WaldenU One More Time by Herzberg Article Review The Scholarship of Motivation TheoryUsing databases in the Walden library (e.g., Business Source Complete

WaldenU One More Time by Herzberg Article Review The Scholarship of Motivation TheoryUsing databases in the Walden library (e.g., Business Source Complete or ABI/Inform complete), locate one article (attached) that discusses or applies one of the theories of motivation you have studied this week in an HR context. After reviewing this article, write a paper (4-6 paragraphs) in which you:Summarize the main argument of the article and the evidence or examples used to support the argument.Critique the article and describe whether its argument is convincing; be sure to explain your conclusion.Analyze whether the article is useful to scholar-practitioners who are currently working in the HR field and describe any potential practical applications in the workplace.APA Format Giving feedback that fuels success
Eileen Chadnick
Canadian HR Reporter; Sep 6, 2010; 23, 15; ABI/INFORM Global
pg. 19
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Can you directly motivate employees?
Exploding the myth
Stephen Flynn
Introduction
As managers, we are in the ‘‘motivation game.’’ Central to this is the ‘‘deal’’ between the
employer and the employee; or to put it into more fashionable language, the psychological
contract. The management literature encourages us to harness this contract in order to tap
into employees’ discretionary effort. However, as I will show, the more we try and manage
employee motivation directly, the more it will elude us.
Stephen Flynn is Human
Resources Director, Office
Depot Ltd, Leighton
Buzzard, UK.
The psychological contract
Let’s start by being clear about what we mean by the psychological contract. It has been
defined as: ‘‘an individual’s beliefs about the terms of their relationship with the organisation
that employs them’’ (Boxall and Purcell, 2003). Originally the two types of psychological
contract were described as transactional or relational. These two original definitions can be
taken as descriptions of two polar extremes as outlined in Table I.
Very quickly in the literature these descriptions were changed into a management tool. This
tool was available for executives to apply to their organizations. Management was thus
presented with a choice over its preferred psychological contract. The contract is now
offered as a key means of translating strategy into HR and management programs and
practices. Table II sets out one framework that illustrates the choice put to management
(Brown, 2001).
So, the psychological contract is currently recommended as the tool to strike a new deal
between employer and employee.
Maturity levels
Before we can return to employee motivation we must first explain the concept of
‘‘organisational maturity levels’’ (Flynn, 2010). A maturity level is a stage of capability that is
‘‘an evolutionary plateau on an organizational improvement path’’ (Curtis et al., 2002). For
our practical purposes in dealing with motivation, we will briefly illustrate four such levels
(see Table III).
At Level 1, the organizational members aim to comply with the demands of internal and
external regulations which are imposed by all of the organization’s stakeholders.
Compliance is, however, minimal. Most achievements at this level are through heroic
efforts. Hence the model of management is just that – heroic. However, there are few
effective control systems, other than the basic financial ones. Business processes are varied
and inconsistent. Managers and employees ‘‘get by’’ or ‘‘get away with it.’’ The organization
is characterized by a sense of ‘‘irresponsible autonomy.’’ As controls are minimal or absent,
DOI 10.1108/14777281111096771
VOL. 25 NO. 1 2011, pp. 11-15, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1477-7282
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Table I
Transactional contracts
Relational contracts
Specific economic conditions (e.g. wage rate) as primary
incentive
Emotional attachment as well as economic exchange
Limited personal involvement in the job (e.g. working relatively few
hours, low emotional attachment)
Whole-person relations (e.g. growth, development)
Close-ended time frame (e.g. seasonal employment, two to three
years on the job at most)
Open-ended time frame (e.g. indefinitely)
Commitments linked to well-specified conditions
Both written and unwritten terms (e.g. some terms emerge over
time)
Little flexibility (change requires renegotiation of contract)
Dynamic and subject to change during the life of the contract
Use of existing skills
Pervasive conditions (e.g. affects personal and family life)
Unambiguous terms readily understood by outsiders
Subjective and implicitly understood (i.e. conditions difficult for
third party to understand)
Table II
Psychological contract
Leased talent
New paternalism
Employee owners
Key message
‘‘We will give you a great CV’’
‘‘We will take care of you’’
‘‘We will build success together’’
Key reward tools
Competency-based
Job families
Individual incentives
Personal contracts
Job evaluation
Profit-sharing
Good benefits
Promotions
Broad bands
Team-based pay
Share schemes
Personal development
Focus of pay system
Replacement value in market
Job value in career structure
Business value in flat hierarchy
Focus of pay competitiveness
Retaining key talent
Entry-level recruitment
All staff, aggressive total pay
Pay structure
Market rates, job family
structures
Broad grades
Broad bands
Reward for high performers
High base salary
Promotion
High bonuses
Variable pay
Individual and project incentives Corporate, e.g. profit share
Value-based, business challenge
and team incentives
Table III Organizational maturity levels
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Compliance management
Process management
Capability management
Strategic management
employees have a significant degree of freedom to do as they see fit. However, this
autonomy is effectively misused or abused.
At Level 2, the organization concentrates upon controlling the basic work practices,
especially at the unit level (Curtis et al., 2002). Business processes are systematically
mapped and standardized. There is an air of process discipline throughout the organization.
This borders on the bureaucratic and each work activity has its own standard operating
procedure (SOP) to guide employees. You will recognize this organization by its range of
policy and procedure manuals. The organization starts to follow an ‘‘organising principle’’
which tends to be rigidly functional in structure.
At Level 3, the organization is focused on raising the capabilities of its systems, processes
and people through continuous improvement (CI). Management systematically uses
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‘‘toolkits’’ such as Six Sigma to guide CI. Project management becomes a discipline in itself.
Forecast and actual project benefits are analytically tracked. The organization is managed
using a range of measurements, for example key performance indicators (KPIs).
At Level 4, the organization is guided by a fully integrated business strategy. The vision and
the values are lived and an open systems approach is manifest. The organization has a clear
common purpose and delegation goes to the ‘‘lowest’’ possible level within the hierarchy as
a consequence. There is a culture of ‘‘responsible autonomy.’’
Employee motivation and maturity levels
We can now return to employee motivation. There are a number of motivational frameworks
that we could use; however, we have chosen the ‘‘motivations’’ described by Warr (2007).
We will match each ‘‘motivation’’ with its appropriate maturity level. All motivations are
possible at all maturity levels, but ‘‘higher’’ motivations are problematic at ‘‘lower’’ maturity
levels. For clarity, where an employee motivation is introduced it has been italicized in the
text. All motivations and maturity levels are summarized in Table IV.
Maturity level 1: compliance management
At this level of maturity, there is an almost total reliance upon extrinsic motivation.
Management follows a ‘‘stick and carrot’’ approach. Money is seen as the prime motivator
and the exclusive solution to ‘‘employee problems’’. Employees are expected to be driven
by such incentives: it is felt that they are only ‘‘in it’’ for the money. The psychological contract
is thus transactional and short-term. Other hygiene factors are generally neglected.
Ambiguity tends to be high so job insecurity exists. Overall, management keep throwing
money at employees in a desperate attempt to ‘‘motivate’’ them.
Maturity level 2: process management
Money still exists at this level so is still a relevant motivation. However, as process
management improves a wider assortment of motivations emerges.
The process of personal appraisals is introduced at this level (Flynn, 2010). Management by
objectives (MbO) is evident and SMART goals are set. This provides employees with the
motivation of externally generated goals.
Jobs are tightly defined at this level. A degree of role and environmental clarity arises for
employees. To support the effective operation of the SOPs, basic job training is offered
which gives the opportunity for skill use.
Table IV Employee motivation and maturity levels
Organizational maturity level
HR maturity level
Employee motivation
1
Compliance management
Initial
Money
Contact with others
2
Process management
Foundation
Externally generated goals
Environmental and role clarity
Security
Opportunity for skill use
Supportive supervision
Equity (horizontal and vertical)
3
Capability management
HR agenda
Valued social position
Variety
Career opportunity and progression
4
Strategic (culture) management
Integrated people strategy
Opportunity for personal control
Equity (horizontal, vertical and personal)
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‘‘ The ‘choice’ of psychological contracts is thus limited by the
actual maturity level. ’’
Hygiene factors are addressed at this maturity level, so through health, safety and welfare
(e.g. Safe Systems of Work), physical security is attained to a large extent.
In common with the operating procedures, other processes associated with human
resources such as discipline, grievance and consultation are standardized. These are
guided by the principles of natural justice, so early signs of equity emerge.
Finally, to support SOPs and all the other HR aspects associated with this level of maturity,
basic job training is provided for managers and especially first line managers This helps to
build a supportive supervisory environment for employees.
So, at maturity level 2, we start to see the foundations being built for a broader range of
motivations. This is enhanced at higher maturity levels.
Maturity level 3: capability management
Again, all the motivations that arose at levels 1 and 2 are available at level 3.
The organizational structure at this maturity level is not only functional but also delayered.
There is greater clarity of the unique purpose not only of each role but also of each level in the
managerial hierarchy. This enables the creation of functional career frameworks. Employees
thus have clearer career opportunities and also the chance of gaining valued social
positions within the organization.
Jobs were narrowly defined and restricted at maturity level 2. The emergence of CI at level 3
broadens jobs into roles and introduces job enlargement. This offers employees task variety.
The targets associated with CI, the short-interval measurements and the KPIs in the
Performance Management Systems further enhance goals for employees as a motivational
element. This short-interval measurement gives greater opportunity for feedback, which
further enhances role clarity (Warr, 2007).
Maturity level 4: strategic management
As we saw above, the motivations that we associate with lower levels are still present at level 4.
At this ‘‘higher’’ maturity level, a full intrinsic motivational framework is available. The culture
of ‘‘responsible autonomy’’ enables personal control (Warr, 2007, pp. 149-52). Roles
develop beyond maturity level 3 and now job enrichment applies, further enhancing variety.
The reward agenda evolves to enable vertical, horizontal and now personal equity (Flynn,
2010). At maturity level 4 the procedural equity, which first arose at level 2, is enhanced by
the emergence of distributive justice, where all employees believe that they receive their fair
share of overall rewards within the organization.
So, before a motivation can be readily available to employees, the related maturity level must
first be established. In other words, the environment must be right.
Discussion
So much for the theory; what about the practical implications? Some examples may help.
If you and your management team want to ‘‘empower’’ employees, then you need to be at
maturity level 4. Well, personal control as a motivation is not readily available until strategic
management is attained. Any attempt to create empowerment at lower maturity levels will
fail, as the environment will not be supportive. In fact, even if it were successful,
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empowerment below level 4 is likely to recreate the ‘‘irresponsible autonomy’’ that we
associate with level 1.
If the deal you wish to craft involves extensive career opportunities in the business, and you
assess that you are at level 1, can you leapfrog to level 3? This will not be sustainable (Curtis
et al., 2002). The foundations built at level 2 that support the developments in level 3 would
be absent. All those business and HR processes that act as the bedrock for higher levels
would be missing. The organization would soon collapse back into level 1.
And finally in this discussion, perhaps you wish to drive improvements through individual
performance-related pay (PRP). All other indicators suggest you are at level 2. Well, this type
of PRP scheme requires detailed measurement of individual performance. This is not readily
available until level 3 is attained. Such a PRP system is likely to create dysfunctional behavior
and de-motivate employees.
Summary
We started this article by introducing the psychological contract. We saw how this has
shifted from being merely a description of the unconscious ‘‘deal’’ to becoming a
management tool. This tool could then to be used consciously to craft a new deal between
employer and employee. This deal would then motivate the employee.
We then looked at a range of motivations. We showed how each related to the maturity level
of the organization. So, depending upon the actual maturity level, only some motivations are
available to the organization. The ‘‘choice’’ of psychological contracts is thus limited by the
actual maturity level. Moreover, motivations are actually a function of the maturity level and
not a tool directly available to management. The more management try directly to manage
the motivation of employees, the more this becomes extrinsic motivation which we associate
primarily with maturity level 1. The more we apply extrinsic motivation the more it damages
intrinsic motivation.
Keywords:
Motivation (psychology),
Psychological contracts,
Human resource
management
Motivation has been transformed from a scientific concept into a managerial tool of control.
Fundamentally, motivation only becomes a problem when the inherent meaning of work is
lost. Employees have then to be ‘‘motivated’’ by managers. Employees are hence depicted
as passive and immature. People, as employees, have therefore to be ‘‘managed’’ by being
‘‘motivated.’’
Motivation is personal and internal. It is not manageable directly – we cannot ‘‘do’’ motivation to
employees. The maturity level is the ‘‘environment’’ in which each motivation may (or may not)
thrive. As managers and employers we should work on this ‘‘environmental management,’’ put
meaning back into work and leave employees to their own motivational devices.
References
Boxall, P. and Purcell, J. (2003), Strategy and Human Resource Management, Palgrave, Basingstoke.
Brown, D. (2001), Reward Strategies, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London.
Curtis, B., Hefley, W.E. and Miller, S.A. (2002), The People Capability Maturity Model, Addison-Wesley,
Reading, MA.
Flynn, S.M. (2010), Linking Human Resource Strategy and Practice: An Integrated Framework, Matador,
Leicester.
Warr, P. (2007), Work, Happiness and Unhappiness, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.
Corresponding author
Stephen Flynn can be contacted at: s.flynn397@btintenret.com
To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com
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BEST OF HBR
Forget praise. Forget
punishment. Forget cash. You
need to make their jobs more
interesting.
One More Time
How Do You Motivate Employees?
by Frederick Herzberg
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The Idea in Brief—the core idea
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BEST OF HBR
One More Time
How Do You Motivate Employees?
The Idea in Brief
The Idea in Practice
Imagine your workforce so motivated that
employees relish more hours of work, not
fewer, initiate increased responsibility themselves, and boast about their challenging
work, not their paychecks or bonuses.
How do you help employees charge themselves up? Enrich their jobs by applying
these principles:
An impossible dream? Not if you understand the counterintuitive force behind
motivation—and the ineffectiveness of
most performance incentives. Despite
media attention to the contrary, motivation
does not come from perks, plush offices, or
even promotions or pay. These extrinsic
incentives may stimulate people to put
their noses to the grindstone—but they’ll
likely perform only as long as it takes to
get that next raise or promotion.
COPYRIGHT © 2002 HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL PUBLISHING CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The truth? You and your organization have
only limited power to motivate employees.
Yes, unfair salaries may damage morale. But
when you do offer fat paychecks and other
extrinsic incentives, people won’t necessarily
work harder or smarter.
Why? Most of us are motivated by intrinsic
rewards: interesting, challenging work, and
the opportunity to achieve and grow into
greater responsibility.
Of course, you have to provide some
extrinsic incentives. After all, few of us can
afford to work for no salary. But the real key
to motivating your employees is enabling
them to activate their own internal generators. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck trying to
recharge their batteries yourself—again
and again.
• Increase individuals’ accountability for their
work by removing some controls.
• Give people responsibility for a complete
process or unit of work.
• Make information available directly to
employees rather than sending it
through their managers first.
• Enable people to take on new, more difficult tasks they haven’t handled before.
nications’ quality and accuracy, and their
speed of response to stockholders.
Job enrichment isn’t easy. Managers may
initially fear that they’ll no longer be
needed once their direct reports take on
more responsibility. Employees will likely require time to master new tasks and challenges.
But managers will eventually rediscover their
real functions, for example, developing staff
rather than simply checking their work. And
employees’ enthusiasm and commitment will
ultimately rise—along with your company’s
overall performance.
• Assign individuals specialized tasks that
allow them to become experts.
The payoff? Employees gain an enhanced
sense of responsibility and a…
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