Motivational Theories - Business

He argued that people respond positivley not only to financial rewards but also the working environment and social interaction. His ideas wer developed from studies at the western electric hawthorn works in Chicago, which led to th phrase " the hawthorne effect" being used to describe his findings.

In this study, mayo changed different elements within a group of workers to see how their motivation levels changed. The results from this study showed that employees were bets motivated by:

- better communication

- greater management involvement

- working in groups  

Fredrick Taylor - money

Taylor argues that the main method of motivation was money. He believed that providing workers with an aopurtunity to earn more money would increase output and productivity.

This approach demands an autocratic management style, taylor argues that employees donot naturaly enjoy working so they require continous supervision and control. Managers should break work down in manageable chunks so employees do not become de-motivated.

He identified 2 sets of factors that would affect people's motivation at work:- hygeine factors- motivators

Hygeine factors need to be right but do not motivate, however without them the motivtors have no base on which to operate. For example, hygeine factors could be salary, working conditions, relationships, security, status, personal life. Employees beocme de-motivated when these are not present within the workforce but they do not motivate alone.

Motivators could be promotion, recognition, rsponsibility, achievement, work itself, advancement, personal growth. These factors are introduced to make pople work harder.

Heirarchy of needs

Promotion and career progression                                                             Self fulfillment

Recognition and rewards                                                                            Self - esteem

Staff room and team work oppurtunities                                                     Social needs

Health and safety provision an job security                                                Safety

Pay and decent working conditions                                                            Physcological needs

Theory X and Y management styles

Theory X manager (money)

Employees are lazy and will not work if left to their own devices

Workers need to be closley supervised

Employees show little ambitions and dislike responsibiity

Workrs are only motivated by money and dislike work

Theory Y manager (human factors)

Employees are ambitious and self motivated

Workers are willing to accept greater responsibility

Workers enjoy work and are innovative and creative

Workers want to be trusted

Workers are organised

Workers should be rewarded