Comparing Maslow And Theory Y

The biggest problem to a manager is managing employees. This is because employers often do not know how to handle their employees. An effective manager knows that motivation is a difficult skill to acquire. So over the years, many theorist have studied motivation in order to

The word Motivation is a common terminology which most employers are familiar with and in every organisation the employers has different techniques and strategies the use in motivating their employees. Many scholars have argued on different forms of motivation and argued that to be motivated should be individual employee’s responsibility and the employers responsibility, this theory was criticized by some school of thought.

Motivation is what drives people to succeed and reach their goals. This plays an important role in enhancing an organisation’s development. An employee’s motivation can play a big part in organisational behaviour, as it is a fundamental part of how the employee performs in their role and how they assist the organisation in attaining their goals.

The issue of employee motivation is extremely important to management .It is one of the most puzzling issues in management. There are plenty of employees that just ‘punch the clock’ i.e.  They go to work just for the sake of paycheck and nothing else. They have no self pride in their work and do the bare minimum for managerial satisfaction. These employees not only hurt themselves but also the company as well.

Motivational Theories are important to management today because employers and managers need to know what drives the employees to perform at their best, and why. As Hersey explains, “If we are to understand, predict, and influence behavior, we must know what our employees really want from their jobs. Only then can we appeal to their strongest motivations and increase the probability of meeting both professional and organizational goals”

McGregor (1960) described two views on human motivation: Theory X and Y. Theory X, the more conventional one, holds the view that people are in themselves not intrinsically motivated to work and even attempt to avoid it, that people have no ambition, are resistant to change, are not particularly intelligent and that people only work for money and security. Management’s objective is to direct employees efforts, motivating them, controlling them and modifying their behavior to ensure that they behave in line with the organization’s needs and goals.

Osland, et al. (2007) provide a good introduction to three basic motivational content theories. The first theory is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that proposes man is motivated by a lack in the one or more of the five common needs. The needs that Maslow identifies are physiological, safety, social belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. Maslow believed that one fills needs from the most basic (like food and water) to the highest level (self-actualization). Maslow’s ideas are easy to relate to and attempt to provide an all-inclusive approach to the concept of motivation; however, there is little evidence to support the idea that man cannot have self-actualization without the other more basic needs first satisfied. The second content theory Osland, et al. discuss is McCelland’s learned needs. McCelland states that man is motivated by one of three things: achievement, power, or affiliation – or a mixture of the three. Each of these needs can possess a negative or positive connotation or implementation, but it is argued that people motivated by affiliation make better leaders. The third theory presented is McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y. McGregor asserts that Theory X people or employees are inherently lazy and must be controlled and forced to act, whereas Theory Y people are self-controlled, motivated, and ambitious.

As the economy continues to struggle, it becomes more and more difficult to find ways to continue to motivate employees. To motivate your staff, you must be a role model to the staff and pave the way for motivation. The result of productivity within the business is measured by the effort that a manager puts into the employees to improve their occupational performances. It it thought that motivation comes from within ourselves, although, motivation from an outside source can boost the work rate as well. In today’s workforce, a manager endures various challenges with motivating their employees that did not exist in the workforce fifty years ago. Each challenge that a manager experiences ties hand in hand with one another and are all equally important. The three challenges that I will be discussing in this paper include: lack of communication, diversity and personal issues.

Abraham Maslow is one of the founding fathers of Humanistic Psychology, which is “A movement in psychology supporting the belief that humans, as individuals, are unique beings and should be recognized and treated as such by psychologists and psychiatrists.” (Cite Brittanica). Humanistic psychology is termed the “third force” as it was created after both psychoanalytic and behavioral approaches. (cite) Maslow’s principal focus was to understand the reason individuals behave in a certain manner and the interplay between their needs and drives. Moreover, he is best known for his theory of motivation written in 1943, where he created the hierarchy of needs. Maslow recognized that there were motivating forces that influence people’s behaviors. Previously, particularly psychoanalytic theorist

Motivation in the workplace is one of the major concerns that managers face when trying to encourage their employees to work harder and do what is expected of them on a day-to-day basis. According to Organizational Behavior by John R. Schermerhorn, James G. Hunt and Richard N. Osborn the definition of motivation is "the individual forces that account for the direction, level, and persistence of a person's effort expended at work." They go on to say that "motivation is a key concern in firms across the globe." Through the years there have been several theories as to what motivates employees to do their best at work. In order to better understand these theories we will apply them to a fictitious organization that has the following

Human Resources is dependent on the success, happiness, and contentment of employees that keep the business on course. Motivation is one of the best ways to push employees forward while making sure everyone is in a comfortable position in their job. Motivational theories just attempt to explain what motivates or makes people act the way that they do. The goal of understanding these theories and their outcomes is to ensure a better performance from each employee, and to give each of those employees the best situation they can have in the workplace. Visionaries such as Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg, and Henry A. Landsberger also brought forward new ways of management and ways to handle internal situations that changed the landscape of human resources as a whole. Motivational theories instituted in the workplace have a commonly positive effect on both employees and management, showing that it is important to strive for proven motivational practices.

For example, getting a very good education can help you to get a better job, earn more money, buy a better mattress, eat healthier food and buy an electric car, but you can only address one specific need at a time. You have to start somewhere and satisfy one need before you can turn your focus to fulfilling another.

Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology is devoted to the study of employee behavior in the workplace and understanding the issues facing organizations and employees in today’s complex and ever changing environment. Motivation refers to the set of forces that influence people to choose various behaviors among several alternatives available to them. An organization depends on the ability of management to provide a positive, fostering and motivating environment for its employees in order to increase profits, productivity and lower turnover rates of its employees. The purpose of this paper is to discuss and compare six academic journal articles and explore the behavior, job, and need based theories of motivation that can aid management in motivating and understanding their employees. Finding that delicate balance to can sometimes be elusive so effectively learning how to motivate by understanding, controlling and influencing factors to manipulate behavior and choices that are available to employees can produce the desired outcome.

One of the first authors that dealt with the sources of motivation was Frederick Taylor who focussed on the overall productivity of an organisation. He linked this productivity to the effort an employee puts into their work which in turn is dependent on monetary rewards (Taylor, 1911). This theory was established in the context of the industrial age and thus is outdated for today’s analysis but it still provides a basic assumption which is often referred to by other authors. The total neglecting of a worker’s intrinsic motivators is a starting point for discussion for authors that conducted research in that area after Taylor.

With so many competing theories there is no generally accepted definition of motivation however, they all focus on factors that can energize, direct, sustain, or stop human behavior to achieve a desired objective (Gibson, et al., 2009; Robbins & Coulter, 2007). Understanding the motivation of employees is extremely important to managers and supervisors, especially in today’s industries with limited budgets and inability to reward workers financially (Sirota, Mischkind, & Meltzer, 2006). Well-motivated employees can lead to the result of higher productivity; higher performance and it can also help to improve the work quality and profits across all the departments. There are many theorists have complied their own conclusions and consequently a wide variety of motivational theory has been produced.