Motivation Theories

By Abdulla Al-Muhannadi and Saud Al-Thani

Bibliography: wikipedia + google

Taylor
Believes that

Paying workers more and increasing their salaries will surely increase their motivation.

Taylor developed his theory of "scientific management" as he worked his way up from a labourer to a works manager in a US steelworks. From his observations, Taylor made three key assumptions about human behaviour at work: (1) That the average worker is purely concerned about maximising profits; (2) People respond as individuals, not as groups (3) People can be treated in a standardised fashion (all treated to a specific standard)

 The

implications of Taylor's theory for managing behaviour at work were: The main form of motivation is high wages, linked to output (products produced) A manager's job is to tell employees what to do A worker's job is to do what they are told and get paid accordingly

Weakness in his theory

The most obvious weakness in Taylor's approach is that it ignores the many differences between people. There is no guarantee that a "best way" will suit everyone. Secondly, whilst money is an important motivation at work for many people, it isn't for everyone. Taylor overlooked the fact that people work for reasons other than financial reward.

McGregor
Manager X: believes that the average employee dislikes work and that they should be supervised constantly to monitor efficiency. Piece rates should be included as a supplement to increase output. Manager Y: The average employee is motivated through internal factors which make their workers interested in what theyre doing (e.g. through nonmonetary rewards such as job satisfaction).

Theory X

In this theory, management assumes employees are lazy and will avoid work if they can and that they dislike work. As a result of this, management believes that workers need to be closely supervised and comprehensive systems of controls developed. According to this theory, employees will show little ambition without an enticing incentive (something which will make them WANT to work) program and will avoid responsibility whenever they can.

Beliefs of this theory lead to mistrust and highly restrictive supervision. The Theory X manager tends to believe that everything must end in blaming someone. He/she thinks all prospective (future, potential) employees are only out for themselves. Usually these managers feel the sole purpose of the employee's interest in the job is money. They will blame the person first in most situations, without questioning whether it may be the system, policy, or lack of training that deserves the blame. A Theory X manager believes that his/her employees dont really want to work, that they would rather avoid responsibility and that it is the manager's job to structure the work and energise the employee.

Theory Y

In this theory, management assumes employees may be ambitious and selfmotivated and exercise self-control. It is believed that employees enjoy their mental and physical work duties.

They possess the ability for creative problem solving, but their talents are underused in most organizations. Given the proper conditions, theory Y managers believe that employees will learn to seek out and accept responsibility and to exercise self-control and self-direction in accomplishing objectives to which they are committed. A Theory Y manager believes that, given the right conditions, most people will want to do well at work. They believe that the satisfaction of doing a good job is a strong motivation. Many people interpret Theory Y as a positive set of beliefs about workers.

 He

thinks that Theory Y managers are more likely than Theory X managers to develop the climate of trust with employees that is required for human resource development. It's here through human resource development that is a crucial aspect of any organisation.

Maslow and his hierarchy of needs

Morality, creativity, lack of prejudice (e.g. racial tension)

Confidence, respect, selfesteem Friendship, family Security of things like: workplace, body, family and property Food, water, sleep

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest and most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actualisation at the top. The most basic four layers of the pyramid contain what Maslow called "deficiency needs(defective/inadequate): esteem , friendship and love, security, and physical needs. With the exception of the most fundamental (physiological) needs, if these "deficiency needs" are not met, the body gives no physical indication but the individual feels anxious and tense. Maslow's theory suggests that the most basic level of needs must be met before the individual will strongly desire (or focus motivation upon) the secondary or higher level needs.

Herzberg
Referred to as "The Dual Structure theory" Herzberg proposed the MotivationHygiene Theory, also known as the Two Factor Theory (1959) of job satisfaction. According to his theory, people are influenced by two sets of factors:

People are made dissatisfied by a bad environment, but they are seldom made satisfied by a good environment. The prevention of dissatisfaction is just as important as encouragement of motivator satisfaction. Hygiene factors operate independently of motivation factors. An individual can be highly motivated in his work and be dissatisfied with his work environment. All hygiene factors are equally important, although their frequency of occurrence differs considerably. Hygiene improvements have short-term effects. Any improvements result in a short-term removal of, or prevention of, dissatisfaction.