Business AOS 2

• Human resource management


  is the organisation of employees' roles, pay, and working conditions.
• Motivation


  is the willingness of an individual to expend energy and effort in completing a task.
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs


  is a motivational theory that suggests people have five fundamental needs, and their sequential attainment of each need acts as a source of motivation.
• Needs in order

  Self-actualisation

  Esteem

  Social

  Safety and security

  Physiological
• Lawrence and Nohria's Four Drive Theory

  is a motivational theory that suggests that people strive to balance four fundamental desires
• Drive to Acquire

  Desire to achieve rewards and high status.

  
  

  Characteristic: receive financial rewards and non-financial rewards
• Drive to learn


  desire to gain knowledge, skills, and experience

  
  

  characteristic: regularly rotating the types of tasks assigned to employees
• Four drive theory Advantage

  -The four drives act as a means to motivate employees and can allow them to feel more engaged in their work.

  
  

  -All four drives can be attained at once and are not restricted to sequential orders, therefore increasing motivation efficiently for the business.
• Four drive theory disadvantage

  -Managers may find it difficult to manage four drives simultaneously.

  
  

  -Some drives can be overlooked and therefore, an employee's full potential may not be achieved.
• Locke and Lathams Goal Setting theory

  is a motivation theory that states that employees are motivated by clearly defined goals that fulfil five key principles.
• Principles of the Goal setting theory

  clarity, challenge, commitment, feedback, task complexity
• Goal setting theory advantages

  - Goals can align employee efforts with achieving business objectives

  
  

  - Employees may be more motivated to complete tasks if goals align with their personal interests
• Management by objectives


  involves both managers and employees collaboratively setting individual employee goals that contribute to the achievement of broader business objectives.
• Employee observation


  involves a range of employees from different levels of authority assessing another employee's performance against a set of criteria.
• Hierarchy of needs and four drive theory similarities

  -Both theories focus on motivating employees holistically, through addressing their physical, social, and emotional desires.

  
  

  -Both theories suggest that employees are motivated by a desire to improve their knowledge and skills through self-actualisation needs and the drive to learn.
• Hierarchy of needs and four drive theory difference

  -Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs must be met in sequential order, whereas the Four Drive Theory suggests any drive may be relevant to an employee in no particular order.

  
  

  -The Hierarchy of Needs states that employees are motivated to fulfil only one need at a time, whereas the Four Drive Theory states that all needs can drive employee behaviour simultaneously.
• Similarities between Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Locke and Latham's Goal Setting Theory

  -Both theories recognise that personal gain is a factor that can motivate employees. Esteem needs can be satisfied by providing jobs with higher status to employees, whilst goals fulfilling the commitment principle consider the personal objectives of employees.

  
  

  -Both theories emphasize motivating through intrinsic factors. As esteem and self-actualisation are also considered to be intrinsic motivators.
• differences between Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Locke and Latham's Goal Setting Theory

  -Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs focuses on fulfilling one need at a time in sequential order, Goal Setting Theory requires all principles to be incorporated simultaneously to motivate an employee

  
  

  - The Goal Setting Theory involves employee input, whereas Maslow's hierarchy of needs is applied by a manager alone
• Similarities between Lawrence and Nohria's Four Drive Theory and Locke and Latham's Goal Setting Theory

  -Both theories focus on how employers can improve the motivation of employees.

  
  

  -Both theories propose that feedback and regular progress reviews are beneficial and help build strong relationships.
• differences between Lawrence and Nohria's Four Drive Theory and Locke and Latham's Goal Setting Theory

  -The Goal Setting Theory involves employee input, whereas the Four Drive Theory is applied by a manager alone

  
  

  -The Goal Setting Theory requires a manager to address each employee individually, which is not necessary when applying the Four Drive Theory
• Career advancement

  the upwards progression of an employee's job position.

  
  

  characteristic: ensuring employees are aware of any promotion criteria.
• Advantages of career advancement as a motivation strategy

  -Employees may feel more valued by the business when promoted, improving their overall morale.

  
  

  -Promoting employees from within the business can be cheaper than recruiting new employees.
• disadvantages of career advancement as a motivation strategy

  -Negative corporate culture may develop if employees begin to focus solely on career advancement.

  
  

  -Employees may be demotivated if they are overlooked for a promotion
• Investment in training

  is allocating resources to improve employee skills and knowledge.

  
  

  Characteristic: On-the-job and off-the-job training
• Advantages of investment in training as a motivation strategy

  -The skills and knowledge gained from training may assist employees to complete tasks quicker.

  
  

  -Employees may experience improved job satisfaction as they can perform their roles better.
• disadvantages of investment in training as a motivation strategy

  -Training programs can be costly for a business.

  
  

  -Training employees is time-consuming and can delay the completion of work tasks
• Support strategies

  involve providing employees with any assistance that improves their satisfaction at work.

  
  

  characteristic: praising and encouraging good performance.
• Advantages of support as a motivation strategy

  -Employees who feel supported are less likely to leave the business.

  
  

  -Employees may feel more valued by managers, as their wellbeing is being considered.
• disadvantages of support as a motivation strategy

  -May be ineffective if a manager does not have good interpersonal skills.

  
  

  -It can be time-consuming for a manager to maintain relationships with staff
• Sanction strategies

  involve penalising employees for poor performance or breaching business policies.

  
  

  characteristic: providing written warnings.
• Advantages of sanction as a motivation strategy

  -Can pressure employees to act in accordance with management instructions.

  
  

  -Does not incur any immediate cost to implement.
• disadvantages of sanction as a motivation strategy

  -Can create a negative corporate culture as tasks are completed out of fear.

  
  

  -Levels of trust between employees and management may decrease.
• Performance- related pay short term

  Positive: Employees may be motivated to improve performance quickly in order to gain financial rewards.

  
  

  Negative: Employees may be demotivated if they are competing against their colleagues for financial rewards.
• Performance- related pay long term

  Positive: When there is a history of reward and recognition for high-performing employees within the business, employees are more likely to be motivated by the expectation that they will receive rewards in the future.

  
  

  negative:

  -Employees may become demotivated if they continually have to compete with their peers to achieve financial rewards.

  -Employees may become demotivated if the rewards they receive do not continuously increase in value.
• Career advancement short term

  Positive: Employees may be rapidly motivated if they are taking on more responsibility in the workplace.

  
  

  Negative: Employees may become resentful and demotivated if they believe they were not considered for a promotion.
• Career advancement long term

  positive: Employees may be motivated by ongoing opportunities to be promoted or take on additional responsibilities.

  
  

  Negative: There may be a limited number of responsibilities an employee can absorb into their role within a business; therefore, there are fewer career advancement opportunities for that employee to experience. This can limit the potential for long-term employee motivation
• Investment in training short term

  Positive: Employees may be motivated in the short term by the opportunity to learn new skills.

  Employees may be motivated by working in a business where their wellbeing is considered and valued.

  
  

  Negative: Taking time off work to participate in training programs may cause employees to lose momentum and consequently lack motivation.
• Investment in training long term

  Positive: Employees may be constantly motivated as they feel valued by the business when they are provided with opportunities to develop their skills.

  Employees may feel consistently motivated by a working environment that promotes learning.

  
  

  Negative: Employees may become demotivated by the consistent workflow interruptions caused by training programs.
• Support strategies long term

  positive: Employees may be motivated for a long period of time when they feel valued by management and are able to resolve issues efficiently

  
  

  no negatives
• Sanction strategies short term

  positive: Employees may be motivated to quickly follow instructions in order to avoid punishment.

  
  

  negative: Employees may become resentful of their managers if they utilise threats and punishments, potentially leading to resignations and decreases in productivity