He has identified five major motivations, and my perception of these is as follows, however, this is not my perspective on a motivated group of employees.
Motivator factors
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Achievement - that the individual feels that something has been accomplished by his/her efforts.
Example: A shop assistant, in a supermarket, who puts forward an idea on how to generate sales, receives achievement when management implements the idea within the organisation.
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Recognition - that others (and management) realise that the role the individual is playing in the organisation is important and is appreciated.
Example: When an employee is recognised by both a customer and management for good service.
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The work itself - that the job provides variety and interest and is not extremely boring.
Example: An Airhostess travelling to many different destinations will have variety and interest in their job, instead of having the same route to fly from day to day.
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Responsibility - that the employee has enough freedom to make his/her own decisions. Also, that the individual is given a job role that meets or reaches his/her potentials.
Example: If, within an office, the computer system crashed, then the employee should have the responsibility and authority to call upon a technician to rectify the problem. This should be done without having to consult the manager.
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Advancement - that the employee perceives that he/she can be promoted if his/her skills and performance warrant it.
Example: A schoolteacher who has put much effort into their work may have the opportunity to be promoted to vice-principal, or even, principal.
The hygiene factors that Herzberg identified are features of the work or organisation that help to maintain an individuals 'good feelings' about the job, but do not necessarily motivate themselves. Typical hygiene factors:
- Company policy and Administration
- Supervision
- Salary
- Relations with co-workers
- Working conditions
For example, when an employee acquires their salary at the end of the month, they feel good; however, they will not be motivated if their salary is not equitable.
Academic critics have crudely handled Herzberg’s theory. Smith and Robertson (1985) believe that:
"People are more likely to attribute such experiences as achievement and recognition to themselves and to attribute dissatisfying experiences to external aspects of their environment."
I also disagree with Herzberg's dual theory and contemplate that this theory would not be a useful guide for managerial actions.
Motivation and Work behaviour
People differ in a variety of ways and a great deal of theory and research has been expended in efforts to understand the nature of individual differences.
Work is a central part of many people's lives in modern society. When asked if people would continue to work in the absence of any financial need, 69% of a sample of men and 65% of a sample of women from the British workforce said yes. (Warr 1982) (Cited by Smith and Robertson 1985).
Warr (1982) has reviewed the functions that work fulfils for people and identifies the following benefits of having a job:
- Money
- Activity
- Variety
- Temporal structure
- Social contacts
- Status and identity in society
(Cited by Smith and Robertson 1985)
The most obvious benefit of a job is that it provides income for the jobholder. Although the importance of this benefit should not be understated, it is clear from the percentage of people who would continue to work if they did not need the money that there is more to work than financial gain. The activity provided by the job gives people an opportunity to use their skills and knowledge. A job provides variety by taking people out of their domestic environment and for most people a job also influences the way their time is structured and used. The social aspects of work include an opportunity and an environment in which to interact with others and the provision of status and identity within society. In our society for example the question ‘What do you do? Has only one meaning, ‘What work do you do?.
Motivation is in relation to the strength and direction of human behaviour.1 For example, problems such as why two people with the same ability produce different levels of performance or why someone works hard at one task but not at the other, may be explained in terms of motivation.
As I have stated earlier, every manager has their own theory of a motivated group and a satisfied group of employees; therefore, I have arrived at a theory that I acknowledge:
Thus, the 69% of men and the 65% of women in the sample of workers Warr selected from the British workforce are motivated workers. A group that is prepared to work when there is no need must acquire activity. Motivation is a Latin term which means move, therefore, to be motivated it requires activity. People will not carry out a job without some reward just because they have no financial need. Therefore, I have concluded that motivated individuals prefer activity and reward (money) in their work.
Satisfied individuals, on the other hand, have no interest in the activity that their job provides, hence, they are only attracted to the outcome: Money only.
Money and Motivation
As Taylor points out:
“Money is the chief motivator”
However, this does not mean that offering money always increases motivation. A minority of employees do not value money and the compensation package may be assembled in such a way that it fails to motivate.
In many cases, wages do not act as a motivator because performance is not linked to rewards. For example: in the majority of jobs, pay is linked to seniority and length of service rather than efficiency and effort. This is certainly true of jobs within the government service.
On the other hand, the jobs which pay is linked to performance (i.e. the employee is on commission or piece-rate) it is most often found that the jobholder is highly motivated.
Often performance is linked by factors outside the control of the individual such as the rate of a conveyer belt. In relation to these difficulties many organisations settle for establishing a rate for the job, which is paid to all the holders of the job concerned. However, the rate, which is used, will have an effect on the motivation of employees.
Many organisations can only pay fixed salaries and make yearly salary adjustments. Thus, an annual pay raise is about the only indicator the employees of such a firm have of how the organisation views their performance. In general, both the good (the motivated employee) and the poor (the satisfied employee) performer receive the same yearly gain.
In Management of Organisational Behaviour3, Adams (1965) states the equity theory:
“A theory of motivation that suggests that behaviour is motivated by the desire to reduce guilt or anger associated with social exchanges that is perceived to be unfair”.
According to the above theory employees balance what they put into the job with what they receive from it. If the inputs and rewards do not balance, individuals try to make them equal by changing the degree of effort they put into their work. Thus, if the money is too high they will try harder in order to match their employer’s generosity.
Performance (Activity) and Motivation
Motivation plays an important part in both an individual’s and a company’s performance. Even a very well trained and very able employee will not perform well unless motivated. The relationship with performance can be expressed by the formula:
Performance = ability x training x effort
The above three factors are performance related. If none of these are present in an individual’s activity at work, it is not possible for that person to be motivated.
Higher motivation does not always result in a direct increase in productivity because, in many jobs, other people or the pace of machines limits productivity. For example: higher motivation amongst production line workers will not result in higher productivity because the speed of the line will determine the pace of work and the speed of the line will often be adjusted to the speed of one of the slower workers.
Another example of this is a Sales Assistant in a retail shop. Increased motivation may not result in increased sales. This may depend on the number of people who actually pass the shop, consequently, not a direct link between productivity and motivation.
CONCLUSION
An obvious means of attempting to explain the strength and direction of behaviour (i.e. motivation) is to assume that people experience certain psychological ‘needs’ and that when the needs are not met ‘drives’ to satisfy the needs are experienced.
The satisfied worker receives their need when they acquire money. Hence, when a motivated employee acquires money their need is not met, but when they involve their ability, effort and training (performance) they experience the drive to satisfy their needs.
Every manager and organisation is concerned with getting the optimum return from each employee. An employee, who has to experience the ‘drive’ to satisfy his/her need, would be one that I would be getting the optimum return from as a manager.
In conclusion to the above, I would prefer a motivated group of employees.
The motivation of employees should be of vital concern to all managers. This is no easy management responsibility since individuals differ in what motivates them. The situation is further complicated by the fact that motivation is not a simple circumstance and several theories are needed to account for even the basic facts.
Reference list
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Robertson, I.T., Smith, M. (1985) Motivation and job design: theory; research and practice. London: Institute of Personnel Management.
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Rue, L.W., Byars, L.L. (2000) Management: skills and application. 9th Edition. United States of America. Craig S. Beytien.
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Wagner, J.A., Hollenback, J.R. (1995) Management of Organisational Behaviour. 2nd Edition. New Jersey: Simon & Schuster.
Bibliography
Mullins, Laurie.J. (1996) Management and organisation behaviour. 4th Edition. London: Pitman.
Robertson, I.T. Smith, M. (1985) Motivation and job design: theory, research and practice. London: Institute of Personnel Management.
Rue, L.W. Byars, L.L. (2000) Management: skills and application. 9th Edition. United States of America: Craig S. Beytien.
Steers, R.M. Lyman, W. (1991) Motivation and work behaviour. 5th Edition. New York; London: McGraw-Hill.
Wagner, J.A. (1995) Management of Organisational Behaviour. 2nd Edition. New Jersey: Simon & Schuster.
