I believe that this motivational theory is flawed to a certain degree because people do not just work for money they also work to socialise and many other factors like earning respect from fellow employees. Taylor’s theory is based on the fact that your pay should be linked to your output. This prospect does not appeal to all people as we are different in many ways, it may also lead to employees cutting corners to make it appear they have done more than they have. This is counter productive to increasing productivity because then the product is just of sub standard quality and most of the time quality is more important than quantity in business. Taylors theory was mainly used in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s this shows that his theory is out of date and incorrect because companies have realised peoples sole interest is not money.
Another motivation theory that companies may wish to use improve their overall productivity, is Maslows hierarchy of needs. The following diagram is a representation of the theory.
Maslows approach unlike Taylor’s takes into account the physiological and social aspects of working at a company. This theory and the others related to it are known as Human relations approach opposed to Taylor’s scientific management. Maslows theory consists of two parts, one is how the classification of human needs is represented and the other is how the classes of human needs relate to each other.
The classes of needs are displayed below.
The hierarchy works by a person starting at the bottom and these needs are filled by money that provides food and water as well as a place to live. The person then moves up to next level which is safety needs and having job security as well as being provided with the relevant safety equipment satisfies this. Again once this is satisfied the person will move up to the next level social needs. This level is satisfied by feeling that you belong at a company and have friends there. The person will then move to esteem needs level and this is satisfied by being given praise that you are doing your job well a promotion would as satisfy this level. Once all these levels are completed it is only then that a person can become self-actualised which means they are satisfied in how they view themselves.
This theory will work well in the workplace in my opinion. This is because it addresses a lot of factors that affect productivity of employees, because even if an employee feels they are getting paid enough they may feel they are not valued enough and this may lead to them become demotivated. It puts the emphasis on other needs rather than the desire to have a really high paying job which is a not a realistic concept for most employees.
If this theory was applied by a company I think they would see some increase in productivity but not as full as possible because otherwise they would need to know the exact needs of every member of staff in their company and that is not a realistic concept in large corporate companies. This is not to say it is ineffective. There are some weak points to Maslows theory one is the fact that individual behaviour seems to respond to many different levels at one time not each on its own. There is also a problem of deciding when a level has actually been satisfied or if it has not yet been met.
Another motivational theory that is closely related to Maslows hierarchy and works on roughly the same principles is Herzberg’s two-factor theory. It is said that there are two relevant factors in improving productivity one is hygiene factors the other is motivator factors. Hygiene factors are based on the need to for a business to avoid unpleasantness at work. If employees consider these factors inadequate, then they can cause dissatisfaction with work as well as demotivation, which leads to a decrease in productivity. Hygiene factors include company policy and administration, wages, salaries, the quality of supervision, quality of inter-personal relations as well as job security. The motivation factors are Status, Opportunity for advancement, gaining recognition, responsibility, challenging stimulating work and a Sense of personal achievement & personal growth in a job. If hygiene needs are met then employees are not dissatisfied but they are not motivated either. If Motivation factors are met then employees will be satisfied and motivated as shown below.
If a company was to use this theory to motivate their employees into increasing productivity I think that I would increase the productivity but not to the full extent possible. This is because there a few main weaknesses to the theory such as the fact that like Maslow you do not really know when each of the factors has been met fully. If a company was to use this theory in coordination as Maslows hierarchy of needs I believe they would a greater increase in productivity from demotivated employees that are currently not working to there full potential.
There is another motivation theory that some companies may wish to use increase there general productivity overall. This is called the Hawthorne effect and it was pioneered by Elton Mayo. It is based on the fact that the mere fact that you show an interest in their performance will spur them on to better job performance. The basis of the Hawthorne effect is that giving people training in vital skills will make them feel as if they are valued and are on track to moving up the company ladder. This fact alone will motivate the person to work harder and more efficiently because they feel they are actually making some progress. This effect is independent from what the person thinks they have learned. Some people would say that it doesn’t matter what you teach the person the same outcome will be the positive one you want.
I think that if this theory was used in conjunction with the previous to theories it could benefit some companies very well if they applied if correctly. It would lead to an increase in productivity even though this may only be in the short term, but with regular training courses and interactions with the people at the top of the company this increased level of productivity could be kept at the increased level with benefit to employer and employee.
There are three main types of leadership one is an autocratic leader. This type of leader will take important decisions without consulting colleague’s who are lower down the hierarchy. This may in general decrease the productivity of employees lower than the leader and this in turn will lower the productivity on the company overall. The main reason for this is the fact that the employees lower down the hierarchy will not feel valued because there input is not required in decision making even though they will undoubtedly have valid points to put forward. This will lead to decreased productivity because they feel less valued because they are not at the level in the hierarchy.
