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HERZBERG TWO FACTOR THEORY

WHO IS HERZBERG?

Frederick Irving Herzberg (19232000) was a psychologist who became one of the most influential names in business management. He is most famous for introducing job enrichment and the Motivator-Hygiene theory(Two Factor Theory). His 1968 publication "One More Time, How Do You Motivate Employees?" had sold 1.2 million reprints by 1987 and was the most requested article from the Harvard Business Review

HOW THEORY WAS MADE?

Frederick Herzberg and his associates (1959) conducted extensive interviews with two hundred engineers and accountants. Herzberg made a theoretical departure from the traditional concept by suggesting that job satisfaction was hypothesized to operate on a continuum Herzberg set a two-factor theory of job satisfaction which received both widespread support and criticism. The research was designed to discover the importance of attitudes toward work and experiences, both good and bad, reported by workers

CONTENT:

The Two-factor Theory, or Motivation and Hygiene Theory, purports to differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of the job. The intrinsic factors were referred as content or motivators, and they include: achievement, advancement, the work itself, responsibility, and recognition. The extrinsic factors were referred to as hygiene and included: company policy and administration, technical supervision, working conditions, salary, and interpersonal supervision. Herzberg proposed the Motivation-Hygiene Theory, also known as the Two factor theory (1959) of job satisfaction.

A CCORDING

TO HIS THEORY, PEOPLE ARE

INFLUENCED BY TWO SETS OF FACTORS :

Motivator Factors

Hygiene Factors

Achievement Recognition Work Itself Responsibility Promotion Growth

Pay and Benefits Company Policy and Administration Relationships with coworkers Physical Environment Supervision Status Job Security Salary Working Conditions Personal life

KEY FINDINGS AS A RESULT OF THIS IDENTIFICATION .

People are made dissatisfied by a bad environment, but they are seldom made satisfied by a good environment. The prevention of dissatisfaction is just as important as encouragement of motivator satisfaction. An individual can be highly motivated in his work and be dissatisfied with his work environment. All hygiene factors are equally important, although their frequency of occurrence differs considerably. Hygiene improvements have short-term effects. Any improvements result in a short-term removal of, or prevention of, dissatisfaction.

C OMBINING THE HYGIENE AND


MOTIVATION FACTORS RESULTS IN FOUR SCENARIO ' S :

High Hygiene + High Motivation: The ideal situation where employees are highly motivated and have few complaints. High Hygiene + Low Motivation: Employees have few complaints but are not highly motivated. The job is perceived as a pay check. Low Hygiene + High Motivation: Employees are motivated but have a lot of complaints Low Hygiene + Low Motivation: The worst situation. Unmotivated employees with lots of complaints. Herzberg suggests that often work can and should be arranged in - job enlargement, job rotation, and job enrichment.

CRITICISM OF THE THEORY:

The procedure that Herzberg used is limited by its methodology. When things are going well, people tend to take credit themselves. The reliability of Herzbergs methodology is questioned.

No overall measure of satisfaction was utilized. A person may dislike part of his or her job yet still think the job is acceptable.
The theory is inconsistent with previous research. The two-factor theory ignores situational variables. Herzberg assumed a relationship between satisfaction and productivity, but the research methodology he used looked only at satisfaction not at productivity.

ACHIVEMENT

Regardless of criticisms,

Herzbergs theory has been widely read and few managers are unfamiliar with his recommendations.
The popularity over the past 35 years of vertically expanding jobs to allow workers greater responsibility in planning and controlling their work can probably be attributed largely to Herzbergs findings and recommendations.

CONCLUSION

The moral of this story is that it is sometimes a mistake to take peoples complaints at work too literally. Instead of fixing the working conditions that employees are complaining about, you might be further ahead to find new ways of recognizing their efforts.

A simple technique is to hold regular meetings where each employee is asked to say what went well for them since the last meeting, what they did that they are especially pleased about.

This simple practice gives employees an opportunity to tell their colleagues what they did and get some public recognition for a job well done. The continuing relevance of Herzberg is the fact that there must be some direct connection between performance and reward, whether extrinsic as in recognition or intrinsic as in naturally enjoyable work.

So, if you are thinking creatively about how to recognize employees, make sure that whatever you offer is directly dependent on the output you want to achieve.

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