8/5/2015

UnderstandingHerzberg'smotivationtheory|ACCAQualification|Students|ACCAGlobal

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UNDERSTANDING HERZBERG'S MOTIVATION

THEORY
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StudentAccountanthubpage
byJohnBall
03Oct2003

Understandingwhatmotivatespeopleinallwalksoflifeisbasictoallwhoaspiretomanagement.Oneof
thebestknownofallthewritersonmotivationisHerzberg.
Heisnotedforamongotherthingshisideasonjobenrichment,enlargementandrotation.However,
hisideasonmotivationinthehygienemotivationtheoryareparticularlyusefultoourunderstandingof
whatmotivatespeople.
Thisisparticularlyrelevantastheoriginalresearchwasundertakennotinthefactory,butintheofficesof
engineersandaccountants.

CONTENT THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

Herzbergsmotivationtheoryisoneofthecontenttheoriesofmotivation.Theseattempttoexplainthe
factorsthatmotivateindividualsthroughidentifyingandsatisfyingtheirindividualneeds,desiresandthe
aimspursuedtosatisfythesedesires.
Thistheoryofmotivationisknownasatwofactorcontenttheory.Itisbaseduponthedeceptivelysimple
ideathatmotivationcanbedichotomisedintohygienefactorsandmotivationfactorsandisoftenreferred
toasatwoneedsystem.
Thesetwoseparateneedsaretheneedtoavoidunpleasantnessanddiscomfortand,attheotherendof
themotivationalscale,theneedforpersonaldevelopment.Ashortageofthefactorsthatpositively
encourageemployees(themotivatingfactors)willcauseemployeestofocusonother,nonjobrelated
hygienefactors.
Themostimportantpartofthistheoryofmotivationisthatthemainmotivatingfactorsarenotinthe
environmentbutintheintrinsicvalueandsatisfactiongainedfromthejobitself.Itfollowsthereforethatto
motivateanindividual,ajobitselfmustbechallenging,havescopeforenrichmentandbeofinterestto
thejobholder.Motivators(sometimescalledsatisfiers)arethosefactorsdirectlyconcernedwiththe
satisfactiongainedfromajob,suchas:
thesenseofachievementandtheintrinsicvalueobtainedfromthejobitself
thelevelofrecognitionbybothcolleaguesandmanagement
thelevelofresponsibility
opportunitiesforadvancementand
thestatusprovided

Motivatorsleadtosatisfactionbecauseoftheneedforgrowthandasenseofselfachievement.
Alackofmotivatorsleadstooverconcentrationonhygienefactors,whicharethosenegativefactors
whichcanbeseenandthereforeformthebasisofcomplaintandconcern.Hygienefactors(oftenreferred
toasmaintenancefactors)leadtodissatisfactionwithajobbecauseoftheneedtoavoidunpleasantness.
Theyarereferredtoashygienefactorsbecausetheycanbeavoidedorpreventedbytheuseof
hygienicmethods.Theimportantfacttorememberisthatattentiontothesehygienefactorsprevents
dissatisfactionbutdoesnotnecessarilyprovidepositivemotivation.
Hygienefactorsarealsooftenreferredtoasdissatisfiers.Theyareconcernedwithfactorsassociated
withthejobitselfbutarenotdirectlyapartofit.Typically,thisissalary,althoughotherfactorswhichwill
oftenactasdissatisfiersinclude:
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UnderstandingHerzberg'smotivationtheory|ACCAQualification|Students|ACCAGlobal

perceiveddifferenceswithothers
jobsecurity
workingconditions
thequalityofmanagement
organisationalpolicy
administration
interpersonalrelations

UnderstandingHerzbergstheoryrecognisestheintrinsicsatisfactionthatcanbeobtainedfromthework
itself.Itdrawsattentiontojobdesignandmakesmanagersawarethatproblemsofmotivationmaynot
necessarilybedirectlyassociatedwiththework.Problemscanoftenbeexternaltothejob.

IMPROVED MOTIVATION
Managersunderstandingthatfactorswhichdemotivatecanoftenberelatedtomattersotherthanthe
workitself,canleadtoimprovedmotivation,greaterjobsatisfactionandimprovedorganisational
performancebytheentireworkforce.
Understandingindividualgoals,coupledwithwiderskillsandabilities,canleadtogreateropportunities.
Individualsareseenasvaluabletoorganisationsandcanacquirenewskillsusefulinthefuture.
Improvingskills,opportunitiesandincreasingemployeeknowledgewill,inthelongerterm,increasethe
valueofanorganisationshumanassets.Mostimportantly,itcanleadtogreaterstaffcommitment,
understandingandloyalty.
DrJohnBallisformerexaminerforPaper1.3

Lastupdated:20Apr2015

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