Motivation

Question 1

Delayering

Answer 1

Removing tiers of management, usually in the middle

Question 2

Advantages of delayering

Answer 2

•save money on salaries
•better communication
•remaining employees are empowered to make their own decisions- more motivated
•greater possible efficiency

Question 3

Disadvantages of delayering

Answer 3

•demoralised managers/employees- fearful for their own jobs
•demotivated- chances of promotion are reduced
•less efficient if overburdened with work
•cost implications- redundancies
•cost of training to cope with extra responsibilities

Question 4

Fredrick Taylor beliefs

Answer 4

•believed that people only work for money and they should he told exactly how to do their jobs
•broke down the production process into a series of small tasks that need relatively unskilled employees
•close supervision
•piecework pay

Question 5

Scientific management in practice

Answer 5

•employees are paid to carry out specific tasks
•paid for levels of output produced
•tall hierarchy within organisations
•the best method of working is to be adopted by all workers
•close supervision of employees and monitoring performance

Question 6

Eton Mayo- Hawthorne Experiment

Answer 6

He separated six volunteer female employees from workmates and tried various different working methods on the group- different bonus methods different lighting and different rest periods: he found that productivity increased with every change

Question 7

Eto Mayo’s beliefs

Answer 7

•productivity rose because of:
•greater communication
•better teamwork
•showing an interest in others
•involving others in decision-making
•ensuring the wellbeing of others
•making work interesting, non-repetitive

Question 8

Herzberg Two Factor Theory

Answer 8

•hygiene factors- don’t lead to motivation but without them employees become dissatisfied with: company policy and administration, supervision, working conditions, salary, relationship with fellow workers
•motivators- relate to the job itself and positively motivate employees: personal achievement, recognition, interest in the work itself, responsibility, growth and advancement

Question 9

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Answer 9

Employees have a series of needs they seek to fulfil at work, These are in a hierarchy; once a lower level need is satisfied, individuals strive to satisfy needs further up the hierarchy
•physical->security->social->esteem->self-actualisation

Question 10

Maslow’s hierarchy explained

Answer 10

•physiological needs- food, drink, rest and activity- staff discounts
•safety needs- healthy work environment and work life balance (good holiday entitlement)
•social needs- team work, open communication; a sense of belonging
•esteem needs- positive feedback rewarding staff for achievements- promotion from within, good training
•self-actualisation- challenging responsibilities to reach full potential

Question 11

Porter and Lawler Expectancy Theory

Answer 11

An individuals motivation is affected by the reward they expect to receive for completing the task
•intrinsic rewards- include the positive feelings the individual experiences from completing the task (pride, satisfaction)
•extrinsic rewards- material rewards such as pay increases and bonuses

Question 12

Benefits of a well motivated workforce

Answer 12

•increased productivity
•increased quality
•lower levels of staff turnover
•improved communication
•higher levels of innovation
•greater employee satisfaction
•lower levels of industrial action
•improved customer service
•better reputation- to attract staff

Question 13

Vroom Expectancy Theory and three components of it

Answer 13

People opted to maximise their happiness and minimise their unhappiness
•valence- they will undertake a task if they believe they will receive a worthwhile reward as a result
•instrumentality- need to believe a particular action will likely lead to a particular result
•Expectancy- belief in the likelihood of being able to achieve the target that has been set for them

Question 14

Financial motivation and examples

Answer 14

Directly involve monetary rewards:
•pay increases
•bonus schemes
•piece rates
•profit sharing/share ownership
•fringe benefits

Question 15

Advantages of financial motivation

Answer 15

•likely to earn more money- better standard of living
•motivate employees to reach a certain target
•money could be a major motivator
•share ownership may also bring a sense of belonging and motivate employees to contribute more

Question 16

Disadvantages if financial motivation

Answer 16

•could cause resentment- bonuses
•demotivated if they feel they’re working harder than colleagues
•when targets aren’t reached they could be resentful- could be out of their control
•jealousy
•short-term impact on motivation- they may get used to a certain standard of living and want better financial incentives

Question 17

Job enrichment

Answer 17

Giving employees more control over tasks they complete and allow them to complete tasks that have a meaning

Question 18

Job enlargement

Answer 18

Increasing the number of tasks completed by an employee, which adds interest to the job and involves the employee in a more complete role within the business

Question 19

Job rotation

Answer 19

Changing employees’ tasks which are completed at regular intervals- adds interest to the job and reduces error that could arise through boredom

Question 20

Job design

Answer 20

Jobs should include complete tasks that are of interest to the employee and challenging which allow decision making

Question 21

Communication examples

Answer 21

•quality circles
•cell working

Question 22

Empowerment

Answer 22

Giving employees the power to control their own jobs, make decisions and implement their own ideas

Question 23

Quality circles

Answer 23

Groups of employees that meet on a regular basis to discuss problems in the manufacturing or service-provision process and offer solutions

Question 24

Flexible working

Answer 24

Allowing employees to have elements of their schedule that are under their control

Question 25

Empowerment advantages

Answer 25

•delayering is possible as some middle managers are no longer needed
•can make the working lives of employees more interesting
•productivity may rise- increased motivation
•employees generate new methods of working, solving problems that have existed
•decision making is decentralised, meaning that local decisions can be made

Question 26

Empowerment disadvantages

Answer 26

•delayering can result in costly redundancies and damaged morale
•doesn’t work in all circumstances- such as times of crisis
•extensive training might be needed, it takes time to implement
•employees could be given more responsibility than they can cope with
•it’s risky- junior employees are given responsibility without the experience that might be necessary

Question 27

What does choosing between control or empowerment depend on

Answer 27

•if there’s a lot of risk involved- control may be safer
•company culture- experience of the staff
•how the staff perceive the management
•trustworthiness of the staff
•whether or not employees welcome authority and accept responsibility