What are the benefits and dangers of motivation theory for contemporary managerial practice?
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The first theory to emerge concerning management practice is that of Frederick Taylor in the late 19th Century. He proposed that workers were only motivated by monetary rewards, so introduced piece-rates to increase productivity. This still holds true for certain businesses today, a telemarketing company will have heavily weighted commission based pay in employees’ salaries, depending on the number of sales they make. A good salesperson at Yellow Pages will be highly motivated to continue working hard to sell additional advert space, as they can add up to 50% to their basic salary. However a continuous strive just to meet sales targets may become monotonous to employees over time, and monetary rewards will no longer be enough – what they now desire as a motivator could be job enrichment.
To merely follow Taylor’s scientific methods in such a modern day business would lead to very high staff turnover, to a point where recruiting and training costs would make the business no longer profitable. However there may be some pools of labour that today could still be subjected to methodologies of Taylor. The desire to meet the most basic needs of food and shelter as identified by Maslow (1954) and large numbers of people requiring work means sweatshop conditions are still commonplace in developing countries, where workers are paid very small piece rates for manufacturing goods. ok
Moving into the 20th Century the Hawthorne Studies were conducted between 1924 and 1932, by Elton Mayo, William Dickson and Fritz Roethlisberger. The results from these identified that workers had social needs, and could become more productive purely by their supervisors showing an interest in their work. Although the results may hold true in identifying a social aspect of motivation, I believe the methodology that these Harvard professors used was flawed, as reported by Alex Carey (1967, pg.410). The introduction of ‘friendly’ supervisors as one of the social changes led quickly to increased chatter and a fall in productivity. Some workers were reprimanded, and hence it was only the threat of further disciplinary action that led to an eventual increase in output. There are many other oversights that are not mentioned in the conclusions that were made from these studies, yet the ‘Hawthorne Effect’ is still widely referred to today. Mayo’s work is also later contradicted by Herzberg’s findings (1987, Harvard Business Review) that show ‘Supervision’ and ‘Relationship with supervisor’ as a hygiene factor, one that only serves as a de-motivator if not present. Perhaps these workers were not used to any attention to supervisors, which shows the importance of identifying with a workers emotional side, rather than the types of changes made in the workers environmental factors. Nice point.
The work of the Hawthorne Studies prompted further investigation to attempt to unravel the effects of human relations on motivation. The hierarchy of needs Abraham Maslow first developed in 1954 is still commonly used today to illustrate why people work and what they expect to get out of working, but to me it shows little more than common sense. The basic needs of survival and security are fulfilled in almost all jobs in the UK, with laws governing minimum wage, contracts of employment, redundancy pay and unemployment benefit. Instead managers should recognise it is now the higher level needs, esteem and self-actualisation, that should be met in order to increase motivation and boost productivity.
Frederick Hertzberg’s two factor theory (1959) found that meeting the basic needs did not serve as a motivator, only as a de-motivator if they were not met. In order to motivate employees managers should attempt to link Hertzberg’s top satisfiers (achievement, recognition and responsibility)
other. On this view, the meaning of Organisational Behaviour (OB) can be simply explained that it is the study of the behaviour of people in dealing with an organisational setting. Analysing the Organisation Behaviour cannot be studied in isolation because it involves a number of simultaneous functions that relate to the total processes within an organisation. Therefore, it embraces an understanding of the behaviour of people, the process of management, organisational context and processes and interrelationships…
also have a great effect on firms today which can lead to stressful managers and staff. Organisational Behaviour is nothing more than understanding and development of people skill. This project will focus on Organisational Behaviour and the different topics that will help to understand each person and their behaviour in their working environment. 1.1 Defining Organisational Behaviour Organisational Behaviour or also known as Behavioural Science…
m. and the dinner is form 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.. I have been working in Chief Li for 4 weeks since I arrived in Bathurst. There are many behaviour and situations involved in organisational behaviour which are different from China, such as workplace diversity, psychological contract, human resource maintenance, job satisfaction & performance and organisational values. Workplace diversity Workplace diversity covers gender, age, educational background, language, culture as well as work experience…
ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR: QUESTION: You are required to analyse your own organisation or one that you are familiar with in terms of Organisational Behaviour issues. The assignment should use a variety of models and theories within your chosen topic as part of your analysis. 1.0 BRIEF INTRODUCTION The purpose of writing this report is to understand the various behavioural issues which can be associated with an organisation. This report will throw light on key issues of group dynamics. The motivation…
HND Business Management Organisational Behaviour Individual Assignment TASK - 1 a) ABC Ltd is a management consultancy firm who are involved in providing objective advice, expertise and specialist skills with the aim of creating value, maximizing growth or improving the business performance of their clients. They are primarily concerned with the strategy, structure, management and operations of an organization. ABC Ltd can assist…
Task Discuss and evaluate new techniques in advertising in recent years and the implications they may have on a company.illustrate your discussion with the case study. Intoduction Advertisment plays an important role in a business's success. It is a kind of a message which tries to sell a product and changes the ideas of people about the product. There are different types of advertising techniques such as Tv ads,Newspappers,Banners,Internet being used to promote the brands. Advertisment…
common interests of their members. Groups are important in OB because they exert an important influence over the conduct of their members. Role of Groups: Through interaction with peers we acquire beliefs, attitudes, values, and characteristic behaviours Hence who we associate with has a crucial impact on our sense of IDENTITY Groups also create a social setting where we can exert influence on others Disciplinary Effects of Groups A group exercises a disciplinary effect on its members to…
ELECTRONIC ASSIGNMENT COVERSHEET Student Number 32152636 Surname HU Given name BEI Email 313355829@qq.com Unit Code Unit name Enrolment mode Date Assignment number Assignment name Tutor Number of Words MBS538 Organisational Behaviour and Management Internal 30/04/2014 1 Shared Value Creation Dr Jose M. Alcaraz 2198 Student’s Declaration: Except where indicated, the work I am submitting in this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted for assessment in another unit. This submission…
at work, are absent less frequently, and are less likely to quit their job. When employees feel their contribution is valued, that the manager cares about their wellbeing and is ready to offer help when needed, this is referred to as “perceived organisational support'. That is what Maslow showed in his hierarchy of needs: in addition with social needs which are seeking out companionship, acceptance and inclusion in the workplace which offers an opportunity to be part of a team in which members share…
ATTACHMENT 1 – SUBJECT OUTLINE Name of Subject 1 (Subject Code 1) Organisational Behaviour (TMGT602) (Use a separate outline template for each subject in the course) SECTION 1 – GENERAL INFORMATION 1.1 Administrative details Associated higher education awards (for example, Bachelor, Diploma) Level (for example, introductory, intermediate, advanced level, 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year) Subject Coordinator Master 1.2 Duration (for example, one semester, full year)…