mgmt310 unit 2

Manageme nt theories

Management theories

Management Theories

In an Internet retailer, you will find a wide range of job functions. Leaders frequently need to adjust their own expectations to meet the reality of the situation. There are times when you might want an outcome much sooner than those whose job it is to perform the work. For this assignment, you must research motivational theories, pick 2 theories, and address the following:

Describe each theory, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each theory.

Here are some theories that are appropriate for the scenario above.

Theory X

Theory X is authoritarian in which the emphasis is focused on productivity. The employer portrays the concept of a fair day’s work. – the evils of feather-bedding (feather-bedding is a situation where labor unions require the employer to hire more people than necessary to do a job that can realistically be handled by one, or maybe two.) and restriction of output, on rewards for performance. Management believes that they must always counteract an inherent human tendency to avoid work. Leaders assume that employees are base, work-shy and in need of a good prod. Theory X gives management a ready-made excuse for failure. A leader find that employees always need to constantly motivated from external forces (Ingram, 2013).

Theory Y

A participative style of leadership whose employees are thought to be self-directed, self-controlled committed to company objective in the achievement of organizational objective. Leaders maximize commitment.

A leader may enjoy the fact that his or her employees are internally motivated at work, finding fulfillment in striving to obtain goals that use their skills and experience.

Employees work on their own accord. Want to achieve goals because want to satisfy the high-level need for achievement and self-respect. Works without prodding – do not give management no easy excuses for failure.

Leaders must innovate; discover new ways of organizing and directing human effort. McGregor believed that companies need to adopt Theory Y, which he believed could motivate human being to the highest levels of achievement.

Leader’s try to meet employees needs at any level to reap commitment of workplace goals. Failing to meet those needs creates a lack of fulfillment in employees’ professional lives. This failure may cause employees to find professional fulfillment elsewhere with an employee who provides better opportunities.

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow was greatly influenced by McGregor’s Theory Y, but discovered that in its extreme form did not work. Maslow theorized that employees need some form of structure around them and some direction from others. Maslow felt that Theory Y was inhumane to the weak and to those not capable of a high level of self-motivation.

“People don't hate work. It's as natural as rest or play. They will do not have to threatened. If they spend themselves for communal objectives, they'll get themselves better in comparison with you can get them. However they'll spend themselves and then the actual scope they are able to notice strategies to enjoyable the ego as well as growth desires. ” Robert Townsend.

Maslow concept spots employees’ desires directly into several standard modern classes; physical, safety and security, adore as well as owed, respect, as well as the call to actualize the actual self applied. (Yew & Manap, 2012).

Expectancy Theory

The expectancy theory is based on the premise that employees will put forth an amount of work and commitment equal to what they expect to receive in return. Commission compensation structures leverage this theory by allowing employees to earn as much money as they desire, completely based on their job performance. Leaders that practice the expectancy theory always make sure that employees can expect future pay raises and potential job promotions, which serves to motivate employees to work hard to achieve personal goals. If the opposite were to be true, employees would look for another employer and new opportunities.

How would you apply each theory to working with a highly creative and complex technology workforce such as those designing websites?

Leader’s try to meet employees needs at any level to reap commitment of workplace goals. Failing to meet those needs creates a lack of fulfillment in employees’ professional lives. This failure may cause employees to find professional fulfillment elsewhere with an employee who provides better opportunities.

Would you adjust your approach to motivation for those employees who are responsible for marketing the merchandise? If so, how and if not, why not?

Motivation Factors (Job content – job satisfaction) Factors include: Growth, the work, responsibility, achievement, advancement, recognition. For example, taking the motivational factor of achievement, workers reap the personal satisfaction of doing well at accomplishing specific tasks, solving problems, or achieving goals.

Hygiene Factors: (Job context – job dissatisfaction) Company policies & administration, supervision, interpersonal relations, status, working conditions, security, salary. Hygiene Theory suggests that motivation factors that involve job content lead to job satisfaction. When these motivational factors are not present, employees are not satisfied but stopping short of dissatisfaction, just not satisfied and unmotivated to putting out extra effort. Satisfied employees will do the opposite; that is they will increase their efforts and thereby increase production.

Discuss a few motivational tools and techniques that would apply to all employees in any organization.

Factors that involve job context (these are referred to as hygiene factors) tend to lead to job dissatisfaction. This is an interesting concept. For example, status concerns having elements that give the employee an indication of status ( perks of the job or certain privileges). When something changes this and the employee loses his or her status, it becomes the opposite of advancement. Refer to the link above under Herzberg’s Motivation – Hygiene Theory.

The weakness in Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory is based on the use of the standardized scales of satisfaction without accounting for the different job factors that either causes satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Taking this in consideration, not every job situation is motivational or hygiene relevant (Yew & Manap, 2012).

References

Yew. L.; Manap, M. (2012). A critical assessment of Herzberg’s theory of motivation. Borneo Post. Retrieved from: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/10/23/a-critical-assessment-of-herzbergs-theory-of-motivation

David Ingram (2013). Motivation theories & employee turnover. Chron:Small Business by Demand Media. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/motivation-theories-employee-turnover-11785.html

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