Motivation in theory & practice

• Why is employee motivation important for a business?

  • More productive + happy so willing to get work done
  • Likely to be more reliable + aligned with business objectives
• What are the 4 motivation theories?

  1. Taylor (scientific management)
  2. Mayo (human relations theory)
  3. Maslow (hierarchy of needs)
  4. Herzberg (two factor theory)
• Explain Taylor’s motivation theory (20th century)

  • Believed workers were motivated by money thus thought they did the minimum amount of work if left to their own devices
  • Wanted to figure the most efficient way to do a job (scientific management)
• What are the advantages of Taylor’s motivation theory?

  • Believed workers should be paid according to the quantity they produced —> increases motivation + productivity
• What are the disadvantages of Taylor’s motivation theory?

  • Fewer workers needed due to increases productivity
  • Reduction in quality —> supervisors needed to monitor efficiency + quality
• Explain Maslows motivation theory

  • Based on a hierarchy of needs ( physiological, safety, social, self-esteem, self-actualisation )
  • Each stage has importance to workers and individual must be satisfied with the stage they’re at to be motivated towards the next one
• What is a disadvantage of Maslows motivation theory?

  • Isn’t obvious which level an individual is at
• Explain Herzbergs motivation theory (1950-60)

  • Interviewed accountants + engineers to see what motivated + satisfied them at work (found 2 factors)
  • Factor 1= hygiene —> eg, working conditions + supervision
  • Factor 2= motivation —> recognition of personal achievements
• Explain Mayo’s motivation theory (1920-30)

  • Involved in Hawthorne experiments investigating what factors affected workers productivity
  • Concluded that attention given to workers by management improved productivity
  • Also productivity increased if employees worked together eg, teams
• What are the financial incentives that improve employee performance?

  • Piecework
  • Commission
  • Bonus
  • Profit share
  • Performance-related pay
• Piecework 


  When workers are paid per unit produced (no fixed salary)
• Commission


  Money paid to workers for completing tasks, often a bonus on top of their salary
• Bonus


  Workers paid extra on top of their salary once an agreed target had been made
• Profit share


  When a firm sets profit targets + often shares a proportion of its profits is these targets are met
• Performance-related pay 


  Workers paid based on their performance
• What are the non-financial techniques to improve employee performance?

  • Job enlargement
  • Job enrichment
  • Job rotation
  • Empowerment
  • Consultation
  • Delegation
  • Team-working
  • Flexible working