best for their workers 2.some
consultation might take place, but the final decisions are taken by the managers – there is no true participation in decision making 3.managers want workers to be happy in their jobs
1.some workers will be dissatisfied with the apparent attempts to
consult, while not having any real power or influence 1. Used by managers who have a genuine concern for workers´ interest, but feel the
“managers know best” in the end – when workers are young or inexperienced this might be an appropriate style to employ. Laissez-faire 1.managers delegate virtually all authority and decision-making powers
2. Very broad criteria or limits might be
established for the staff to work
within.
1.worker may not appreciate the lack of structure and direction in their work – this could lead to a loss of security 2.the lack of feedback – as managers will not be closely
monitoring
progress – may be demotivating
1.when by
managers are too busy (or too lazy) to intervene 2.may be appropriate in research
institutions where experts are more likely to arrive at solutions when not constrained by narrow rules or management controls McGregor’s theories Theory X
Managers that follow theory X believe that workers: - Dislike work
- Will avoid responsibility - Are not created
Theory Y
Managers that follow theory Y believe that workers:
- Can derive as much enjoyment from work as from rest and play - Will accept responsibility
- Are creative
The best leadership style depends on many factors
- The training and experience of the workforce and the degree of responsibility that they are prepared to take on.
- The amount of time available for consultation and participation
- The attitude of managers, or management culture – this will be influenced by the personality and business background of the managers (whether they have always worked in an autocratically run organization, etc.)
- The importance of the issues under consideration – different styles may be used in the same business in different situations.
Informal leadership
An informal leader is a person who has no formed authority but has the respect of colleagues and some power over them.
Emotional intelligence
The ability of managers to understand their own emotions, and those of the people they work with, to achieve better business performance. These put more emphasis on emotional intelligence:
- Understanding yourself, your goals, your behavior and your responses to people
- Understanding other and their feelings
The more managers that understand these, the more effective they will be. Experts think managers should improve:
Self-awareness: knowing what we feel is important and using that to guide decision making. Having a realistic view of our own abilities and having self- confidence in our abilities.
Self-management: being able to recover quickly from stress, being trustworthy and conscientious, showing initiative and self-control
Social-awareness: sensing what others are feeling, being able to take their views into account and being able to get on with a wide range of people Social skills: handling emotions in relationships well and accurately understanding different social situations, using social skills to persuade, negotiate and lead.
A manager without these emotional intelligences would:
- Attempt projects beyond their abilities but lack self-confidence that targets would be met
- Lack the trust and confidence of others and be so stressed out that they would be difficult to approach
- Fail to take the views of others into account when taking decisions
- Perform poorly in social situations, finding it difficult to talk and negotiate with others, and lacking the ability to build a team
Chapter 9: motivation
What is motivation?
This is the internal and external factors that stimulate people to take actions that lead to achieving a goal. This basically means the desire or workers to see a job done quickly and well. Unmotivated staff will be reluctant to perform effectively and well done jobs.
Content theories of motivation
Taylor and scientific management (1856-1917)
The techniques he used – of establishing an idea or hypothesis, studying and recording performance at work, altering working methods and re-recording performance – are still used today. This could be ways to improve output per worker or productivity following Taylor’s theory:
- Select workers to perform a task
- Observe them performing the task and note the key elements of it - Record the time taken to do each part of the task
- Identify the quickest method recorded
- Train all workers in the quickest method and do not allow them to make any changes to it
- Supervise workers to ensure that this best way is being carried out and time them to check that the set time is not being exceeded
- Pay workers on the basis of results
Mayo and the human relations theories (1880-1949)
Elton Mayo is best known for his “Hawthorne effect conclusions”. His work was initially based on the assumption that working conditions – lighting, heating, rest periods and so on – had a significant effect on workers´ productivity. The
Hawthorne effect is:
- Changing in working conditions and financial rewards have little or no effect on productivity
- When management consult with workers and take an interest in their work, then motivation is improved
- Working in teams and developing a team spirit can improve productivity - When some control over their own working lives is given to workers, such
as deciding when to take breaks, there is a positive motivational effect - Groups can establish their own targets or norms and these can be greatly
influenced by the informal leaders of the group.
Maslow and the hierarchy of human needs (1908-1970)
He was concerned with trying to identify and classify the main needs that people have. He them formed the hierarchy of needs (starting from bottom to top). Physical needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization. The hierarchy was interpreted by Maslow as it follows:
- Individuals´ needs start on the lowest level
- Once one level of need has been satisfied, humans will strive to achieve the next level
- Self-actualization, or self-fulfillment, is not reached by many people, but everyone is capable of reaching their potential
- Once a need is satisfied, it will no longer motivate individuals to action – thus, when material needs have been satisfied, the offer of more money will not increase productivity
- Reversion is possible.
Herzberg and the two factor theory (1923-2000) His intention was to discover:
- Those factors that led to them having very good feelings about their jobs - Those factors that led to them having very negative feelings about their
jobs
His conclusions were that:
- Job satisfaction resulted from five main factors – achievement, recognition for achievement, the work itself, responsibility and advancement
- Job dissatisfaction resulted from five main factors too – company policy and administration, supervision, salary, relationship with others and working conditions.
There are three main features of job enrichment and, if these were adopted, then the motivators would be available for all workers to benefit from:
Complete units of work: typical mass production methods leave workers to assemble one small part of the finished product. This is not rewarding, can be boring and repetitive and prevents the worker from appreciating the
importance of what they are doing as part of the overall production system. Feedback on performance
This type of communication could give recognition for work well done and could provide incentives to achieve even more
A range of tasks
To give challenge and to stretch the individual, a range of tasks should be given, some of which may be, at least initially, beyond the workers´ current experience. This, in quite a large measure, ties in with the “self-actualization” level in Maslow´s hierarchy.
Job enrichment is the aims to use the full capabilities of workers by giving them the opportunity to do more challenging and fulfilling work.
McClelland and motivational needs theory (1917-1998) He is known for describing three types of motivational needs:
Achievement motivation: a person with the strong motivational need for achievement will seek to reach realistic and challenging goals and job advancement.
Authority motivation: a person with this dominant need is authority motivated. The desire to control others is a powerful motivating force.
Affiliation motivation: the person with need for affiliation as the strongest driver or motivator has a need for friendly relationships and is motivated towards interaction with other people
Vroom and the expectancy theory (1932 - )
He suggested that individuals behave depending on in the ways that they believe will lead to outcomes they value. Individuals have different set of goals and can be motivated if they believe that:
- There is a positive link between effort and performance. - Favorable performance will result in desirable reward - The reward will satisfy an important need
- The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the work effort worthwhile.
Valence: the depth of the want of an employee for an extrinsic reward, such as money or an intrinsic reward such as satisfaction
Expectancy: the degree to which people believe that putting effort into work will lead to a given level of performance
Instrumentality: the confidence of employees that there will actually get what they desire, even if it has been promised by the manager
Motivational theories
Payment or financial reward system Hourly wage rate
Payment to a worker made for each hour worked Piece rate
A payment to a worker for each unit produced Salary
Annual income that is usually paid on a monthly basis Commission
A payment to a sales person for each sale made Performance related pay
A bonus scheme to reward staff for above-average work performance Profit sharing
A bonus for staff based on the profit of the business – usually paid as a proportion of basis salary
Fringe benefits
These are non-cash forms of reward – and there are many alternatives that can be used
Non-financial methods of motivation Job rotation
Increasing the flexibility of the workforce and the variety of work they do by switching from one job to another
Job enlargement
Attempting to increase the scope of a job by broadening or deepening the tasks undertaken
Job enrichment
Involves the principle of organizing work so that employees are encouraged and allowed to use their full abilities – not just physical effort
Job redesign
Involves the restructuring of a job – usually with employees involvement – to make work more interesting, satisfying and challenging
Quality circles
They are voluntary groups of workers who meet regularly to discuss work-related problems and issues
Worker participation
Workers are actively encouraged to become involved in decision making within the organization
Team working
Production is organized so that groups of workers undertake complete units of work
Target setting
As well as making work more interesting and rewarding, the purpose of target setting is to enable direct feedback to workers on how their performance compares with agreed objectives
Delegation and empowerment
They involve the passing down of authority to perform tasks to workers some degree of control over how the task should be undertaken.