Motivation in the workplace is an essential requirement for the realization of the organizational goals and objectives. The leaders and the top management teams of organizations ought to undertake a sound motivational strategy irrespective of the gender, race or position. With such, the performance of the employees will increase and hence better returns will be realized. The ultimate goal of this endeavor will be the increased competitive advantage of the firm. The need for workplace motivation has led to the development of various motivational theories each with distinct features.

The paper will examine the various motivational theories with special emphases on the Maslow’s, Herzberg’s, and Taylor’s motivational theories.Each of the three theories will be lengthily discussed in terms of the implementation strategy, application, foundation, strengths, and weaknesses. Further on, the Maslow’s theory will be discussed, and its rationale for the selection and implementation will be explored.

Herzberg’s Theory

The theory was created in 1964 by Frederick Herzberg and is founded on the two factors of hygiene and motivation. The model ascertains that both hygiene factors and motivators play a great role inmotivating the employees in the workplace by upholding their psychological status. The application of the theory is based on the ability of the organization to adopt better policies, proper supervision, better working conditions and recognition in the workplace Miner, 2005).The strengths are shown by the fact that the theory was applied in many work environments and hence higher replication levels. The theory assumes that satisfaction in the workforce would automatically lead to higher performance. Additionally, the weakness is depicted by the fact that the theory does not recognize individual differences in the workplace.

Taylor’s Theory

The theory was developed by Frederick Taylor in 1911and was founded on payment. The model of the theory was based on the fact that payments were given with respect to the amount of output (Frey, 2002). The theory’s strengthare signified by the positive returns of its application in production industries whereby payments were made according to the amount of output. The weaknesses are depicted by the boredom that was caused by carrying out repetitive tasks on daily basis. With such the production levels reduced drastically.

Maslow’s Theory

The theory was developed in 1943, and it was founded on the psychological needs of the employees in the workplace. The model categorized the needs in hierarchical form starting with the physiological needs at the bottom and self-actualization at the top (McGuire, 2011). The intermediaries are safety, love and esteem whose impacts in the workplace are phenomenal. The application of the theory is dependent on the ability of the organization leaders to meet all the five psychological needs of the employees. The strengths of this theory are based on the fact that psychological needs are fundamental in dictating the levels of motivation in each and every human being. Therefore, the theory is successful in capturing the psychological needs of the employee hence higher performance levels. The weaknesses of the theory are depicted by various criticisms. The placing self-actualization as the highest need and placing the sex factor as a psychological need depicts the major weaknesses of the theory.

motivation. The reason for my option is that the theory considers both the individual and group needs hence optimal motivation will be realized. The implementation methods and design for the theory are fundamental in ensuring its efficiency (Blanchard, Hersey, & Johnson, 2001). As such, research ought to be made on the cost and the specific needs of the employees with regard to the five psychological needs. The implementation may be done with respect to the specific departments or the organizational rankings. As such, the motivational benefits are different with the ranking of the employees in the firm.

References

Blanchard, K., Hersey, P., & Johnson, D. E. (2001). Management of organizational behavior: Leading human resources.

Top of Form

Frey, B. S. (2002). Successful management by motivation: Balancing intrinsic and extrinsic incentives : with 11 tables. Berlin [u.a.: Springer.

Bottom of Form

Miner, J. B. (2005).Organizational Behavior: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. one (Vol. 1). ME Sharpe.

McGuire, K. J. (2011). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.An introduction.