Английский язык. Практический курс для решения бизнес-задач - читать онлайн

Motivation Theories

Motivation is at the heart of your success. Because management is all about getting things done through others, the ability to get others to perform is critical. A crucial driver of organizational performance, motivation refers to the processes that determine how much effort will be expended to perform the job in order to meet organizational goals. A lack of motivation costs the company money – in terms of lost productivity and missed opportunities.

With downsizing and restructuring becoming commonplace in organizations, employee morale has become negatively impacted. This has made the motivation of the workforce even more important.

The old command-and-control methods of motivating are not suitable for today’s environment of empowerment and teams. Providing one-size-fits-all rewards does not work with diverse workforce.

No single theory captures the complexity of motivation in its entirety. You need to understand multiple theories, and then integrate them to get a more comprehensive understanding of how to better motivate your employees.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow developed a theory in 1943 to analyze what drives human behavior. The Hierarchy of Needs Theory explained human behavior in terms of needs.

His theory’s underlying premise is that people must have their needs met in order to function effectively. These needs are ordered in a hierarchy.

Maslow suggested that human behavior is first motivated by basic physiological needs. That is, you need food, water and air. Providing your employees with a sufficient remuneration, bonuses and breaks during their workday enables them to meet some of these basic physiological needs. Health-care programs, medical insurance and paid sick leaves also assist your employees in meeting these needs.

Once these needs are fulfilled, people are motivated by safety needs. You can provide fulfillment of these needs for your employees by ensuring strict adherence to occupational safety rules and offering them some degree of job security.

Many of the benefits that companies offer, such as savings plans, stock purchase plans and profit sharing programs, also fulfill the safety needs of employees. Even outplacement services to assist employees who were made redundant can address the safety needs: these services ease the pain of the layoff.

As this need is fulfilled, people progress up the pyramid to be motivated by social needs or belongingness. These reflect the need for affiliation, socialization and the need to have friends. Your company’s social events provide opportunities for socialization. Corporate sponsorship of community events also provides an opportunity for employees to make friends while giving something back to the community.

As these needs are satiated, people are motivated by esteem needs. These needs involve gaining approval and status. You can help your employees fulfill these needs with recognition rewards such as plaques, trophies, and certificates.

And finally, the need for self-actualization – the need to reach your full potential – drives people’s behavior. In the words of the Armed Forces, this is «being all that you can be». Developing skills for your employees helps them to reach self-actualization. While the first four needs can be fulfilled, the need for self-actualization cannot be satiated. Once you move toward your potential, you raise the bar and strive for more.

McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

Douglas McGregor proposed that managers use one of two different assumptions concerning people. His theory is called the Theory X and Theory Y view of managers, which reflects these two different sets of assumptions.

The Theory X view is the negative set of assumptions. The Theory X manager believes that people are lazy and must be forced to work because it does not come naturally to them.

The Theory Y holds that people will look for responsibility and that work comes naturally to people. This is seen as the positive assumption about people.

Generally, Theory Y manager will have more motivated employees. Sometimes, the Theory X manager can achieve results when used in the appropriate situations. But today’s workforce, as a rule, seeks more challenging jobs and an opportunity to participate in the decision-making process. This is closer to the assumptions of the Theory Y manager.

McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory

David McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory is also referred to as the Acquired Needs Theory. According to the theory developed in the 1970s, needs are developed or learned over time. McClelland suggested that there are three needs – for achievement, power, and affiliation – that are important to the workforce. While all three are present in everyone, one need is dominant.

People who have a dominant need for achievement are proactively seeking ways to improve the way things are done, like challenges and excel in competitive environment. An employee who has a dominant need for achievement should be provided with challenging jobs with lots of feedback on his or her progress.

The need for power is the need to control others. Those with a dominant need for power like to be in charge and enjoy jobs with status. You should allow such employees to participate in decisions that impact them and give them some control over their jobs.

The need for affiliation is the need to have close relationships with others and to be liked by people. Individuals with the dominant need for affiliation generally do not desire to be the leader because they want to be one of the group. They should be assigned to teams because they are motivated when working with others. You might also let them train new employees or act as mentors because this addresses more of their need for this interaction that is dominant within them.

Equity Theory

Equity Theory is a social comparison theory that was developed in 1963 by J. Stacey Adams. The underlying premise of this theory is that people will correct inequities:

The ratio of your inputs to outputs is compared to the ratio of another’s inputs to outputs. You can compare your ratio to other employees with comparable positions. You might also compare your ratio (especially with regard to output) to your organization’s pay policies or past experience or to a standard. Annual industry surveys can serve as the benchmark.

Inputs involve all that you bring to the job – your education, the hours you work, level of effort, and general performance level. The output portion of the equation is generally measured in terms of the salary and fringe benefits that you receive. In some cases this could be prestige, approval, and status.

Any inequities in the relationship will be corrected as soon as they are detected. The only variable that you can manipulate is your input. So if you believe that the relationship is not in balance and that the ratio of your inputs to outputs is greater than the ratio of the comparisons, you will work to bring the relationship back into equity by reducing your inputs – increasing your absenteeism or performing at lower levels.

You can correct inequities in a number of ways. You can make the correction by changing the perception of the inputs or outputs. You may somehow rationalize your perception of the inequity. You may choose to change the comparison person or standard. Or, you may remove yourself from the situation (such as quitting your job).

Expectancy Theory

Developed by Victor Vroom in the 1960s, Expectancy Theory proceeds from the assumption that behavior is based upon the expectation that this behavior will lead to a specific reward and that reward is valued.

According to expectancy theory, you must decide how hard you have to work to get an upcoming promotion. Then you must decide if you can work at that level (to get that promotion). The third link is deciding how much you value that reward (the promotion).

All three pieces of this equation determine your motivational level. You think of expectancy as the following equation:

where M = Motivation; E = Expectancy; V = Valence; I = Instrumentality.

Expectancy is your view of whether your efforts will lead to the required level of performance to enable you to get the reward. Valence is how valued the reward is. Instrumentality is your view of the link between the performance level and the reward. That is, whether you believe that if you do deliver the required performance, you will get the valued reward. Because this is a multiplicative relationship, if anyone of these links is zero, motivation will be zero.

You must be clear about telling your employees what is expected of them. It is critical that you tie rewards to specific performance. You must also offer rewards that your employees will value. Critical in this process is the employee’s perception of his or her performance. Employees will become demotivated when their performance does not produce the valued outcome.

You must be especially careful about building trust. Your employees must know that if they perform at the required level, you will follow through with the desired reward. Your credibility becomes a key component in this theory.

Source: www.accel-team.com

Essential Vocabulary

1. performance n – зд. показатели (результаты) деятельности; исполнение

perform v – действовать, выполнять, достигать

2. driver n – зд. движущая сила, двигатель

drive v – двигать

3. job n – работа, дело, труд, задание, рабочее место

4. opportunity n – возможность

5. downsizing n – уменьшение в размерах (повышение эффективности компании за счет уменьшения числа сотрудников и продажи непрофильных предприятий)

6. employee n – сотрудник, занятый

employer n – работодатель

employment n – занятость

unemployment n – безработица

unemployed n – безработный

employ v – нанимать

7. workforce n – рабочая сила

8. command-and-controlmethods – командно-административные методы

9. environment n – окружающая среда (природная или деловая), обстановка

10. empowerment n – наделение полномочиями, властью

11. team n – команда

12. reward n – награда

reward v – награждать

13. diversity n – разнообразие (зд. рабочей силы)

diverse a – разнообразный

14. comprehensive a – всеобъемлющий, всесторонний, совокупный (в бухучете)

15. development n – развитие, разработка, совершенствование; проявка

develop v – развивать, разрабатывать, совершенствовать, проявлять

16. remuneration n – вознаграждение, оплата труда, зарплата

remunerate v – вознаграждать, оплачивать труд

17. bonus n – бонус, премия

18. medicalinsurance – медицинское страхование

19. sickleave – бюллетень

20. adherence (to) n – приверженность, соблюдение

adhere (to) v – придерживаться, соблюдать

21. occupationalsafety– производственная безопасность

22. jobsecurity – надежная занятость

23. stockpurchaseplans – поощрительные планы покупки акций компании ее сотрудниками по льготной цене

24. savingsplans – планы сбережений

25. profit-sharingprograms – программы участия в прибылях

26. outplacementservices – услуги по трудоустройству (помощь только что покинувшему компанию сотруднику в поиске новой работы)

27. redundancy n – увольнение работника в связи с сокращением рабочих мест

redundant a – уволенный работник

28. layoff n – увольнение сотрудников в связи с сокращением производства и спроса на продукцию

layoff v – увольнять сотрудников

29. affiliation n – членство, принадлежность

30. community n – община, сообщество

31. skill n – навык

skilled a – квалифицированный (рабочий)

32. assumption n – предположение; предпосылка; принятие ответственности

assume v – предполагать; создавать предпосылку; принимать ответственность

33. challenge n – вызов

challenge v – бросать вызов

challenging a – сложный, интересный

34. decision-makingprocess – процесс принятия решений

35. proactive a – предвосхищающий события

proactively adv – предвосхищая события

36. feedback n – обратная связь

37. mentor n – ментор, наставник

38.equity n – собственный капитал; обыкновенные акции; справедливость

39. input n – потребляемые ингредиенты; вход, ввод, вклад

40. output n – выпуск продукции; продукция, отдача, выход

41. benchmark n – база, ориентир, стандарт, эталон

42.benefit n – право, привилегия, льгота, польза, преимущество

beneficiary n – бенефициар

benefit v – получать привилегию, пользу, льготу, преимущество; выигрывать

beneficial a – полезный, льготный

fringebenefits – дополнительные льготы

43. absenteeism n – абсентеизм, прогул

absentee n – отсутствующий (на работе), прогульщик

44. expectancy n – ожидание, вероятность

expectation n – ожидание

expect v – ожидать

45.promotion n – продвижение (по службе или товара)

promote v – продвигать

46.credibility n – кредит доверия

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions.

1. What is motivation? 2. Do command-and-control methods of motivation work today? 3. What motivation theory captures all the complexity of motivation? 4. How does Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory explain what drives human behavior? 5. How did Maslow prioritize human needs? 6. What do companies do to meet the physiological needs of their employees? 7. How can safety needs be fulfilled? 8. What are social needs? 9. How can esteem needs be met? 10. Is it possible to satiate the need for self-actualization? 11. What are the key assumptions of Douglas McGregor’s theory? 12. What type of managers – X or Y – is more effective nowadays? 13. What is the essence of the Learned Needs Theory? 14. What is the best possible job for people with the dominant need for achievement, power and affiliation, respectively? 15. What is the premise of the Equity Theory? 16. How can people correct inequities? 17. What equation forms the basis of the Expectancy Theory? 18. What rewards should you offer to your employees within the framework of the Expectancy Theory? 19. What motivation theories can be effective in contemporary Russia?

Exercise 2. Describe how companies take care of their employees. Use the following terms.

medical insurance

life insurance

paid holidays

sick leaves

retirement programs (pension plans)

training and development programs

child care

recreational activities

transportation allowance

maternity/paternity leaves

credit union facilities

ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plans)

profit sharing

bonuses

relocation expenses

fringe benefits

wages and salaries

stock options

induction process

mentors

job security

grievance committee

outplacement services

severance pay

employment contract

cafeteria plans[1]

Exercise 3. You are a journalist working for Business Week and you are to interview Frederick Herzberg who developed the Two-Factor Theory. Invent a dialogue between these two individuals using the following briefing materials.

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Frederick Herzberg’ s theory is known as the motivator-hygiene theory. His basic premise is that dissatisfaction and satisfaction are not opposite ends of a single continuum. Rather, the opposite of dissatisfaction is no dissatisfaction, and the opposite of satisfaction is no satisfaction.

The way to move an individual from dissatisfaction to no dissatisfaction is by utilizing hygienes. These are factors that are extrinsic to the work itself. Hygienes are factors concerning the environment within which the work is performed like the color of the walls, the temperature of the room, or the paving in the company parking lot.

Unfortunately, hygienes are not the factors that can move your employees toward satisfaction. These factors simply placate employees, but do nothing to truly motivate them. Before the real motivation can be addressed, employees must have sufficient hygienes so as not to be dissatisfied.

To move employees from no satisfaction to satisfaction, motivators must be used. These are the factors that are intrinsic to the work itself. Examples of motivators include more autonomy, opportunities for promotion, and delegation of responsibility.

Exercise 4. Discuss the following 10 commandments of motivation through human relations and create 10 commandments of your own.

1. Speak to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful word of greeting.

2. Smile to people. It takes seventy-two muscles to frown, only fourteen to smile.

3. Call people by name . The sweetest music to anyone’s ear is the sound of his or her own name.

4. Be friendly and helpful. If you want to have friends, be a friend.

5. Be cordial. Speak and act as if everything you do is a genuine pleasure.

6. Be genuinely interested in people. You can like almost everybody if you try.

7. Be generous with praise and cautious with criticism.

8. Be considerate of the feelings of others. There are usually three sides to a controversy: your side, the other fellow’s side, and the right side.

9. Be alert to giving service. What counts most in life is what we do for others.

10. Add to this a good sense of humor, a big dose of patience, and a dash of humility, and you will be rewarded many times.

Exercise 5*[2]. Fill in the blanks using terms given below.

Determining the Role of Money in Motivation

Motivation theories can provide you with the motivational…….. to pull in order to increase the motivation of your………….

People are more inclined to deliver………. that is minimally acceptable. Some even wonder today if Americans are still in search of excellence, or they are in search of mediocrity instead. In the past, the motivation technique was a scare tactic. «Do it or else…» was the refrain of the…………. manager. It no longer……… the desired results today, in the…….. of employee’s involvement in………. and………..

Motivation is a complex issue requiring an understanding of individuals. It is no longer answered with just money. In the past, a manager might have been able to raise employee’s……. and provide some………. to improve motivation. Simple material……. does not get the same mileage in today’s workplace.

In fact, money is not the prime motivation…….. any longer. Adam Smith suggested in 1776 that self-interest for monetary……. is the primary motivator of people. While some still…….. to this………, most researchers agree that……………. has become more important today.

Herzberg suggested that money is a…….. That is, money is……… to the work itself and does not really move people toward satisfaction. Instead, people are said to desire autonomy……… work, and more creative……..

The……… of money as a motivator is generally in what it can buy. Once basic… have been met, more money is not necessarily a primary motivator for people. There is also a symbolic meaning of money that can be the actual motivator rather than the money itself.

Terms:

rewards, salary, driver, value, adhere, job satisfaction, assumption, extrinsic, needs workforce, environment, command-and-control, delivers, decision-making, fringe benefits, remuneration, gain, hygiene, challenging, levers, performance, delegation of authority

Exercise 6. Translate into English.

Теория Z Уильяма Учи

Уильям Учи, профессор Калифорнийского университета, разработал в 1981 году теорию Z, которая сочетает в себе черты американского и японского управленческого стиля. В организации типа Z работники участвуют в процессе принятия решений и способны выполнять множество самых разнообразных производственных заданий. Такой подход, сходный с культурой японских компаний, служит важной движущей силой повышения производительности труда при одновременном уменьшении прогулов и текучести кадров. Теория Z подчеркивает значимость таких аспектов, как ротация работ, расширение навыков сотрудников, преимущество специалистов широкого профиля по сравнению с узкой специализацией, а также потребность в постоянном развитии и подготовке кадров.

По мнению Уильяма Учи, работники хотят построить дружеские взаимоотношения на основе сотрудничества с коллегами и работодателями. В рамках его теории работники нуждаются в поддержке со стороны компании и высоко ценят рабочую среду, в которой семья, культура, традиции и социальные институты имеют не менее важное значение, чем сама работа. У таких сотрудников очень высоко развито чувство порядка, дисциплины и моральное обязательство усердно трудиться. Наконец, в рамках теории Z предполагается, что работники будут трудиться с максимальной отдачей, если менеджмент будет их поддерживать и заботиться об их благосостоянии.

Важной предпосылкой данной теории является то, что менеджмент должен быть уверен в своих сотрудниках. Теория Z предполагает, что необходимо развивать такую рабочую силу, которая сохраняла бы преданность своей компании и предпочитала бы работать в ней всю жизнь. В таком случае, когда сотрудник дорастет до уровня старшего менеджмента, он будет досконально знать компанию и ее деятельность и сможет эффективно применять теорию Z к новым сотрудникам.