Identify and review theories andmodels from various disciplinary backgrounds that explain or informinteractions within an organisation Introduction-Thereare three different types of Motivation Theories that are used to enhance theproductivity levels of the employees. They are: Satisfaction Theories;Incentive Theories; and Intrinsic Theories. Each type of theory has a differentapproach in terms of the way in which they believe is the most effective mannerto get the greatest productivity levels out of the employees within aworkplace. Satisfaction Theories argue that a worker will be at their mosteffective rate of productivity only when they are satisfied with their job. Whereas,Incentive theories contend that employees work most efficiently when they havea precise reward that they are working towards, and so it is a more”goal-orientated” theory. Furthermore, Intrinsic Theories propose that anindividual works at an optimum rate when they are given a meaningful job and permittedto get on with it, and the rewards of this are attained though the enjoymentand fulfilment of the actual task itself. (Burns, 2017)Satisfaction theories-Frederick Herzberg’s Theory ofMotivation: (Two-Factor Theory)FrederickHerzberg believed that the motivation of an individual could be narrowed downinto two separate categories.
Motivators and Hygiene Factors. Motivators referto the things that can enhance the persons job satisfaction and Hygiene Factorsrefer to the things that do not necessarily cause satisfaction, but can help todiminish dissatisfaction. (Study.
com, 2017)Herzbergargued that an individual has a higher level of needs that would have an impacton their psychological growth. This refers to things such as in-work achievements;recognition; responsibility; the work itself; and advancement and growth. Alongwith this, everyone has a basic level of needs in an animalistic sense, as toavoid suffering and deprivation. This refers to the Hygiene Factors such as:Company policy and administration; supervision; working relationships; statusand security; and the wages. Herzberghimself had done several research investigations into job satisfaction and jobdissatisfaction, which further supported his initial theories. The research forthe theory suggested that job satisfaction was mainly caused by the Motivatorsand that the dissatisfaction in the workplace was mainly due to the workingconditions, such as the leadership styles of the managers, the relationshipsthat the employees had with the managers and the surrounding environment, whichincluded the overall hygiene levels of the actual workplace, and the health andsafety regulations etc.
(“Frederick Herzberg: the hygiene-motivationtheory.” Thinkers, Chartered Management Institute, 1999.)Theimpact that this would have on a business is that it would provide them with abasis of what the employees will demand as a basic need, and allow them toconsider which types of motivators will be offered to the employees, such as increasedresponsibility, recognition and advancement into a higher level of thebusiness. This motivation theory also impacts the employees as it enables themto understand what they are entitled to as a bare minimum in the work place,whether that is a safe working environment, security of their status or thedifferent types of relationships in the workplace etc. (“Herzberg’s Two-factor Theory.”The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, edited by Jacqueline L. Longe, 3rd ed., vol.
1, Gale, 2016, pp. 521-523.)Bytaking this theory into consideration, a business would be able to bettermanage their employees. The reason for this is that it would allow them to gaina clearer understanding on what is required to diminish the dissatisfaction oftheir employees, and which types of motivators. In relation to a Multi-culturalbusiness environment, although the hygiene factors would be quite similar forall the employees, there would be some vital differences.
For example, in termsof the working relationships, a Muslim man may be more hesitant to work in agroup with mostly women, compared to a non-religious person. This does not meanthat he wouldn’t be a good team member, but it could still have an influence onhis output. Thebusiness would also need to take into consideration the different types ofemployees and their ethnicities and religious beliefs when thinking about thevarious Motivators that would be suited to everyone. The reason for this isthat if the business had a Christian working there, a Motivator that could beused to increase their productivity would be to offer them an extended holidayover the Christmas period. However, it may be more suitable for a Muslimemployee to be given the extended break over Ramadan instead to focus on theirreligious duties. Incentive theories- DouglasMcGregor (1906-1964) was a social psychologist, and he believed that there aretwo ultimate styles to managing people. Conferring to McGregor, a managereither confines to being a Theory X or a Theory Y focused manager. (Burns, 2017)Theory XAccordingto ‘The Economist’, “Theory X is an authoritarian style wherethe emphasis is on productivity”.
(Theories X and Y, 2017). Thismeans that the managerial style is considerably on the Autocratic style ofleadership. As stated by the ‘English Oxford Dictionary’, Autocratic can bedefined as “Relating to a ruler who has absolute power”, in which they take “noaccount of other people’s wishes or opinions; domineering”. (autocratic |Definition of autocratic in English by Oxford Dictionaries, 2017)This heavily has acorrelation with Theory X because it is based solely on productivity,regardless of other factors. Theory X styled managers believe that “employeeslack ambition, dislike responsibility, dislike work and avoid it where it ispossible” (TheExam Performance Specialists | tutor2u Business, 2017). This suggests that employees only show up to theirjobs because of the money. (MindToolsVideos, 2017)The impact that thiswould have on a business is that it could have a vastly negative affect on thebusinesses productivity. The reason for this is that the employees arecharacteristically lazy and unmotivated, which means that they would easily getdistracted and lose focus on the task that has been set, and so they would haveto be monitored constantly.
(Expert Program Management, 2017). The affect that this has on the employees is that itwould be quite a hostile environment to work in. The reason for this is that themanagers leadership approach would be quite aggressive and so this could causea lot of tension in the workplace. In terms of Multi-Cultural Businessenvironments, a business could implement this theory to better manage thedifferent types of people. This could be done by considering each employee andfiguring out whether a ‘Hard Theory X’ or a ‘Soft Theory X’ approach should beused. A ‘Hard Theory X’ approach refers to the use of aggression, threats andintimidation. This type of approach would be suitable for the employees thatare ‘thick skinned’ and do not take things to heart, as it would motivate themto do the work.
Whereas a ‘Soft Theory X’ method centralises more towardskeeping an atmosphere of peace in the workplace. Although this does sound to bemore attractive, managers often find that this does not always work because theemployees do not feel as though they will face negative consequences. (The X&YManagement Theory, 2017) Theory YDouglasMcGregor’s Theory Y is a much more Participative style of leadership andmanagement.
According to ‘The Economist’ this method “assumes that people will exercise self-direction andself-control in the achievement of organisational objectives to the degree thatthey are committed to those objectives” (Theories X and Y, 2017). Theory Y managers believe that their employees enjoytheir work, are enthusiastic, seek responsibility, are good at problem solving,and set out long-term goals and plan how to accomplish them. (Burns, 2017)Theimpact that this would have on a business is that it would make the workplacemuch more relaxed and comfortable as there is no tension due to constant threatof punishment, as is in Theory X. Because of this, it is much more likely forthe employees to be significantly more productive with their work, and soincreasing the productivity of the business. According to a Journal Article called’Douglas McGregor: Theory X and Theory Y’, “TheoryY assumptions can lead to more cooperative relationships between managers andworkers. A Theory Y management style seeks to establish a working environmentin which the personal needs and objectives of individuals can relate to, andharmonise with, the objectives of the organisation”. (“DouglasMcGregor: Theory X and Theory Y.” Thinkers, Chartered Management Institute,1999.
). This supports thecontext that the Theory Y approach would be more suited to getting the truestform of high quality productive output from the employees. Abusiness manager could implement this theory to get the best out of theiremployees in a Multi-Cultural Business environment. The reason for this is thatsome of the employees may be suited to lead on certain tasks, whilst others maybe suited to follow. This does not mean that they are not able to collectivelywork together, but rather that there would be a greater amount of balance betweenthe workforce as some would be seeking responsibility, whilst others would becontent with aiding in the contribution towards the overall goal. Intrinsic theories-Maslow’s Theory of Motivation-AbrahamMaslow, 1908-1970, was a psychologist whom argued that each person has fivefundamental levels of needs. They are: Physiological; Safety; Love/ Belonging;Esteem; and Self-Actualisation. Physiological needs refer to the basics such asFood, Water and Sleep.
Safety discusses the security of the Self-health, theFamily, Property, and Employment. Social/ Belonging needs focus on Friendship,Family and Sexual Intimacy. Esteem relates to Confidence, Achievements, Respectof and by others. Self-Actualisation is centred around Morality, Creativity, Spontaneityetc. These different levels are often looked at as a pyramid, which representsthe hierarchy of the needs. (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, 2017)Theinfluence that this has on employees is that it gives them five separate stageswhich differentiates their basic needs to their more goal-oriented needs.
Dueto their physiological needs, the employee would want to have a job thatprovides them with a decent living wage, so that they are able to survive. Thentwo tiers above, the employee would have the requirement to socialise, to staysane and happy. This may be done by going out with work colleagues, friends orfamily, so to relax. Two ranks higher, the employee would haveSelf-Actualisation needs in which they would be ambitious to further enhancetheir career and lives.
This could be quite a reflective process for somepeople in which they look back at how far they have come. Inrelation to a Multi-Cultural Business environment, the manager of theorganisation could implement this theory to better manage the employees. Forexample, when the bombing of Manchester Arena occurred in May 2017, it was avery hostile environment for most Muslim people, because they were beingassociated with the minority that carried out the vile attacks. A figure quotedby ‘The Guardian’ stated “Islamophobic attackssoared more than 500% in Greater Manchester after the suicide bombingat an Ariana Grande concert last month, police have said”. (Halliday, 2017)Dueto this, managers would need to ensure that their Muslim employees areprotected and not targeted and made victims of verbal or physical attacks. Doingso would optimise the productivity of all the employees and ensure that thebusiness does not implode, even in such tragic circumstances. Conclusion-Torecapitulate, I believe that each type of theory can be implemented to effectivelymanage employees in a Multi-Cultural Business environment. Herzberg’s theory ofmotivation holds some key principles that would be needed to successfully mouldan efficient working environment, in terms of the hygiene factors andMotivators.
There must be a basic level of security in the workplace, eventhough this does not necessarily contribute to the motivation of the employees.The Motivators would influence the employees and encourage them to workproductively. In addition, I believe that McGregor’s theories also could beeffective. However, I personally feel that a ‘Theory Y’ approach would be moresuited to a modern Multi-Cultural environment because it would allow thedifferent types of people to collectively work together in an atmosphere where thereis not any hostility. Whereas, a ‘Theory X’ approach may cause quite a lot oftension between employees and managers, and so negatively impact the business’productive output.
Furthermore, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs provides some detailedinsight into the different types of needs, which would help a business tounderstand an employee clearly. The first two tiers of needs in this structurecould relate to the hygiene factors from Herzberg’s theory because they bothsuggest that each human has a basic need of security, whether it’s based on thebase salary or the food and water requirements etc. If I was a manager, I woulduse a combination of the stated theories to manage a Multi-Cultural Businessenvironment because they each have benefits. However, I would not restrictmyself to only one because the type of motivation would depend on the type ofemployees that I have.
