TOPIC 2.

4: MOTIVATION
2.4.1 - Motivation
motivation : desire, effort, and passion to achieve something
the willingness to complete a task or job with enthusiasm
motivation theory looks at how managers seek to motivate their workforce to maximize job
satisfaction, staff morale and labour productivity

Box 2.4.a Generic benefits of increased worker motivation

higher morale and job satisfaction

which leads to improved productivity and quality
better industrial relations
reduces the chances of conflict in the workplace
lower absenteeism
staff have incentives to turn up for work
lower staff turnover
reduces the costs of hiring replacement staff
improves corporate image
helps to attract customers and potential employees)
higher profitability
generated from combining the above benefits

Box 2.4.b Warning signs of poor motivation in the workplace

high absenteeism rate

percentage of workforce that miss work without valid reasons
high labour turnover rate
number of staff who leave as a percentage of the total workforce, per year
high wastage level
a high percventage of defective output or substandard work
increasing number of customer complaints
due to the poorer quality of output
low quality output
workers are more likely to make mistakes and care less about quality
poor punctuality
poor timekeeping
more disciplinary problems
corrective measures are required to deal with less productive staff
2.4.2 - Motivation theories
the five motivation theories:
Taylor's Scientific Management
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory
Adam's Equity Theory
Pink's Drive Theory

Taylor (1911)
by Fredrick Winslow Taylor → American engineer and inventor
Taylor's principles of scientific management assumed that:
employees are primarily motivated by money
and that productivity could be improved by setting output and efficiency targets related pay
Taylor believed → manager's duty to decide how each and every individual task should be
completed
manager role to plan, direct, and control
Taylor promoted the use of division of labour
breaking down different aspects of a job or task and assigning different people to each
particular part of the work
thus specializing in the production process to improve efficiency and output
Taylor also advocated the use of differentiated piecework → workers paid a standard level of output
and receive a higher rate if they exceed that level.
essentially an incentive scheme that rewards more productive workers
Taylor's theory → criticized → ignored the non-physical contributions of workers
difficult to measure physical output in some professions (doctors, teachers, and social care
workers)
scientific management ineffective when referring to jobs that focus on mental rather than
physical output
subsequent studies → people are not simply motivated by money
Taylor's theory ignored non-financial factors that motivate people
failed to acknowledge that workers can be innovative and independent thinkers
Final criticism → scientific management can entail repetitive and monotonous tasks → leads to
job dissatisfaction
today, many businesses throughout the world still use Taylor's approach
the culture, values, and beliefs of relatively low paid workers make it ideal to use scientific
management

Maslow (1943)
by Abraham Maslow → American psychologist
focus → psychological (emotional and mental) needs of workers
suggests that people would need to be satisfied with their lower level needs before they
could progress to higher level needs
Psychological needs (or basic needs)
needs that must be met for people to survive
 e.g. water, food, air, warmth, and sleep
business terms → amount of money workers earn determine the extent to which they are able
to meet these basic needs
Security needs (or safety needs)
demands necessary to make people feel safe and stable
security needs include predictability (daily structure and routine) and order
(protection prom harm)
e.g. businesses → provide job security, sick pay, maternity leave, and pensions (retirement
income)
Social needs (or love and belonging needs)
human desire to be accepted as part of a friendship group or a family
can be satisfied by → communications, social gatherings, weddings, having children and
other opportunities to be with people
business applications → opportunities to work in teams , compliance with anti-
discrimination laws (help promote a sense of work and belonging at work )
Esteem needs (or ego needs)
the desires for recognition and self-respect
internal esteem needs → indicate that people need to feel good about themselves (perhaps
from a sense of achievement)
external esteem needs → signify the desire for recognition by others (such as having status
at work)
internal promotion in an organization → can improve staff morale → shows faith in existing
workforce
training and development opportunities → organization values people
Self-actualization
highest level in hierarchy
refers to the forces that drives people to become the best that they can be
businesses can encourage this by → providing opportunities for personal development and
promotion
Maslow argued that people who achieve self-actualization are democratic in their outlook
because to reach self fulfilment, a person must have the freedom over what they do to
exploit their talents and in a way that only they know best
in reality → might not be feasible for a business to motivate all workers up the hierarchy of needs
critics of the theory claim the following limitations:
level of needs are somewhat difficult to measure
Maslow assumed that everyone is motivated in the prescribed and chronological order of
his model
there is no explanation of what motivates people once they have achieved self actualization

Herzberg (1959)
by Fredrick Herzberg → Professor
results of Herzberg's investigation of factors that caused satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work:
hygiene factors (mainly physical aspects)
motivators (mainly psychological aspects)
hygiene factors (or maintenance factors)
 do not motivate
but must be met to prevent dissatisfaction
essentially factors that meet people's basic needs
e.g. organizational rules, regulations, policies, supervision, working conditions, and
pay
Herzberg argues → pay rise not in itself a motivator
motivators
can lead to the psychological growth of workers and increase satisfaction and performance
at work
Herzberg believes → firms should motivate employees by using a democratic leadership style
businesses should train staff to perform tasks that they were not capable of doing
when they were recruited
managers could achieve training and worker motivation through:
job enlargement
giving workers more variety in what they do
makes work more interesting
job enrichment
giving workers more complex and challenging tasks → exploit their potential
job empowerment
delegating decision-making power to over their areas of job → boosting overall
morale
difference between movement and motivation
movement - people do something because they need to
motivation - people do something because they want to
advantage
Herzberg's theory → different way of thinking for managers
existence of hygiene factors → might be better for managers to ensure that workers are not
demotivated instead of predicting what might motivate them
disadvantage
individuals are unique → what motivates one worker may not motivate others
motivation also depends on people's moods and priorities
critics of theory → theory does not apply to many occupations especially in low-skilled and
low-paid jobs (without job enrichment and empowerment)
some employees might not want enriched jobs → involves extra responsibility and stress

Box 2.4.c Herzber's motivators and hygiene factors

Hygiene factors (job context - causes of dissatisfaction)

job security
organizational policies, rules, and regulations
pay - salaries and wages
physical security
physical working conditions
relationship with peers, subordinates, and supervisors
status
 supervision and coordination
Motivators (job content - causes of satisfaction)
achievement
advancement
interesting tasks
opportunities for promotion
personal growth
recognition
responsibility
work itself

Adam's Equity Theory (1963)

by John Stacey Adams → behavioural psychologist
workers will naturally compare their efforts or rewards to others
each worker should receive remuneration reflecting their efforts
degree of equity in an organization: ratio of inputs to outcomes
inputs - contributions made by the employee
outcomes - financial and non-financial rewards
Adams argued → workers will only be motivated if their input to outcome ratio is seen to be
equitable(fair) in relation to other employees
degree of equity in the workplace → direct impact on the level of motivation on three levels
equity norm
workers expect an equitable remuneration for their contributions in their job
social comparison
workers determine what is fair based on comparison of their inputs and outcomes
with those of their peers
cognitive distortion
workers who feel under-compensated become demotivated
when their inputs are larger than outcome
if inequities are not dealt with → absenteeism will increase and workers become disruptive to the
organization
in some cases, workers might even quit from their job
an equitable balance in the ratio of inputs to outcomes →
workers should have greater satisfaction in their jobs
helps to ensure positive , productive , and professional relationships at work

Table 2.4.a Examples of perceived equity and inequity

Perceived equity Perceived inequity

S i tti hi h A k t iti d ti f
 Senior managers getting higher A worker gets recognition and remuneration for
Perceived equity Perceived inequity
compensation packages because the value his/her contributions, although other colleagues
of their experience and skills is greater have done the same amount and quality of work
More productive sales people are paid more A colleague getting more time than others to
(Pay difference → incentive) complete the same tasks
Workers get a 5% pay rise due to record profits
Part-time workers earn lower monetary
being earned, but a rival firm grants it s workers
compensation
an 8% pay rise
Captain or most valued player of a
two smiliarly ranked managers have different
professional sports team → paid more than
sized offices, one with air conditioning and a nice
other members due to skills and leadership
view whilst the other does not
qualities

disadvantage
critics → concept of fairness is highly subjective
theory ignores demographic, psychological, and cultural variables that can affect perceptions
of fairness
issues and perceptions need to be managed effectively

Box 2.4.d Costs of high absenteeism

Hiring temporary staff to cover for absent workers

Lower productivity since the absent worker's expertise is missed
Understanding which causes detrimental effects on output, staff morale and customer service

Exam tip!

Equity (fairness) → NOT the same as equality (sameness)

achieving equity in thhe workplace → organization is
fair
attentive
appreciative
equiality → all workers paid exactly the same → unfair for a range of reasons

Pink (2009)
by Daniel H. Pink → American author
Pink - argues that each traditional rewards simply 'dulls' and 'blocks' the essential skill of creativity,
required from today's workforce
his theory based on innate factors that drive or motivate people at work, school, and in their
personal life
autonomy - self sufficient to direct our own lives
master - self-improvement to learn and create new things
purpose - self-esteem and drive to do better by ourselves

autonomy

task refers to what workers do

time refers to when workers do their tasks
technique refers to how workers do their tasks
team refers to whom employees work with to complete a task
mastery

innate driver of motivation allows people to become better at something

master - important to motivation
people generally want to improve their work - it makes them feel better
critical to motivation → risks of providing tasks below an employee's
capabilities → boredom and demotivation
risks of providing tasks above an employee's capabilities → anxiety and
demotivation (being unable to do their job effectively)
Pink advocates the use of 'Goldilocks tasks' → employees can extend and develop their skills
and expertise
four essential elements suggested by Pink
autonomy
crystal clear goals
immediate feedback
Goldilocks tasks
purpose

purpose gives context to autonomy and mastery

purpose maximisation → as important as profit maximisation to inspire and guide people
to ensure this psychological need is met → managers must clearly communicate the purpose
to make sure employees know and understand the firm's purpose goals
Pink argues → employees who understand how their individual roles contribute to the
purpose of their organization → more likely to be satisfied in their work
Pink distinguishes between two types
Type X (extrinsic)
motivated by extrinsic desires i.e., money and other rewards
Type I (instrinsic)
Pink provides plenty of empirical evidence to show that Type I (intrinsically
motivated people) usually outperfrom Type X people (their reward-seeking
counterparts)
Pink's theory acknowledges that without adequate 'baseline rewards' (such as salaries
and perks) → people cannot satisfy their basic human needs
 Pink argued that baseline rewards need to be both internally fair
workers want to know they are being paid fairly in comparison to their
colleagues
and externally fair
being paid fairly in comparison to those working in the same industry
Pink's theory argues → financial remuneration and rewards are not and should not
be the primary way of motivating people
limitations
does not apply across all professions
national borders
and cultures

Summary
Table 2.4.b Summary of motivational theories and their main findings

Theorist Theory Main findings

F.W. Scientific
Pay above all → main source of motivation
Taylor Management
A Hierarchy of
Levels of human needs → from psychological to self-actualization
Maslow needs
F Two factor
Hygiene factors (which do not motivate alone) and Motivators
Herzberg theory
J.S. Workers → motivated if there is fairness in remuneration
Equity theory
Adams packages
Autonomy, mastery, and purpose → drives of motivation in
D.H. Pink Drive theory
modern societies of the 21st century