topic 23 - motivation and leadership Flashcards
describe maslows hierarchy of needs
Abraham maslow said that humans had five sets of needs which come in a particular order. As each level of needs is satisfied, the desire to fulfil the next set kicks in. Everyone starts with the lowest, most basic need and works up until the highest need is reached. A person will not be motivated by the hgiher needs until their basic needs are met.
describe physiological needs and implications
the basic needs for bodily fucntioning and staying alive; fulfilled by eating, drinking and going to the toilet.
a living wage, basic safe working environment, access to toilet facilities and running water
describe safety and security and implications
to feel safe at work, at home, financially and physically.
safe working conditions, job security, fair wage rises in line with inflation.
describe love and belonging and implications
to fulfil social needs such as friendship and family.
a good team atmosphere, open plan offices, friendly supervision.
describe self-esteem and implications
to feel worthy and respected.
a job titles that stands out from others, recognition of ones achievements in front of peers.
describe self-actualisation and implications
to realise potential and have status in life. maslow wrote: ‘what a man can be, he must be’.
opportunities for creativity and personal growth, promotion opportunities.
describe herzbergs motivator-hygiene theory
fredrick herzberg wrote the motivator-hygiene theory (or the two factor theory) of motivation. According to Herzberg employees are motivated by two sets of factors: motivator factors and hygiene factors.
describe hygiene factors
hygiene factors will not motivate employees, but if they are not met, they can lower motivation. These factors could be anything from clean toilets, lunch breaks and a break room, to a reasonable level of pay, jpb security, and supervision, procedures and policies that employees are happy with.
describe motivator factors
motivator factors will not nesessarily lower motivation if they are absent or not used, but can be responsible for increasing motivation. These factors are also linked to the needs at the top of maslows hierarchy and could involve rewarding employees with status and recognition, potential for promotion and delegated responsibility.
describe fair pay
employees work to earn money to satisfy their needs and wants. if they dont think they are recieving a fair amount of pay for thier work they will be demotivated and their productivity will decrease.
describe payment methods
organisations can use a number of payment methods to motivate staff:
- commission, salespaeople can be offered commission, which is a percentage of the sale they make, motivating them to sell more.
- PRP, performance-related pay, sometimes called a ‘bonus’, this is an extra payment on top of the basic wage for meeting agreed targets.
- piece rate, the employee is paid per item they produce, which encourages a high work rate, however, the quality of work may drop.
- overtime, when an employees works longer than their contractual hours, normally at a higher rate of pay, this encourages extra production to meet demand.
describe incentives
non-financial incentives could be offered, e.g. holidays, cars, discounts and private healthcare.
describe permanent contracts
employees need to feel that they have job security. organisations should avoid the use of temporary contracts where possible. permanent contracts will make employees feel more secure and they will get on with their jobs.
describe good working conditions
employees need to feel that their working conditions are safe. as herzberg states, good working conditions won’t necessarily motivate employees but bad wokring conditions will demotivate them. However, an improvement in working conditions, such as better equipment, a new office or company car may motivate staff for a short while.
describe staff appraisals
regular meetings with a manager are known as appraisals. These motivate employees as they are told what they are doing well and given targets to aim for. they can also be targeted for promotion.
describe recognition
employees who want to progress in thier career respond well to recognition, such as an ‘employee of the month’ scheme.
describe development opportunities
employees will want to develop their skills, for example through a management training scheme, so they are able to be identified for promotion opportunities and improve their status in the organisation.
describe empowerment
empowerment means giving staff the authority to make their own decisions. Managers can delegate part of their responsibility to an employee and let them decide how best to carry it out. This will give employees a sense of job satisfaction.
benefits of motivating staff
- increased productivity from employees
- better quality products
- better standard of customer service
- reduced staff absenteeism and poor time-keeping
- reduced staff turnover, reducing re-hiring costs
- improved employee relations and fewer grievances
describe autocratic
authority and control is retained by the leader. managers tell employees what to do.
advantages of autocratic
- there are clear expectations of what needs to be done.
- decisions can be made quickly.
- this works well when the manager is the most skilled or knowledgeable in the team
disadvantages of autocratic
- theres not opportunity for delegation or empowerment, demotivating some staff.
- theres a lack of creativity in decision-making as it is retained with senior management.
describe democratic
communication and employee participation are key. managers let employees have a say in decision-making.
advantages of democratic
- employees feel motivated as they have a say in decision-making
- the manager has the final say but employees can contribute, which can encourage creativity and help solve complex problems.
disadvantages of democratic
- mistakes can be made if workers are not skilled or experienced enough to participate in decision-making.
- some employees can be less productive than they would be under an autocratic manager.
describe laissez-faire
a rough translation of the french phrase ‘laissez-faire’ is ‘let them be’. managers with this style do exactly that, they don’t issue instructions of supervise staff, they just let staff carry out their jobs.
advantages of laissez-faire
- employees are highly empowered to make decisions and only seek managers assistance when they need help, which motivates employees.
- this can create a very relaxed work environment.
disadvantages of laissez-faire
- lack of direction can lead to objectives not being met.
- this can only work in highly professional environments where workers are self-motivated, such as technology companies or creative industries.
describe the task
a complex task, such as deciding on new company policy, will require more direction from manage,ent (autocratic), a creative task, such as designment new packaging, would benefit from a hands-off approach (laissez-faire).
describe time available
there may be little time to complete a project which means less time for discussion on how to achieve it, so a more autocratic style will be required.
describe skills of staff
highly skilled and competent staff will need less supervision and direction, so a democratic approach will work.
describe motivation of staff
highly motivated employees can be trusted to have the self-discipline to make their own decisions and complete tasks without instruction and supervision.
describe leaders own personality
leaders may lack personable qualities and automatically lead in an autocratic style. Similarly they may be too friendly and nice to be autocratic.
describe group size
democratic styles can lead to confusion if the number of staff in a group is too large. large groups benefit from clear direction of autocratic leadership.
describe corporate culture
the culture in an organisation can persuade managers to use specific styles; for example, an open and relaxed environment found in technology firms lends itself to a laissez-faire approach.
describe availability of finance
democratic and laissez-faire styles can delegate spending to departments and individuals. a lack of finance may lead to autocratic styles being adopted in order to control spending.
