Many people believe that earning money is the only thing that motivates people to work. In this report I will look into whether this is true fully, partly or not at all. I will also examine the role of other motivational factors such as variety of workplace tasks and the wish to be appreciated. I predict that as I investigate further I will discover that different motivators motivate different people and maybe for some money is the sole motivator. I will start my investigation by looking into what the acknowledged experts, Maslow, Hertzberg, Mayo and Kano wrote on this subject.
I will then follow it up by conducting my own research upon 25 subjects from a cross-section of society. I will then draw up my own conclusions upon whether money motivates, whether there is anything else that motivates and which motivates certain people. Secondary Research: The need to be appreciated at work may be satisfied by the prestige attached to a particular job. The need for a variety in the workplace may be satisfied by an interesting job. A factor which affects motivation is that every individual has different needs.
For example an employee may prefer to work on his or her own than in a team. In order to have good motivational plan, employees needs have to be accurately identified and met.. An example of how employees’ needs could be identified and satisfied is through involving them in discussions so that they feel recognised and wanted. A business could also set up discussions with management about goals and working practises which would make employees feel their opinion counts and also that their contribution is valuable.
In the long term this may result in the employee being willing to work longer hours or take responsibility. In 1954 Abraham Maslow identified five classes of needs these included physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem needs and self-actualisation as you can see in fig 8. The needs, which Maslow identified at the bottom of the pyramid, are based on basic needs concerned with survival, and these must be satisfied before a person can go to the next level.
For example some people may be more concerned with basic needs such as food, than anything else. Although it must be noted that once each need has been satisfied the ones below become less important, with the exception of self-actualisation at the top, Maslow argued that although everybody is capable, very few actually reach this level. Elton Mayo conducted some experiments in Hawthorne, Chicago in 1927-32 and found that better lighting equalled high productivity.
He set up two groups of workers; these included a test group and also a control group. When he turned up the lights for group one, but not for group two, productivity rose in both groups. While in further experiments he reduced the lighting to its original level and turned the lighting up in the other group productivity still rose in both groups. The reason for this was that both groups were being consulted throughout and workers developed cohesiveness as a social group.
An example of such ideas being used in business today is the Volvo plant in Uddevalla, opened in 1989. This plant was designed to allow workers to work in teams of 8-10. Each team built a complete car and made decisions about production. It was found that the absenteeism rates at the Uddevalla averaged 8 per cent, compared to 25 per cent in their Gothenburg plant, which used a production line system. Hertzberg taught us we have ‘hygiene needs’, which are the equivalent to Maslows basic needs.
These needs cause us to be dissatisfied if not fulfilled but if they are fulfilled merely stop us being dissatisfied. These are entirely different from ‘motivational factors’. An example of ‘hygiene factors’ would be not receiving your pay-check on time, which would cause you to be stressed and frustrated, but with it on time each month it would have no motivational effect on you. This could be contrasted with receiving a pat on the back which would make an employee feel better and help to motivate them.
