If an organisation wants to get the best performance out of their employees they are going to have to find successful ways to motivate their employees. When employees are motivated it means that they are performing at their best. Obviously this is essential for businesses and there desired work mode, but they very often need to give incentives to employees to actually get them motivated. Some times this is done by performance related pay, or bonuses and gifts. Some organisations will literally through incentives at you left right and centre just to bring up the level of motivation, and a common organisation to do so is double glazing firms.
3.21.2.3. – Douglas McGregor and theory X and Y
McGregor also came up with his own motivational theory. He believed that managers made sweeping generalisations about the people who worked for them. He said that they would be put into either of two categories, which were X and Y. he also believed that they would manager their organisation using a theory X or Y management style.
Theory X –
This states that employees are lazy, un ambitious and dislike extra responsibilities. They will always rest change of any kind and are totally uninterested win their future success or otherwise of their employer. They are also not interested in how the organisations works and they just get on with what they have got to do.
Theory Y –
This theory is fundamentally the opposite from theory X. employees are interested in their work and want to be asked for their opinions on how to improve things. They would really like to be given more responsibilities and are very hard working. They are prepared to except any changes which might occur within the organisation. It is basically the opposite of theory X.
If a manager was to adapt theory X they would have to make sure that they supervised their employers so that they did not slack, phone in sick constantly and turned up on time. There will need to be a lot of specific rules and regulations enforced and consequences if these are not followed. Inspections will need to be carried out to make sure that quality of the products is remained at a high level.
There will be no attempt made by a manager who uses the theory X management style to ask their employees about their opinions on the running of the organisation.
A theory Y manager can be very positive about his or hers employees. They can leave them to get on with their own thing which saves a lot of time. Quality assessments will not be needed as often because the quality will be generally higher and this will save a lot of money and time. The other thing is that employees will want to do overtime and very often enough not for any extra money. It will be a much happier workforce and employees will be much more concerned about their future career prospects.
These ideas by McGregor means that to this day people will describe an organisation as theory X or Y. however no organisation can be completely X or Y. this could mean that and organisation with a theory X style may have employees who are classed under theory Y and many people are getting away with things that they shouldn’t, therefore it is not uncommon to have a mixture throughout and organisation and even within different departments.
3.21.2.4 – Fredrick Herzberg and the Two Factor theory
Fredrick Herzberg devised a theory of his own which is known as ‘motivational-hygiene’ which stated that two groups of factors affect employee motivation. Herzberg believed that there are certain elements in a job which will motivate employees to work harder which are known as satsifiers. These can include the following:
- Achievement
- Recognition
- Responsibility
- Advancement and personal growth
- And the work itself.
There are other elements too, which do not motivate people to work harder, these are called hygiene factors which include:
- Pay and conditions – this could include such things as a company car
- Status
- Job security
- Relationships with other employees
- The quality of the organisations managers.
Herzberg’s main point was that hygiene factors will not motivate people but if they are not very good then the satisfiers will not motivate others.
3.21.2.5 – other theories
There have also been other theories made, to explain employee’s motivation. These are:
- Expectancy theory – stating that employees will only be motivated to work harder if they believe there is a big enough reward at the end of it.
- Equity theory – people are better motivated when they feel they are fairly treated.
- Goal theory – employees are set specific goals and then they are motivated more effectively if the goals are achieved and there is a chance of money or promotion
- Reactance theory – employees are motivated by what they think they have achieved. So if the pay is tied to performance it will motivate them to work harder for a bigger reward.
One other things that I think is very important to make sure that occurs between employers and their staff is trust. If an employee trusts their employer they are much more likely to perform better because their relationship is strong and they trust each others judgements. Say for example, in appraisals being bale to trust each other will mean that realistic targets can be set because they trust the each others judgements. Also if employers trust their employees it will mean more responsibility will be given to them, which will motivate them even more so, so again enhancing their performance.
