Section Six - Human Resource Decisions - Motivation and Job Design Flashcards
Explain how motivated employees get more done than non-motivated employees
5 bullets
1) A motivated workforce is likely to be more productive, more aligned with company objectives and prepared to go above and beyond for the company.
2) Motivated workers are more loyal, which will decrease both labour turnover and absences, which reduces costs.
3) Customer satisfaction usually increases when a workforce feel engaged with what they are doing.
4) A company that motivates and engages its employees is a more attractive prospect for future employees. Companies with a good reputation will attract the best employees and gain a competitive advantage.
5) There are several different motivational theories they each suggest different ways to motivate employees.
Explain Taylor and his relation with scientific management
3 bullets
1) In the early 20th century, F.W. Taylor thought that workers were motivated by money. He believed workers would do the minimum amount of work if left to their own devices.
2) Taylor’s goal was to figure out the most efficient way to do a job, and then make sure every single worker did it that way. Also, making sure that each task was being done by the right worker. This approach is called scientific management.
3) He favoured division of labour - breaking work down into a lot of small repetitive tasks, with managers taking responsibility for the workforce.
What did Taylor believe would bring greater benefits to the workforce?
Taylor believed in paying workers according to the quantity they produced - the most productive workers got a better rate. He believed that financial incentives would motivate workers and raise productivity.
What was the disadvantage of Taylor paying each worker for the quantity produced?
Increased productivity meant that fewer workers were needed - workers worried about losing their jobs.
There were other disadvantages, too - increased productivity could lead to a reduction in quality.
Supervisors were needed to monitor efficiency and for quality control purposes.
What did Maslow and Herzberg both believe?
Maslow and Herzberg both believed that workers had needs which were specific to them as individuals.
What did Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs look like?
What are hygiene factors, according to Herzberg?
Hygiene factors are things like good company policy, supervision, working conditions, pay, and relations with fellow employees. They don’t motivate as such, but if they aren’t good, workers get dissatisfied.
What are motivating factors, according to Herzberg?
Motivating factors are things like interesting work, personal achievement, recognition of achievement, and scope for more responsibility and personal development. These factors do positively motivate workers.
What is job design?
It outlines the way a job is Planned and Organised
What did Hackman and Oldham think about job design?
Hackman and Oldham thought that a job needed to be designed so that it would focus on the person, and the person would then be motivated.
What does Hackman and Oldham’s Model of Job Design look like?
- Skill variety - A wide variety of skills needed in a job can motivate. A lack of skill variety can demotivate.
- Task identity - Workers will feel involved if there is a clear task and they deal with it from start to finish.
- Task significance - If people think the job they are doing is significant, they will be motivated to do it well.
- Autonomy - Workers who make their own decisions will feel like their contribution is valued.
- Feedback - This tells the workers how they have performed and encourages them to do better.
