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chapter 2 motivation theories

when people work for themselves they tend to work hard and effectively as they see their direct benefit of their labours,however once people start to work for others then they might not work as effectively.one of the tasks of management is to get their workforce to contribute fully to the success of the business. to this end,many studies have been carried out to discover what makes employees work effectively.

F.W taylor

Fredrick taylor started his working life as a labourer in a factory in America in the 1880s.He rose to become chief engineer, during this time he conducted experiments,at the steel company where he worked,into how labour productivity could be increased.Taylor based his ideas on the assumption that all individuals are motivated by personal gain and therefore if they are paid more they will work more effectively.He was looking at workers who worked in factories.he broke down their jobs into simple processes and then calculated how much output they would be able to do in a day.if they were to produce this target output then they would be paid more money.

Taylors ideas resulted in big productivity gains at the company where he worked, and money other businesses adopted his ideas,but there are several criticism of Taylor's ideas

his ideas were too simplistic-employees are motivated by many things and not just money.

you can pay an employee more money,but if they are unfulfilled by their work in some way,there will be no productivity gains.

a practical problem arises if you cannot easily measure an employees output.

Maslow

Abraham Maslow studied employee motivation.he proposed a heirarchy of needs shown in the diagram.

self-actualisation-

succeeding to your full potential,feeling that you have done a good job,not just for financial and personal reward.

being promoted and given more responsibility.

esteem needs-

having status recognition, achievement,independence.

being given a recognition for a job well done.

social needs-

friendship, a sense of belonging to a team.

work colleagues that support you at work.

safety/security needs-

protection against danger.

protection against poverty.

fair treatment.

job security.

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chapter 2 continued

safety/security needs

protection against danger,protection against poverty, fair treatment.

job security.

physiological needs-

food,rest,recreational shelter.

wages high enough to meet weekly bills.

businesses have began to