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Frederick Herzberg's (1959) Famous Quote Says If You Want People To Do A ...

Frederick Herzberg's (1959) famous quote says If you want people to do a good job, give them a good job to do. Herzberg's motivational theory has a two component approach and is known as the two-factor theory. His theory suggests that things which prevent dissatisfaction are not the same as things which create satisfaction. (Herzberg, 1959) When people are dissatisfied (de-motivated) with their work it is usually because of discontent with environmental factors which he terms as Hygiene Factors". These hygiene factors include factors such as, security, status, relationship with subordinates, personal life, salary, work conditions, relationship with supervisor, company policy and administration (Bedeian, 2003).

These are the factors whose presence in the organization is natural and does not lead to motivation, however its absence does lead to de-motivation. Hygiene factors include the work and the organizational environment. The second component of the theory involves factors whose absence causes no dissatisfaction but whose presence has huge motivational value. Herzberg terms these factors as ‘Motivational factors' which are factors such as growth prospects, career progression and advancement, responsibility, challenges, recognition and achievements. The theory concentrates around the fact that the opposite to satisfaction is not dissatisfaction and merely removing dissatisfying characteristics from a job does not necessarily makes the job satisfying. Herzberg stresses that both the approaches (hygiene and motivational) should be done simultaneously to be effective. Herzberg's theory, in a way, is a modification to Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Some critics term Herzberg's theory as vague, but considering today's business world where job context and content are major issues, the theory if practiced effectively can give good results because it is based on superb motivational ideas.

Diagramatic representation of Herzberg two-factor theory (Taken from Web 2)

Vroom's Expectancy Theory

Vroom's expectancy theory argues that motivation is based on values and beliefs of individuals and examines motives through the perception of what a person believes will happen. It is based on the belief that employee effort will lead to performance and performance will lead to rewards (Vroom, 1964). The theory states that individuals can be motivated if they believe that there is a positive correlation between the efforts they put in and their performance and when that favourable performance leads to a reward. Consequently, the reward helps satisfy an important need and the desire to satisfy that need is strong enough to make the efforts worth wile.

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