A better Employee Motivation through the Application of Public Feedback Processes

Worsch, Marek

A better Employee Motivation through the Application of Public Feedback Processes

Enhancing the Effectiveness of Job Appraisals

von Marek Worsch (Autor:in)

Führung und Personal - Mitarbeitermotivation

Zusammenfassung

Inhaltsangabe:Abstract:
The Diploma Thesis at hand considers the interdependence of employee motivation on the one and feedback and job appraisal processes in organisations on the other hand.
Basically, todays job appraisal procedures have one major disadvantage. They rarely comprise more than a subjective assessment of employee performance. This assessment is normally carried out by an employees superior. In this thesis, it will be argued that through the dynamics of bias and politics in organisations, the validity of job appraisal information is significantly distorted. Hereby, the effectiveness of job appraisals is affected negatively since they cannot serve as a reliable basis for personnel decisions. But more important, the distorted information is likely to result in overseeing or ignoring an individuals achievements in the workplace. Lack of appreciation of ones effort and, additionally, the feeling of being treated inequitably compared to co-workers may erode an employees motivation. However, in a world of accelerating globalisation and thus increasing competition, a motivated workforce is the key to an organisations success.
The thesis will propose a potential solution for this dilemma - public feedback. This means that the information gained through job appraisals will not be discussed one-on-one, involving only superior and subordinate. Rather, the discussion is extended to the latters peers. The prerequisites for and the proceeding of this approach to employee evaluation will be provided. Also, the thesis covers the analysis of a survey. This was accomplished to test the acceptance of a public feedback process among a sample of white collar workers. The results show a general acceptance and appreciation of the idea of feedback in public.

Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents:
List of Charts and TablesIII
List of ChartsIII
List of TablesIII
AbbreviationsIV
1.Introduction1
1.1Choice of the Topic1
1.2Problem and Objectives2
1.3Methodology3
2.Employee Motivation5
2.1Definition5
2.1.1Origin of the Term5
2.1.2Motivation in the Field of Business Administration5
2.2The Need for Employee Motivation7
2.3Theories on the Content of Motivation10
2.3.1Motivation as a Hierarchy of Needs11
2.3.2Motivation as a Twofold Phenomenon13
2.3.3Money as a Motivator15
2.3.4Conclusions16
3.Feedback18
3.1Definition of Feedback18
3.1.1Origin of the Term18
3.1.2Feedback in the Field of Business Administration18
3.1.3Job […]

Leseprobe

Inhaltsverzeichnis

ID 8467

Worsch, Marek: A better Employee Motivation through the Application of Public Feedback

Processes - Enhancing the Effectiveness of Job Appraisals

Hamburg: Diplomica GmbH, 2004

Zugl.: Fachhochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin, Diplomarbeit, 2004

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Table of Contents

List of Charts and Tables ... III

List of Charts... III

List of Tables... III

Abbreviations ... IV

1 Introduction... 1

1.1

Choice of the Topic... 1

1.2

Problem and Objectives ... 2

1.3 Methodology ... 3

2 Employee

Motivation... 5

2.1 Definition ... 5

2.1.1

Origin of the Term ... 5

2.1.2

Motivation in the Field of Business Administration... 5

2.2

The Need for Employee Motivation ... 7

2.3

Theories on the Content of Motivation ... 10

2.3.1

Motivation as a Hierarchy of Needs... 11

2.3.2

Motivation as a Twofold Phenomenon ... 13

2.3.3

Money as a Motivator ... 15

2.3.4 Conclusions... 16

3 Feedback ... 18

3.1

Definition of Feedback... 18

3.1.1

Origin of the Term ... 18

3.1.2

Feedback in the Field of Business Administration ... 18

3.1.3

Job Appraisals as Information Basis for Feedback... 19

3.2

The Need for Feedback ... 21

3.3

The Need for Public Feedback... 26

3.3.1

The Significance of Equity ... 26

3.3.2

Sources for Inequity Resulting From Feedback and their Consequences.. 28

3.3.2.1 Distortion Due to Errors Out of the Appraisal Process ... 29

3.3.2.2 Distortion Due to the Person of the Assessor ... 30

3.3.2.2.1 The Affect of Appraisals by Bias ... 30

3.3.2.2.2 The Affect of Appraisals by Politics in Organisations... 32

3.3.2.3 The Consequences of Distorted Feedback ... 35

3.3.3 Implications... 37

3.4 Conclusions... 39

A Model for a Public Feedback Process ... 41

4.1

Similar Approaches in Practice... 41

4.1.1

Yellow Springs Instruments (YSI)... 41

4.1.2

National Health Service (NHS)... 42

4.1.3 Critical

Discussion ... 43

4.2

The Development of the Model ... 45

4.2.1 Basic

Prerequisites ... 45

4.2.2

The Job Appraisal ... 46

4.2.2.1 Superior-appraisal ... 47

4.2.2.2 Peer-appraisal ... 48

4.2.2.3 Self-appraisal ... 49

4.2.3

The Public Feedback Discussion ... 50

4.3

Acceptance of the Model in Practice ... 53

4.3.1

Conduction of the Survey and Basic Findings... 53

4.3.2

Analysis of Questionnaires ... 56

4.3.2.1 General Analysis ... 56

4.3.2.2 Analysis of Interrelations ... 58

4.3.3 Implications... 61

4.4 Summary ... 62

5 Résumé... 65

5.1 Final

Summary... 65

5.2 Final

Conclusions... 68

5.3

Critical Reflection and Outlook ... 69

Bibliography... 71

Books and Journals ... 71

Internet ... 74

APPENDIX... 75

Questionnaires... 76

German Version ... 76

English Version and Motivation of Questions... 79

Formulas... 84

Comprehensive Overview of the Results of the Survey ... 85

III

List of Charts and Tables

List of Charts

Chart 1 - Stakeholders of an Organisation and their Interests (own creation) ... 7

Chart 2 - Fields of Personal Interest... 8

Chart 3 - Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs ... 11

Chart 4 - Sources of Distortion in Job Appraisals (own creation) ... 36

Chart 5 - Comparison Age Structure German Workforce and Survey (own creation)... 55

Chart 6 - Comparison Sex Structure German Workforce and Survey (own creation)... 55

Chart 7 - Cross-classified Table Preference of Interview in Private and Perception of

Public Feedback Process (own creation)... 59

Chart 8 - Cross-classified Table Preference of Interview in Private and Sex of

Respondent (own creation) ... 59

Chart 9 - Cross-classified Table Preference of Interview in Private and Weight of

Superior-appraisal (own creation)... 60

Chart 10 - Cross-classified Table Perception of Public Feedback Process and Overall

Rating of the Model (own creation)... 60

Chart 11 - Cross-classified Table Adapted Perception of Public Feedback Process

and Overall Rating of the Model (own creation) ... 61

Chart 12 - Model for a Public Feedback Process (own creation) ... 62

Chart 13 - Example: The Calculation of Expected Frequencies of Parameter Values ... 84

Chart 14 - Comprehensive Overview of the Results of the Survey ... 85

List of Tables

Table 1 - Herzberg's Hygiene Factors and Motivators ... 14

Abbreviations

e.g. - exempli gratia

et al - et alia

etc - et cetera

ibid - ibidem

i.e. - id est

ERG - Model - existence, relatedness, growth (after the model of C.P. Alderfer)

NHS - National Health Service

YSI - Yellow Springs Instruments

CHAPTER

NTRODUCTION

1 Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to lead the reader into the topic that is going to be

addressed by this Diploma Thesis. It provides the motive for the choice of the topic

and outlines its theoretical and practical relevance. Furthermore, a problem will be

formulated which is going to be solved in the course of the research process and the

reader will be provided with the key objectives of the thesis. Lastly, the subsequent

structure of the research process will be outlined in order to reinforce the thread of

thoughts.

1.1 Choice of the Topic

The field of employee motivation in the workplace is, of course, not a novelty in

management studies. Employee motivation can basically be described as the driving

forces for individuals' behaviour in a work context. The field either focuses on the

exploration of the content of employee motivation or seeks ways and processes that

more or less enable its direction. It is widely accepted to have inter alia an effect on

the quality of work, employee performance and work attendance. The currently poor

conditions especially in the German labour market seemingly downplay the

importance of employee motivation since it is reported that employees' fear of job

loss have resulted in the lowest absenteeism in the last ten years.

And yet, it is

unlikely that mere higher work attendance necessarily leads to high performance and

quality of work. However, in a world of ever faster globalisation and hence ever

growing competition, these two aspects eventually decide upon an organisation's

success or failure. Therefore, employee motivation continues to be a vital issue for

the management of an organisation. But from an organisation's standpoint,

motivation of employees is only sensible when high employee performance is the

actual result. If there was interdependence between an employee's motivation and his

performance, adjustments of one criterion would produce changes in the other.

Consequently, it is in the interest of an organisation to measure employee

performance. Furthermore, as employee motivation can be affected by other people's

recognition of an individual's achievement in the context of work, feedback

processes take an important role in motivating employees. Basically, feedback can be

described as informing a person about his performance in the work place. Thus,

found online at http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/0,1518,301431,00.html on 3 September 2004

CHAPTER

NTRODUCTION

feedback transmits the results of performance measurement to the respective

employee. This information on performance is usually obtained through so-called job

appraisals, a process where a person evaluates employee performance with respect to

predetermined work-related criteria. But what if these methods produced faulty

results? How would the feedback in turn affect employee motivation? Thus, the

choice has been made to explore the relationship between employee motivation and

feedback processes in more detail.

1.2 Problem and Objectives

As a starting point, it is assumed that feedback resulting from job appraisals is an

important determinant of employee motivation. If this is the case, the information

transmitted by feedback has to be perceived as accurate and truthful by the recipient

to accept it. As job appraisals produce the information underlying feedback, they can

be considered effective only when this information meets these quality requirements.

Whereas research has suggested increasingly sophisticated ways for gathering as

much and as broad a spread of information as possible in order to improve the

accuracy of feedback, the proceeding in practice has hardly changed, actually.

Basically, it is almost exclusively in superiors' scope of responsibility to assess their

subordinates' work performance. Superiors then transmit their assessment to the

respective employee through an interview in private. This proceeding entails that, as

the superior is a human being, such assessment is more or less subjective,

representing the superior's individual cognition of the respective subordinate's

performance. Even if superiors take in various sources, such as the opinion of the

subordinates' colleagues, their final and overall judgement remains subjective. This

subjectivity can evolve out of the superiors' individual perception that may bias their

assessment and let them unconsciously pick or overweight information that complies

with their opinion. It is also conceivable that subjective feedback is given on

purpose, for instance in cases in which superiors pursue a certain personal goal. Due

to the confidential character of the feedback and appraisal process, the inaccuracy of

information resulting thereof can hardly be detected.

Whatever the reason for inaccuracy may be, one thing is certain: if afflicted with it,

feedback cannot serve as an adequate acknowledgement of an employee's effort.

Thus, the validity of feedback is likely to be challenged by its recipients, especially

when it deviates negatively from their self-perception. Furthermore, it can be

CHAPTER

NTRODUCTION

assumed that such feedback will negatively affect employee motivation due to the

perceived unfair treatment. The question might be posed as to whether the above

shortcomings of conventional feedback processes are significant. If yes, it should be

attempted to eliminate or at least mitigate potentially negative effects by changing

the way feedback is given and thus improve the effectiveness of job appraisals.

It is the major objective of this Diploma Thesis to seek a method for better employee

motivation by improving the process feedback is given. To succeed in this, the thesis

will have to meet the following minor objectives. Firstly, the thesis will have to

discuss what motivates individuals in an organisation. Secondly, a connection

between feedback and employee motivation has to be established by exploring the

interrelation between the two fields and underlining the importance of feedback for

employee motivation. Thirdly, it will have to be argued whether or not conventional

feedback processes have serious shortcomings that potentially outweigh the

inherently positive effects of feedback on employee motivation. As a fourth, on the

basis of the preceding exploration, the thesis will have to seek an approach for

improving feedback processes that eliminate or at least mitigate the negative effects

of conventional processes. And finally, by conducting empirical research, findings

will have to be substantiated by investigating the acceptance of the developed

feedback process in practice.

1.3 Methodology

In order to solve the problem stated above, the thesis will employ the following

methodology. Starting with a working definition of the key aspects of this research

process, each aspect will be discussed inductively with consideration of relevant

theories. The findings will be related to each other in order to emphasise a linkage

between the fields. Thereby, sources that potentially lead to adverse effects of the

inherently positive intention of feedback processes will be elicited. Thereupon, it is

finally attempted to develop a process that allows for a levelling or even an

elimination of negative consequences. It is intended to subsequently conduct

empirical research. There, it will be quantitatively surveyed by questionnaire how

employees assess the suggested model regarding its suitability, and whether or not

they would feel comfortable with such approach to feedback. The choice for

quantitative research has been made in order to exclude the possibility of interaction

between interviewer and interviewee since this potentially influences results.

CHAPTER

NTRODUCTION

Moreover, a survey by questionnaire produces empirical data that can be processed

by computer relatively easily. The survey will be conducted in German in order to

avoid misunderstandings and distortion of results due to linguistic difficulties. The

questionnaire will contain semi-structured questions to ease analysis, and open

questions to obtain additional information and suggestions from participants that

could otherwise not be taken into consideration. Further information regarding the

survey can be found in chapter 4.3 or the appendix, respectively. Through analysis of

the survey's results, a conclusion will be drawn regarding the appropriateness of the

suggested model, i.e. whether it should be applied as suggested, applied with

changes, or abandoned.

CHAPTER

MPLOYEE MOTIVATION

2 Employee Motivation

The chapter on employee motivation is intended to provide a working definition of

the term and to discuss the need for employee motivation at work. Furthermore,

relevant theories on the subject will be explored, with special consideration of those

referring to the content of motivation since these provide insight into the driving

forces behind certain behaviour. Finally, a comprehensive pattern of essential facili-

tators of employee motivation will be reached in the conclusion.

2.1 Definition

2.1.1 Origin of the Term

Initially, the term motivation derives from the Latin word motivus which stands for

impelling, moving and driving. The term motive is a collective term for many

colloquial expressions such as drive, urge, pursuit or intent. Drive and direction of

human behaviour are determined by motives. Thus, motivation comprises the set of

aspects that make an individual perform a certain action or pursue a certain goal.

2.1.2 Motivation in the Field of Business Administration

The issue of motivation has a long history in the field of basic and applied

psychology. Today, motivational issues are perceived by the majority as being tightly

connected to the challenge of leading organisational members in fulfilling an

organisation's goals. This is probably due to managerial issues offering abundant

possibilities for research, on the one hand, and an urge for the application of

scientifically funded methods in management, on the other hand. In the context of

work, motivation is considered and dealt with by theories, research, and practices

with implications for individual behaviour in the workplace. Hereby, the field

attempts to understand, explain, and predict the

Direction of action, i.e. which one of many goals an individual chooses to

pursue,

Intensity of action, i.e. how much effort an individual puts forth to

accomplish salient goals, and

Persistence of action, i.e. how long an individual perseveres toward goal

accomplishment particularly in the face of difficulties.

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MPLOYEE MOTIVATION

A relatively common objective of the application of motivation theory in an

organisational context is the facilitating of employee behaviours which accomplish

organisational goals.

Similarly, according to Pinder, motivation is perceived as "[...]

the set of internal and external forces that initiate work-related behaviour and

determine its form, direction, intensity and duration."

As literature does not suggest

a unitary definition of the term, employee motivation will in the following be

understood as the stimulation and cause of work-related behaviour of employees by a

conglomerate of internal and external forces, which can be affected by both,

environmental forces and forces inherent in the person.

In this respect, employee motivation has to be distinguished from will. Recently,

research has focussed on the question what prerequisites it takes to make managers

pursue their goals unshakeably. It was found that managers who are totally

committed to meet their goals develop a strong urge for achievement in their

respective field. That will is seen responsible for triggering enormous mental powers

in an individual, and, along with a feeling of being strongly connected emotionally to

their goal, enables managers to pursue their objectives almost regardless of cost, also

costs on a personal level. In contrast to this, motivation is seen as not requiring such

high a level of personal involvement with work-related issues as it reacts rather

sensitively to changes. This means, for instance, that the interest in accomplishing a

task may motivate, but this interest can easily vanish. In addition, rewards only

motivate if alternatives are not more attractive.

This concept of will is not suitable for the purpose of this Diploma Thesis, as it,

firstly, focuses rather on the behaviour of managers than that of `normal' employees,

and, secondly, those findings suggest that it takes more effort from an organisation to

trigger will in each of its employees than it does to achieve motivation. A third, even

more important reason to abandon the concept of will in this context is that it can

also, once established, make people blind, unable to realise that any further pursuing

of objectives will obviously have no benefits, or will even result in failures.

Thus,

establishing will as the main driver of employee behaviour entails an immeasurable

potential of risk for a company, whereas comparably negative effects are not reported

for employee motivation.

The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Management (Organizational Behaviour; 1998), page 175

Pinder, C.C. (1998), page 231

Bruch, H., and Ghoshal, S. (2004), page 74

ibid, page 77

CHAPTER

MPLOYEE MOTIVATION

2.2 The Need for Employee Motivation

First of all, the question might be posed as to whether, and if yes, why employee

motivation is an issue management ought to focus on. Generally speaking, the

management of an organisation is responsible for achieving organisational goals,

which are highly dependent on the organisation's purpose. To succeed in this,

management has to consider a variety of interest groups, i.e. the organisation's

stakeholders, as are presented in the chart below.

Chart 1 - Stakeholders of an Organisation and their Interests (own creation)

The chart depicts the various stakeholders of an organisation and their stakes, i.e.

their interest in an organisation. These interests are to a certain degree linked and

interrelated with the respective organisation. For example, whereas a state requires

an organisation to comply with existing legislation and is, of course, at the same time

interested in stable revenues from taxes, the organisation relies on the state to

establish and maintain an entrepreneur-friendly environment. As well, whereas

investors often rely on the organisation to maximise their invested capital, the

organisation itself is dependent on their capital yet at the same time interested to

retain as large a portion of profits for business purposes as possible. Beyond these

conflicting priorities, an organisation also has to balance the sometimes fairly

contradictory interests of its stakeholders. For instance, unions in their role as

advocates of basic employee interests, e.g. employment, salary, and working

conditions, may demand higher salaries because of the company's increased

Organisation

Employees

(highly complex!)

Unions

Customers

(quality, service)

State

(rules & laws,

taxes)

Investors

(dividends, growth,

stability)

Organisation

Employees

(highly complex!)

Unions

Customers

(quality, service)

State

(rules & laws,

taxes)

Investors

(dividends, growth,

stability)

CHAPTER

MPLOYEE MOTIVATION

profitability. Yet, higher costs for personnel contradict the investors' interest of profit

maximisation, thus might negatively affect their willingness to provide equity

capital. However, an `organisation' as such is merely a legal shell, as it takes people

to fill it with life in order to attain organisational goals. In consequence, the members

of an organisation, its employees, form a significant group of its stakeholders. Yet,

whereas most stakeholders' interests in the company can be seen as rather single-

faceted, employees' interests are far more versatile, thus difficult to balance. It would

be superficial to assume that today's employees' most important objectives are still

merely security of employment and sufficient salary, something which might have

been true for the bygone industrial era. Instead, it is common sense that employees

are people with complex needs and interests which must be satisfied or considered

for them to perform effectively in the workplace.

Chart 2 - Fields of Personal Interest

To illustrate this with the chart above, a person's interests can be conceived as being

threefold: one area is related to the person's organisational task, one to career and the

third to extramural interests, i.e. interests shaped by employees' personal life. First,

task interests are determined by the work performed, e.g. the planning and designing

of buildings by a civil engineer or the processing of tax declarations by a state

employee. Then, those aspirations and visions about their career employees bring

with them to the workplace build the basis for their career interests, which do not

necessarily have to be dependent on the job performed at that time. For example, the

vision of once becoming the manager of a team of five to ten people is not

Morgan, G. (1997), page 162

CHAPTER

MPLOYEE MOTIVATION

necessarily achieved with the current employer, but with a new one. Finally,

employees' personal beliefs, values, preferences, attitudes, etc - their extramural

interests - influence their way of acting in relation to their task and career interests

within.

Now, with these three areas in mind, consider that an individual will attempt to keep

them in balance, to make progress in every area without neglecting the others. Yet,

due to the fact that these interest fields are usually negatively `correlated', it is likely

that the promotion of one interest leads to an impairment of one or both of the others.

An example: if employees seek more leisure and family time and subsequently

decrease their working hours in the company, prospects for a promotion or higher

salary are likely to deteriorate. But, if they are performing well in their job, they

might be offered a position with more responsibilities but also the need for spending

more time at work, thereby leaving the employees' need for enough leisure time

dissatisfied. Thus, these interests do normally not coincide with each other

completely, but only to a certain degree dependent on the respective situation and

employee. This explains why it is likely that employees' goals and interests are

heterogeneous and normally not conform to company goals.

This notion reinforces

the findings of several theorists, inter alia those of Dubin

, and Goldthorpe

, which

suggested that people by no means focus their interests on work but, on the contrary,

try to reduce their commitment at work as far as possible and satisfy their needs and

goals elsewhere.

Consequently, the problem of partial inclusion of employee interests within company

interests gains significance. Yet, for the success of an organisation it is important to

balance this partial inclusion, meaning that to a certain degree its members' interests

become aligned with organisational interests, or that the organisation facilitates

behaviours that accomplish organisational goals, respectively.

Addressing factors

that motivate people to pursue such goals mitigates the problem of partial inclusion

and therefore supports the process of making people adopt behaviours and attitudes

that facilitate organisational goal achievement. So, as considering the motivation of

Morgan, G. (1997), pages 161-164

advocated in "Industrial Workers' World: A Study of the `Central Life Interest' of Industrial

Workers" (1956)

advocated in "The Affluent Worker: Industrial Attitudes and Behavior" (1968)

Burrel, G., and Morgan, G. (1979), page 175

Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Management (Human Resource Management, 1998), page 9

CHAPTER

MPLOYEE MOTIVATION

employees is not an end in itself but is a means of fostering other organisational

ends, a need for employee motivation can be stated.

2.3 Theories on the Content of Motivation

Initially, management studies considered employee motivation merely as a matter of

providing economic rewards.

It was assumed that money worked as the best

motivator, as it is a means through which other human needs can be fulfilled. This

view was probably shaped by the then prevalent trend to interpret phenomena in the

light of the principles of hedonism which assumes that people will seek pleasure and

avoid pain or inconvenience. Subsequently, the inconvenience experienced when

temporarily giving up pleasure-seeking had to be compensated in a sufficient way. In

consequence, motivating people hardly meant more than implementing systems of

wages linked to the performance of the respective worker, e.g. piecework. The ideas

of Frederick Winslow Taylor

, built upon those of Adam Smith

, fostered this

development, as they led to highly distinct, highly specialised jobs, executable even

by people with little or no education, and having a clearly determinable and

measurable output.

However, with the publication of the Hawthorne Studies

1941, the attention to the field of motivation increased. The idea occurred that

employee motivation was determined by more than one factor,

and an

understanding of motivation required an examination of the importance of people's

motives and social needs, an area on which research concentrated subsequently.

Rather problematic is that motivation is an invisible, internal, and hypothetical

construct. So, it can neither be seen nor measured directly, leaving practitioners to

rely on established theories to measure the observable manifestations of employee

motivation, i.e. behaviour and performance. In this respect, research on motivation

can be classified as focussing on what motivates people, i.e. the content of

motivation, or on how people can be motivated, i.e. the process of motivation. Both

areas are, of course, interrelated. Whereas process theories seek ways of influencing

Harris, M.C. (1997), page 161

advocated in "The Principles of Scientific Management" (1911)

advocated in "The Wealth of Nations" (1776), chapter 1 "Of the Division of Labour"

Shafritz, J.M., and Ott, J.S. (2000), pages 29-32

Roethlisberger, F.J., studies at the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company (1924-32),

Chicago, Illinois

Basically, the studies intended to research the impact of light intensity in a factory on workers'

productivity. They revealed that regardless of the light intensity, productivity increased in almost

every test group, due to the researchers' attention paid to the respective workers and their work.

Roethlisberger, F.J. (1941), pages 158-166

CHAPTER

MPLOYEE MOTIVATION

employee motivation, content theories rather provide insight into the driving forces

of employee motivation. As it is this thesis's objective to explore what affects

employee motivation, it first has to be discussed what constitutes motivation in the

workplace. Therefore, the subsequent discussion will concentrate on content theories.

2.3.1 Motivation as a Hierarchy of Needs

"All discussions of motivation start with Abraham Maslow"

One of the first who were concerned about motivation's content was Abraham

Maslow. He outlined the complexity of the issue as he stated: "Typically an act has

more than one motivation."

Following Maslow, any motivated behaviour is a

means for satisfying more or less basic human needs. He stressed that none of these

needs can be isolated as each is related to the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the

others. Maslow concluded that a classification of motivations should be based upon

goals to be achieved rather than on instigating drives or motivated behaviour, as the

latter could not take into account the specific situations an individual is acting in.

Therefore, he built up the following categories of needs: physiological needs, safety

needs, belonging (or love) needs, esteem needs and self-actualization, which can be

perceived as the sets of goals an individual tries to achieve. Then, he took the

respective individual situation into consideration by ranking these needs as shown in

the chart below.

Chart 3 - Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Shafritz, J.M., and Ott, J.S. (2000), page 147

Maslow, A. (1943), page 167

Physiological Needs

Belonging Needs

Safety Needs

Esteem Needs

Self-actualization

Lower-level Needs

Higher-level Needs

Physiological Needs

Belonging Needs

Safety Needs

Physiological Needs

Belonging Needs

Safety Needs

Esteem Needs

Self-actualization

Esteem Needs

Self-actualization

Lower-level Needs

Higher-level Needs

CHAPTER

MPLOYEE MOTIVATION

Employing this hierarchy, Maslow differentiated between lower- and higher-level

needs. He argued that an individual seeks satisfaction of the so-called higher-level

needs only if lower-level needs are relatively well gratified. `Relatively well' in that

sense means that the respective need does not necessarily have to be completely

satisfied, yet the degree of satisfaction of lower-level needs is higher than that of

higher-level needs.

That means, for instance, that a hungry and thirsty person is

above all interested in obtaining food and water, yet has rather little interest in his

safety, e.g. social security through a pension plan. Attention to other needs rises

again when physiological ones have been taken care of, i.e. by eating and drinking.

The example might sound plain but it shows why the very same person can act

differently depending on his current situation. So, only the sufficient satisfaction of

the most urgent needs leads to the emergence of the subsequent, higher needs.

Following Maslow's hierarchy, such upper-rank human needs are esteem and self-

actualization. These needs can be deemed of special significance, as at least in

today's so-called Western World, lower needs can be perceived as being fairly

satisfied for the majority of people, hence they do not work as motivators.

Esteem needs comprise man's desire for a stable and high evaluation of himself, be it

through self-esteem or esteem of others. Especially the latter is of importance, being

expressed through individuals' reputation, prestige, recognition and appreciation by

others, e.g. for the ability of adapting fast to changing circumstances. Satisfaction of

these needs leads to feelings of self-confidence, worth, strength, capability, in short -

being of use and necessary in the world. On the contrary, their dissatisfaction may

result in feelings of inferiority, uselessness and helplessness.

Self-actualization is on top of the hierarchy, comprising the need for the utmost self-

fulfilment of an individual, to become everything that a person is capable of

becoming potentially. Due to the specificity of this need, the form it can take will

vary extremely from individual to individual, thus making it even harder to affect or

be satisfied.

Self-actualization and esteem needs work as far better motivators as

they, unlike lower-level needs, are an ongoing object of interest for man, once they

have become important to him.

Maslow, A. (1943), page 176

McGregor, D.M. (1957), page 181

Maslow, A. (1943), page 171

McGregor, D.M. (1957), page 181

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MPLOYEE MOTIVATION

Subsequent research basing on Maslow's ideas found his five-layered classification

of motives partly problematic as in practice, those needs could not be differentiated

thoroughly enough. For this reason, Alderfer modified the hierarchy and reduced the

number of layers to three. These are the existence-layer, comprising man's basic

needs like hunger, thirst and safety, the relatedness-layer, standing for people's social

needs like love, affection and esteem, and the growth-layer, representing

advancement needs like achievement. This modification Alderfer named

ERG-model, after the initial letters of the layers existence, relatedness and growth.

Though the number of categories had been reduced, the basic idea of motives

standing in a hierarchical order remained - existence needs being of lowest and

growth needs being of highest motivation for man.

To sum up, the need for money as such is not the most important driving force for

man. Rather, there are various categories of human needs that can be ranked by their

importance for an individual. Especially needs like esteem, advancement and self-

actualization, sets of goals which are fairly independent of pecuniary aspects, serve

as higher-level motivators. The reason for this can be seen in today's circumstances

under which lower-level needs are relatively satisfied for most of the people, giving

way for higher-level needs which are continuously sought by man. Money as such is

merely a means of fulfilling the above needs - a mechanism that will be referred to at

a later stage. However, this approach explains motivation on a rather abstract level

and cannot be applied to almost any circumstances. In this respect, hierarchies do not

contribute to unearthing people's motivation specifically in a work environment.

2.3.2 Motivation as a Twofold Phenomenon

A stronger consideration of job-related motivation was achieved by the studies of

Fredrick Herzberg. They were based on a survey among 200 engineers and

accountants in the Pittsburgh industry, who were asked about incidents at work

which had either resulted in an improvement in their job-satisfaction or led to a

marked reduction in it. The assumption underlying this survey was that factors that

lead to job-satisfaction are welcomed by employees, thus provide a motivation.

Herzberg's findings revealed that employee motivation is differently affected by two

distinct sets of factors. One set consists of factors that are rather involved in job

dissatisfaction. All of these factors describe the situation or environment in which an

Gebert, D., and Rosenstiel, L. (1996), page 43

CHAPTER

MPLOYEE MOTIVATION

individual performs his tasks. While the provision of such factors has, if ever, only a

slightly positive effect on job satisfaction, their absence or impairment results in

significantly lower job satisfaction. For example, poor conditions in the workplace

result in lower job satisfaction, yet improving those conditions starting from an

appropriate level does not or only shortly increase job satisfaction. Herzberg thus

concluded that satisfaction of these factors, which he termed hygiene factors, serves

to avoid unpleasantness and is necessary to prevent the disturbance of employee

motivation. They are extrinsic to the individual and cannot be influenced by it.

On the contrary, the other set relates to what an individual employee does and

exemplifies significant determiners of job satisfaction. They are intrinsic to the

individual and symbolise man's need for growth. So to speak, they work like internal

generators yielding motivation. An increase of these factors, e.g. interest in the task,

regularly leads to an increase of employees' job satisfaction. As they thus form the

essentials of employee motivation, Herzberg named them motivators.

Both hygiene factors and motivators are presented comprehensively in the table

below.

Hygiene Factors (extrinsic)

Motivators (intrinsic)

Company policy administration

Achievement

Supervision

Recognition for achievement

Working conditions

Interest in the task

Interpersonal relation

Responsibility for enlarged task

Salary

Growth and advancement to higher

level tasks

Table 1 - Herzberg's Hygiene Factors and Motivators

Contrary to Maslow, where a need can either be satisfied or not, Herzberg's

continuum of satisfaction is twofold. Whereas hygiene factors determine whether an

employee is dissatisfied or not dissatisfied, motivators determine whether he is

satisfied or not satisfied.

To exaggerate the case: following Herzberg, employee

motivation still can be improved by providing motivators once hygiene factors are

present at the lowest level, which means that an individual is not dissatisfied.

Gebert, D., and Rosenstiel, L. (1996), page 45

Details

Seiten
Erscheinungsform: Originalausgabe
Jahr: 2004
ISBN (eBook): 9783832484675
ISBN (Paperback): 9783838684673
DOI: 10.3239/9783832484675
Dateigröße: 1 MB
Sprache: Englisch
Institution / Hochschule: Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin – Wirtschaftswissenschaften I - Fachbereich 3, Betriebswirtschaft
Erscheinungsdatum: 2004 (Dezember)
Note: 1,3
Schlagworte: equity theory bias politics team cohensivness

Autor

Marek Worsch (Autor:in)