Page 240 - DMGT402_MANAGEMENT_PRACTICES_AND_ORGANIZATIONAL_BEHAVIOUR

Unit 11: Work Motivation

Hygiene Factors Notes

Job dissatisfaction occurs when the hygiene factors are either not present or not sufficient. In the
original research, the hygiene factors were company policy and administration, technical
supervision, interpersonal relations with one's supervisor and working conditions, salary and
status. These factors relate to the context of the job and may be considered support factors. They
do not directly affect a person's motivation to work but influence the extent of the person's
discontent. These factors cannot stimulate psychological growth or human development.
Excellent hygiene factors result in employees' being not dissatisfied and contribute to the absence
of complaints about these contextual considerations.

Task Discuss how will you motivate a colleague to increase his/her productivity at
workplace when he is bogged down by work-life balance.

11.3 Contemporary Theory of Motivation

The theories discussed above are well known but have not held up well under close examination.
Therefore, a number of authorities on the subject have come up with their version of the theories
of motivation. These contemporary theories have one thing in common: each has a reasonable
degree of valid supporting documentation. These theories are called contemporary theories not
necessarily because they were developed recently, but because they represent the current state
of the art in explaining employee motivation.

11.3.1 ERG Theory

Because of the criticisms of Maslow's 'hierarchy of needs' theory, motivation researcher Clayton
Alderfer of Yale University has reworked Maslow's hierarchy of needs to align it more closely
with empirical research. His revised need hierarchy is labelled ERG Theory. The name stems
from combining Maslow's five needs into three need levels: existence, relatedness and growth.
1. Existence Needs: include the various forms of material and physiological desires, such as
food and water, as well as work-related forms such as pay, fringe benefits and physical
working conditions.
2. Relatedness needs: address our relationships with significant others, such as families,
friendship groups, work groups and professional groups. They deal with our need to be
accepted by others, achieve mutual understanding on matters that are important to us and
exercise some influence over those with whom we interact on an ongoing basis.
3. Growth needs: impel creativity and innovation, along with the desire to have a productive
impact on our surroundings.
ERG need levels differ in terms of concreteness, that is, the degree to which their presence or
absence can be verified. The existence need level is the most concrete, relating to issues such as
our rate of pay and the pleasantness of our work surroundings. The growth need level is the
least concrete, involving more nebulous issues such as our level of creativity, the degree to
which our capabilities are growing relative to our capacity, and the long-term impact of our
efforts on our organisation. According to ERG theory, we generally tend to concentrate first on
our most concrete requirements. As existence needs are resolved, we have more energy available
for concentrating on relatedness needs, which offer a potential source of support that can help us
in satisfying growth needs. Thus, ERG theory incorporates a satisfaction-progression principle
similar to that of Maslow in that satisfaction of one level of need encourages concern with the
next level.

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