Secondary Findings
McGregor
I have researched various people’s views of personnel needs. The first theory I looked at was the X and Y theories by Douglas McGregor. This is the view of the workers from a managerial point of view.
The X Theory managers assume that workers:
- Are Lazy;
- Lack ambition and responsibility;
- Must be forced to work;
- Want money and security.
Managers who believed in the X theory refuse to delegate, or give up, some of their own power to other people. They like to control people and tell them what to do. They like to reward and punish and keep firm control over their employees.
The Y Theory managers assume that workers:
- Like work;
- Want responsibility;
- Can exercise self-control;
- Are not motivated only by security.
Managers who believe in Theory Y try to give all employees to have a say. They want to encourage people to work on their own or in a team and are willing to delegate.
Maslow
The second theory I looked at was the Maslow theory and his Hierarchy of Needs. His hierarchy of needs looked some thing like this:
As the lowest sections are fulfilled then the higher sections become more of a necessity.
The first need is Physical. These are people’s basic needs food, warmth and water needs to satisfy the human body.
The second need is Safety. This is so people feel like they have things to keep them safe. They have a family, good job; pension when they retire this makes a better person.
The third need is Social. This is needed so that people feel like they belong. This is concerned with personal relationships and being pert of a group. This can be stimulated buy having uniforms or something that distinguishes you in some way from other people.
The fourth need is Self-Esteem needs. This is important for all people, they need to feel happy with what they have achieved. To quench needs such as this a goal for better things has to be made available they need chances for a promotion a method of moving on and progressing.
The fifth and final need is Self-Fulfillment. This cannot be entirely achieved in my opinion as you all-ways have a new target set in your head after the old one has been accomplished. To fulfill ones self you must have a sense of personal achievement and growth. Work satisfies this need for many of the self-employed, professional people and company managers. There is very little sense of self-fulfillment for many manual workers doing routine work on assembly lines or at checkout tills.
Taylor
The third theory I looked at was the Taylor theory. This theory is rather slim and to the point I also think that this theory is rather negative. Taylor believed that workers were naturally lazy and were motivated only buy money. Their work needed to be planned for them; they should be told what to do. This is because it applies to the people of his time where money was scarce and poverty was high. Companies such as Nike are able to pay their manufacturing workers very poor amounts of money because they desperately need it to stay alive. Maslow's Hierarchy of needs the first need is Physiological this means money for food warmth and water. This theory contradicts the X and Y theories and the theory of Maslow.
Analysis
From my primary research I have found that people are not easily motivated. There is not one clear path to follow in order to motivate all people. All people are DIFFERENT. They want good working conditions, good pay and an enjoyable job. They are different, but like to be treated as individuals. They need special attention so it is hard to find a motivational theory that is universal but to apply your own on people specifically rather than deploying the same tactic on all staff. I must locate the workers that need hard motivation, those that need soft and gentle motivation and then those who just need a little praise and encouragement. I must also adapt my plan for motivation very frequently
In my personal opinion I believe that Maslow's theory of motivation. This is because Maslow’s theory is adaptable. It involves a lot of assessment by the manager to concentrate on the need the worker is trying to fulfill and to help them to fulfill it. An example of this would be if a student just starting work, lots of tuition fees to pay off and loans taken would be less interested in money than that of a worker that had been with the firm 20 years would not be so interested in pay and more in the second two levels of Maslow's hierarchy.
McGregor’s theory talks about a manager’s attitude and how they should adapt to incorporate the workers needs in a boss. The views of a manager dictate the stature of the workers motivation. I would aim in my Music Shop to be a Y manager. This is because the workers I want to employ have to fit my profile in a person otherwise they will most likely not fit my profile as a good sales-person.
The theory of Taylor solely relies on the aspect of money and pay. He believes that a worker is working for money and for that alone. Self-fulfillment and enjoying work do not come into his view of motivation. I don’t agree with this view I think that the career choices made by a person reflect their attitude of work. If the choose a fun-filled job with low pay, this tells me that they are more interested in their personal enjoyment rather than an extravagant way of life. If they were to choose a boring high paid job, my reflection of the person would either be they enjoy an extravagant and luxurious lifestyle removing the fun found by some in their jobs.
My Plan
I think that different things motivate different people. This is the way Maslow thinks of motivation.
- I am going to incorporate the theories of both Maslow and McGregor. I like the way Maslow thinks of layers and of the workers and I like the way that McGregor talks about how managers picture their workers and how that can influence motivation.
- I will give regular bonuses to people who deserve them. I must make the targets I set SMART. They must be specific, measurable, achievable, restricted and time restrained. An example of this is: Sell 100 CD’s by the end of the week without changing the price.
- I will try my best to be around at all times. This is so my staff feel that I am taking an interest and they don’t feel like they are just employees but a team. The people I have talked to feel this is a good indication of how a manager feels about his business. They call this walking the floor.
- I will pay very close attention to effort put in by all of my workers and if the standard of a particular worker drops too low without noticeable increase, I will try to locate the problem of the worker. If they are just feeling down or an upsetting incident has occurred out of work. Is shall try and help maybe give time off. If this is not the case and they are appearing lazy other methods will be used. I shall discipline or even sack the worker so no to de-motivate other workers.
- I will have to locate what motivates different employees. I would rather have a small set of employees that I can understand and get along with them.
- I will try to give my workers a lot of le-way so they can do their own thing without letting the get away from the overall aim of things.
- I will most certainly experiment with different team building courses myself before sending my workers off to try it. I will do this frequently around every 6/7 weeks.
- I will take one motivational theory that I have not covered but I think applies; this is the theory of Herzberg. Herzberg theorized about de-motivating factors. He said that the de-motivating factors are as important as the motivating factors. He thought that if a worker walked into a dirty toilet he, what impression would he get about how his manager thought about them. I must notice the small things in order to stop de-motivation occurring. I will keep the standard of my rest area very good. The facilities must be cleaned quite regularly so not to de-motivate my workers. The small things I would like to be good rather than the big things because they are the things that just annoy workers. This will be achieved by an anonymous toll of what is wrong done by the workers on a regular basis.
- In order not to appear un-caring my Christmas bonus will be rather substantial. The working out will be quite simple. What I can afford to pay my workers, as a salary will not be what I pay them. I will take a small percentage of what I can afford to pay them and put it into the Christmas bonus account. This will of course gain some interest and will be put back to the workers. This will make my workers feel happy to be employed here as they are being treated with respect and not with disrespect. The Christmas bonus will not be for all staff regardless of their effort. The bigger the effort the more they get at Christmas.
- One thing that I will incorporate into my shop is a customer analysis box. There will be some kind of incentive to fill out the form like a gift voucher of some kind. The most sales, the best reviews and the most enthusiastic worker will receive a prize for each individual Month. The employee with the most after the whole year will receive a prize E.G a Christmas hamper.
- The staff after a month trial run will receive a staff discount at our music shop. The staff discount will be 10%. The social room will contain a drinks machine, drinks chosen by the staff and it will be half price at our expense for worker.
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Promotion will be a very delicate factor as it is hard to promote someone inside a small business. After a while the store will have grown and promotion will be easier. There will be a hierarchy the first will be trainee, junior assistant, senior assistant, supervisor then manager. Promotion can only occur up one and in an over a minimum of 4 months. (See chart FG: 1)
Bibliography
- CGP- GCSE Business Studies- Revision Guide.
- GCSE – Business studies – Alain Anderton.
- Primary Research- Pirbright Electrical Contractors- workers.
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www.forestinfo.org/Discover/ population.htm - Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
H://David Love/Business Studies/Motivational Report.doc Page of