ASSESSMENT OF THE EVOLUTION OF

THEORIES OF MOTIVATION OVER TIME

Submitted by :
Atul Shivnani
FT11215

Fayol’s 14 principles of management:

1. Division of Work - The specialization of the workforce according to the skills a
person, creating specific personal and professional development within the labour force
and therefore increasing productivity; leads to specialization which increases the
efficiency of labor. By separating a small part of work, the workers speed and accuracy
in its performance increases

2. Authority and Responsibility - The issue of commands followed by responsibility

for their consequences. Authority means the right of a superior to give order to his
subordinates; responsibility means obligation for performance. This principle suggests
that there must be parity between authority and responsibility.

3. Discipline - Discipline refers to obedience, proper conduct in relation to others,

respect of authority, etc. It is essential for the smooth functioning of all organizations.

4. Unity of Command - This principle states that every subordinate should receive
orders and be accountable to one and only one superior. If an employee receives
orders from more than one superior, it is likely to create confusion and conflict.

Unity of Command also makes it easier to fix responsibility for mistakes.

5. Unity of Direction - All those working in the same line of activity must understand
and pursue the same objectives. All related activities should be put under one group,
there should be one plan of action for them, and they should be under the control of one
manager.
6. Subordination of Individual Interest - The management must put aside personal
considerations and put company objectives first. Therefore the interests of goals of the
organization must prevail over the personal interests of individuals.

7. Remuneration - Workers must be paid sufficiently as this is a chief motivation of

employees and therefore greatly influences productivity. The quantum and methods of
remuneration payable should be fair, reasonable and rewarding of effort.

8. The Degree of Centralization - The amount of power wielded with the central
management depends on company size. Centralization implies the concentration of
decision making authority at the top management. Sharing of authority with lower levels
is called decentralization. The organization should strive to achieve a proper balance.

9. Scalar Chain - Scalar Chain refers to the chain of superiors ranging from top
management to the lowest rank. The principle suggests that there should be a clear line
of authority from top to bottom linking all managers at all levels. It is considered a chain
of command.

10. Order - Social order ensures the fluid operation of a company through authoritative
procedure. Material order ensures safety and efficiency in the workplace.

11. Equity - Employees must be treated kindly, and justice must be enacted to ensure a
just workplace. Managers should be fair and impartial when dealing with employees.

12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel - The period of service should not be too short
and employees should not be moved from positions frequently. An employee cannot
render useful service if he is removed before he becomes accustomed to the work
assigned to him.

13. Initiative - Using the initiative of employees can add strength and new ideas to an
organization. Initiative on the part of employees is a source of strength for the
organization because it provides new and better ideas. Employees are likely to take
greater interest in the functioning of the organization.

14. Esprit de Corps - This refers to the need of managers to ensure and develop
morale in the workplace; individually and communally. Team spirit helps develop an
atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding. These can be used to initiate and aid
the processes of change, organization, decision making, skill management and the
overall view of the management function.
The 14 principles of management by Fayol cover the wide spectrum of motivation
factors yet people are more complex than that. It generalizes the motivation aspect for
every person. We understand that team spirit helps develop an atmosphere of mutual
trust and understanding, but it may not be true for all. As I have seen over the years,
some of them like to be left alone and perform best in silos.

McGregor D, Theory X and Theory Y

With Theory X assumptions, management's role is to coerce and control employees.

o People have an inherent dislike for work and will avoid it whenever possible.
o People must be coerced, controlled, directed, or threatened with punishment in
order to get them to achieve the organizational objectives.
o People prefer to be directed, do not want responsibility, and have little or no
ambition.
o People seek security above all else.

With Theory Y assumptions, management's role is to develop the potential in

employees and help them to release that potential towards common goals.

o Work is as natural as play and rest.

o People will exercise self-direction if they are committed to the objectives (they
are NOT lazy).
o Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their
achievement.
o People learn to accept and seek responsibility.
o Creativity, ingenuity, and imagination are widely distributed among the
population. People are capable of using these abilities to solve an organizational
problem.
o People have potential.

McGregor’s theory while relevant at most work places, divides the whole workplace into
two poles. It is not practical in today’s environment and most workers lie somewhere in
between these two ends. Yet, the theory provides us a framework on which policies can
be designed and remains a guiding principle of positive approaches to management.

Hofstede G, Do American Theories apply abroad, Organizational

Dynamics
Through this study Hofstede looked to study the cultural conditioning of various
individuals where cultural conditioning is the unconscious process by which we are
socialized to adopt the ways of thinking or behaving Hofstede studied the cultural
dimensions across nations and how these could be applied to the management
theories. The four dimensions studied were as follows

Power Distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and
institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. This
represents inequality (more versus less), but defined from below, not from above.

Uncertainty Avoidance deals with a society's tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity.
It indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable
or comfortable in unstructured situations. Uncertainty avoiding cultures try to minimize
the possibility of such situations by strict laws and rules, safety and security measures.

Individualism on the one side versus its opposite, collectivism is the degree to which
individuals are integrated into groups. On the individualist side we find societies in which
the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after her/himself
and her/his immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people
from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended
families.

Masculinity versus its opposite, femininity refers to the distribution of emotional roles
between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society to which a
range of solutions are found. The assertive pole has been called masculine and the
modest, caring pole feminine.

These dimensions can be used to see what inspires people and what motivates them.
These dimensions might not be applicable completely but they would give a general
way of thinking which can be appied to the country’s population.

Taylor F.W., Scientific Management

Develop a science of work

The science of work would be achieved by measuring output, and by performing
detailed studies of time and human movement. With these studies, improvements could
be made to the tools and workstation designs used by workers, which would increase
effectiveness.

Scientific selection and training

Workers should be scientifically selected and trained. Frederick Taylor theorized that
workers had different aptitudes, and that each worker should be fitted to the job. The
task of management was therefore to select the workers fitting to the specific job, and
also to scientifically train every worker in the most productive way of performing the
specific task. By doing this correctly, every worker would be selected and trained to
achieve his/her utmost potential.

Educate workers and managers in the benefits of Scientific Management

Both workers and managers should be educated in understanding the benefits of
scientific management.

Specialization and collaboration between workers and managers

Management should focus on developing, designing and supervising improved systems,
whereas workers should concentrate on performing their manual duties. If everyone
fulfils their respective role, no conflict would arise between management and workers,
since the Scientific Management approach would find the best solution for all parties
concerned.

Frederick Taylor strongly believed that the Scientific Management approach would solve
conflicts between workers and managers, and that the approach had the potential of
highly increasing the productivity of organization. While the approach has its benefits, it
is in effect trying to quantify the worker output in numbers. It eliminates creativity from
the system and rewards repetitive excellence. It can lead to boredom as the motivation
factor of learning and gaining knowledge and thereby growing isn’t accounted for. It’s
akin to automating the human process. There is also a possibility that the workers would
feel exploited as there is no way that good performance would be rewarded and that
would lead to stagnation. Scientific management lays emphasis on standard output,
time so workers have to rush up and finish the work in time.

Mayo E, Hawthorne and the Western Electric Company

Relay assembly experiments

In one of the studies, experimenters chose two women as test subjects and asked them
to choose four other workers to join the test group. Together the women worked in a
separate room over the course of five years (1927–1932) assembling telephone relays.

Output was measured mechanically by counting how many finished relays each
dropped down a chute. This measuring began in secret two weeks before moving the
women to an experiment room and continued throughout the study. In the experiment
room, they had a supervisor who discussed changes with them and at times used their
suggestions. Then the researchers spent five years measuring how different variables
impacted the group's and individuals' productivity. Some of the variables were:

 Giving two 5-minute breaks (after a discussion with them on the best length of time), and
then changing to two 10-minute breaks (not their preference). Productivity increased, but
when they received six 5-minute rests, they disliked it and reduced output.
  providing food during the breaks
 Shortening the day by 30 minutes (output went up); shortening it more (output per hour
went up, but overall output decreased); returning to the first condition (where output
peaked).

Changing a variable usually increased productivity, even if the variable was just a
change back to the original condition. However it is said that this is the natural process
of the human being to adapt to the environment without knowing the objective of the
experiment occurring. Researchers concluded that the workers worked harder because
they thought that they were being monitored individually.

Researchers hypothesised that choosing one's own coworkers, working as a group,

being treated as special (as evidenced by working in a separate room), and having a
sympathetic supervisor were the real reasons for the productivity increase. One
interpretation, mainly due to Elton Mayo was that "the six individuals became a team
and the team gave itself wholeheartedly and spontaneously to cooperation in the
experiment."

Bank wiring room experiments

The purpose of the next study was to find out how payment incentives would affect
productivity. The surprising result was that productivity actually decreased. Workers
apparently had become suspicious that their productivity may have been boosted to
justify firing some of the workers later on. The study was conducted by Mayo and W.
Lloyd Warner between 1931 and 1932 on a group of fourteen men who put together
telephone switching equipment. The researchers found that although the workers were
paid according to individual productivity, productivity decreased because the men were
afraid that the company would lower the base rate. Detailed observation between the
men revealed the existence of informal groups or "cliques" within the formal groups.
These cliques developed informal rules of behavior as well as mechanisms to enforce
them. The cliques served to control group members and to manage bosses; when
bosses asked questions, clique members gave the same responses, even if they were
untrue. These results show that workers were more responsive to the social force of
their peer groups than to the control and incentives of management.

As these two experiments revealed that when the employees feel that the management
gives sufficient attention to them, it motivates them to perform better. Yet it is possible
only with frequent changes of environment and any prolonged hold up brings the
productivity level down to pre change levels. Another school of thought says that any
input should have a feedback loop as the productivity might have increased at the cost
of employee satisfaction.

When I was working for TCS, a change in employee travel reimbursement policies
whereby management decided that all reimbursements should be made within 15 days
of application, took the productivity of my team up a few notches. Yet, when they
changed the policy from providing reimbursements to that of providing an advance
amount against reimbursements, the team was happy again.