Employee Motivation

Author(s): Henry H. Morgan

Source: Journal (American Water Works Association), Vol. 59, No. 11 (NOVEMBER 1967),
pp. 1387-1392
Published by: Wiley
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41267534
Accessed: 15-08-2019 05:44 UTC

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 Employee Motivation

An addre
Atlantic C
Services

Theory of Human Behavior

IN problems
problemsmost organizations,
faced by managersfaced by managers the toughest involve
involve
An engineer or a physicist would not
personnel relations. Management of think of dealing with matter without
human resources is at least as much of
some understanding of the laws and
a problem as management of water re-
theories that enable him to predict and
sources.
control the solids, liquids, and gases
Understanding employee motivation
with which he works. A civil engi-
and studying your own role as a man-
neer could hardly design and construct
ager may enable you to answer
a complexsome
water system without a
difficult questions. How do you stim-
knowledge of hydraulics. It is also
ulate the development of subordinates,
necessary for the water utility manager
to enable them to assume greater re-
to increase his knowledge of the psy-
sponsibility? How do you create
chologic an
laws and theories that will
organizational climate in which em-
enable him to understand, predict, and
ployees grow, work eagerly, and learn
control his employees.
to manage themselves? How do
In order to you
fix a broken watch, it is
make full use of the manpower in your
necessary to know what makes it tick;
organization? similarly, we are concerned with em-
ployee motivation in order to discover
Five Propositions
what causes people to act.
To help you answer theseFirst
questions
of all, we assume that all be-
I present five propositions.
havior is motivated. We believe that
1. You must have a theory ofare
actions human
determined by causes that
behavior
can be discovered. In working with
2. You must recognizewatches,
individual
a study of mechanical forces
differences and their interplay is helpful ; in work-
ing with people, a study of motives
3. You must know yourself
4. You must learn your and their interplay
varied rolesis helpful.
in the organization
5. You must continue to learn. Hierarchy of Needs

If you implement these propositions, We can visualize a hierarchy or

you should increase the efficiency and pyramid of needs, with basic physio-
productivity of your organization. logic needs like thirst and hunger at
1387

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 1388 HENRY H. MORGAN Jour. A WW A

the bottom, and psychologic needs

5. employees will exercise imagina-
tion and ingenuity when given the
higher up on the structure.1"7
In today's affluent society,
opportunity. very few
of us are influenced strongly
One can operateby
under basic
either theory,
or derive other
physiologic needs, although oncetheories
in of a
behavior.
while we become aware of their in- An important element in any manager's
tensity - e.g. when we go without approach
sleep to his job is his theory of
for 24 hr, are ravenously hungry, human
or motivation. Without one he
must obey the call of nature. In primi-will probably fail to behave consist-
tive or impoverished societies, hunger,ently, nor will he have a basis for mak-
thirst, and survival are often primary ing personnel decisions.
motivators. After basic needs are sat- When I was training to be an officer
isfied, psychologic needs such as self-in the Army Air Corps, I was asked
esteem, social approval, and self-real-to finish the line "An officer should
ization become increasingly important always be

motivators. and

In a slave society the most effectivethe proper sentence

motivator was the threat of physical manual I was able t
punishment, but in our more open andofficer should always
free society we must rely on psycho-cheerful " This wa
logic rewards which the individualespecially the admon
must earn for himself. ful. The Army rec
portant consistency
Theories X and Y
Motivational Factors
Douglas McGregor 7 has described
two management styles encountered Dr.inFrederick Herzberg 5 has differ-
industry, which he calls theory entiated
X and motivators from maintenance
factors. Whereas motivators cause a
theory Y. Theory X involves several
assumptions about human nature, in- to be productive, maintenance
person
cluding : factors merely prevent dissatisfaction.
1. the average man dislikes and will Five motivators are :
avoid work 1. the work itself
2. he has to be forced, controlled, 2. achievement
and directed 3. recognition
3. he has little ambition and prefers 4. responsibility
to be directed 5. advancement
4. he seeks only security. Five maintenance factors are :
Theory Y assumes that : 1. company policy and administra-
1. expenditure of effort at work is tion
natural 2. supervision
2. control and threat are poor ways 3. salary
of producing work 4. interpersonal relations
3. man will exercise self-control and 5. working conditions
self-direction if he is encouraged to doA good salary and pleasant working
what he is capable of doing conditions help keep a person from be-
4. the average person will seek re- ing dissatisfied, but do not motivate him
sponsibility under proper conditions to work hard. He is likely to work

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 Nov, 1967 EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION 1389

these
hard at tasks that he dreary tasks
finds may be tolerable, or
intrinsically
interesting. A man even
who loves
mildly to
satisfying, tinker
provided the so-
with machinery may cial and psychologic
gain greatclimatesatis-
gives re-
faction from troubleshooting wards through recognition
on com-of service,
plex apparatus. Some men derive praise for a job well done, and a steady
satisfaction or reward from mastering and secure income.
any difficult task, be it computational,
clerical, mechanical, physical, or man- Maintaining Communication
agerial. People will work hard to A manager needs to monitor the
satisfy themselves, achieve success and morale of his group and know what
recognition, and be trusted with re- satisfactions and complaints employees
sponsibilities. find in their work. Ideally, he listens
to complaints, so that he can take ac-
Job Satisfaction
tion to improve conditions. He can
I recently talked to a man in his call upon industrial psychologists for
40's who has a responsible job running help. Attitude surveys quantify the re-
elaborate test facilities for a precision sponses of groups of employees, help
control manufacturer. His intense love define trouble spots, and suggest con-
for work started in childhood. He re- structive actions to improve morale or
membered the joy he experienced at efficiency.
nine when his father, with meager earn- An effective leader has a theory of
ings, bought him a $10.50 erector set. human behavior that enables him to
The man vividly recalled that his think about people analytically, so that
mother had to drive him out of the he can act wisely and consistently.
house physically to keep him from
Individual Differences
spending every moment on his con-
struction and power applications. His A chemist recognizes that all ele-
employer wisely provided him with ments have different properties. He
thousands of dollars of elaborate ma- must know the differences between hy-
chinery and equipment, and encou-drogen and helium, sodium and fluo-
raged him to use his mechanical in-
ride, and gold and lead, or he is in
genuity, instead of forcing him intotrouble. The manager must recognize
personnel work, for which he wasthat individuals have different abili-
seriously considered because of his ties, motives and personalities.
good relationships with people, high People vary in their characteristics
verbal intelligence, and good record as
due to heredity and, even more, early
a supervisor. environment. Sometimes we can trace
Maintenance factors contribute to the origin of strongly felt needs by ex-
the sense of well being that an employeeamining early influences. The child
has on his job. A steady income,may be rewarded or punished for being
pleasant working conditions, and talkative, aggressive, persistent, or for
friendly companions enable him to doshowing affection. He learns that some
disagreeable or dangerous tasks. Much types of behavior are more rewarding
of the world's work is of such a nature than others. This kind of conditioning
that it is not intrinsically rewarding. takes place in the early school years
For example, in the water industry
and job experiences. The old expres-
there are many dirty or dull jobs. Even
sion "As the twig is bent, so grows the

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 1390 HENRY H. MORGAN J our. AW W A

tree" has some truth inofthat

his strengths
once and weaknesses,
a pat- pro-
tern of behavior is established, it often
vides a manager with a good basis for
becomes strongly reinforced,
employee placementso that
and coaching.
radical change becomes more difficult
Enow Yourself
as we grow older.
Socrates said that "to know thyself
Creating an Environment
was the beginning of wisdom." To
manage
A person brings certain various individuals, each with
expectations
and patterns of behavior to his ajob.
his idiosyncracies, manager must be
ableable
We are not going to be to evaluate his own strengths
to change
his basic personality and weaknesses, very
structure motives and peculi-
much, but we can create arities.
anOtherwise,
environ- he will fail to eval-
ment in which he is ableuate
to others
be rewarded
correctly. He must man-
for expending effort andage himself
doing well
a if he is to manage
fine
job; and also on occasion, experience
others well. Self knowledge is a pre-
mild punishment or not doing
requisite for this.so. In
this country, because of Mostour
of us see weaknesses or limita-
idealism
and religious heritage, we
tions moretend
easily into be-
others than in our-
lieve that reward is a more effective selves. For this reason a boss should
conditioner than punishment, but this sometimes offer constructive criticism
is not always the case. In Southeast to help a subordinate see himself more
Asia, for example, the natives train objectively.
monkeys to pick coconuts on tall palm To gain insight into your own make-
trees by punishment alone. We are not up and obtain feedback on how you
likely to create a productive group ofaffect others, you can take several ap-
human beings, however, by such meth- proaches. Some of you may get all tfep
ods. What we seek to create, usually,feedback and insight you need from
are workers who are "self-motivated" your boss, wife, or friend. Others may
- who will undertake the day's work find value in going through an evalu-
and do it responsibly of their own ac-ation and counseling session with an
cord. Indeed, all that need be doneindustrial or clinical psychologist.
sometimes, is to remove barriers orSensitivity training sessions, conducted
sources of dissatisfaction that may befor executives, have been helpful in de-
preventing productive work. veloping leadership. Management de-
Evaluation of personnel is essential.velopment seminars and supervisory
training are useful, too. All these
Some industrial psychologists teach
personnel men and line managers inter- techniques are in part aimed at increas-
viewing techniques and analytic meth- niagia man's awareness of himself.
ods for evaluating employees. The in-
Learning Roles
terviewer learns how to explain a per-
son's past behavior, and to some degree y Shakespeare wrote in "As You Like
predict his future behavior/ Person-It": "All the world's a stage, and all
nel evaluations also provide the basis forthe men and women merely players.
the employee's own self-developmentThey have their exits and their en-
plan. trances ; and one man in his time plays
The major point is that recognition many parts, . . . ." A man trained as
of an individual's uniqueness, in terms an engineer learns to play the role of a

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Nov. 1967 EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION 1391

designer, trouble guidelines,

shooter, and
the child problem
becomes anxious,
solver, but he mayconfused,
not andlearn
probably angry.
to play Too
the role of supervisor. We and
much control, discipline, have
direction to
learn, through experience, to ifdifferen-
of the child, especially done incon-
tiate our roles in life. We act differ- sistently or arbitrarily, will have an
ently as an adult than as a child. Oureven worse effect by stifling initiative,
behavior as a husband or father differs creativity, and productivity. The ideal
from that as a worker. We learn to parent, teacher, or manager, enables the
vary our behavior and our responses to
learner to discover himself and his po-
situations so that they are appropriate.
tentialities, to grow by developing his
The job of manager calls for youskills to and resourcefulness, and to ex-
develop a consistent style of leadership
press his individuality in his work.
that fits you, and is flexible enoughUltimately,
to under these conditions, the
allow you to shift roles easily to meet
learner becomes the parent, teacher, or
the changing demands of subordinates,manager, and repeats the process for
co-workers, superiors, and the public.
For example, in the course of a day, the next generation^
Playing Different Roles
you may have to sell an idea to a su-
perior, coach a subordinate on how to
You may have found, as your career
handle his job more effectively, and
evolves through various stages, that you
mobilize a group of co-workers to do a
are asked to play different roles and
job quickly. sometimes this shift in roles is difficult.

Role of Manager In the beginning you are learning from

others. You may be an individual con-
The role of the manager today is more tributor to some project or have direct
complex than ever before, and requires supervision of a group of workers.
'nowledge of the social sciences. The Later, you find yourself fulfilling a
riiodern manager is likely to lead indi- more ambiguous role as a manager. A
rectly, encouraging employees to assume
man may experience a good deal of
as much responsibility, initiative, and
anxiety if he isn't producing anything
control of their work as possible. He he can see or measure.
hopes that he will be able to find his
The ability to play many different
own replacement, to free him for a
roles comfortably and confidently can
higher-level position in an expanding
be developed. In addition to training
industry where there is a shortage of
experiences there are many opportuni-
managerial talent.
The problem of the manager is to ties in your community to develop lead-
create an authentic relationship witji ership skills. Participation in profes-
subordinates, so that they understand! sional associations, civic groups, church
his expectations and appreciate his committees, fraternal lodges, great
consistency. Only thus, can a manager book discussion seminars, or a Dale
create an environment in which work- Carnegie course in public speaking
can be used as a kind of laboratory
ers will be able to develop their full
potential. The role of ihe manager isfor experimentation with a self-devel-
opment program. What you learn in
often analogous to that of the teacher
your various roles in these activities
or parent. If a parent or teacher fails
to discipline a child or to provide
can be applied in your career role.

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1392 HENRY H. MORGAN J our. AW W A

Avoiding Obsolescence
I believe the water industry will be
able to handle its human resources as
Leaders must continue to learn about
superbly as it has handled the nation's
people, including themselves, if they
water resources if these five proposi-
are to meet the requirements of a chang-
tions are implemented. The manager
ing industry. Obsolete methods are no
is the catalyst that starts a chain re-
better when dealing with human beings
as well as in technical fields such as action in an organization.
water treatment, desalinization, and
References
automation. /
1. Blake, R. R.; Mouton, J. S.; Barnes,
It has been said that we are all inL. B. ; & Greiner, L. E. Breakthrough
a race with obsolescence - no matter in Organization Development. Harvard
how fast we run, the best we can hope Business Review, p. 133 (Nov.-Dec.
1964).
for is a photo-finish. 2. Borow, Henry (ed.). Man in a World
at Work . Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston
Summary (1964).
3. Fear, R. A. The Evaluation Interview.
I have presented five propositions McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York
for successful leadership. In order to (1958).
4. Graves, C. W. Deterioration of Work
turn an ordinary group of people into
Standards. Harvard Business Review,
an effective organization that utilizes p. 117 (Sep.-Oct. 1966).
their full potential you must: 5. Herzberg, F. Work and the Nature of
1. have a theory of human behavior Man. World Book Publishing Co.,
Cleveland, Ohio (1966).
2. recognize individual differences 6. Maslow, A. H. Motivation and Person-
3. know yourself ality. Harper & Row, New York
4. learn your varied roles in an (1954).
7. McGregor, Douglas. The Human Side
organization of Enterprise . McGraw-Hill Book Co.,
5. continue to learn. New York (1960).

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