3.6.4 Making human resource decisions: improving motivation and engagement

Job design

deciding on the contents of a job in terms of duties and responsibilities

Hackman and Oldham's model

identifies factors that influence the motivating potential of a job

Motivation

factors that inspire an employee to complete a task at work

Piece rate

paying employees based on the number of units they produce

Commission

pay based on units that are sold

Profit sharing

a percentage of the company's profits are distributed to employees

Performance-related pay

some part of the employees pay is linked to achievement targets at work

Taylor and Scientific Management

believed that money is the only motivator

Mayo and the Human Relations Approach

workers gain satisfaction from their control over their working environment.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

physical needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, self-actualisation

Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory

Motivation factors give workers job satisfaction and hygiene factors need to be met to prevent dissatisfaction but do not motivate

The benefits of a highly motivated / engaged workforce x2

Increased labour productivity
Reduced absenteeism and lower labour turnover

Scientific Management

The application of scientific principles with the aim of maximising organisational productivity

Scientific management includes

Training workers to reproduce the most efficient movements
The assumption that workers are motivated by money ('economic man')

Implications of scientific management x2

Time and motion' studies
Need for tall hierarchies and careful supervision

The Value of the scientific management theory x2

Highly influential in 20th century manufacturing
Taylor was an engineer and not a psychologist - he ignored / did not consider the psychological implications of his findings

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs order

(highest) Self - actualization/ self - esteem needs/social needs/safety needs/physiological needs (Lowest)

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

A model of human motivation based on the fulfilment of various needs

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Implications

Businesses can maximise employee potential if they can help employees achieve their needs

Value of Maslow's hirearchy of need x2

Helps organisations understand that motivating staff requires a number of approaches
Assumes all people have the same needs in the same order

Hertzberg's Two Factor Theory

A model of human motivation based on categorising aspects of work by the extent to which they increase job satisfaction, or reduce job dissatisfaction

The presence of motivating factors lead to

job satisfaction

The presence of hygiene factors reduce

Job dissatisfaction

Motivating factors e.g. x2

Recognition of achievement
The nature of the work

Hygiene factors e.g. x2

Pay and benefits
Work conditions

Hertzberg's Two Factor Theory Implications x2

Businesses should identify causes of dissatisfaction, and work to minimise them. I.e. conflict resolution, unreasonable company policies
Impact on job design - responsibility, opportunities for creativity, training and promotion

Value of Hertzberg's Two Factor Theory x2

Controversy about categorising pay as a hygiene factor
Does not focus on the motivating nature of teamwork / human interaction (Mayo)

Financial Methods of Motivation

Using monetary rewards as a method of influencing employee behaviour
Remuneration

Remuneration

The methods that a business uses to pay their workforce

Piece rate

A method remuneration based on paying workers for each unit they produce

Piece rate pro x2

Incentivises workers to maximise output, increasing labour productivity
Easy to administer

Piece rate cons x2

Impact on quality
Resistance to change

Commission

A method of remunerating workers by paying them a share of any sales they make

Commission pro x2

Incentivises workers to increase the number of sales they make
Employee costs raise in proportion to revenues. Low revenues = lower wage bill

Commission cons x2

Lack of job security
Difficult to pay all staff (i.e. non - sales staff) by commission

Salary scheme

Method of renumeration that is based on time worked

Wages

Quoted hourly and often paid weekly, and are often used for paying shop floor staff in retail and manufacturing

Salaries

Quoted annually and often paid monthly, and are used for paying managerial staff, or those in the service sector

salary scheme pro x2

Creates job security
Easy to administer - avoids subjective judgements about performance / output

Salary scheme cons x2

Some workers may feel that they aren't rewarded for additional work
Does not provide an incentive for workers to increase their productivity

Performance related pay (PRP)

A method of linking remuneration to the completion of pre - agreed objectives

Performance related pay (PRP) pro x2

Employee targets can be directly related to corporate objectives
Clear and agreed targets are motivational

Performance related pay (PRP) cons x2

Some targets may be subjective and therefore difficult to quantify and review
Conflict between workers with different objectives

Non - Financial Methods of Motivation

Using job design and methods other than money in order to influence employee behaviour

Job enlargement

Changing the design of the job so that it incorporates a greater scope of tasks e.g. job rotation and job enrichment and teamwork

Job rotation

Where employees are trained to carry out a number of different roles in the workplace in order to vary their day to day activities

Job rotation pro x2

Employees become multi - skilled and are therefore more flexible
Giving employees variety in their day to day roles should reduce boredo

Job rotation cons x2

Training costs
Giving employees more boring roles won't necessarily make the job more interesting

Job enrichment

Where employees are empowered to make decisions about how to carry out their day to day role, and increases their accountability for job outcomes

Job enrichment pro x3

Develops employees skills and abilities - link to Maslow / Hertzberg
Makes employees feel valued
Increases promotional opportunities

Job enrichment cons x2

Training costs
Extra pressure on staff

Teamwork

When the production process is organised into groups of employees who work together to complete a specific task

Teamwork pro x2

Meets employees' social needs (Maslow)
Enables a degree of specialisation

Teamwork cons x2

Training costs
Can be demotivational if teams are split up

Other non - financial motivators x3

Fringe benefits (i.e. company car / health insurance)
Social events
Promotion

Influences on the choice of methods x2

Nature of the work
Finance available