- To obtain a feeling of self-worth
Methods of Motivation:
monetary
non-monetary
Monetary methods of motivation
• Wages- normally paid per hour worked + receive money at end of
week/monthly
• Salaries- normally an annual salary which is paid at end of each
month
• Bonus system- usually only paid when certain targets have been
achieved.
• Commission- Some are partly paid according to the number of
products they sell, they could receive a % of each sale.
• Profit sharing- system be where employees receive a % of company
profits. Creates direct link to pay and performance = may improves
employees loyalty to the company = likely to accept changes in the
business if this will provide more profit.
• Performance related pay- paid to those employees who meet certain
targets = performance can be easy monitored = targets means
employees more likely to be focused on company objectives,
however can create rivalry between managers and incentives may
not be larger enough to motivate.
• Share options- common incentive for senior managers who are given
shares in company rather than straightforward bonus or membership
of a profit sharing scheme.
• Fringe benefits- known as ‘perks’ - items an employee receives in
addition to their normal wage or salary e.g. company care, private
health insurance, free meals. Creates loyalty as perks are not taxed
or taxed at a reduced rate.
Non-monetary methods of motivation
• Job enrichment- giving worker more interesting and challenging tasks = motivates as workers can better themselves.
• Job enlargement- giving workers more tasks to do of similar
nature/complexity.
• Job rotation- Involves workers performing different jobs during the
day, week or month = idea that this will reduce boredom and allow a
variety of skills and experience to be gained. However productivity
can be decreased as people have to learn new skills and settle into
each job + not specialised. Could de-motivate some workers as they
have to learn new jobs and may find all boring.
• Flexible working- Part time working, flexitime, annual hours contract,
term-time working, shift swapping, career breaks, job sharing.
• Empowerment- based on idea that giving employees skills,
resources, authority, opportunity as well as holding them
accountable + responsible for their outcomes will contribute to their
competence + satisfaction
.
• Delegation- assignment to others of the authority for particular
functions, tasks and decisions.
• Consultation- between employees and employers to let workers
know what is going on in the business + any planned future changes
= on going communication. Employers should tell staff what’s planned
+ take into account the views expressed by employees when deciding
what to do.
• Team working- grouping workers + letting them decide how to work.
Productivity should increase as talents are grouped, people can
specialise + draw on the skills and knowledge of others. However
tensions can arise = destroying effectiveness. Also some people are
powerless + cant influence decisions + some tasks are better carried
out by individuals rather than groups.
Taylors theory
- a theory that suggests there is ‘best way’ to perform work tasks.
Problems with Taylor-
• Does not take into account individual differences
• People viewed as machines and no people with social tendencies
Mayo’s Theory
Mayo looked at what motivated workers and found that they would work better in groups and when they were talking and sharing ideas/experiences
Problems with Mayo-
• Assumes workers and management share the same goals
• Assumes communication between people breaks down barriers and
is always productive
• Biased towards management – workers are manipulated into being
productive by managers – it may also be seen as a way of reducing
trade union power
Hawthorne effect
the idea that workers are motivated by recognition given to them as a group.
Maslow’s Hierarchy
The order of people’s needs starting with their basic requirements.
- Each need shown in the table has to be satisfied before a person can
move onto the next level - The ideas had great appeal for business but had problems when
used In practice as some levels do not appear to exist for certain
individuals
Herzberg Two-Factor theory
- split into two - motivators and hygiene factors
- Herzberg’s theory does not seem to have merits
- Improving pay or conditions for example may remove dissatisfaction
as first but these things become taken for granted and it is likely
better conditions will be asked for in the following years - Evidence for this can be seen in wage claims which aim to be above
the rate of inflation in some businesses every year. Job enrichment
may also be expensive for many firms. - In addition, it is likely that any benefits from job improvements will not
be seen for a long time and businesses will not be able to continue
with such a policy in periods of recession
Financial incentives to improve performance
Piece rates -A payment system where employees are paid an agreed rate for every item produced.
However, piece rates are only suitable for jobs where it is easy to identify the contribution of an individual worker
It would be difficult to devise a piece rate system for secretaries or managers – they have also been criticised on health grounds as workers may take dangerous short cuts to earn more money
Commission
% payment on a sale made to the salesperson. Mainly used by white collar workers. For example, care salespeople may get a commission of £100 pounds for every car they sell
Bonus
A payment in addition to the basic wage for reaching targets or in recognition for service.
The main advantage to businesses of bonus payments is that they are only made if targets are met – this means that money is only paid if it has been earned
Profit sharing
Where workers are given a share of the profits, usually as part of their pay. Profit sharing can motivate workers to achieve the objectives of the business.
Profit sharing can also be a way of showing that they are appreciated as in Maslows hierarchy theory.
However, most individuals have little control over how much profit the company makes – and there is no link between individual effort and individual reward in profit sharing.
