Chapter 6 - Motivating Workers
Lesson Objective: To be introduced to three main motivational theories
Through this chapter we will learn several different theories related to motivation:
Maslow Hierarchy of Needs;
F.W. Taylor and The Scientific Management Theory;
Frederik Herzberg Two-Factor Theory.
Starting from the most famous one - Maslow Hierarchy of Needs:
The idea behind Maslow's theory is that humans fulfill their needs level-by-level. And once one level is achieved it is no longer considered as a motivator.
Difficult to know which level each worker is in to satisfy all workers;
Money is a way to satisfy physiological, safety, social, and esteem needs (difficult to separate);
Self-actualization is hard to achieve and an easy job can easily demotivate workers.
Although the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs is indeed one of the most relevant motivational theories out there, it is of difficult application to businesses.
The F.W. Taylor and The Scientific Management Theory is another somewhat popular motivational theory::
This theory is based on studies of how a certain task if performed. In other words, it tries to understand how a task is performed at its maximum level and then replicate it to all workers so that they will all be performing at their best.
One pillar of Taylor's theory is the Theory of the Economic Man, which defends that humans are motivated by money and will do all it takes to increase their monetary return:
Taylor's theory was responsible for the popularization of a payment method called piece-rate:
A method in which workers are paid based on the amount of units they produce;
The more a worker produces the more they get paid.
Next we should look into Frederik Herzberg Two-Factor Theory:
The theory defends that there are two different factors that can impact workers' performance:
Hygiene factors - must-have factors that workers expect in any instance and therefore should always be provided or else workers will be demotivated;
Motivators factors - add-ons that have the ability and power to boost workers motivation.
In summary, this theory states that one or more motivators can be used to increase workers motivation - but there needs to be an acceptable level of hygiene to prevent dissatisfaction.
We are finally done covering all of the motivational theories we should have:
Maslow Hierarchy of Needs;
Tylor and The Scientific Management Theory;
Frederik Herzberg Two-Factor Theory
We now need to understand that there are financial and non-financial methods of motivation:
To-Do-List:
Activity 6.3 (p. 79)
Chapter 6 - Motivating Workers
Comments