Motivational theories Flashcards
F.W Taylor (scientific management) (4)
- employees are mainly motivated by pay
- employees need close supervision
- they should carry out small tasks they can repeat to become efficient
- workers should be paid a piece rate, motivating them to do as many as possible
Benefit of Taylor’s theory
- workers are encouraged to increase productivity
Drawback of Taylors theory
- workers are likely to be demotivated by boring jobs - high labour turnover
Mayo
- employees are motivated by social needs
- encourages managers to take a greater interest in workers
benefit of Mayo
- value staff opinions and encourage teamwork - motivated workforce - productivity
Drawback of Mayo
- staff don’t always have the same objectives as the business - communication between managers and employees is not always positive - low productivity
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
- there are 5 levels of human needs (physical needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, self actualisation)
- higher needs start to matter once lower needs are met
Benefit of Maslow
- encourages the business to create an environment for employees that satisfies different needs - motivation - productivity
Drawback of Maslow
- critics suggest that esteem needs and self-actualisation can never be achieved in some lower-skilled roles (e.g. street sweepers or toilet attendants)
Herzberg’s two-factor theory
- motivators cause job satisfaction
- hygiene factors cause job dissatisfaction
- pay is not a motivator, but a source of job dissatisfaction if pay is too low
- focusing on meaningful tasks promotes higher levels of motivation and productivity
Herzberg’s motivators from most to least important / most potential to satisfy to least (5)
Personal achievement, recognition, interest in the work itself, responsibility, growth and advancement
Herzberg’s hygiene factors from most to least important / most potential to dissatisfy to least (5)
Company policy and administration, supervision, working conditions, salary, relationship with fellow workers
Drawback of Herzberg
- assumes there’s a link between job satisfaction and productivity, an assumption which has since been questioned
Vroom’s expectancy theory
- motivation depends on how much an individual wants a reward
- effort - performance relationship (the likelihood that the individual’s efforts will be recognised by the business)
- performance - reward relationship (the extent to which an employee believes a good performance will lead to rewards)
- rewards - personal goals relationship (the attractiveness of the potential awards to the individual)
Porter and Lawler’s expectancy theory
- expansion of Vroom’s theory
- Rewards are intrinsic (feeling good after performing the task well)
- or extrinsic (reward that comes from outside the individual such as a bonus )
- motivation is affected by an individual’s ability to perform the task and their perception of it
Strength of expectancy theory
- based on self-interest of the worker, who will want to receive rewards
Drawback of expectancy theory
- ignores the reality that may businesses offer rewards that are not only linked to performance, but may depend on the individual’s position in the business or their educational attainment.
Why are motivational theories important?
- they give managers a set of tools to help increase quality, productivity and efficiency of staff through financial and non-financial methods.
Disadvantage of motivational theories
- they don’t provide guidance as to when, if and in what circumstances they should be used
- the success depends on factors such as employee’s own personal motivations
