Discuss the possible reaction of the sales team to the new incentive scheme

To start, I will talk about Taylor’s Theory and how would it fit into this case. Taylor believed that man was driven or motivated by money alone and the only factor that could stimulate further effort was the chance of earning extra money. He concluded that the solution to increase motivation was to base wage levels on the output. This is exactly what Mr Smith does in his new incentive scheme: he adds a commission to the payment system (this is a perfect example of basing the wage levels on the output) to motivate the sales team and get better results. In conclusion, according to Taylor’s Theory, this new incentive scheme would have result in a motivated staff.

On the other hand, Herzberg’s Two-factor Theory suggests that commission-based work does not motivate. He classified salary as a hygiene factor affecting motivation. Hygiene factors are the ones that may cause dissatisfaction in the staff. He considered that these factors had to be addressed by management to prevent dissatisfaction, but, even if they were in place, they would not create a well-motivated workforce. This means that Mr Smith new incentive scheme would not necessarily motivate the sales staff.

Also, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs Theory does not support Mr Smith new payment system as it suggests that it won’t give the employees job security, one of the conditions find in safety needs. This would happen because the salary they receive is not a fixed amount anymore so they may earn less than before, or because they could be sacked at any moment if they don’t sell enough. In other words, what Maslow suggests is that this new system might force employees to worry about security, resulting a non-motivating staff.

In conclusion, according to Taylor’s Theory, the reaction of the sales staff to this new incentive would be positive in relation to achieving the business’s objective that is to increase sales volume. However, it would be negative and would not help accomplish the objective according to Maslow’s and Herzberg’s Theories.