What Good Motivation Does

In order to introduce subordinate managers to work efficiently, the superior manager will take advantage of their personal and environmental reasons for cooperating and add to these certain other inducements. There cannot be a single source of motivation: a system of motivation is required – a coordinated set of inducements – positive and negative. The system is not designed solely for across-the-board application but permits the use of any one or group of inducements which will motivate subordinate managers to satisfy their top-priority needs within the framework permitted by the enterprise.

Satisfies needs.

Managers must attempt to understand their subordinates in order to select intelligently effective elements of a motivational system to be applied to individual subordinates. This is difficult, because needs are so numerous and expansible, their priority shifts, and they vary greatly from person to person. Thus, the best that the manager can do is to build a system of motivation based on satisfying common needs, keep it consistent with his experience of men, and keep it flexible enough to respond to variations in individual reactions.

Basic needs.

Irrespective of his living standard, a manager, like everyone else, is always concerned about satisfying his needs for food, clothing, and shelter. True, he may not be primarily concerned, if he holds a well-paying position and can give preference to the satisfaction of higher needs. But while he does this, he assumes no change in his basic need satisfactions.

In cooperative activities basic needs are satisfied through pay and through job continuity. The manager can be paid in one or more ways, depending on his firm and on competitive practices. Some firms can only pay a salary, while others develop sources of compensation including incentive pay and fringe benefits. The motivation system must offer a level of compensation which will attract and hold managers of the quality required by the firm.

Job security assures the fulfillment of basic needs in the long run. A manager can rest assured that he will not become unemployed through any unjustified action or complaint of others. This is the most job security any motivation system can provide; there is no such thing as a job guarantee.

Social needs.

Any enterprise can provide for the satisfaction of certain of a manager’s social needs, chiefly the needs for status and for group relatedness (связанность). Status needs reflect the desire for distinction both within and without the enterprise. Some of this can be partially satisfied by a motivational system that includes promotions and status symbols. Status symbols include little things like reserved parking spaces, especially those labeled with names; closed offices and preferred office space; better office equipment and furnishings; and private secretaries.

It is important to a motivational system that constructive groups be encouraged and destructive groups broken up.

Ego.

There are the needs for self-esteem and for self-fulfillment. The former, though vague in conception, are fulfilled by a combination of self-satisfaction as a result of conduct in accordance with one’s own principles and by social approval.

The need for self-esteem is not strong in all subordinates, but for properly selected subordinate managers – the people of prime interest here – the need for self-esteem is strong and can be useful in the motivational system. By providing for delegating authority, encouraging subordinates to contribute recommendations, and rewarding creativity, the system can help fulfill this need.

Opportunity to participate in management may readily satisfy self-fulfillment needs. Subordinates always feel that they possess valuable information which, if used, would improve the quality of decisions of their superiors. Subordinates are close to the scenes of action and often have insight into operations which superiors cannot acquire.

Contributing to a superior’s decision making is an exercise of influence. Whether the contribution is important or not may not be apparent to a subordinate. He has had his chance to be heard. But the superior quite obviously cannot call for the views of subordinates on all decisions. He must select those which promise the maximum payoff and which he should not make before fortifying himself with information possessed only by subordinates. He is under no obligation to ask anyone’s advice: he will do so with respect to those whose judgment he trusts and to situations in which he may benefit.

Participation varies widely as a motivational force from one subordinate to another. Many feel they are not paid for taking part and resent the invitations. Others – and good managers are represented here – are pleased to work hard to help an ambitious manager: the chance of influencing action fulfills ego needs.

Topic #9

Date: 2015-02-16; view: 870