MOTIVATION THEORIES

Management books are full of motivational theories. Some, properly interpreted, can be useful to the beginning supervisor. Here are two examples.

From 1927 to 1932 the Western Electric Company conducted what are now known as the Hawthorne experiments. These experiments showed that no matter what improvements were made (rest periods, free hot lunches, and so forth), the productivity of the group increased. Why? The employees were made to feel important; making any improvement gave them more status and respect. Until these experiments were made, management had accepted as self-evident that the way to improve the rate of production was to improve machinery, provide better lighting, and make similar physical changes. The Hawthorne experiments proved that the emotional climate of the worker is just as important.

Many psychologists claim that employees' inner needs must be satisfied before they can reach their personal potentials. They divide needs into primary and secondary. A primary need is physiological, such as hunger; a secondary need is one that satisfies the mind, ego, or spirit.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

One of the best-known “need priority” lists was established by A.H. Maslow.^[1] He ranked needs as follows:

^[1] A.H. Maslow, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” Psychological Review 50(1943), pp. 370–96.

The bottom need is physiological—food and good health. The next is safety and security. The third from the bottom is social needs: to be accepted and to enjoy the company of others. Next are ego needs—recognition from others. Finally, at the pinnacle, is one's need for self-fulfillment or self-realization.

The crux of this theory is that the bottom needs must be fulfilled before the others come into play. In other words, you must satisfy your need for food and security before social needs become motivating. You must satisfy social and ego needs before self-fulfillment is possible.

Suggestions. Because the first three levels of your employees' needs are probably already satisfied, concentrate on their ego and self-fulfillment needs. As you implement the basic idea of this chapter—achieving greater productivity by closing individual productivity gaps—keep these four important principles in mind.