Motivation

Business AS · Human resource management. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Motivation is the desire of employees to work well and to achieve the objectives of the business. Motivated staff are more productive, are absent less and are less likely to leave.

Content theories say what motivates people. Taylor said money. Mayo said social needs and attention from managers. Maslow gave a hierarchy of five needs. Herzberg separated motivators from hygiene factors. McClelland named three needs: achievement, authority (power) and affiliation.

Vroom gave a process theory, which says how people decide to make an effort: they must believe that effort leads to performance, that performance leads to reward, and that the reward is worth having.

Rules to remember

Common mistake

Students write that Herzberg said pay motivates. He classed pay as a hygiene factor: poor pay causes dissatisfaction, but better pay does not give lasting motivation.

Worked example

A salesperson earns a basic salary of $800 a month plus commission of 3% of the value of her sales. In one month she sells goods worth $50,000. What does she earn?

  1. Commission = 3% × $50,000 = $1,500.
  2. Total earnings = basic salary + commission = $800 + $1,500.

Answer: $2,300 for the month.

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