Human Resources Motivation

Motivation is the individual, internal process that energizes, directs, and sustains
behaviour. One of the first approaches to employee motivation was Fr. Taylor’s scientific
management. Taylor believed that employees work only for money and that they must be
closely supervised and managed, which was labelled as Theory X by Douglas Mc
Gregor. Then he described an alternative view called Theory Y, which is based on the
idea that employees can be motivated to behave as responsible members of the
organization pointing the importance of social processes in the workplace.
Frederick Herzberg found that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are influenced by two
different set of factors. Hygiene factors, including pay and working conditions, affect the
employee’s degree of dissatisfaction but do not affect satisfaction. Motivation factors,
including recognition and responsibility, affect the employee’s degree of satisfaction, but
do not affect the degree of dissatisfaction.
There are three major contemporary motivation theories. Equity theory maintains
that people are motivated to obtain and preserve equitable treatment for themselves.
Managers can avoid problems arising from inequity by making sure that rewards are
distributed on the basis of performance and that everyone clearly understands the basis
for his or her own pay. Expectancy theory suggests that our motivation depends on how
much we want something and how likely we think we are to get it. It is difficult to apply,
but it provides several useful guidelines for managers. And reinforcement theory is based
on the idea that people will repeat behaviour that is rewarded and won’t repeat behaviour
that is punished. Reinforcement is an action that follows directly from a particular
behaviour. It can be positive and negative
A means of motivating is through reward systems, which are formal mechanisms
for evaluating and rewarding employee performance. Effective reward systems must
satisfy basic needs and recognize that people have a variety of needs. Traditional reward
systems are based on fixed rates. Several new types of reward systems seem to provide
additional motivation to employees.
Managers can use a variety of techniques to enhance employee motivation. Key
techniques include management by objectives, in which the manager and subordinate set
goals for the subordinate together, and behaviour is modification, which is based on
reinforcement theory. Job enrichment, modified work-weeks, and employee participation
can also be used to motivate employees
The design of the reward systems (and other personnel-related systems) is part of a
broader set of activities called human resources management.

Comprehension Questions:
a) State the difference between theory X and theory Y
b) Comment on the contemporary motivation theories