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Fredrick Winslow Taylor and Scientific Management

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In 1909, Taylor published " The Principles of Scientific Management." [1] In this, he proposed that by optimizing and simplifying jobs, productivity would increase. He also advanced the idea that workers and managers needed to cooperate with one another. This was very different from the way work was typically done in businesses beforehand. A factory manager at that time had very little contact with the workers, and he left them on their own to produce the necessary product. There was no standardization, and a worker's main motivation was often continued employment, so there was no incentive to work as quickly or as efficiently as possible.

Taylor believed that all workers were motivated by money, so he promoted the idea of "a fair day's pay for a fair day's work." In other words, if a worker didn't achieve enough in a day, he didn't deserve to be paid as much as another worker who was highly productive.

With a background in mechanical engineering, Taylor was very interested in efficiency. While advancing his career at a U.S. steel manufacturer, he designed workplace experiments to determine optimal performance levels. In one, he experimented with shovel design until he had a design that would allow workers to shovel for several hours straight. With bricklayers, he experimented with the various motions required and developed an efficient way to lay bricks. And he applied the scientific method to study the optimal way to do any type of workplace task. As such, he found that by calculating the time needed for the various elements of a task, he could develop the "best" way to complete that task.

These "time and motion" studies also led Taylor to conclude that certain people could work more efficiently than others. These were the people whom managers should seek to hire where possible. Therefore, selecting the right people for the job was another important part of workplace efficiency. Taking what he learned from these workplace experiments, Taylor developed four principles of scientific management. These principles are also known simply as "Taylorism".

Four Principles of Scientific Management

Taylor's four principles are as follows:

1. Replace working by "rule of thumb," or simple habit and common sense, and instead use the scientific method to study work and determine the most efficient way to perform specific tasks.

2. Rather than simply assign workers to just any job, match workers to their jobs based on capability and motivation, and train them to work at maximum efficiency.

3. Monitor worker performance, and provide instructions and supervision to ensure that they're using the most efficient ways of working.

4. Allocate the work between managers and workers so that the managers spend their time planning and training, allowing the workers to perform their tasks efficiently.

Critiques of Taylorism

Taylor's Scientific Management Theory promotes the idea that there is "one right way" to do something. As such, it is at odds with current approaches such as MBO (Management By Objectives), Continuous Improvement initiatives, BPR (Business Process Reengineering), and other tools like them. These promote individual responsibility, and seek to push decision making through all levels of the organization.

The idea here is that workers are given as much autonomy as practically possible, so that they can use the most appropriate approaches for the situation at hand. (Reflect here on your own experience - are you happier and more motivated when you're following tightly controlled procedures, or when you're working using your own judgment?) What's more, front line workers need to show this sort of flexibility in a rapidly-changing environment. Rigid, rules-driven organizations really struggle to adapt in these situations.

Teamwork is another area where pure Taylorism is in opposition to current practice. Essentially, Taylorism breaks tasks down into tiny steps, and focuses on how each person can do his or her specific series of steps best. Modern methodologies prefer to examine work systems more holistically in order to evaluate efficiency and maximize productivity. The extreme specialization that Taylorism promotes is contrary to modern ideals of how to provide a motivating and satisfying workplace.

Where Taylorism separates manual from mental work, modern productivity enhancement practices seek to incorporate worker's ideas, experience and knowledge into best practice. Scientific management in its pure form focuses too much on the mechanics, and fails to value the people side of work, whereby motivation and workplace satisfaction are key elements in an efficient and productive organization.

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Frederick Taylor and Scientific Management - Understanding Taylorism and Early Management Theory

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In 1909, Taylor published " The Principles of Scientific Management." [1] In this, he proposed that by optimizing and simplifying jobs, productivity would increase. He also advanced the idea that workers and managers needed to cooperate with one another. This was very different from the way work was typically done in businesses beforehand.

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Frederick Irving Herzberg (April 18, 1923 – January 19, 2000[1]) was an American psychologist who became one of the most influential names in business management.[2][3] He is most famous for introducing job enrichment and the Motivator-Hygiene theory.

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Herzberg Jumping For The Jelly Beans (Part2

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Herzberg Jumping For The Jelly Beans (Part2

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This article describes the concept of the Human Relations Theory, developed by in a practical way. After reading you will understand the basics of this powerful management tool.

Origins Human Relations Theory

The immediate period after World War Two saw a different approach in organisational studies.

Until that time, there was only talk of Scientific Management, which mainly focused on productivity, efficient division of labour and workers as an extension of machinery.

1950 saw a change to this discourse with the introduction of the Human Relations Theory. This movement saw workers in a different light; they were now seen as thinking beings with needs, who liked to receive attention. Companies realised that attention motivated employees and even allowed them to get more out of themselves for the benefit of the organisation.

The Hawthorne Experiment

Elton Mayo is considered the founder of the Human Relations Theory.

Prior to this trend, Elton Mayo already started an experiment in the Hawthorne plants in 1924; the Hawthorne experiment. There was a great deal of discontent among the 30,000 workers in the Hawthorne plants in Chicago in the early twenties of the last century. This was somewhat peculiar, because this phone parts plant already acted extremely progressively towards its workers (through pensions and sickness benefits), something which was almost unthinkable in this period.

Elton Mayo and his assistants, including Fritz Roetlishberger, conducted research into changing working conditions.

They experimented with light, duration of breaks and working hours. A group of women were exposed to either more or less light. It turned out that, regardless of the amount and duration of lighting, this had a positive effect on their performances. The same was true for rest periods; shorter or longer breaks both led to an increase in labour productivity.

Personal Attention

The conclusion drawn from the Hawthorne research was that giving attention to employees resulted in improved performances.

The group of workers who were involved in the search felt their voices heard and experienced a feeling of greater personal freedom. The workers were pleased that their assistance was requested, which they believed led to their higher job performances.

Moreover, during the study, senior officials regularly visited the workplace, making the workers feel like they belonged to a certain elite group. This personal attention stimulated the group to work even harder together and give their all for the organisation. Collaboration in an informal group is also one of the main aspects of the Human Relations Theory.

Elton Mayo concluded that the needs of workers were often based on sentiment (belonging to a group and thus having a sense of value) and that this could lead to conflicts with managers, who mainly focused on cost reduction and efficiency.

And thus he came to the following final conclusions:

Individual employees must be seen as members of a group;

Salary and good working conditions are less important for employees and a sense of belonging to a group;

Informal groups in the workplace have a strong influence on the behaviour of employees in said group;

Managers must take social needs, such as belonging to an (informal) group, seriously.

Labour Motivation

In the era of the Human Relations Theory, the concept of 'labour motivation' is given a new meaning compared to the Scientific Management era.

The fact that personal attention led to improved performances was a completely new perspective.

The term workers is gradually replaced with employee, which more explicitly implies that these people are thinking people who can positively contribute to the organisation.

Characteristics

Starting in the 1950s, a definitive different approach to management emerges. Employee behaviour is placed centrally and the Human Relations theory places strong emphasis on the fact that organisations consist of groups of people. Human Relations supporters thus replace the mechanistic perspective on management with a people-oriented perspective. Every person is unique and therefore unpredictable. Their behaviour is complex and to fully understand them it is important to recognise their personal motivations.

Soft side

The way employees think and act at work is not only influenced by rules, procedures and requirements imposed by management.

Attention, respect, interest shown and social/ interpersonal relationships are just as important. These kind of human interactions trigger an emotional sense in employees, which is often referred to as a person's soft side. This soft side consists of emotional or irrational logic and can strengthen rational logic, but at the same time also weaken or eliminate it. Rational logic focuses on production and effectiveness, and both can thus diametrically be opposed to each other, which in turn leads to internal conflicts and dilemmas.

Complex humanity

The complexity of human behaviour increases even more if an employee indicates his desires and knows when he will make certain decisions. From a behavioural perspective, employees can also decide what behaviour they prefer and how this behaviour manifests itself. As a result, there is no single pattern that can automatically be associated with a specific situation.

Every person is very much different in terms of character and behaviour. Everyone has different values, standards and desires, which results in demonstrably different behaviour. This complex humanity is an important factor in guiding employees. It is therefore the task of managers to identify the individual needs of employees and act accordingly. This is the essence of the Human Relations Theory.

It's Your Turn

What do you think? Is the Human Relations Theory still applicable in today's modern business world? Do you recognize the practical explanation or do you have more additions? What are your success factors for good employee attention and boosting related performance?

Share your experience and knowledge in the comments box below.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our Free Newsletter for the latest posts on Management models and methods. You can also find us on Facebook and Google+.
More information

1. Mayo, E. (2014). The social problems of an industrial civilisation. Routledge.

2. Mayo, E. (2004). The human problems of an industrial civilization. Routledge.

3. Mayo, E. (1949). Hawthorne and the western electric company. Public Administration: Concepts and Cases, 149-158.

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Patty Mulder is an Dutch expert on Management Skills, Time Management, Personal Effectiveness and Business Communication. She is also a Content writer, Business Coach and Company Trainer and lives in the Netherlands (Europe).

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Human Relations Theory by Elton Mayo | ToolsHero

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This article describes the concept of the Human Relations Theory, developed by in a practical way. After reading you will understand the basics of this powerful management tool. The immediate period after World War Two saw a different approach in organisational studies.

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Herzberg Jumping For The Jelly Beans (Part1)

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Mayo's Human Relations Motivation Theory, which contains the Hawthorn Effect, is a theory of motivation in the workplace.

Have you ever tried to get your team motivated in the workplace? You try various tactics to get your team fired up but nothing really seems to work, and everything stays the way it was. It's frustrating and demoralizing.

So, what should you do to try and motivate your team to be more productive?

Motivation theories can be helpful in giving us research-based tools to help us raise the performance of our team.

Before Elton Mayo, the prevalent motivational theory for workplace productivity was that of Frederick Taylor, Scientific Management. This theory proposed that employees were motivated primarily by pay. Workers were generally thought of as lazy and treated as just another piece of equipment.

Taylor was an engineer and he viewed productivity through this lens. As such, no recognition of the needs of human beings was considered in Scientific Management.

Mayo's Motivation Theory, containing the Hawthorn Effect, led to the Human Relations School of thought. This highlights the importance of managers taking more interest in their employees. Mayo believed that both social relationships and job content affected job performance.

Who Was Elton Mayo?

Elton Mayo was born in Australia in 1880. Mayo worked from 1926-1949 as professor of Industrial Research at Harvard University. He is best known for his work based on the Hawthorn Studies, as well as his book, The Human Problems of an Industrialized Civilization.

The Hathorn Studies

Hawthorn was a Western Electric plant based in Cicero, Illinois. At its peak, the factory employed close to 40,000 people. The Hawthorn Studies were a large group of productivity studies conducted between 1927 and 1933 that collected large data sets.

The very first study that was done concerned workplace lighting. The study sought to understand if changing lighting conditions resulted in increased or decreased productivity.

To run the experiment two groups were created. A control group and a group with improved lighting conditions. What happened when lighting was improved for one group? Well, productivity improved for that group.

But, here's the strange thing. Productivity also improved in the control group! When they reduced lighting for one group productivity also increased! Not only that, but each change (increase or decrease) also lead to increased employee satisfaction.

Many other experiments were run as part of the Hawthorn Studies. Their results also contradicted what was expected from Scientific Management.

So, what's going on?

This is where Mayo comes in. He was the person who was able to make sense of these results which ran contrary to what everyone expected.

He recognized that the worker isn't a machine and that how they are treated and their environment is important. He recognized that work is a group activity and employees have a need for comradery and recognition. They have a need for a sense of belonging.

In a nutshell, productivity has a psychological element to it.

The Hawthorn Effect

In addition to the social concern for the worker, one of the big things to come out of the Hawthorn Studies was the Hawthorn Effect. This states that changes in behavior happen when you are monitoring or watching employees. The mear presence of someone watching you changes the way you behave. You start to perform better.

This explains why productivity improved in the first experiment when lighting was improved, and also when it was made worse.

The Hawthorn Study was the first of its kind to recognize that if you treat an employee a certain way, a good way, they might be more productive for the organization.

Mayo's Theory of Motivation

Based on analyzing the data of the Hawthorn Studies, Mayo proposed that employees aren't that motivated by pay and environmental factors. Instead, positive relational factors play a bigger role in productivity.

The importance of group working cannot be overstressed. It is the group that determines productivity, not pay and not processes.

For example, if someone is working too fast they will be ostracised from the group. Likewise, if someone is working too slow the same thing will happen.

Mayo created this matrix to show how productivity changed in different situations.

You can think of group cohesiveness as being how well the group gets on, their comradery. You can think of norms as being whether the group encourages positive or negative behaviors.

There are four positions in the matrix:

1. Groups with low cohesiveness and low norms

These groups are simply ineffective in terms of productivity. A team like this wouldn't last very long. This is because nobody would be motivated to be productive in any way.

2. Groups with high cohesiveness and low norms

These types of teams have a negative impact on productivity. Here the team gets on great, but negative behaviors are encouraged rather than positive ones. Gangs are often cited as examples of this type of group.

3. Groups with high norms but low cohesiveness

This type of team can have a limited positive impact on productivity. This is because each team member will be working towards their own success rather than that of the team. If one team member does something great, then good for them, but it doesn't really improve the productivity of the rest of the team.

4. Groups with high norms and high cohesiveness

These are the teams that can make the greatest positive impact on productivity. In this type of team, each team member supports each other to succeed. People are personally committed to their success and also to the team's success. A strong support network forms within this type of team.

Using the Model

To use the model to boost the productivity of your team, you should do the following:

1. Strong Communication

Communicate regularly with the members of your team. Giving regular feedback is an important part of this.

Why? Because workers in the Hawthorn Studies were consulted and had the opportunity to give feedback. This resulted in improved productivity.

2. Group Working

Your team should be working as a group rather than as individuals. If your team is too big to work as one group then try to break it down into smaller groups. Try to avoid people working individually. If you give out a bonus, don't just make it about the what was achieved. Instead, include an element of the bonus that is about how the result was achieved and the contribution to teamwork. This will encourage group cohesiveness.

Why? Hawthorn employees didn't previously work in teams, but when they did, productivity improved.

3. Increased Involvement

Try to have a greater involvement in each team member's life. Ask how their day has been? Ask about their weekend and what's going on at home. Here you're trying to strike the right balance between being supportive and allowing people to keep their autonomy.

Why? Because Hawthorn workers responded well to the increased attention they were receiving. Both their job satisfaction and productivity increased.

Criticisms of the Model

The main criticism of the model is that it is seen as manipulative. This is because it encourages companies to pretend they are interested in the well-being of their employees. The reality might be that they are only interested in increasing productivity.

Summary

The Hawthorn Effect states that your productivity changes when someone is watching you. It increases.

Mayo not only identified the Hawthorn Effect, he was also the first to identify the importance of the psychological element of workplace motivation. He recognized that if you treat an employee well, they might be more productive for the organization.

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Mayo's Human Relations Motivation Theory, which contains the Hawthorn Effect, is a theory of motivation in the workplace. Have you ever tried to get your team motivated in the workplace? You try various tactics to get your team fired up but nothing really seems to work, and everything stays the way it was.

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The psychologist Abraham Maslow's theory of human motivation is 70 years old but continues to have a strong influence on the world of business. What is it, and is it right?

There is a commonly reproduced symbol which many believe holds the secret to personal fulfilment and business success.

It usually takes the form of a triangle, but variants in the shape of 3D pyramids and staircases are not uncommon. It regularly appears in university psychology modules, and may pop up in other degree courses too. On management training courses it's as inevitable as biscuits and role-playing.

In 1943, the US psychologist Abraham Maslow published a paper called A Theory of Human Motivation, in which he said that people had five sets of needs, which come in a particular order. As each level of needs is satisfied, the desire to fulfil the next set kicks in.

First, we have the basic needs for bodily functioning - fulfilled by eating, drinking and going to the toilet. Maslow also included sexual needs in this group.

Then there is the desire to be safe, and secure in the knowledge that those basic needs will be fulfilled in the future too. After that comes our need for love, friendship and company. At this stage, Maslow writes, the individual "may even forget that once, when he was hungry, he sneered at love".

The next stage is all about social recognition, status and respect. And the final stage, represented in the graphic as the topmost tip of the triangle, Maslow labelled with the psychologists' term "self-actualisation".

It's about fulfilment - doing the thing that you were put on the planet to do. "A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately happy," wrote Maslow. "What a man can be, he must be."

While there were no pyramids or triangles in the original paper, Maslow's hierarchy of needs is now usually illustrated with the symbol. And although the paper was written as pure psychology it has found its main application in management theory.

"There's no question it's had a profound influence on management education and management practice," says Gerard Hodgkinson, a psychologist at Warwick Business School. "One of the insights is that as managers we can shape the conditions that create people's aspirations."

Managers use Maslow's hierarchy to identify the needs of their staff and help them feel fulfilled, whether it's by giving them a pet project, a fancy job title or flexible working arrangements, so they can pursue their interests outside the workplace.

In the second half of the 20th Century, bosses began to realise that employees' hopes, feelings and needs had an impact on performance. In 1960, Douglas McGregor published The Human Side of Enterprise, which contrasted traditional managerial styles with a people-centred approach inspired by Maslow. It became a best-seller.

Some managers began to move away from a purely "transactional" contract with a company's staff, in which they received money in exchange for doing a job, to a complex "relational" one, where a company offered opportunities for an individual to feel fulfilled, but expected more in return.

Bill O'Brien, President and CEO of Hanover Insurance, put it well in an interview published in 1990. "Our traditional organisations are designed to provide for the first three of Maslow's hierarchy of human needs," he said. "Since these are now widely available to members of industrial society our organisations do not provide significantly unique opportunities to command the loyalty and commitment of our people."

According to Douglas Kenrick at Arizona State University, the appeal of Maslow's hierarchy can be explained by the fact that it reflects a pattern of growth we observe in children.

"I have a child who is six years old and I noticed that when he was an infant he couldn't care less about public opinion," Kenrick says. "In kindergarten he started to worry about making friends but he didn't really care about getting respect from those people. And now he's in the first grade and you can see he's beginning to think about his friends' opinions and what status they hold him in."

Kenrick also thinks the longevity of the hierarchy of needs can be explained by the pyramid which came to represent it, and which "captures a complicated idea in a very simple way". Maslow's theories have many supporters today, including US hotelier and business guru Chip Conley.

But critics point to dozens of counter-examples. What about the famished poet? Or the person who withdraws from society to become a hermit? Or the mountaineer who disregards safety in his determination to reach the summit?

Muddying things slightly, Maslow said that for some people, needs may appear in a different order or be absent altogether. Moreover, people felt a mix of needs from different levels at any one time, but they varied in degree.

There is a further problem with Maslow's work. Margie Lachman, a psychologist who works in the same office as Maslow at his old university, Brandeis in Massachusetts, admits that her predecessor offered no empirical evidence for his theory. "He wanted to have the grand theory, the grand ideas - and he wanted someone else to put it to the hardcore scientific test," she says. "It never quite materialised."

However, after Maslow's death in 1970, researchers did undertake a more detailed investigation, with attitude-based surveys and field studies testing out the Hierarchy of Needs.

"When you analyse them, the five needs just don't drop out," says Hodgkinson. "The actual structure of motivation doesn't fit the theory. And that led to a lot of discussion and debate, and new theories evolved as a consequence."

In 1972, Clayton Alderfer whittled Maslow's five groups of needs down to three, labelled Existence, Relatedness and Growth. Although elements of a hierarchy remain, "ERG theory" held that human beings need to be satisfied in all three areas - if that's not possible then their energies are redoubled in a lower category. So for example, if it is impossible to get a promotion, an employee might talk more to colleagues and get more out of the social side of work.

More sophisticated theories followed. Maslow's triangle was chopped up, flipped on its head and pulled apart into flow diagrams. Hodgkinson says that one business textbook has just been published which doesn't mention Maslow, and there is a campaign afoot to have him removed from the next editions of others.

The absence of solid evidence has tarnished Maslow's status within psychology too. But as a result, Lachman says, people miss seeing that he was responsible for a major shift of focus within the discipline.

"He really was ground-breaking in his thinking," Lachman says. "He was saying that you weren't acting on the basis of these uncontrollable, unconscious desires. Your behaviour was not just influenced by external rewards and reinforcement, but there were these internal needs and motivations."

Unlike the psychoanalysts and behaviourists who preceded him, Maslow was not that interested in mental illness - instead of finding out what went wrong with people, he wanted to find out what could go right with them. This opened the door for later movements such as humanistic psychology and positive psychology, and the "happiness agenda" that preoccupies the current UK government.

Maslow's friend, management guru Warren Bennis, believes the quality underlying all Maslow's thinking was his striking optimism about human nature and society.

"Abe Maslow, a Jewish kid who really grew up poor, represented the American dream," he says. "All of his psychology really had to do with possibility, not restraints. His metaphysics were all about the possibilities of change, the possibilities of the human being to really fit into the democratic mode."

Photos of Maslow courtesy of the Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections, Brandeis University.

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Abraham Maslow and the pyramid that beguiled business

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The psychologist Abraham Maslow's theory of human motivation is 70 years old - why is it still so influential?

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Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs is one of the best-known theories of motivation. Maslow's theory states that our actions are motivated by certain physiological and psychological needs that progress from basic to complex.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Abraham Maslow first introduced the concept of a hierarchy of needs in his 1943 paper, titled "A Theory of Human Motivation," and again in his subsequent book, "Motivation and Personality." This hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs.

While some of the existing schools of thought at the time-such as psychoanalysis and behaviorism -tended to focus on problematic behaviors, Maslow was more interested in learning about what makes people happy and what they do to achieve that aim.

As a humanist, Maslow believed that people have an inborn desire to be self-actualized, that is, to be all they can be. To achieve this ultimate goal, however, a number of more basic needs must be met. This includes the need for food, safety, love, and self-esteem.

Maslow believed that these needs are similar to instincts and play a major role in motivating behavior. There are five different levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, starting at the lowest level known as physiological needs.

Physiological Needs

The physiological needs include those that are vital to survival. Some examples of physiological needs include:

In addition to the basic requirements of nutrition, air, and temperature regulation, physiological needs also include shelter and clothing. Maslow included sexual reproduction in this level of the hierarchy as well, since it is essential to the survival and propagation of the species.

Security and Safety Needs

At the second level of Maslow's hierarchy, the needs start to become a bit more complex. At this level, the needs for security and safety become primary.

People want control and order in their lives. Some of the basic security and safety needs include:

Finding a job, obtaining health insurance and health care, contributing money to a savings account, and moving to a safer neighborhood are all examples of actions motivated by security and safety needs.

Social Needs

The social needs in Maslow's hierarchy include love, acceptance, and belonging. At this level, the need for emotional relationships drives human behavior. Some of the things that satisfy this need include:

Friendships

Romantic attachments

Family relationships

Social groups

Community groups

Churches and religious organizations

In order to avoid loneliness, depression, and anxiety, it is important for people to feel loved and accepted by others. Personal relationships with friends, family, and lovers play an important role, as does involvement in groups-such as religious groups, sports teams, book clubs, and other group activities.

Esteem Needs

At the fourth level in Maslow's hierarchy is the need for appreciation and respect. Once the needs at the bottom three levels have been satisfied, the esteem needs begin to play a more prominent role in motivating behavior.

At this level, it becomes increasingly important to gain the respect and appreciation of others. People have a need to accomplish things, then have their efforts recognized. In addition to the need for feelings of accomplishment and prestige, esteem needs include such things as self-esteem and personal worth.

People need to sense that they are valued by others and feel that they are making a contribution to the world. Participation in professional activities, academic accomplishments, athletic or team participation, and personal hobbies can all play a role in fulfilling the esteem needs.

People who are able to satisfy esteem needs by achieving good self-esteem and the recognition of others tend to feel confident in their abilities. Conversely, those who lack self-esteem and the respect of others can develop feelings of inferiority.

Self-Actualization Needs

At the very peak of Maslow's hierarchy are the self-actualization needs. Self-actualizing people are self-aware, concerned with personal growth, less concerned with the opinions of others, and interested in fulfilling their potential.

"What a man can be, he must be," Maslow explained, referring to the need people have to achieve their full potential as human beings.

Maslow's said of self-actualization: "It may be loosely described as the full use and exploitation of talents, capabilities, potentialities, etc. Such people seem to be fulfilling themselves and to be doing the best that they are capable of doing. They are people who have developed or are developing to the full stature of which they capable."

Progressing Through the Pyramid of Needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often displayed as a pyramid. The lowest levels of the pyramid of needs are made up of the most basic needs while the most complex needs are at the top.

Once lower-level needs have been met, people can move on to the next level of needs. As people progress up the pyramid, needs become increasingly psychological and social.

At the top of the pyramid, the need for personal esteem and feelings of accomplishment take priority. Like Carl Rogers, Maslow emphasized the importance of self-actualization, which is a process of growing and developing as a person in order to achieve individual potential.

Different Types of Needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs can be separated into two types of needs: deficiency needs and growth needs.

Deficiency needs: Physiological, security, social, and esteem needs are deficiency needs, which arise due to deprivation. Satisfying these lower-level needs is important to avoid unpleasant feelings or consequences.

Growth needs: Maslow called the needs at the top of the pyramid growth needs. These needs don't stem from a lack of something, but rather from a desire to grow as a person.

While the theory is generally portrayed as a fairly rigid hierarchy, Maslow noted that the order in which these needs are fulfilled does not always follow this standard progression.

For example, he noted that for some individuals, the need for self-esteem is more important than the need for love. For others, the need for creative fulfillment may supersede even the most basic needs.

Criticisms of Maslow's Theory

Maslow's theory has become wildly popular both in and out of psychology. The fields of education and business have been particularly influenced by the theory. But Maslow's concept has not been without criticism. Chief among the long-held objections are:

Needs don't follow a hierarchy: While some research has shown support for Maslow's theories, most of the research has not been able to substantiate the idea of a needs hierarchy. Wahba and Bridwell (researchers from Baruch College) reported that there was little evidence for Maslow's ranking of these needs and even less evidence that these needs are in a hierarchical order.

The theory is difficult to test: Other critics of Maslow's theory note that his definition of self-actualization is difficult to test scientifically. His research on self-actualization was also based on a very limited sample of individuals, including people he knew as well as biographies of famous individuals who Maslow believed to be self-actualized.

Some of the more recent critiques suggest that Maslow was inspired by the belief systems of the Blackfoot nation, but neglected to acknowledge this. Maslow's studied the Northern Blackfoot tribe as an anthropologist. However, this foundational basis disappeared over time, causing him to misuse the concepts he was originally there to assess.

Impact of Maslow's Hierarchy

Regardless of these criticisms, Maslow's hierarchy of needs represented part of an important shift in psychology. Rather than focusing on abnormal behavior and development, Maslow's humanistic psychology was focused on the development of healthy individuals.

There has been relatively little research supporting Maslow's theory, yet the hierarchy of needs is well-known and popular both in and out of psychology. And in a study published in 2011, researchers from the University of Illinois set out to put this hierarchy to the test.

What they discovered is that, while the fulfillment of the needs was strongly correlated with happiness, people from cultures all over the world reported that self-actualization and social needs were important even when many of the most basic needs were unfulfilled.

Such results suggest that while these needs can be powerful motivators of human behavior, they do not necessarily take the hierarchical form that Maslow described.

The Expanded Hierarchy of Needs

In 1970, Maslow built upon his original hierarchy to include three additional needs at the top of his pyramid, for a total of eight:

Cognitive needs. This centers on knowledge. People generally want to learn and know things about their world and their places in it.

Aesthetic needs. This addresses the appreciation of beauty and form. People might fulfill this need through enjoying or creating music, art, literature, and other creative expressions.

Transcendence needs. Maslow believed that humans are driven to look beyond the physical self in search of meaning. Helping others, practicing spirituality, and connecting with nature are a few ways we might meet this need.

A Word From Verywell

Whether you accept Maslow's hierarchy of needs or not, his theory shines a light on the many needs we have as human beings. And even if we don't all place these needs in the same order, keeping them in mind when interacting with others can help make our interactions more caring and respectful.

Frequently Asked Questions

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How Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Explains Human Motivation

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Maslow's hierarchy of needs describes five levels of needs that motivate human nature. Learn more about the pyramid of needs and why it matters.

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Elton Mayo's contribution to management theory helped pave the way for modern human relations management methods. Based on his ...

Elton Mayo's contribution to management theory helped pave the way for modern human relations management methods. Based on his well-known Hawthorne experiments, Mayo's management theories grew from his observations of employee productivity levels under varying environmental conditions. His experiments drew a number of conclusions about the real source of employee motivation, laying the groundwork for later approaches to team building and group dynamics. Mayo management theory states that employees are motivated far more by relational factors such as attention and camaraderie than by monetary rewards or environmental factors such as lighting, humidity, etc.

Elton Mayo developed a matrix which he used to illustrate the likelihood that a given team would be successful. His matrix demonstrates the role that varying combinations of group norms and group cohesiveness play in team effectiveness. The following are the four combinations of Mayo theory and the effect of each on team dynamics:

1. Groups with low norms and low cohesiveness are ineffective; they have no impact, since none of the members are motivated to excel, according to Mayo's theory.

2. Groups with low norms and high cohesiveness have a negative impact, since fellow members encourage negative behavior (e.g., gangs).

3. Groups with high norms and low cohesiveness have some degree of positive impact through individual member accomplishments.

4. Groups with high norms and high cohesiveness have the greatest positive impact, Mayo's theory predicts, since group members encourage one another to excel.

Understand the concepts of Mayo's theory and how they can benefit you

Numerous websites provide valuable information about Mayo theory. In addition to diagrams, summaries and explanations of Mayo management principles, you'll find various videos and instructional materials that can help you develop the background knowledge and practical expertise to put Mayo's theories to work for your company.
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Take advantage of consulting services that can help give you greater insight into Mayo theory

Consultants with knowledge and experience in the management theory of Elton Mayo can guide you in maximizing the benefit of his principles in your own company's unique environment.

Take advantage of resources designed to help you make the most of Mayo's management theories

Widely available online tools and resources can help you more easily implement Elton Mayo management principles. Videos and various other Elton Mayo theory-based products, information and services let you choose the resources most valuable to your business.

Consider the many benefits of putting the Elton Mayo management theory to work for your business. If you decide to use it, why not go all out and practice it in all the areas it can effectively address: your own leadership of the company, your managers' development and your employees' engagement.

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Elton Mayo's contribution to management theory helped pave the way for modern human relations management methods. Based on his ... Elton Mayo's contribution to management theory helped pave the way for modern human relations management methods. Based on his well-known Hawthorne experiments, Mayo's management theories grew from his observations of employee productivity levels under varying environmental conditions.

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Motivation - Taylor (Scientific Management)

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Taylor put forward the idea that workers are motivated mainly by pay.

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Frederick Herzberg's motivation and hygiene factors [edit]

Frederick Herzberg (1923-2000), clinical psychologist and pioneer of 'job enrichment', is regarded as one of the great original thinkers in management and motivational theory. Frederick I Herzberg was born in Massachusetts on April 18, 1923. His undergraduate work was at the City College of New York, followed by graduate degrees at the University of Pittsburgh. Herzberg was later Professor of Management at Case Western Reserve University, where he established the Department of Industrial Mental Health. He moved to the University of Utah's College of Business in 1972, where he was also Professor of Management. He died at Salt Lake City, January 18, 2000.

Frederick Herzberg's book 'The Motivation to Work', written with research colleagues Bernard Mausner and Barbara Bloch Snyderman in 1959, first established his theories about motivation in the workplace. Herzberg's survey work, originally on 200 Pittsburgh engineers and accountants remains a fundamentally important reference in motivational study. While the study involved only 200 people, Herzberg's considerable preparatory investigations, and the design of the research itself, enabled Herzberg and his colleagues to gather and analyse an extremely sophisticated level of data.

Herzberg's research used a pioneering approach, based on open questioning and very few assumptions, to gather and analyse details of 'critical incidents' as recalled by the survey respondents. He first used this methodology during his doctoral studies at the University of Pittsburgh with John Flanagan (later Director at the American Institute for Research), who developed the Critical Incident method in the selection of Army Air Corps personnel during the Second World War. Herzberg's clever open interviewing method gleaned far more meaningful results than the conventional practice of asking closed (basically yes/no) or multiple-choice or extent-based questions, which assume or prompt a particular type of response, and which incidentally remain the most popular and convenient style of surveying even today - especially among those having a particular agenda or publicity aim.

Herzberg also prepared intensively prior to his 1959 study - not least by scrutinizing and comparing the results and methodologies of all 155 previous research studies into job attitudes carried out between 1920 and 1954.

The level of preparation, plus the 'critical incident' aspect and the depth of care and analysis during the 1959 project, helped make Herzberg's study such a powerful and sophisticated piece of work.

Herzberg expanded his motivation-hygiene theory in his subsequent books: Work and the Nature of Man (1966); The Managerial Choice (1982); and Herzberg on Motivation (1983).

Significantly, Herzberg commented in 1984, twenty-five years after his theory was first published:

"The original study has produced more replications than any other research in the history of industrial and organizational psychology." (source: Institute for Scientific Information)

The absence of any serious challenge to Herzberg's theory continues effectively to validate it.

Herzberg's central theory is very relevant to modern understanding employer/employee relationships, mutual understanding and alignment within the Psychological Contract.

It also provided some foundations and basic principles of Nudge theory - a powerful change-management and motivational concept which emerged in the 2000s.

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Frederick Herzberg (1923-2000), clinical psychologist and pioneer of 'job enrichment', is regarded as one of the great original thinkers in management and motivational theory. Frederick I Herzberg was born in Massachusetts on April 18, 1923. His undergraduate work was at the City College of New York, followed by graduate degrees at the University of Pittsburgh.

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Elton Mayo: The Hawthorne Experiments Thinker. | The British Library

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An Australian by birth, Mayo read psychology at Adelaide University> He was appointed lecturer in Logic, Ethics and Psychology (and later Professor of Philosophy), at the University of Queensland in 1911. Anxious to move to the USA for professional reasons, he took a post at Pennsylvania University in 1923.

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Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation

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Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation

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In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioural scientist proposed a two-factor theory or the motivator-hygiene theory. According to Herzberg, there are some job factors that result in satisfaction while there are other job factors that prevent dissatisfaction. According to Herzberg, the opposite of "Satisfaction" is "No satisfaction" and the opposite of "Dissatisfaction" is "No Dissatisfaction".

FIGURE: Herzberg's view of satisfaction and dissatisfaction

Herzberg classified these job factors into two categories-

1. Hygiene factors- Hygiene factors are those job factors which are essential for existence of motivation at workplace. These do not lead to positive satisfaction for long-term. But if these factors are absent/if these factors are non-existant at workplace, then they lead to dissatisfaction.
In other words, hygiene factors are those factors which when adequate/reasonable in a job, pacify the employees and do not make them dissatisfied. These factors are extrinsic to work.

Hygiene factors are also called as dissatisfiers or maintenance factors as they are required to avoid dissatisfaction. These factors describe the job environment/scenario. The hygiene factors symbolized the physiological needs which the individuals wanted and expected to be fulfilled. Hygiene factors include:

Pay: The pay or salary structure should be appropriate and reasonable. It must be equal and competitive to those in the same industry in the same domain.

Company Policies and administrative policies: The company policies should not be too rigid. They should be fair and clear. It should include flexible working hours, dress code, breaks, vacation, etc.

Fringe benefits: The employees should be offered health care plans (mediclaim), benefits for the family members, employee help programmes, etc.

Physical Working conditions: The working conditions should be safe, clean and hygienic. The work equipments should be updated and well-maintained.

Status: The employees' status within the organization should be familiar and retained.

Interpersonal relations: The relationship of the employees with his peers, superiors and subordinates should be appropriate and acceptable. There should be no conflict or humiliation element present.

Job Security: The organization must provide job security to the employees.

2. Motivational factors- According to Herzberg, the hygiene factors cannot be regarded as motivators. The motivational factors yield positive satisfaction. These factors are inherent to work. These factors motivate the employees for a superior performance.
These factors are called satisfiers. These are factors involved in performing the job. Employees find these factors intrinsically rewarding. The motivators symbolized the psychological needs that were perceived as an additional benefit. Motivational factors include:

Recognition: The employees should be praised and recognized for their accomplishments by the managers.

Sense of achievement: The employees must have a sense of achievement. This depends on the job. There must be a fruit of some sort in the job.

Growth and promotional opportunities: There must be growth and advancement opportunities in an organization to motivate the employees to perform well.

Responsibility: The employees must hold themselves responsible for the work. The managers should give them ownership of the work. They should minimize control but retain accountability.

Meaningfulness of the work: The work itself should be meaningful, interesting and challenging for the employee to perform and to get motivated.

Limitations of Two-Factor Theory

The two factor theory is not free from limitations:

1. The two-factor theory overlooks situational variables.

2. Herzberg assumed a correlation between satisfaction and productivity. But the research conducted by Herzberg stressed upon satisfaction and ignored productivity.

3. The theory's reliability is uncertain. Analysis has to be made by the raters. The raters may spoil the findings by analyzing same response in different manner.

4. No comprehensive measure of satisfaction was used. An employee may find his job acceptable despite the fact that he may hate/object part of his job.

5. The two factor theory is not free from bias as it is based on the natural reaction of employees when they are enquired the sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work. They will blame dissatisfaction on the external factors such as salary structure, company policies and peer relationship. Also, the employees will give credit to themselves for the satisfaction factor at work.

6. The theory ignores blue-collar workers.

Despite these limitations, Herzberg's Two-Factor theory is acceptable broadly.

Implications of Two-Factor Theory

The Two-Factor theory implies that the managers must stress upon guaranteeing the adequacy of the hygiene factors to avoid employee dissatisfaction. Also, the managers must make sure that the work is stimulating and rewarding so that the employees are motivated to work and perform harder and better.

This theory emphasize upon job-enrichment so as to motivate the employees. The job must utilize the employee's skills and competencies to the maximum. Focusing on the motivational factors can improve work-quality.

Authorship/Referencing - About the Author(s)

The article is Written By "Prachi Juneja" and Reviewed By Management Study Guide Content Team. MSG Content Team comprises experienced Faculty Member, Professionals and Subject Matter Experts. We are a ISO 2001:2015 Certified Education Provider. To Know more, click on About Us. The use of this material is free for learning and education purpose. Please reference authorship of content used, including link(s) to ManagementStudyGuide.com and the content page url.

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herzbergs two-factor theory of motivation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Herzbergs Two-Factor Theory of Motivation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioural scientist proposed a two-factor theory or the motivator-hygiene theory. According to Herzberg, there are some job factors that result in satisfaction while there are other job factors that prevent dissatisfaction.