I am going to research in general Motivation. I will look at the theories of both Maslow and Taylor. Books and other such sources most easily explain Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Taylor’s scientific management, so I will use this as one of my sources. My primary research will come from working people who have experienced motivational tactics first hand. I will to come into contact with managers of well-motivated companies and find out how they motivate their staff. My secondary research will come from the Internet. I will use search engines to find what I am looking for.
I will use certain keywords relevant to my topic. The keywords I will use will be along the lines of: Motivation, Maslow, Taylor and other things relevant to motivation. I will also generally browse around the subject and may stumble upon some useful information. I will pay close attention to the quality of information found on the Internet, as some of it is not very good. Findings Primary Findings I asked people what they thought of motivation and this is what I found: From the people I have asked personally, I have received the following feedback.
People mostly feel that they are motivated by good conditions; good pay and enjoy their jobs. Some people just work for money and the people I asked told me that work should not be just for money, they should enjoy their job. My thoughts are that people work for higher pay if they need to. If you had a large family and needed the money you would rather bare a boring job than watch your family starve. People also felt that you didn’t always have to motivated some are happy with work and they are de-motivated if a manager try’s to motivate them. It is very important a manager learns about his staff.
He must be able to see easily the motivated and de-motivated. He must also be able to locate the problems whether they are just un-happy, lonely, or just not in the mood. You have to boost their moral. You must have a very good judge of character as not to come on to strong and make them feel pressured. Secondary Findings McGregor I have researched various people’s views of personnel needs. The first theory I looked at was the X and Y theories by Douglas McGregor. This is the view of the workers from a managerial point of view. Managers who believe in Theory Y try to give all employees to have a say.
They want to encourage people to work on their own or in a team and are willing to delegate. Maslow The second theory I looked at was the Maslow theory and his Hierarchy of Needs. His hierarchy of needs looked some thing like this: As the lowest sections are fulfilled then the higher sections become more of a necessity. The first need is Physical. These are people’s basic needs food, warmth and water needs to satisfy the human body. The second need is Safety. This is so people feel like they have things to keep them safe. They have a family, good job; pension when they retire this makes a better person.
The third need is Social. This is needed so that people feel like they belong. This is concerned with personal relationships and being pert of a group. This can be stimulated buy having uniforms or something that distinguishes you in some way from other people. The fourth need is Self-Esteem needs. This is important for all people, they need to feel happy with what they have achieved. To quench needs such as this a goal for better things has to be made available they need chances for a promotion a method of moving on and progressing. The fifth and final need is Self-Fulfillment.
This cannot be entirely achieved in my opinion as you all-ways have a new target set in your head after the old one has been accomplished. To fulfill ones self you must have a sense of personal achievement and growth. Work satisfies this need for many of the self-employed, professional people and company managers. There is very little sense of self-fulfillment for many manual workers doing routine work on assembly lines or at checkout tills. Taylor The third theory I looked at was the Taylor theory. This theory is rather slim and to the point I also think that this theory is rather negative.
Taylor believed that workers were naturally lazy and were motivated only buy money. Their work needed to be planned for them; they should be told what to do. This is because it applies to the people of his time where money was scarce and poverty was high. Companies such as Nike are able to pay their manufacturing workers very poor amounts of money because they desperately need it to stay alive. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs the first need is Physiological this means money for food warmth and water. This theory contradicts the X and Y theories and the theory of Maslow. Analysis
From my primary research I have found that people are not easily motivated. There is not one clear path to follow in order to motivate all people. All people are DIFFERENT. They want good working conditions, good pay and an enjoyable job. They are different, but like to be treated as individuals. They need special attention so it is hard to find a motivational theory that is universal but to apply your own on people specifically rather than deploying the same tactic on all staff. I must locate the workers that need hard motivation, those that need soft and gentle motivation and then those who just need a little praise and encouragement.
I must also adapt my plan for motivation very frequently In my personal opinion I believe that Maslow’s theory of motivation. This is because Maslow’s theory is adaptable. It involves a lot of assessment by the manager to concentrate on the need the worker is trying to fulfill and to help them to fulfill it. An example of this would be if a student just starting work, lots of tuition fees to pay off and loans taken would be less interested in money than that of a worker that had been with the firm 20 years would not be so interested in pay and more in the second two levels of Maslow’s hierarchy.
McGregor’s theory talks about a manager’s attitude and how they should adapt to incorporate the workers needs in a boss. The views of a manager dictate the stature of the workers motivation. I would aim in my Music Shop to be a Y manager. This is because the workers I want to employ have to fit my profile in a person otherwise they will most likely not fit my profile as a good sales-person. The theory of Taylor solely relies on the aspect of money and pay. He believes that a worker is working for money and for that alone. Self-fulfillment and enjoying work do not come into his view of motivation.
I don’t agree with this view I think that the career choices made by a person reflect their attitude of work. If the choose a fun-filled job with low pay, this tells me that they are more interested in their personal enjoyment rather than an extravagant way of life. If they were to choose a boring high paid job, my reflection of the person would either be they enjoy an extravagant and luxurious lifestyle removing the fun found by some in their jobs. My Plan I think that different things motivate different people. This is the way Maslow thinks of motivation.
