Analysis of Maslow's and Herzberg's Motivation Theories in Business

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ASSIGNMENT 1: MOTIVATION
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
Reference List..................................................................................................................................7
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Introduction
The word “motivation” is derived from the word motive. It is the reason behind a person’s
willingness, actions and aim. A set of factors stimulates people to exhibit certain characteristics
or behaviour from various options that is available, is termed as motivation. Motivation is also
known as encouragement. The performance of the employees in an organization is usually
determined by the motivation they get or the willingness they have. The work environment in an
organization also affects the motivation the employees have which in turn affects the satisfaction
they derive from the work or the job they do. It increases the productivity of the employees as
well as the organization.
It is necessary that the workforce in an organization is motivated such that they have the
willingness to work and achieve the goals they have. In this essay, the motivational theories
namely, Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory and Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene Theory has been
described as well as compared. Along with this, the ways in which the employees of an
organization can be motivated have been described.
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Discussion
Motivation plays key role in determining the efficiency of the organization because only if the
employees are motivated then they have the zeal to work and derive satisfaction from the job
they are doing. This improves their performance that proves fruitful for the organization
otherwise the quality of their work reduces as their level of energy drops thus they start searching
another job (Leary and Baumeister, 2017). Thus, it is necessary that the employees be engaged
properly in the organization they are working such that their performance does not suffer. There
are several theories that have been developed on motivation. Each theory describes the need of
motivation and the ways it can improve the performance of the employees as well as the
organization.
Abraham Maslow developed Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory in 1943. The theory was
published in the paper “The Theory of Human Motivation”. There are five levels in the theory
proposed by Maslow namely, physiological needs, esteem or respect needs, belongingness and
adore needs, safety or security needs and self-actualisation. Physiological and safety needs are
categorised in basic needs section, while belongingness and love needs as well as respect needs
are categorised in emotional needs section and self-actualization is categorised in needs of self-
fulfilment (Henwood et al., 2015). The entire model is divided into two parts namely, deficiency
needs and growth needs. The first four levels of the model are categorised in deficiency needs
while the topmost level is categorised in growth and being needs.
Deficiency needs which arise due to deficiency of factors like physiological needs (food, water,
shelter), safety needs (security as well as safety), belongingness and adore needs (friends,
intimate relationship) and esteem or respect needs (feeling of success or accomplishment). The
deficit of the above needs motivates people to work hard such that they can achieve them (Jonas,
2016). The longer the duration they are denied the above needs, the higher is the motivation. The
topmost level is the growth needs of the people namely self-actualization, which motivates the
people to achieve what they desire, or their own potential. Thus, the theory illustrates the factors
that motivate the people to improve their performance and increase their productivity.
Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene Theory is also recognized as two-factor theory, which declares
there are a few factors in an organization or workplace that gives satisfaction to the employees
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while there are certain factors that dissatisfy the employees. Frederick Herzberg proposed
Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene Theory in 1959, which stated that the satisfaction derived from
one’s job and the dissatisfaction from the job are two factors that are independent of each other.
According to the theory, there are four mixtures that exist at an agency namely, high hygiene and
high motivation, high hygiene and low motivation, low hygiene and high motivation and low
hygiene and low motivation (Alshmemri et al., 2017).
As per the first factor, high hygiene and high motivation is the ideal situation in which the
employees are satisfied with the job and are highly motivated. The second factor, high hygiene
and low motivation are the case in which the employees of an organization have few complaints
and are not highly motivated. The employees do the work just for money and have no other
attraction for the work they are doing. The third factor is low hygiene and high motivation in
which the employees are motivated to do the job since it is challenging but they are not satisfied
with the salary they get or the conditions in which they work (Alston, 2017). The fourth factor is
low hygiene and low motivation, which is the worst situation that can occur in an organization.
In this case, the employees are neither motivated to do the work nor they are satisfied with the
salary they get or the work environment of the organization and have lot of complaints.
Motivation plays the most crucial role in improving the performance of the organization. In order
to motivate the employees in an organization a manager needs to practice several activities such
that the employees are satisfied with the work they do. The working environment of the
organization must be good and friendly, and the employees must be rewarded or compensated if
their performance matches the standard or in other words, if the employees are able to meet daily
targets appropriately (Menges et al., 2017). The manager must try to incorporate healthy
competition among the employees in the organization and offer various opportunities to the
employees such that they can develop their skills and knowledge. The goals and objectives must
be set for each employee, must be clearly communicated, and must always try to increase their
confidence.
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Conclusion
Motivation is important in order to achieve the aims the aims of the organization and increase its
productivity. The theories on motivation illustrate the ways in which the employees of an
organization can be motivated by giving a brief of the psychology or the factors that motivates
the people. It is necessary to provide proper working environment to the employees, build good
relationship with them and reward them for their achievements because only then they will be
able to encouraged to perform better and hence make larger contribution in the development of
an organization.
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Reference List
Alshmemri, M., Shahwan-Akl, L. and Maude, P., 2017. Herzberg’s two-factor theory. Life
Science Journal, 14(5), pp.12-16.
Alston, J.K., 2017. Causes Of Satisfaction And Disatisfaction For Diversity Resident Librarians–
A Mixed Methods Study Using Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory.
Henwood, B.F., Derejko, K.S., Couture, J. and Padgett, D.K., 2015. Maslow and mental health
recovery: A comparative study of homeless programs for adults with serious mental
illness. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 42(2),
pp.220-228.
Jonas, J., 2016. Making practical use of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory to motivate
employees: a case of Masvingo Polytechnic. Journal of Management & Administration, 2016(2),
pp.105-117.
Leary, M.R. and Baumeister, R.F., 2017. The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal
attachments as a fundamental human motivation. In Interpersonal Development (pp. 57-89).
Routledge.
Menges, J.I., Tussing, D.V., Wihler, A. and Grant, A.M., 2017. When job performance is all
relative: how family motivation energizes effort and compensates for intrinsic
motivation. Academy of Management Journal, 60(2), pp.695-719.
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