More on Motivating Optometry Employees

Perhaps the most recognized theory in the workplace besides Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is Taylor’s “scientific management”. While Maslow’s needs theory focused on “what” motivates people Taylor’s scientific management focused on “how” people are motivated. “How” employees are motivated, is basically a process that can be adjusted to get different results. Taylor’s theory is probably among the first theories of motivation and it mainly focused on money as a motivator of employees. Taylor’s point of view has been praised by management experts as the first and among the most influential theories in management. Not taking into consideration the humane aspect of the work, Taylor studied management as if there was only one way to doing each given job, and employees either would do it as required by management or not. The worker is not asked whether he likes his job or not. The only way to do the job the right way is to be motivated by good pay. Moreover, projects should be divided into small jobs that can be easily controlled and monitored. Training prepared workers to perform these small jobs in a well-defined and standardized way. This way employee’s performance is measured on how many of the same jobs they can perform, eliminating autonomy and limiting their ability to develop skills that solve complex tasks.

Another theory that is concerned about “what” motivates people is Herzberg’s two-factor theory, in which he argues that there are two factors that are essential to motivate employees: motivators and hygiene factors. Motivators, if present, encourage you to work harder. Having an interesting job is a motivator. Hygiene factors, if not present, cause you to become unmotivated. So for example having poor working conditions or having poor pay will make you unmotivated. Herzberg’s theory on management focused on the common worker and argued against Taylor’s theory that focused on money as a motivator. Herzberg emphasized that workers are motivated by achievement, praise, responsibility, and advancement. Those are intrinsic factors that employers would have to cater to in order to get the best out of employees. Moreover, employers should work on eliminating hygiene factors thus eliminating the feel of being unmotivated.