Motivation

Question 1

What did Fredrick W.Taylor believe?

Answer 1

He put forward the idea that workers are motivated mainly by pay.
Division of labour: workers should specialise in tasks that they were best at, and production split into different tasks and employees would work at what they were then best at.
Managerial control at the workplace: management should have full control over areas such as; training and selection and the production process. Tight control at all times as Taylor felt workers dos not want to be at work.

Question 2

What were the advantages of Taylor’s theory?

Answer 2

Productivity improved. Output=more money=motivated workers

New departments appeared, personnel and quality control.

Question 3

What are the disadvantages of Taylor’s theory?

Answer 3

Only interested in money-programmed like machines.
Assumed one best way of doing things-not always the case.
Didn’t take into account welfare of workers.
Quality can fall.

Question 4

What was Maslows hierarchy of needs?

Answer 4

1. Physiological-food, shelter, air etc. They are need for survival.
2. Safety-healthy working environments, job security, etc.
3. Social-relationships with colleagues, working as part of a team, leisure facilities etc.
4. Esteem-promotion, recognition, status, etc.
5. Self Actualisation-use of individual talents to their fullest extent. To be the best at what you do.

Question 5

What are the advantages of Maslows theory?

Answer 5

It is easy to identify where individuals fit into the hierarchy.
Better relationships and team work would exist in the firm.
Individual needs can be met based on where they fit in the hierarchy.

Question 6

What are the disadvantages of Maslows theory?

Answer 6

Individual behaviour responds to more than one need.

There is a problem deciding when a need is actually fulfilled.

Question 7

What was Herzberg theory called?

Answer 7

Two factor theory.
Motivation
Hygiene.

Question 8

What is motivation factors in Herzberg theory?

Answer 8

Factors which give the workers satisfaction like being recognised for their effort or being given responsibility. This would help make workers more productive.

Question 9

What is hygiene factors in Herzbergs theory?

Answer 9

Factors which if absent, can lead to workers being dissatisfied e.g. pay or working conditions. Improving hygiene factors should reduce dissatisfaction. An improvement of hygiene factors alone though is not likely to motivate an individual but if they are not met their productivity could fall.
Policies, admin, supervision, working conditions, salary, status, job security, relationships.

Question 10

What are the advantages of Herzbergs theory?

Answer 10

If management know what the hygiene factors are, they will be able to work of them to ensure a better working environment.
Herzbergs motivators relate directly to the actual job that employees are doing.
If training is used then this acts as a motivator.
Herzberg believed that more satisfied employees would be more productive employees.

Question 11

What are the disadvantages of Herzbergs theory?

Answer 11

Herzberg assumes everyone seeks responsibility but they don’t.
Job satisfaction does not guarantee motivation.
Herzberg encourages micro management (very close supervision).
Herzberg assume that pay cannot be used to motivate especially in more developed countries.

Question 12

What are the monetary methods of motivation?

Answer 12

Times rates, piece rates, commission, fees, fringe benefits, performance related pay and profit sharing.

Question 13

What are the non monetary methods of motivation?

Answer 13

Job enlargement, job rotation, job enrichment, team working, quality circles, empowerment.

Question 14

What are the advantages of time rates?

Answer 14

Workers don’t have to rush so quality is not impaired.

Good when product is not standardised.

Question 15

What are the disadvantages of time rates?

Answer 15

Workers have no incentive to work hard and may waste time.

Question 16

What are the advantages of piece rates?

Answer 16

It is generally perceived as being fair.
It motivates workers to perform as well as they can so increased output.
It encourages workers to become as skilled as possible as possible so that they earn more.

Question 17

What are the disadvantages of piece rates?

Answer 17

May rush work or take shortcuts which can effect quality.
Increased wastage.
Breakdowns or supplies not arriving on time may penalise employees.
Trade unions do not support this type pay.
It can cause over production that this firm cannot sell due to insufficient demand.

Question 18

What are the advantages of commission?

Answer 18

Motivated to sell more.
High performing employees can earn huge amounts.
The payroll cost is related to the value of business achieved rather than just the amount produced.

Question 19

What are the disadvantages of commission?

Answer 19

It does not take into account the amount of effort that they make as it is linked to what is actually sold.
Sales people may cut corners to make sales.
High commission earnings enjoyed by som of the sales team may be resent elsewhere.

Question 20

What are fringe benefits?

Answer 20

These are the perks of the job e.g.
Company cars, free use of houses, education fees paid for children, pension schemes, trips abroad, transport to work, car parking spaces, dental insurance.

Question 21

What are the advantages of profit sharing?

Answer 21

It can offer an incentive for employees to work harder.
Reduced labour turnover.
Creates a sense of team spirit, helps remove ‘them and us’ barrier between managers and workers.
Employees more likely to accept changes in working practices if can see that profits will increase overall.

Question 22

What are the disadvantages of profit sharing?

Answer 22

If the organisation doesn’t achieve high levels employees will receive or nothing.
Not linked to individual performance so may not motivate everyone.

Question 23

What are the advantages of monetary methods of motivation?

Answer 23

Employees who are motivated by financial rewards will try to work harder to gain a higher wage.
Incentive schemes can be linked to productivity which would suggest output will increase.
Develops a competitive working environment.

Question 24

What are the disadvantages of monetary methods of motivation?

Answer 24

Workers may not be able to achieve targets through no fault of their own.
Quality can suffer - taking short cuts or cutting corners.
Changes to external environment affecting the demand for the product or service e.g. recession.
Employees may begin to resent one another if others are achieving higher pay.

Question 25

What are the advantages of job enrichment?

Answer 25

Gives employees a challenge and may make them feel part of the organisation.
Increases individual responsibility - makes decisions more effective and motivates employees.
Brings more ideas into the organisation.

Question 26

What are the disadvantages of job enrichment?

Answer 26

Can be used as a way to cut workforce as employees are required to carry out extra tasks.
Not all workers will want the responsibility and may find it de motivating.

Question 27

What are the advantages of job enlargement?

Answer 27

May give employees more satisfaction allowing them to complete an entire job rather than one part.
Less likely to get bored as they have a range of tasks.
Now people-new team members-more social.

Question 28

What are the disadvantages of job enlargement?

Answer 28

Employees may see it as an attempt to increase their work load through requiring them to carry out more tasks at the same level.
If the tasks are of similar nature, boredom will still be a problem.
Ignores the benefits that may be achieved through specialisation e.g. efficiency and high quality.

Question 29

What are the advantages of job rotation?

Answer 29

May reduce boredom.
May make it easier to cover absent employees.
Enable a wider variety of skills to be gained, which is also useful for the employer.

Question 30

What are the disadvantages of job rotation?

Answer 30

If the tasks are boring then it is unlikely to increase he workers motivation.
Productivity may decrease if employees need to be trained to work on new tasks.

Question 31

What are the advantages of employee empowerment?

Answer 31

Builds up skills of employees.
May bring new ideas or approaches to tasks.
Reduces management stress and workload.
Allows senior management to focus on key tasks.

Question 32

What are the disadvantages of employee empowerment?

Answer 32

Managers may need to be able to judge if a subordinate can deal with more authority- the skill of management.
Too much responsibility may be delegated.
May increase workload and stress of subordinates.

Question 33

What are the advantages of quality circles?

Answer 33

Employees are directly involved in the work that they are carrying out.
Encourages team work-working together to solve problems.
Improves communication.

Question 34

What are the disadvantages of quality circles?

Answer 34

They only work if they have full support of both managers and employees.
Training usually is needed to group leaders.
Productivity-coming away from duties to try and come up with solutions to problems.

Question 35

What are the advantages of team work?

Answer 35

The problems can be quickly solved.
You get many ideas as the solution of a problem arising.
Teamwork improves motivation.
Brings in different skills-a range of skills.
Less stress/pressure on one person.

Question 36

What are the disadvantages of team work?

Answer 36

Time consuming to create a team.
Disagreements between team members-resentment.
Some team members do not participate as much as others.
Cost of time and human resources towards building a team.