MONEY AS A MOTIVATION

Money is the Most Effective Reward Strategy for Increasing the Motivation and Productivity of Employees

Money is the Most Effective Reward Strategy for Increasing the Motivation and Productivity of Employees

Introduction

This paper will discuss the subject of money as a motivator. In addition to research and a cohesive review of literature it will include two interviews with prominent managers which will be analyzed to further enrich the knowledge of the subject by taking advantage of their hands-on experience.

That is the violent war between employers and employees. Indeed, motivating employees through the use of money as a material reward or motivator for work achievement is and has always been a matter of controversy. Many theorists tackling motivation theories, human nature in general and motivation in particular, have accordingly examined this issue and yet they did not give the same answer as whether money can motivate workers for work or not. This shall form the main core of this projectBut before tackling this sensitive issue, let us see what does Motivation in general entails? Motivation suggests the strong desire to do one's job well with an initiation to receive a complement either of moral or material satisfaction. Employers have employed material incentives in the form of extra hours with extra pay, some others give too much importance to the stability of the workers with satisfying their necessaries of life; whereas others have much stressed human relations, good contacts with prospective outcomes, promotion, and occupation with high responsibilities potential. (Meudell and Karen 1998 128-132)

There is no shortage of theories about motivation, and the relation between money and motivation in particular was central to most of them since money has always been held as the bread and butter of each worker and the carrot or the stick with which the employers control the goal achievement processes. Next we briefly review some of the most important motivation theories and there approach on money.

Analysis

The Hierarchy of Needs

This theory is probably the best-known motivation theory. It was coined by Abraham Maslow during the 1940s and 1950s. In essence, it states that our motivations are dictated primarily by the circumstances we find ourselves in, and that certain 'lower' needs need to be satisfied before we are motivated towards 'higher' accomplishments. Maslow indicated five distinct stages, starting at physiological needs and ending at self-actualization needs. In practice, the first stage in the hierarchy, the physiological stage, which contains the needs the employee first tries to satisfy such as food, shelter indicates that pay is a good motivator within this stage. Money is the supplier of food, medicine, shelter, clothing but as soon as thee basic needs become satisfied and the employee moves to higher stages within the hierarchy, pay becomes less and less a motivator. Money can't buy safety, a sense of belonging, self esteem or self actualization. (Fisher 2007, 102)

Theory X and Theory Y

In 1960, Douglas McGregor advanced the idea that managers had a major part in motivating staff. He essentially divided managers into two categories: Theory ...