Theories of Motivation Flashcards
Why is it important to motivate employees in business?
To satisfy the needs and demands of workers.
To produce more effectively and efficiently.
To reduce absenteeism.
To get as much profit as possible.
What were the 4 motivation theories?
1) Taylor’s scientific management theory
2) Mayo’s human relations theory
3) Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
4) Herzberg’s two-factor theory
What was Taylor’s method?
It was a method to reduce the inefficiency and haphazards by using “objective laws”.
1) Pick a dozen skilled workers.
2) Observe them at work and note down the elements and sequences adopted in their task.
3) Time each element with a stopwatch.
4) Eliminate any factors which contribute nothing to the task.
5) Choose the quickest method discovered and fit it in the sequence.
6) Teach the worker this sequence.
7) Include time for rest since it’s the “quickest and best method” for the task.
8) Supervise workers to ensure that these methods are carried out during the working day.
What were the problems with Taylor’s approach?
1) The notion of a “quickest and best way” for all workers doesn’t take into account the individual’s needs.
2) He viewed people at work more as machines than humans, which means he totally ignored the needs met at work for employees to have positive relationships and senses of achievement.
What was Mayo’s theory of human relations?
Even though there were financial incentives in business, other factors were affecting workers’ motivation like work conditions, lack of rest and working hours and lighting. Changes were made in the 1920-30’s to ensure productivity rose. It was found that whatever changes were made, output rose. This was known as the ‘Hawthorne effect.’
Elton Mayo, who reported on the Hawthorne studies, said that a business aiming to maximise productivity must make sure that the “personal satisfactions” of workers are met for them to be motivated. Management must also work and communicate with informal work groups, making sure their individual goals fit in with the business goals. A way of doing this was to allow groups of workers to be involved in decision making, so they would be more committed to the task at hand.
What were the problems of Mayo’s theory?
1) It assumes workers and managers share the same goals.
2) It’s assumed that communication between workers and management will break down ‘barriers’, however the knowledge of directors’ salaries and redundancies could lead to even more ‘barriers’.
3) It is very biased towards management. Workers are manipulated into being productive by managers. It may also be seen as a way of reducing trade union power..
What was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
A 5-tier hierarchy of workers’ needs. At the bottom (5th level) was physiological needs where food, drink and air had to be obtained for workers. At the 4th level was safety needs where workers have to be protected from physical threats, dangerous objects and psychological threats. In the middle (3rd level) of the hierarchy was love and belonging needs where managers and workers would share affection to their contributions. At the 2nd level was esteem needs where it was important to gain respect of others as well as self-esteem and self-respect. At the top (1st level) of the hierarchy was self-actualisation where workers must realise their full potential within the workforce.
What are the 2 problems with Maslow’s theory?
1) Some of the levels din’t seem to exist for certain individuals, whilst some rewards seem to fit into more than one class.
2) It’s difficult to decide when a level has been ‘satisfied’.
What was Herzberg’s two-factor theory?
The factors which cause to the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of workers. Satisfied factors fit into the category of ‘motivators’, whilst dissatisfied factors went into the category of ‘hygiene factors’.
What were the 6 causes which ‘motivate’ workers?
1) Sense of achievement.
2) Chance of promotion.
3) Chance of improvement.
4) Recognition of effort.
5) Responsibility.
6) Nature of the job itself.
What are the 7 causes which are ‘hygiene factors’ to workers?
1) Pay.
2) Conditions.
3) Company policy.
4) Relationships with higher levels of the hierarchy, such as management.
5) Treatment at work.
6) Inability to develop.
7) Feelings of inadequacy.
What are the problems with Herzberg’s theory?
1) Improving pay and conditions is good but the demands get even higher for it as time goes on. Businesses may not be able to meet those demands in periods of recession.
2) Surveys that have tried to reproduce Herzberg’s results have often failed.
What are the financial incentives to improve performance?
Piece rates-Recommended by Taylor, these were payments for each unit produced. The more you produce, the more you earn.
Commission-Like piece rates, they’re payments for achieving a target. For example a car salesman gets a commission of £100 for each car they sell. These are pay systems that are intended to ‘incentivise’ workers by tying in pay with output.
Bonus-These are payments in addition to the basic wage or salary. They’re usually paid if targets are met. It helps motivate workers as they strive to reach a target to earn their bonus.
Profit sharing-Profits distributed to workers as well as shareholders. It motivates workers to achieve the objectives of the business. It unites both the workers and the owners for extra money and shows staff that they’re appreciated. The only problem is that an individual may come up with a certain idea to raise sales or reduce costs but then the whole group of workers get a share of the profit. If the reward is small then the profit sharing is unable to motivate workers financially.
Performance-related pay(PRP)-Similarly to bonuses, PRP gives workers extra pay for achieving targets. Some PRP systems make distinctions between levels of achievement. For example if someone is rated ‘excellent’ then they are given a 10% bonus, while somebody rated ‘good’ gets a 5% bonus. This targets are likely set through a system of appraisal which includes factors like arriving to work on time, improving skills through training or achieving a particular task within the job. The only problems are that the bonus could be too low, the machinery may have done more of the work than the individual and some targets would be nearly impossible to achieve.
What are the non-financial techniques to improve performance?
Delegation-This is where a manager hands a more complex task to a subordinate. The manager still has responsibility but authority is passed down the hierarchy. Delegation motivates workers since they feel they are being trusted to carry out a complicated task.
Consultation-When the staff’s views are taken into account whilst managers make changes to the business. Changes are less likely to be resisted if staff are consulted. Some do argue that consultation takes too long and it’s a slow process.
Empowerment-This is a set of aspects of employees which include the potential of what employees are capable to do, placing trust amongst employees, giving them control over decision making, lots of self-confidence and recognising their achievements. All of this helps motivate workers, reduce absenteeism, give them control over their work lives and increase their personal development.
Teamworking-Working in groups or as a team can increase productivity, help workers increase skills by watching others, sharing responsibility and allow more flexible working. This is very common in car companies like Volvo.
Flexible working-This allows workers to cope better with fluctuations in demand and extend opening hours.
Job enrichment-This attempts to give employees greater responsibility over task planning, quality control, work supervision and maintenance. It attempts to give employees a ‘challenge’ by helping them develop their ‘unused’ skills. This lets workers know that they feel rewarded for the contributions to the company. Workers who feel unable to carry out this extra work may not accept incentives.
Job rotation-This involves an employee changing jobs or tasks form time to time. This could be moving out to a different part of the production line to carry out a different task. This should hopefully reduce the employee’s boredom and enable a variety of skills and experience to be gained. But it’s possible that any gains in productivity may be offset by a fall in output as workers take time to ‘settle in’ at a different part of the production line.
Job enlargement-It involves getting employees to do more work of a similar nature. So instead of a employee putting just the wheels on a bicycle, he could build the whole product himself. This reduces boredom with one repetitive task and allows them to complete the whole process. The more workers who are allowed this, the more job rotation can occur.
