Copywright Spearhead Training & Verlag Norbert Muller
To get the best from each member of your team, you have to inspire, motivate, manage and encourage. Concern for productivity and people will be foremost in your mind. Not only are you responsible for controlling the influences which act on individuals in your team, you must also ensure that each member of your staff is placed in an environment which will stimulate, encourage and permit growth.
Motivation is an ongoing cyclical process, not a one off event. People are never satisfied for long. As a manager, it is up to you to create the conditions under which your staff are more likely to motivate themselves.
This article covers leadership, motivation and management. Each section deals with a particular method or aspect of management, and has been laid out for easy reading.
1. MANAGEMENT BY APPRECIATION OF PERFORMANCE - THE IMPORTANCE OF APPRECIATION
Are you familiar with the following situation? Every day, without fail, Mrs. Short, Secretary, types her boss’ correspondence and takes telephone calls. Her work is vitally important for both her boss and the company, but her importance is only really realised when she is absent due to illness. She gets a bunch of flowers for her birthday and a bottle of champagne and a box of chocolates every Christmas. If it is particularly hectic at work, she has to stay a little longer in the office. Her boss may express a few appreciative words, such as "How could I have possibly managed without you?" but she receives little appreciation for the duties she performs on a daily basis.
Everybody needs appreciation, because it implies that one is held in high esteem as a person. It is easy to see the positive effect that praise and appreciation has on children - they immediately express their emotions and show everyone their feelings of joy and pride. Adults tend to conceal their feelings. Nevertheless, praise and appreciation also have a great influence on them.
Many managers seldom realise their employees’ constant need for appreciation, despite the fact that psychological experiments have long stressed the importance of appreciation to high performance in the world of business.
Often managers express appreciation and praise in a short word such as "Good!" This, however, can be dangerous, as the employee may not necessarily recognise the praise as such - he/she could interpret the commendation as a dry assessment of his/her everyday work. For this reason, psychologists recommend that managers express praise using a complete sentence.
In addition, praise has a more motivating effect if expressed in connection with everyday, routine tasks, than if expressed in connection with tasks, which involve the solution of particular problems. Consequently, managers are advised to use a form of well-directed praise, which is appropriate for every situation.
A good performance must be recognised immediately, for if a particularly good performance is not commended, the employee is likely to think, "What’s the use of trying - nobody notices anyway". They will become resigned and productivity will drop.
An employee who has taken over new responsibilities is especially in need of appreciation. It helps to overcome initial difficulties and makes them determined to persevere and take the initiative.
The particular performance in question should always be centre-stage where recognition and appreciation are concerned. Misunderstandings could arise if only the person is praised, rather than the particular piece of work or achievement.
Be particularly careful when praising an individual employee in front of others. Some may feel put down by the praise of one individual. They may feel jealous and envious of their colleague. It is better to emphasise the employee’s particularly good performance.
Praising the employees should never become a fixed routine duty, which is said mundanely and automatically without a second thought. If it becomes a routine gesture, you run the risk of it not being taken seriously. It is also important that your words of praise are backed up with other active forms of appreciation, for example by giving the employee more responsibility or the possibility of promotion or a wage increase. Otherwise, the employees may think, "The boss says nice things, but they’re not actually doing anything positive for me".
Enhance your personal contact with people who are only average performers. Send them appreciative notes, make a positive statement on their work, or congratulate them over the telephone. Always bear in mind that a routine performance, carried out over a long period of time, is the equivalent of an above-average performance.
Psychological studies show that feeling appreciated has a significant effect on productivity levels and staff performance.
2. MANAGEMENT BY STAFF ASSESSMENT - DOING JUSTICE TO THE EMPLOYEE
Everyone feels the need to make a favourable impression. The impression we convey to others is extremely important to us. Now and again, due to over-excitement for example, we can sometimes create a bad impression rather than a good one. But why are we so worried about making an impression?
Instinctively, we know that judgements are made wherever people gather together - judgements on how we look and on our personalities. Psychologists have shown that social judgements are not only an expression of personality and the prevailing mood, but are also dependent on their circumstances and situation.
Scenario: You are a manager interviewing an applicant. A fashionably dressed young man/woman comes into the office. You immediately form a judgement of them. They value their appearance and show good taste. The next day you happen to see the same young person again, in a shopping arcade - this time they are wearing an old pair of jeans. Do you feel unsure about the first judgement you made?
It would be too rash to draw conclusions from a fleeting glance of your team member’s behaviour in a single situation. Only by having access to additional comprehensive information can we form an appropriate picture and make an accurate assessment. For this reason, psychologists recommend that behaviour be observed in as many situations as possible in order to avoid making errors of judgement.
Errors of judgement can be attributed to three factors. Extreme behavioural distortions occur if people feel that they are being observed and judged at the same time. This can lead to play acting or over-exaggerated inhibitions. Exams and presentations are examples of situations, which particularly induce this sort of behaviour.
Social relations can also influence an employee’s productivity. Work performance depends on social contacts made in the workplace. For example an employee who is rejected by their workmates, loses any enjoyment they derives from their work. Consequently, this affects the employee’s work performance.
Influences from the employee’s private life should not be underestimated either. A sudden drop in an employee’s productivity can, for example, be caused by family difficulties.
The second factor, which can lead to errors of judgement, is the impression factor. Judgements are made in a relative field of reference. This can be illustrated as follows: Put your left hand in a pan of hot water and your right hand in a pan of cold water. Then hold both hands in a pan of lukewarm water. The left hand finds the lukewarm water temperature warm and the right hand finds it cold. The temperature in the first set of pans was decisive. Psychologists speak of a contrast principle - a judgement is greatly dependent on whom or what was judged beforehand.
A widely made mistake, as far as the impression factor is concerned, is prejudice. This is usually based on insufficient information. An isolated, individual case forms the basis for a sweeping generalisation. For example: The French drink the most wine in Europe. Pierre is French - therefore, Pierre is a heavy wine drinker. Another widely spread prejudice is that people who wear glasses are particularly intelligent.
First impressions stick with you - even if they are wrong. The long-term effect is further enhanced if the first impression is endorsed by information prior to meeting.
Psychologists describe another form of perception as selective perception - i.e. we prefer to perceive whatever best suits our own ideas and prejudices. We tend to dismiss perceptions that do not fit into our own perception of the world.
The third factor of opinion forming is expression. Many standardised judgements depend on the identification of certain characteristics. However, different people often interpret these differently. For example, one manager may interpret the assessment ‘Good at contact’ to mean that an employee is good at taking the initiative and is open-minded, whereas another manager may interpret the statement to mean that the employee does not concentrate on their work and prefers to spend most of the day chatting with colleagues.
Such differing interpretations arise because there is no exact definition of the individual characteristics. Psychologists describe this phenomenon as deficient criteria clarity. It is, therefore, important to determine what is to be precisely understood by each characteristic before a judgement is made.
It is essential that the manager knows the main sources of errors of judgement. Only then can they make objective decisions, establish goals and avoid errors of judgement
Example 1
You suddenly notice low productivity in a member of the team, who has always been particularly competent over the years. During a private discussion with them it emerges that the employee is divorced and is currently going through a traumatic personal crisis. As you are interested in your personnel, you try and work out measures which will help them to overcome their depression.
Example 2
One of your team surprises you by handing in their notice. You try to find a replacement. None of the interviewees quite come up to scratch, but you decide to employ the most suitable. However, you always catch yourself comparing the new one to the predecessor. Think about the principle of contrast. Whoever replaces a top employee, often has a difficult time in front of them and may not necessarily be judged as well as their performance merits. Be patient with the new employee and give them time to develop their full potential.
Selective perception on the part of a manager can have drastic consequences for the employee. For example, a manager can interpret a break taken by an employee who has already been judged to be lazy, quite differently to a break taken by an employee who is deemed to be assiduous and diligent.
Try to gather as much information as possible about your employees from different sources. Only then it is possible for you to make a fair and equitable judgement. Take the following points into consideration when conducting an assessment discussion with an employee:
1. The assessment discussion should be private. Arrange a time and give the employee a copy of your assessment as soon as possible before the meeting. As this gives you both a chance to prepare for the meeting, the employee will not get the impression that they are at your mercy. They will also feel that they have the chance to express their own opinion.
2. Signal to the employee that you are interested in them. The meeting is designed to encourage, not condemn them. For example, "I’m thinking of extending your training".
3. Ensure you have the complete picture of the employee’s performance. Lay particular emphasise on the positive sides: "You have shown considerable dedication recently".
4. Do not judge the employee’s personality. "You have tended to be rather unpunctual recently. I don’t need unreliable people". Judge, instead, the person’s behaviour, "I have noticed that you have not met several important deadlines recently. I am satisfied with your work in general, but can you explain these incidents".
5. Work with the employee to develop a strategy which will improve his/her performance. For example, "We should plan important project meetings together".
6. Always bear in mind that careful activity analysis is a prerequisite for useful staff assessment.
3. MANAGEMENT BY DELEGATION - STEPS TOWARDS INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVE
Delegation is an important managerial task; it not only relieves the strain on the manager, but also helps the employee to develop more initiative.
Delegating is, however, not as self-evident as it may seem. Some managers tend to carry out most of the work themselves. They develop no strategy for involving their employees more with the work in hand; giving them more complex tasks to complete also gives them more responsibility. The other side of the coin is that managers are annoyed if their employees are not working hard enough. They often overlook the fact that the cause of this may lie in their inconsistent managerial style.
An Example
Office Manager Sally Smith has proven her worth. She is known to be a hard worker and always reaches her targets. However, the main reason for this result is that she spends a significant part of the day rushing around "doing" stuff. She devotes little time to the employees under her and does not bother with delegation or further training for her employees.
Ms Smith is always short of time and her employees lack work. The main reason for this is that she is doing jobs which she could, and should, have delegated to other employees. This behaviour does her credit as a hard worker, but shows her to be a bad manager.
Ms. Smith suddenly falls ill and is unable to work. The work, which in the past she performed alone, lies untouched in the office. As she has not shown anyone else what was involved, no one knows what to do. The employees can hardly pool enough experience between them to perform Ms. Smith’s work and are afraid to take on the responsibility.
The scenario does not need to be as dramatic as in the above example, but managers should be aware of the psychological consequences of such behaviour - it shows inconsistent managerial skills. Psychological studies show that consistent managerial skills are imperative for good staff management.
Psychologists often refer to the principle of ‘Consistency’. If people have conflicting information about themselves or somebody else, they end up in a state of physical and mental stress. Leon Festinger calls this Cognitive Discord.
There are different levels at which such discord can appear.
At the level of logic, it could manifest itself through someone believing that they are seeing unidentified flying objects. At the same time, however, they know that there is no such thing as UFO’s.
At a cultural level, discord could emerge if someone laughs at a funeral, although they know that it is not appropriate.
At the level of opinion and action, discord can arise through the fact, for example, that it is generally known that smoking is unhealthy. Nevertheless, there are still those who smoke.
According to Festinger, cognitive discord can also arise when decisions have to be made. It is often the case that the choice of one alternative means doing without another. An example of this occurs in car sales: e.g. if you decide you want the executive saloon, you have to do without the sports car.
Everyone wants to live in harmony with themselves. However, discord disturbs the equilibrium and creates the desire to restore ‘consistency’. This can sometimes go as far as suppressing unpleasant information, in a bid to maintain a ‘consistent’ image of the world. This is also a sign that people value consistent behaviour. Consistent behaviour means that a person is in harmony with themselves and avoids disturbing discords.
The need for consistency, which has been established by psychologists, also plays a role in the relation between managers and employees. It is within the framework of delegation in particular that a manager should demonstrate consistent behaviour.
If you quickly take back a task you have already delegated, you are not only burdening yourself with additional work, but you are also depriving the employee of the opportunity to perform well and be successful. At the same time, you are violating the principle of consistency. The employee will experience discord and increased physical tension or stress. This is because on the one hand you have shown them trust in that you entrusted a task to them, but on the other hand your behaviour has signalled the exact opposite. This causes many employees to begin doubting their ability - some draw the wrong conclusion from this and their productivity level can drop significantly. Therefore, when delegating, a manager should pay particular attention to his own behaviour and follow the laws of consistency.
What to remember when delegating
1. Choose the employee to whom you will be delegating the task without telling them your intentions. Take into account the employee’s perseverance, as they will have to deal with disappointments and setbacks during the course of the project.
2. Discuss the subject of delegation with the person before conveying to them the new task. Tell them you are just thinking of the future allocation of tasks.
3. Delegate on a provisional basis, by saying, "We will initially work together on the project". You will also be at their disposal, so that they can ask questions immediately, if they have difficulty with new responsibilities.
4. Withdraw, but incorporate automatic controls. Allow the person to work on their own, but establish certain controls which will help you to monitor the progress of the project, e.g. spot checks, rotational analysis, statistics, etc.
5. Observe the person inconspicuously. If everything is going well, you can increase the time lengths between the checks or replace them with occasional informal discussions. Make sure that you stay informed of the employee’s performance and progress. If they are encountering difficulties, don’t delay in offering advice and assistance.
Delegating is an important managerial skill. It should not, however, be a way of avoiding conflicts and unpleasant tasks.
4. MANAGEMENT BY ATTRIBUTION - BELIEVING IN THE EMPLOYEES’ SUCCESS
Everyone knows from their school days that if you got a good mark, you did not just feel wonderful, but you also felt that you were extremely clever and talented - even if some of it had been copied from the class genius. If other pupils got a good mark, we had a tendency to feel that they had not studied as diligently as we had, and attributed to the good grade to their constant good luck.
We are engaged in a constant search for causes for our behaviour. In this search, we tend to attribute successes to ourselves and failure to the prevailing circumstances.
What behavioural causes are seen, for example, as the root of bad performances? Psychologists Mitchell and Wood have investigated this subject by studying the relationship between nurses and their superiors.
The nurses were divided into two groups. First of all, the superiors of both groups were told that the nurses had performed badly (they had prescribed an inaccurate dosage of medication). Those in charge of the first group were given additional negative information about their nurses’ work (they were told that the nurses had previously made mistakes during the administration of medication). The superiors of the second group were given no additional information about previous violations of the nursing code.
How did the nursing superior’s judge the nurses’ behaviour? Those in charge of the first group came to the conclusion that their nurses were totally unsuitable - i.e. they doubted their nursing ability. The nursing superiors of the second group, who were basing their judgement on just one transgression, put the misdemeanour down to external circumstances, such as family difficulties.
Psychologists distinguish between two types of attribution. If external circumstances are drawn on as an explanation, such as good luck being held responsible for someone’s success, this is called external attribution. Internal attribution occurs when abilities, i.e. internal reasons or circumstances, are given as the cause of behaviour.
As a manager, you have the task of correctly identifying internal and external attribution. You should know the advantages and disadvantages of both ways of explaining behaviour. Always bear in mind that the manager’s attributions should help integrate the employees into the company and increase their productivity and willingness to perform.
An important aspect of this is the relationship between the attributions made by a supervisor and the reactions this triggers among the employees. An internal attribution means the employee is held responsible. In the case of positive attribution - for example, "I know you’ll make it!" - the employee will make more of an effort. In the case of negative attribution - "You’re totally incompetent!" - the employee may begin to doubt their abilities.
If you always attribute the success of a very diligent employee to external factors, i.e. holding good luck responsible for their success, this can discourage the person in the long run. They will begin to lose faith in their own ability.
If you notice that, for once, an employee is not performing up to scratch, this may be attributable to external factors. What attenuating circumstances could be involved? If on the other hand, you have an employee, whose work has left something to be desired for some time now, you should check your external attribution again (for example, poor economic climate): perhaps this attribution is merely an excuse for the employee’s unwillingness to work).
5. MANAGEMENT AS AN EXCHANGE PROCESS - OBSERVING THE NEED FOR JUSTICE
Nothing is more annoying than the feeling that you are being treated unjustly. In school, unjust marks is a common cause of arguments between pupils and teachers. In the working world, remuneration is most often found to be unjust. If there appears to be no relation between the work accomplished and the salary received for it, this can lead to complaints and dissatisfaction.
Even the praise of a colleague can induce feelings of jealously and neglect among the other employees, "Imagine! He is being praised whilst the rest of us work hard all year round, without any appreciation". Psychologists have carried out many experiments on the subject of appreciation and developed a theory of fairness.
Lutz Von Rosenstiel characterises the Theory of Exchange as follows: it functions according to the principle "You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours". People come together in social relationships in order to exchange various things. In the foreground is the desire that the reward for something is equivalent to the effort put into it. An imbalance occurs, for example, if a person feels that they have been overpaid or underpaid. This feeling results from comparison with others. It disturbs our physical equilibrium and motivates us to redress the balance.
Individual cases depend on what the employee understands by "scratch". It can be their performance or the time they devote to their work. What one receives in the exchange can also be perceived differently. For some, only the money matters, for others it is honour and glory, whereas the contact or title matters for quite a few.
As a manager you should respect your employee’s need for fairness and justice. This desire for justice is not only in relation to pay, but encompasses every aspect of human interaction, including the time and attention that a manager devotes to individual employees.
Ask yourself in all honesty if you are giving your team enough scope for action and enough decision-making freedom when they have a better overview of the situation than you do? If you demonstrate trust in an employee, they will feel committed to you and to the company. This sense of commitment will also find expression in their work.
6. MANAGEMENT THROUGH TEAMWORK - ENCOURAGING TEAM SPIRIT
A large part of our upbringing and education is learning to compete with one another and be better than the next. Some people maintain this competitive spirit in every situation - they always want to be first and they always have to have the last word in every discussion.
Although they want to make a success of their career, these kinds of people often create problems in a team situation. They lack one important behavioural trait - the experience of not only working against other people, but also working with others towards a common goal. They are used to living as individual competitors. In a functioning team, everyone must contribute in order to attain a common goal. The individual competitor must hold back for this to be achieved.
Psychologists define a team as something in which several people relate to each other for a certain amount of time. It is possible for the team to perform common functions - reciprocal role relations are created and a sense of togetherness (the "we-feeling") is established.
Team affiliation is defined as the average strength of attraction a team has for its members (psychologists speak of group coherence). The size of the team is important for team coherence - cohesion and team spirit is greater in small groups than in large groups. The cohesion of a team is perceived as a common fate. This creates a particularly intensive sense of togetherness. In highly cohesive teams, the tendency to leave the team is minimal. Psychologists call this low fluctuation.
The question is whether the productivity of a highly cohesive team increases. If this were the case, it would be possible to increase a company’s productivity by creating intensive team coherence. The results of a great many investigations, however, show that the overall team productivity will only increase when a team is suited to high productivity.
Every team member is dependent on the team. This means that if a member loses the membership of his/her team, s/he will lose advantages - advantages that s/he will be unable to obtain elsewhere.
Cohesion and dependency have differing effects. If there is a strong cohesion and team spirit and the team dependency is small, them members are happy to remain in the team. On the other hand, if there is little cohesion and team spirit and there is high dependency, team members will stay away, without renouncing the advantages that go with membership.
If teams have been in existence for a long time, a uniform behavioural pattern is created between its members. Psychologists call this the ‘group standard’. By this they mean that every team member is expected to think and act in the same way in certain situations. Every team has unwritten laws; if members violate these, they risk being excluded from the team.
If a highly cohesive ‘group’s standard’ is high, this means that it is an effective and productive team. The phenomenon of performance restraint is also an important factor in working teams. Studies have shown that, in working teams, no member exceeded a certain productivity limit, although many members of the team were capable of attaining a higher level of performance. Employees who tried to attain a higher performance level were prevented from doing so by sanctions imposed by the group.
Another phenomenon is problem solving. If a problem has to be solved by the team, several people get a chance to air their suggested solutions. However, as well as the problem to be solved, another task presents itself - the co-ordination and leadership of the group. Again, it has been shown that problems can be dealt with more effectively in small teams. The process if solving the problem is encouraged by co-operation. If a sense of competition is prevalent amongst team members, team cohesion and team productivity suffer.
Most studies have found that teams are more prepared to take risks when making decisions. Psychologists call this the ‘risk-pooling phenomenon’ which offers opportunities but which also involves dangers. The consequences of bad decision-making are divided between many heads in a team. This can lead to the ‘delegation of responsibility’, i.e. no one person is solely responsible.
Modern team development programmes take both the current work situation and the scientifically researched process of group dynamics into consideration. Working in a team extends an individual’s area of responsibility, motivates the employee and helps to develop his productive potential. Co-operative teams help to increase job satisfaction. Discussions become more productive and a company spirit is created.
If you want to establish a team which increases the employees’ job satisfaction, as well as their performance, take the following measures:
1. When team members come to you with suggestions, you should not just say, "Okay. You can do it that way". Instead, say, "Why don’t you discuss that with Steve?" If you react in this way, the employees will, in the long term, end up initially asking each other for advice.
2. Encourage your employees to work together and supervise each other’s work. For example, you could ask two employees who are working on different campaigns to inform each other of their progress. This acknowledges both of them, as you are conferring responsibility on them both and give them to understand, "You can do that amongst yourselves. I trust your judgement".
3. Establish employee committees to deal with problem solving, for example, how to speed up order completion? The chairman of the committee will be on a rotating basis. Committee decisions are binding. You sit in on a few meetings, but do not take control of the proceedings. Instead, play a consultative role, ready to offer advice if needs be. Do not forget to praise the team when they produce good team-work.
4. When away on holiday or on business, give your employees an additional chance to prove their worth. For example, transfer responsibility for things which you normally deal with yourself to one of your employees. They can consult colleagues if there are any difficulties. Encourage a sense of initiative.
5. Praise and criticism have a more lasting effect on an employee if s/he hears this in a group situation. If you want to emphasise a particular employee’s performance, praise him/her in front of his colleagues. Be careful, however, when directing criticism towards a particular employee in a group situation. Being criticised in front of others can destroy an employee’s self-esteem. ‘Public executions’ can also have a negative effect on those not being criticised, as they fear that the same could happen to them one day.
Team-work creates identification. Group situations are suitable for creating and conveying a sense of togetherness. They offer the opportunity to ‘re-charge one’s emotional batteries.
Make sure that the teams are not too large. There is a danger of a drop in productivity in large groups.
Monitor the performance of highly cohesive teams. Not every highly cohesive team produces its maximum productivity potential.
Monitor the teams’ standards occasionally. Prevent the formation of cliques by creating new, effective teams in good time!
7. MANAGEMENT BY MOTIVATION - ENCOURAGE THE EMPLOYEES TO BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES
Some people are never happy. They are always complaining about something - work is getting on top of them, they don’t have enough time to spend with their family or they worry about their health. We tend to lend these people a sympathetic ear and give them advice such as, "Organise your work so that you can take a holiday", but nothing changes. What are the motives behind the complaining if no visible effort is made to act on your well-meant advice? Are their circumstances really so lamentable, or are these people only after sympathy?
The question of the motivation, the inner motives of human actions, comes to the fore in particular, when we are dealing with problems. Ordinary, everyday life provides us with numerous opportunities to ask about and explore the various facets of human nature.
Why, for example, do we place so much emphasis on appreciation and praise, even when it entails no financial gain? Why is it not enough for us to have enough to eat and a secure job? Why do we prefer working with some colleagues more than with others? Psychology has been studying these and other questions for a long time. Psychologists are trying to answer these questions by discovering the diversity of motives and attempting to place them in some sort of pattern.
To confirm the results, Hall asked the managers’ employees what return service they particularly valued. The employees named precisely those needs that their managers had used for motivation purposes. Employees of managers who had risen to that position slowly were particularly interested in high salaries and good working conditions. The employees of the successful managers wanted freedom of expression in the workplace and additional possibilities to participate in the workings of the company.
Hall called this phenomenon the ‘Pygmalion Effect’. The manager’s motivation technique produces the employees’ motivation in accordance with this motto:
"Every manager has the employees s/he deserves".
It is a circle of ‘cause and effect’. Employees, who are interested in the work themselves, who try to develop their own potential through this work and who are seeking success from the work, achieve more than the employees who only work for the money and are, therefore, only doing the requisite minimum.
A manager’s style of motivation establishes the productivity level of his/her employees and this, in turn, determines the manager’s prospects of promotion.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs forms the basis of Jay Hall’s investigation. Maslow speaks of six classes of needs, drawing an initial distinction between deficiency and growth needs.
Deficiency needs are denoted by the fact that their non-fulfilment provokes illness and disturbances. Maslow divides deficiency needs into five categories: the first category includes physiological needs such as hunger, thirst, breath, sleep, etc. They are the basis of the needs pyramid and are followed by safety and security needs such as protection, provision and freedom from fear and anxiety. The next category contains social or esteem needs such as the need for contact, love and a sense of belonging. The next category represents personal needs (self realisation needs) - including the need for acceptance, status, prestige and respect. The penultimate category is the need for knowledge and understanding. Aesthetic needs such as a need for self-development form the top of the pyramid. This section of a pyramid falls into the growth category. Maslow also describes needs as human desire for self fulfilment and the need to fulfil one’s own potential.
If we apply this hierarchy of needs to the situation in which managers find themselves, it is clear that a manager can influence some of his employees’ motives, although there are some that s/he can quite clearly not influence, as they are private, rather than business-related.
Remuneration and working conditions, for example, are important for the fulfilment of basic needs. Confidence in the future of the company and in job security are just two security motives. Team cohesion is a social motive and the conferring of titles can be a useful strengthening of personal motive. Incentives such as delegate, further training and job enrichment are useful in regards to the need to develop one’s potential.
Science also distinguishes between extrinsic and intrinsic motives. Extrinsic work motives are not satisfied by the contents of one’s actual work itself, but by the attendant circumstances, such as the money that goes with the work. Intrinsic motives are satisfied by the work itself. A manager should, therefore, structure his/her employees’ work in such a way that they derive as much intrinsic motive satisfaction from it as possible.
Hertzberg distinguishes between two types of company motivation measures. The first type reduces dissatisfaction (hygiene factors) and the second caters for increasing satisfaction (motivating factors). Hygiene factors satisfy extrinsic motives and motivating factors satisfy intrinsic factors.
The hygiene factors prevent the development of negative conditions and hence dissatisfaction. However, they do not necessarily automatically induce a greater degree of satisfaction. On the other hand, the satisfaction of the human desire for growth is fulfilled by the motivating factors.