2.4. Motivation

Motivation Theories

Motivation is the willingness to put forth effort in pursuit of organisational objectives.

Taylorism – Taylor’s Scientific Management

Frederick Taylor wrote the book Principles of Scientific Management. In it he outlined his view point that the scientific method, which provides a logical framework for the analysis of problems, could be applied to the management process. The method consists of:

· Defining the problem;

· Gathering data;

· Analyzing the data;

· Developing alternatives;

· Selecting the best alternative.

Taylor believed that the use of the scientific method would direct the manager to the most efficient way work could be performed. Taylor’s philosophy is summarized as follows:

· Taylor proposed applying the scientific method to the practice of management to find the one best way to perform work.

· He suggested the use of scientific approaches to select employees who are best suited to perform a given job.

· He advanced the proposition that employees should be provided with scientific education, training and development.

· He encouraged friendly interaction and cooperation between management and employees, but with a clear separation of duties between managers and workers.

· He advocated that managers take charge of all work that they are better prepared to accomplish, ending the pattern of placing most of the work and the greater part of the responsibility on the workers.

Taylor believed that scientific management practices would benefit not only the employer, through increased output, but the workers as well, through increased income.

Thus Taylor felt that workers were motivated purely by money. Thus he would advocate a performance related pay structure in a services-oriented organisation, and a piece-rate pay scheme (paid a certain fixed amount for very unit produced) in a manufacturing unit.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow stated that individuals are motivated to satisfy certain unsatisfied needs. His theory of human motivation is based on the following assumptions:

• Unsatisfied needs motivate or influence behaviour
• Satisfied needs doe not motivate behaviour.
• Needs are arranged in a hierarchy.
• Needs at any level of the hierarchy emerge as a significant motivator only when the lower-level needs are reasonably well satisfied.

Criticism of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Certain studies suggest that needs fall into only two or three distinct categories, not five.
• Some critics say that the order of fulfilment may not always be the same.
• According to Maslow, a need that has been relatively well satisfied ceases to motivate. But this may not be true of self-esteem and self-actualisation needs.

Hygiene Factors

Hygiene factors, Herzberg, stated were capable of creating dissatisfaction but not positive motivation. They relate to the job context – the interrelated conditions in which the job is done. These factors related to the bottom three levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and include:

· Pay

· Status

· Security

· Working conditions

· Fringe benefits

· Policies and administrative practices

· Interpersonal relations

Herzberg concluded that hygiene factors cannot promote motivation but can cause dissatisfaction. Herzberg suggested that an organisation that meets only the hygiene needs of its employees will eliminate dissatisfaction but will not get superior performance.

Motivators

Motivators include challenging work, recognition for accomplishment, and the feeling of achievement. Herzberg’s motivators are concerned mainly with the job content (internal to the job). They would be aligned to Maslow’s top two levels in the hierarchy of needs and are as follows:

· Meaningful and challenging work.

· Recognition for accomplishment

· Feeling of achievement

· Increased responsibility

· Opportunities for growth and advancement.

· The job itself.

Herzberg contended that most managers give inadequate attention to the motivators, focusing instead on employee pay, benefits, and working conditions. Hygiene factors tend to be tangible and measurable. Motivators, on the other hand, are intangible and generally unquantifiable.

But hygiene factors, Herzberg said, cannot produce positive motivation. To achieve excellence, he believed, organisations must satisfy the needs related to both hygiene factors and motivators. The obvious implication is that management should show relatively more concern for providing challenging work, increased responsibility, recognition and other motivators.

According to Herzberg, management should focus on rearranging work so that motivator factors could take effect. He suggested three ways in which this could be done:

• Job Enlargement - involves expanding the job of an employee that has them doing more work of a similar nature to what they already do.
• Job Rotation - involves allowing employees to change the nature of their job periodically.
• Job Enrichment - involves giving the job-holder more decision-making responsibility; greater freedom about how the job should be done; Encourage employee feedback in the planning process and be seen to reflect that feedback in real change; and give the employee regular feedback

Task 3: Applying the motivational theories

Corie Jones joined Index Computers after working for IS Computers (ISC) for several years. At ISC, Corie had been paid a high salary, but he did not find the work rewarding. He was given specific programming tasks to perform but was not involved in designing complete software solutions to clients’ problems. He worked to tight deadlines. He was not assigned to a team and worked alone on most tasks. He felt that Index offered better career prospects

as well as the opportunity to take on more responsibility. He joined Index as a senior programmer on a higher salary – but this was less important to him than the chance to work as a team member. He was appointed to Daveena Davis’s five-member team of programmers. Corie had met her already and his team colleagues seemed

friendly and were appreciative of Daveena’s leadership. She recognised talent and achievement and wanted colleagues to reach their full potential. She allowed team members to take control of complete software solutions – not just a small section of them.

22 marks, 35 minutes

1 Explain which level of Maslow’s hierarchy Corie seemed to be on:

a atISC

b at Index Computers. [6]

2 Explain why team working might be important to Corie’s motivation. [6]

3 Evaluate, using this case study as a starting point, how Herzberg’s research on ‘hygiene and motivating factors’ can be effectively applied within a work environment. [10]

Key Points

Much like the five levels of needs determined by Maslow and the two factors of motivation as classified by Herzberg (intrinsic and extrinsic), the Adams' Equity Theory of motivation states that positive outcomes and high levels of motivation can be expected only when employees perceive their treatment to be fair. An employee's perception of this may include many factors (see outputs above). The idea behind Adams' Equity Theory is to strike a healthy balance here, with outputs on one side of the scale; inputs on the other – both weighing in a way that seems reasonably equal.

If the balance lies too far in favour of the employer, some employees may work to bring balance between inputs and outputs on their own, by asking for more compensation or recognition. Others will be demotivated, and still others will seek alternative employment.

Daniel Pink’s Theory of Motivation

A New Theory of Motivation

So, what to do with all this scientific information? Pink proposes that businesses should adopt a revised approach to motivation which fits more closely with modern jobs and businesses, one based on self-determination theory (SDT).

SDT proposes that human beings have an innate drive to be autonomous, self-determined and connected to one another, and that when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.

Organisations should focus on these drives when managing their human capital by creating settings which focus on our innate need to direct our own lives (autonomy), to learn and create new things (mastery), and to do better by ourselves and our world (purpose).

Here are a few initiatives that fit with Pink’s revised motivation theory which will assist your organisation motivate its employees in the correct way:

Autonomy – provide employees with autonomy over some (or all) of the four main aspects of work:

• When they do it (time) – Consider switching to a ROWE (results-only work environment) which focuses more on the output (result) rather than the time/schedule, allowing employees to have flexibility over when they complete tasks.
• How they do it (technique) – Don’t dictate how employees should complete their tasks. Provide initial guidance and then allow them to tackle the project in the way they see fit rather than having to follow a strict procedure.
• Whom they do it with (team) – Although this can be the hardest form of autonomy to embrace, allow employees some choice over who they work with. If it would be inappropriate to involve them in the recruitment/selection process, instead allow employees to work on open-source projects where they have the ability to assemble their own teams.
• What they do (task) - Allow employees to have regular ‘creative’ days where they can work on any project/problem they wish – there is empirical evidence which shows that many new initiatives are often generated during this ‘creative free time’.

Mastery – allow employees to become better at something that matters to them:

• Provide “Goldilocks tasks” – Pink uses the term “Goldilocks tasks” to describe those tasks which are neither overly difficult nor overly simple – these tasks allow employees to extend themselves and develop their skills further. The risk of providing tasks that fall short of an employee’s capabilities is boredom, and the risk of providing tasks that exceed their capabilities is anxiety.
• Create an environment where mastery is possible – to foster an environment of learning and development, four essentials are required – autonomy, clear goals, immediate feedback and Goldilocks tasks.

Purpose – take steps to fulfil employees’ natural desire to contribute to a cause greater and more enduring than them:

• Communicate the purpose – make sure employees know and understand the organisation’s purpose goals not just its profit goals. Employees, who understand the purpose and vision of their organisation and how their individual roles contribute to this purpose, are more likely to be satisfied in their work.
• Place equal emphasis on purpose maximisation as you do on profit maximisation – research shows that the attainment of profit goals has no impact on a person’s well-being and actually contributes to their ill-being. Organisational and individual goals should focus on purpose as well as profit. Many successful companies are now using profit as the catalyst to pursuing purpose, rather than the objective.
• Use purpose-oriented words – talk about the organisation as a united team by using words such as “us” and “we”, this will inspire employees to talk about the organisation in the same way and feel a part of the greater cause.

The notion of increasing employee satisfaction through the intrinsic motivational methods of autonomy, master and purpose has obvious implications for remuneration models and incentive schemes traditionally used by organisations.

Task 4: Why Women are happier in their work than men

The world of work is a better experience for women than it is for men, according to a survey. Asked to rate their job satisfaction on a scale of one to seven, they scored an average of 5.56, while males scored 5.22. Experts appear divided over the reasons why women appear to get more out of their work than men. Many women work part time and have job-sharing schemes, which, the survey found, increased job satisfaction as they could pursue other interests too. In addition, older workers get the greatest satisfaction from their jobs, while university graduates are the most dissatisfied of all, according to the survey of 30 000 employees. Employees generally enjoyed their first years at work, but then job satisfaction falls between the ages of 30 and 40. But employees over 60 gained the greatest satis- faction from their work. Professor Andrew Oswald of Warwick University, who conducted the survey, said, ‘The young are just happy to have a job. As they grow older they realise that ambitions and needs may not be so easily fulfilled.’ It seems that we all begin thinking we will reach the top in our careers, but most of us are forced to adjust. ‘The older we get, the more settled and content with our role at work we get,’ he added. Graduates are often frustrated by the lack of challenging work on offer. They are often forced to take low- skilled jobs for which they are over-qualified in order to pay off debts. The survey also revealed that long hours at work did not turn people off their jobs.

Employees of small businesses and non-profit- making organisations, such as charities, were more motivated and happier at work than those working for big companies. David Hands, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said, ‘There is a greater camaraderie (friendship) in small firms than in big companies.’ Workers feel less involved and less secure in bigger firms. He added, ‘It is more relaxed in small firms and people enjoy it more. Many also get more responsibility which adds to their satisfaction.’

Source: Adapted from various sources

Questions

1 Explain what you understand by the terms:

a) motivation

b) responsibility. [4]

2 Identify two factors that seem to influence job satisfaction and explain them in terms of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. [6]

3 Explain in terms of the features of job enrichment why it might be easier for small firms to motivate staff than big businesses. [6]

4. Discuss the extent to which it might be possible for large firms to use Herzberg’s motivators to improve the level of worker motivation. [9]

Source: Business and Management for the IB Diploma

Task 5: Question on Motivation, performance and morale

TS Consultants has been asked to investigate the issues underlying the underperformance and low staff morale of the Finance Department in YR Hospital. The consultants have access to various sources of information such as the recent staff satisfaction survey which shows that staff morale in the department is low. In addition, statistics from the HR Department reveals that both absenteeism and staff turnover are exceptionally high in the Finance Department. There have also been many complaints from other areas of the hospital about both the management and staff working in the department. However, staff enjoy competitive salaries and other excellent working conditions such as free car parking, a subsidised canteen and access to sports facilities.

The consultants have run some focus groups with members of staff working in the department to try to gather more information to help them better understand the causes of underperformance and low staff morale. The findings suggest that there appears to be very much a “them and us” culture between management and staff, with the managers in the department exerting power based on their position and status. Staff say that they are only allowed to undertake the specific activities included in their narrow job descriptions and feel unable to fully contribute as a result of the chain of command in the Finance Department. Staff also say that they are not involved in decisions regarding the department’s activities, and many say they have not had any training. They mentioned that there are very few career progression opportunities because of this. They feel their contributions are not recognised by management and that they never receive feedback on their performance. Staff characterise the leadership and management of the department as task-focused, with tight controls and close supervision.

Having undertaken the review, the consultants are preparing the recommendations on how to improve the poor performance and low staff morale.

With reference to motivation theory, discuss the recommendations TS Consultants could make to help improve performance and staff morale in the Finance Department of YR Hospital.

Psychological Contracts

A psychological contract exists between individuals in an organization and the organization itself. Handy suggested that they are based on what each party wants and what they are prepared to give for it.

Three types of psychological contract can be identified:

1. Coercive contract – this is a contract in which the individual considers that they are being forced to contribute their efforts and energies involuntarily, and that the rewards they receive in return are inadequate compensation.

2. Calculative contract – this is a contract, accepted voluntarily by the individual, in which they expect to do their job in exchange for a readily identifiable set of rewards. With such psychological contracts, motivation can only be increased if the rewards to the individual are improved. If the organization attempts to demand greater efforts without increasing the rewards, the psychological contract will revert to a coercive one, and motivation may become negative.

3. Co-operative contract – this is a contract in which the individual identifies themselves with the organization and its goals, so that they actively seek to contribute further to the achievement of those goals. Motivation comes out of success at work, a sense of achievement, and self-fulfilment.

Psychological contracts are particularly relevant when considering staff turnover and retention rates. Employees are more likely to stay and be loyal to an organization where they perceive to have a co-operative contract rather than a coercive one.

Reward Systems

Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards

Employee rewards are usually classified under two broad headings i.e. intrinsic rewards and extrinsic rewards. Intrinsic rewards spring from the job itself and include things such as autonomy, responsibility and challenge. Extrinsic rewards are more tangible in nature and include pay, job security and working conditions. The relative importance of intrinsic over extrinsic rewards and vice versa is a much debated area, rooted in the various theories of motivation.

An organisation’s reward system will attempt to incorporate the motivational principles underlying the various theories in an attempt to improve or reinforce performance. Lawler (1977) concluded that five key factors influence satisfaction with a reward:

§ Satisfaction with a reward depends on the amount received versus the amount the individual feels he or she should receive

§ Comparisons with what happens to others influence people’s feelings of satisfaction

§ Employees’ satisfaction with both the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards received from their jobs affects overall job satisfaction; individuals who are dissatisfied with the reward system are likely to express dissatisfaction with the jobs overall.

§ People differ widely in the rewards they desire and in what value they attach to those rewards. Effective reward systems should meet workers’ needs

§ Many extrinsic rewards satisfy workers only because they lead to other rewards; for example, increased pay may satisfy because of what it can buy

Contribution of an effective reward system to strategy achievement

Armstrong (1991) highlights a number of areas where an effective reward system can make a significant contribution to the achievement of corporate and functional objectives:

§ Develop a positive culture

§ Underline the organisation’s values, especially those concerned with excellence, performance, teamwork and quality

§ Convey a message to prospective high-calibre employees that the organisation will satisfy their reward expectations

§ Ensure that the right mix and levels of reward are provided in line with the culture of the organisation, the needs of the business, the needs of employers and economic, competitive, and market environment in which the business operates

§ Link reward policies, systems and procedures to the key business and human resource strategies for innovation, growth, development and the pursuit of excellence.

§ Develop a strong orientation towards the achievement of sustained high levels of performance throughout the organisation by recognising successful performance and increases in levels of competence, contributing to the process of improving, enhancing and energising all employees

§ Indicate to existing employees what types of behaviour will be rewarded and how this will take place, thus increasing motivation and improving performance.

Types of non-financial rewards

Job redesign, rotation, enlargement and enrichment

a) Job redesign aims to improve performance through increasing the understanding and motivation of employees. Job redesign also aims to ensure that an individual’s job suits them in terms of what motivates them and their need for personal growth and development.

b) Job rotation allows for a little variety by moving a person from one task to another. Employees often do this spontaneously. Job rotation permits the development of extra skills, but does not develop depth of skill.

c) Job enlargement increases the width of the job by adding extra, usually related, tasks. It is not particularly popular with workers.

d) Job enrichment increases the depth of responsibility by adding elements of planning and control to the job, therefore increasing its meaning and challenge. The worker achieves greater autonomy and growth in the role.

Team working and empowerment

Empowerment involves giving people greater control over their working lives. Organising the labour force into teams with a high degree of autonomy can achieve this. This means that employees plan their own work, take their own decisions and solve their own problems. Teams are set targets to achieve and may receive rewards for doing so. Empowered teams are an increasingly popular method of organising employees at work.

Teamwork

A team meets the following criteria:

· The output of the group is greater than the sum of the outputs of the individuals e.g. a team can engage in creative processes (idea generation) far more effectively than a collection of individuals;

· A greater range of options can be considered by exploiting differences in individual thought processes

· Decision-making by the team is likely to be better

Other characteristics of teams include:

· More openness to taking risks, as the risk is shared between the team rather than carried by one individual

· Higher overall level of motivation, as there is an inherent responsibility to others in the team and a desire not to let them down

· Better support for the individuals within the team, who are more likely to be included in a greater range of activities than they would normally be exposed to, but without them having to work alone.

Typically, a team consists of 2 to 20 people, though most managers recognize that effectiveness will decrease once the numbers go above 10.

Effective Teamwork

Larson and Lafasto (1989) identify eight characteristics, most of which are under the control of the project manager, which can ensure that project success, at least as far as can be managed through the team, is achieved. These are:

1. A clear, elevating goal – a sense of mission must be created through the development of an objective which is understood, important, worthwhile and personally or collectively challenging;

2. Provide a results-driven structure – the structure and composition of the team should be commensurate with the task being undertaken

3. Competent team members – need to balance personal with technical competence

4. Unified commitment – create the environment of ‘doing what has to be done to succeed’

5. Foster a collaborative climate – encourage reliance on others within the team

6. Standards of excellence – through individual standards, team pressure, knowledge of the consequences of failure;

7. External support and recognition – where good work is performed, recognize it. It is likely to be absent from the other stakeholders, so will be the responsibility of the project manager to provide it

8. Institute principled leadership

Task 8: Question on teams

TFX is a multinational company which manufactures and retails branded designer clothing with business units in a number of different countries globally. Up until now, each of the business units has had its own finance department.

The company recently appointed an external consultancy company to undertake an internal review of the organisational structures to establish if they are 'fit for purpose'. One of the outcomes of the review is the recommendation that the finance function should be transformed, moving to a shared service centre model.

In taking this recommendation forward a number of factors will need to be considered, for instance any possible difficulties of moving to a shared service centre model, and also in which country the shared service centre should be established. The implementation of a shared service centre will also require the formation of new teams of staff.

Explain how TFX Company should develop and build the new finance teams, if the move to a shared service centre goes ahead.