Comparison of Maslows and Herzbergs Theories

Comparison of Maslows and Herzbergs Theories In the modern era, it is essential to have a successful business that is able to compete with other companies, not only in all its departments but also all employees should perform good co-ordination in order to achieve the companys goals and create international competitiveness. Therefore, how to motivate employees should be a real concern to the leader/manager. What is motivation? Krech, Crutchfied and Ballachey states that: â€Å"Motivation is concerned with why people choose a particular course of action in preference to others, and why they continue a chosen course of action, often over a long period, and in the face of difficulties and problems†. In other words, motivation at work has been playing an essential role in a company in terms of trying to encourage people to work more productively and effectively and in a dependable, loyal manner (Bunchanan and Huczynski. 1985). In organizational behaviour, there are two main motivational theories, content theories and process theories. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast two content theories; Maslows hierarchy of needs and Herzbergs two-factor theories. I have chosen these theories because they are well-respected and both Maslow and Herzberg are viewed as forerunners in motivational theories; I am going to compare and contrast these theories and then analyse how managers could apply thes e theories effectively in the modern workplace. Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) is viewed as the father of human psychology by creating his first hierarchy of needs in 1943. He believed that people have nine innate needs or motives in their lives at all times which are: 1. Biological requirements e.g. the basic need for survival such as sunlight, food, air, water, sleep, sexual expressions; 2. Safety; the need for security, protection, comfort, shelter, freedom from the fear and threat from the environment; 3. Affiliation, the need for love and relationships; 4. Esteem, the need for recognition, attention, strength and self-esteem; 5. Knowing and understanding, the need for curiosity and exploring; 6. Aesthetics, needs for order and beauty; 7. Transcendence; 8. Freedom of enquiry and expression; 9. Self-actualization, needs for the development of our full potential.( A.Huczynski and A.bunchanan. 2007). Maslows model of motivation is depicted as a five-step hierarchy of human needs in the form of a triangle â€Å"as we can see in the g raph below†. The lower-order needs or deficiency needs in other word are belongingness, safety and physiological needs. The higher-order needs are esteem needs and self-actualisation. If the lower-order needs are not satisfied, we cannot move on to any of the higher levels (Robin Fincham and Peter Rhodes). While Maslow is known as father of human psychology, Frederick Herzberg (1923-2000) is known as the â€Å"Father of Job Enrichment† with his well-known work, the two-factor theory which was written in 1943. Herzbergs theory is called the two-factor theory because the theory is two sets of incidents; one is about achievement, promotion, recognition, autonomy, personal growth and responsibility which Herzberg named motivators. The other set involved salary, job security, working condition, company policy and interpersonal relations with supervisors and peers called hygiene factors (Robin Fincham and Peter Rhodes). There are several similarities between Maslow and Herzbergs theories. It is noticeable that Herzberg wrote his two-factor theory about twenty-three years after Maslows hierarchy of needs. This is proof that Herzbergs theory was written almost based on Maslows theory. We can see that motivator factors and hygiene factors in Herzbergs theory are a collection of higher and lower order needs respectively in Maslows theory. Lower order needs such as needs for friendship, job security, water, food, etc. could be seen as hygiene factors. Similarly, needs for recognition, promotion, responsibility, etc. could be seen as motivators of Herzbergs two-factor theory (Fincham and Rhodes. 2005). From this evidence, we can infer that both Maslow and Herzberg had the same point of view about which factors were important and needed for people to be motivated in work as well as all other aspects of general life. Due to this we can say that Herzberg used Maslows theory as the basis for his Two Factor Th eory and merely changed Maslows hierarchy to suit his own beliefs and make the theory more applicable to a work environment. DIFFERENCES: Although Maslow and Herzbergs theories are both content theories and very similar, there are some differences. One is the fact that Maslows theory applies to life in general whereas Herzberg geared his specifically towards the work environment and how to motivate employees rather than people in general (Montana and Charnov, 2008). Further evidence is that Herzberg wrote his theory based on interviews with 200 employees while Maslows hierarchy was written with 3,000 unemployed people involved e.g. college students (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005). For the reason that Herzbergs theory is merely focused and relevant to the workplace therefore the theory is more suitable and recommended for managers to use to motivate their employees. However, this theory has now become slightly incorrect; the reason is people can be satisfied and motivated by all the aspects of life not only at work. As mentioned at the beginning, Herzbergs theory states that motivation is divided into two dimensional (e.g. Motivators and hygiene); each dimensional is consisted of different factors (Thompson, 1996). While, Maslow separated motivation into five different levels of needs. This can be understood that Maslow took into account Herzbergs hygiene factors and other factors not associated with work such as food, shelter and social needs. MANAGERS: As mentioned early, there are five distinct levels of need on Maslows hierarchy of need and each level must be satisfied in order before moving on to higher levers. Thus, how might managers apply this theory in the workplace? Firstly, the lowest order- Physiological needs of Maslows hierarchy have to be satisfied (e.g. needs for foods, shelter, etc.) by paying employees decent salary. After the first order has been satisfied, employees are motivated to work toward to the next level e.g. Safety or security needs. To be able to fulfil this level, employees should be given health insurance or guaranteed with their job for instant, contract. Managers could create a good relationship between them and their staffs or between each staff, team and group for examples, managers might have one-to-one talk with their staffs if necessary, correct them if there is any problems or praise them in person when they have done well; this might make the staffs feel valued and are motivated to work harder and productively. However, not every people in the same levels are motivated in the same way. Reference List â€Å"motivation is concerned† Krech, D., Crutchfield, R. S. and Ballachey, E.L (1962). Cited in Mullins, L., 1993, Management and Organisational Behaviour, 3rd edition Pitman Publishing, 443. â€Å"motivation is an organisational context is a social process† (Bunchana, D. And Huczynski, A., 1985 Organizational Behaviour, Prentice- Hall international p.62) â€Å"what needs people attempt to satisfy and the needs which motivate† ( Motivating others, David P. Thompson, p.9) â€Å"argues that we have nine innate needs† (Organizational Behaviour, 6th Edition, Andrzej A. Huczynski and Davia A. Bunchana, 2007, pg 242) â€Å"If the lower- orders needs† (Robin Fincham. Peter Rhodes, pg 195) â€Å"Herzberg took a somewhat different approach† ( Management- Patrick J.Montana and Bruce H.Charnov, Fourth Edition, pg 239) Further evidence is that Herzberg wrote his theory based on interviews with 200 employees while Maslows hierarchy was written with 3,000 unemployed people involved e.g. college students (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005) â€Å"two-dimensional† David Thompson, 1996, pg 13. Motivating Others.

The Franco-Prussian War Essay -- Papers

The Franco-Prussian War During the first half of the nineteenth century, Germany was made up of more than 30 small states, the largest and most dominant of which was Prussia. Prussia had decided that all of the states should all be united to create a bigger and better country, Germany. By the end of 1870 it had forced all of the German states to accept its authority and create the German Empire with the King of Prussia at its head (the Hohenzollen's). Everything was going to plan as Chancellor Prince Otto Von Bismarck (person who was behind the unification of Germany) had anticipated apart from the four large states in southern Germany who remained independent. Bismarck now needed a way to unite these states with the German Empire that he was creating, so he decided that in order to do this he believed that it was necessary to defeat France. The French Emperor Napoleon III was the main obstacle in the way of Bismarck as Napoleon distrusted Bismarck and believed that he was trying to dominate Europe. Luckily Bismarck had already motivated wars against Denmark and Austria (1864 and 1866), managing to provoke his enemies declaring war against Prussia. So in the eyes of other countries Prussia was innocent and Denmark and Austria seemed like the perpetrators. Meanwhile in Spain, 1868, there had been a revolution, the outcome of this was that Queen Isabella had been overthrown and now there was a vacancy for the throne of Spain. They reduced this problem by asking Leopold of Hollenzollern (the King of Prussia's nephew) to step in for them, if Leopold accepted then there would be a link between Spain and Prussia, isolating France. .. ...ellor was secured, the four independent states in the South agreed to join the German Empire, Germany was now the most powerful country in Europe, and the German Army had proved itself invincible and the German Economy began to quickly dominate Europe. But what Bismarck feared the most was the French desire for revenge, and planned to keep France isolated. However the effects of the War and the Treaty on France were completely different. Their pride for their army and country was shattered, and the treaty was treated with disgust and rage. As a consequence of this Napoleon III left the country to live in exile in Britain and a republic was set up. The loss of Alsace and Lorraine ashamed France, and was a national disgrace. The French were seething at the Germans for humiliating them and secretly dreamed of revenge.

Business and Support Systems Essay

The following paper answers questions on three different case studies. The case studies are Reality Gets Better, The Flash Crash: Machines Gone Wild and Piloting Valero with Real-Time Management. Case Study 1: Reality Gets Better The difference between virtual reality and augmented reality is perception. Virtual reality is when a user totally enters a different reality visually. This reality is completely computer generated. Augmented reality users enter a mixed world of computer generated and real life images. (Laudon & Laudon, 2012) The reason augmented reality is so appealing to marketers is because it offers them a different way to present their products. The goal of marketers is to present their product in such a way that people will remember it, be impressed with it, and ultimately purchase it. Augmented reality offers this through a series of interactive ads that can be used to impress and involve the consumer. (Laudon & Laudon, 2012) The reason augmented reality is useful for real estate shopping applications is it offers the buyer the opportunity to have an interactive view of a property that is up for sale without the hassle of making an appointment with a realty company. The ability to use a phone to get pricing information, and pictures of the interior of a property is a major time savor and very convenient. (Laudon & Laudon, 2012) Based on what has been learned by this case study the applications for augmented reality are far reaching. A manufacturing company could use augmented reality to teach employees and to direct employees. Simply have the employee wear a helmet and they would not have to do much thinking on the job as they could be led to every correct decision. Augmented reality such as the real estate application could be used at the humane society to give clear pictures and understandings of the animals they have up for adoption. Case Study 2: The Flash Crash: Machines Gone Wild? The conditions that preceded the flash crash were a market that was already low and moving lower, concerns by investors over the debt in Europe and current worries over the economy. (Laudon & Laudon, 2012) Some of the benefits of electronic trading include; far faster trading than a human being could do, ability to analyze the market trends quickly and change what is being traded, lower cost and the ability to have a more liquid market. (Laudon & Laudon, 2012) The features that contributed to the crash would be the automated selling put into place to sell regardless of time or price. The other feature would be the high frequency traders designed to purchase what was being sold and then sold when the price was lowered. Finally the automated systems put in low offers that are so low they are not very likely to ever to be accepted. In the conditions created by the electronic trading, those stocks sold. (Laudon & Laudon, 2012) Due to the programming of the automated systems this crash could have easily been prevented if humans were in control of the decisions that were made. (Laudon & Laudon, 2012) They would have been able to set a better selling time and set the amount being sold. By doing the previous, none of the other events would have taken place. Case Study 3: Piloting Valero with Real-Time Management. When developing the new dashboard the issues that needed to be addressed would be making sure the dashboard was set to measure the appropriate items, making sure the system was able to send real time data and making sure executives, those at the refinery level and those at the individual level could view performance. (Laudon & Laudon, 2012) The measures of performance that the dashboards display include; inventory management, safety, plant and equipment reliability and energy consumption. (Laudon & Laudon, 2012) Some of the management decisions that could be made by using these displays would include whether or not to purchase new equipment, whether a plant needs to change its energy consumption, whether or not a plant needs to have more safety training, and whether or not a plant needs more inventories. Valero currently uses a group decision support systems designed to link systems to corporate headquarters and each of the fifteen plants. Valero’s dashboards are very effective in piloting the company. As of 2009 a Valero executive said they were saving an estimated 140 million dollars a year in the seven plants that had the dashboard. He further said that they could estimate a savings of up to 240 million dollars once the dashboard was put into all sixteen of their plants. (Henschen, 2009) There would be no real point in developing a dashboard with information outside the company’s control. You cannot monitor events that you have no control over.

Is Foie Gras Particularly Cruel to Animals

Foie gras, French for fatty liver, is the fattened liver of a duck or a goose and is regarded by some as a delicacy.  According to  Farm Sanctuary, France produces and consumes about 75 percent  of the worlds foie gras, involving 24 million ducks and a half a million geese every year. The United States and Canada use 500,000 birds per year in foie gras production.   Animal rights activists oppose all uses of animals and advocate veganism, but many consider foie gras to be particularly cruel. Its viewed in the same category as veal, which even most enlightened carnivores avoid. Why Foie Gras Is Considered Cruel The production of foie gras is considered by some to be unusually cruel because the birds are force-fed a corn mash through a metal tube several times a day  so that they gain weight and their livers become 10 times their natural size. Force-feeding sometimes injures the esophagus of the bird, which may lead to death. Additionally, the fattened ducks and geese may have difficulty walking, vomit undigested food, and/or suffer in extreme confinement. Both genders  of geese are used in foie gras production, but with ducks, only the males are used  while the females are raised for meat. Humane Foie Gras Some farmers now offer humane foie gras, which is produced without force-feeding. These livers may not meet legal definitions of foie gras in some countries, which require a minimum size and/or fat content. Foie Gras Bans In 2004, California enacted a ban on the sale and production foie gras that was to take effect in  2012 but never did. Farm Sanctuary, which had actively and aggressively fought for the passage of the bill, reported:   On January 7, a federal district court judge invalidated California’s ban on the sale of foie gras, a ban that Farm Sanctuary and our supporters actively worked to get passed in 2004. The judge erroneously ruled that an unrelated federal law, the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), preempts the California foie gras ban.In 2006, the city of Chicago banned the production and sale of foie gras, but the ban was overturned in 2008. Several European countries have banned the production of foie gras by explicitly banning the force-feeding of animals for food production, but have not banned the import or sale of foie gras. Several other European countries, as well as Israel and South Africa have, interpreted their animal cruelty laws as banning the force-feeding of animals for foie gras production. Experts on Foie Gras A variety of veterinarians and scientists oppose  foie gras production, including the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The European Unions Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare investigated the production of foie gras in 1998 and concluded  that force feeding, as currently practiced, is detrimental to the welfare of the birds. The American Veterinary Medical Association has not taken a position for or against foie gras but has stated   There is a clear and pressing need for research that focuses on the condition of ducks during fattening, including the actual incidence and severity of animal welfare risks on the farm[...] The known potential risks associated with foie gras production, are:ï‚ · Potential for injury due to multiple insertions of a long feeding tube, with possibility of secondary infection.ï‚ · Distress from restraint and manipulations associated with force feeding.ï‚ · Compromised health and welfare resulting from obesity, including the potential for impaired locomotion and lethargy.ï‚ · Creation of a vulnerable animal more likely to suffer from otherwise tolerable conditions such as heat and transport. The Animal Rights Position Even birds used in humane foie gras production are bred, confined, and killed. Regardless of whether the animals are force-fed or how well the animals are treated, foie gras can never be acceptable because using an animal in food production violates the animals rights to be free of human use. Updated by  Michelle A. Rivera