MEM 2221 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Job Enrichment, Disability Insurance, Process Theory
11 Dec 2019
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Lecture 9: Theories on Motivation
Chapter 3: Leading Technical People (Cont)
Content vs Process Theories
● Theories to explain how people are motivated
● Content theory - based on human needs and people’s efforts to satisfy them
● Process theory - assumes behavioral choices are made rationally based on the expected
outcomes
Content Theories
● Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs - “human needs arrange themselves in hierarchies of
prepotency. The appearance of one need usually rests on the prior satisfaction of
another.”
○ Physiological needs - basic wage/salary, reasonable working conditions, at the
lowest level of hierarchy
○ Security/safety needs - job security, safe working conditions, protection against
threats, predictable work environment, job benefits like medical, unemployment
and disability insurance, and retirement plans
○ Affiliation needs - compatible coworkers, pleasant supervisor, can be a motivator
for the worker, this may be met outside of the workplace where there is a need
for interaction
○ Esteem needs - self respect, esteem of others, praise, recognition, promotion
○ Self actualization needs - desire to become everything one is capable of being,
creative or challenging work, special assignments
○ Many agree with the theory’s divide of lower level and upper level hierarchical
needs
○ Upper level needs may be fulfilled outside of work
● Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory - factors affecting attitudes can be divided into “those that
provided motivation when they were present” and “hygiene factors that led to job
dissatisfaction when they did not meet expectations
○ Hygiene factors - salary, working conditions, company policies, relationship with
boss, relationship with peers
○ Motivator factors - recognition, work itself, responsibility, advancement,
achievement
○ Hygiene factors ⇒ lower level needs, motivators ⇒ upper level needs
○ Job enrichment - methodology to increase the content of motivators in a job
■ Reducing the number and frequency of controls
■ Make the workers responsible for checking his/her own work
■ Establishing a direct relationship between the worker and customer
○ Motivation seeks - respond well to job enrichment
■ Engineers, manufacturing supervisors, male technicians, scientists
○ Maintenance seekers - motivated by the nature of their environment and tend to
avoid motivational opportunities…
■ Female assemblers
Document Summary
Theories to explain how people are motivated. Content theory - based on human needs and people"s efforts to satisfy them. Process theory - assumes behavioral choices are made rationally based on the expected outcomes. Maslow"s hierarchy of needs - human needs arrange themselves in hierarchies of prepotency. The appearance of one need usually rests on the prior satisfaction of another. Physiological needs - basic wage/salary, reasonable working conditions, at the lowest level of hierarchy. Security/safety needs - job security, safe working conditions, protection against threats, predictable work environment, job benefits like medical, unemployment and disability insurance, and retirement plans. Affiliation needs - compatible coworkers, pleasant supervisor, can be a motivator for the worker, this may be met outside of the workplace where there is a need for interaction. Esteem needs - self respect, esteem of others, praise, recognition, promotion. Self actualization needs - desire to become everything one is capable of being, creative or challenging work, special assignments.
