WJEC A-Level Business 601-5238-2
Enterprise and Starting a Business
Markets and Market Research
Marketing
People in Business
Operations Management
Business Finance and Accounts
Business Analysis and Decision-Making
Strategy and Implementation
Managing Change and Risk
The External Environment
People in Business
Motivation theories
- 2 things to know
- AS Unit 2
Overview
The main motivation theories, including Taylor's scientific management, Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's two-factor theory, and how managers apply them.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
What are the two factors in F. Herzberg's two factor theory?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is meant by motivation?
Model answer
Motivation is the desire and willingness of an employee to work hard and to do the job well.
- 2
Give four benefits to a business of a motivated workforce.
Model answer
Productivity is higher, quality improves, absenteeism and labour turnover fall, and employees put forward ideas for improvement.
- 3
Summarise F. W. Taylor's theory of scientific management.
Model answer
Taylor argued that workers are motivated chiefly by money, that each task has one best method which can be established by careful study, and that workers should be selected, trained and paid by results to follow it.
- 4
How did Taylor argue workers should be paid?
Model answer
He advocated piece rate, so that pay is directly proportional to output and the worker has a financial incentive to produce more.
- 5
Give two criticisms of Taylor's approach.
Model answer
It treats people as machines and ignores their social and psychological needs, and dividing work into narrow repetitive tasks makes jobs boring and can reduce quality.
- 6
What did E. Mayo's work on human relations conclude?
Model answer
Mayo concluded that output rose when workers were given attention and worked in stable groups, so social relationships, group membership and being consulted matter as much as physical conditions or pay.
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