Five Theories in Human Resource Management
1.Frederick Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory
Another researcher to enter into the fray of human motivation was Frederick Herzberg.Originally
trained as a clinical psychologist, over the course of Herzberg’s career heswitched focused and
became one of the rst researchers in the growing eld ofindustrial psychology. !he original notion
of Frederick Herzberg’s "otivation#Hygiene !heory was that traditional perspectives on motivation,
like "aslow’s, only looked at oneside of the coin$how to motivate people. Herzberg and his original
colleagues Herzberg,F., "ausner, %., & 'nyderman, %. '. ()*+* .
The motivation to work
. -ew ork, - /0iley, theorized that what ultimately motivated individuals to work were not
necessarilythe same factors that led to demotivation at work. 1n Herzberg’s worldview,
motivationon the 2ob should lead to satis ed workers, but he theorized that satisfaction
anddissatisfaction were not opposite ends of one continuum. 1nstead, he predicted that thefactors
that lead to positive 2ob attitudes (and thus motivation were di3erent from thefactors that lead
to negative 2ob attitudes (and thus demotivation . For the purposes ofhis theory, he called the
factors that led to positive 2ob attitudes motivators and thosefactors that led to negative 2ob
attitudes hygiene factors. 1n !able ) 4"otivators andHygiene Factors4 the basic motivators and
hygiene factors are listed. -otice that themotivators are all centered on ideas that are somewhat
similar to the esteem needs andself#actualization needs of Abraham "aslow. On the other hand, the
hygiene factors alle5amine the conte5t of work. !able ). "otivators and Hygiene Factors
MotivatorsHygiene Factors
Achievement6olicy and administration7ecognition"icromanagementAdvancement7elationships
('upervisor, 6eers, & 'ubordinates !he work itself8ob security7esponsibility6ersonal life6otential
for promotion0ork conditions6otential for personal growth'tatus'alary9pon looking at !able )
4"otivators and Hygiene Factors4, you may notice that 'alary iscentered between both motivators
and hygiene factors. 1n
The ManagerialChoice
Herzberg reversed his previous thinking that salary was purely a hygiene factor,:Although primarily
a hygiene factor, it ;salary< it also often takes on some of theproperties of a motivator, with
dynamics similar to those of recognition for
achievement.= Herzberg, F. ()*>? .
The managerial choice: To be efcient and to behuman
. Homewood, 1@/ ow#8ones#1rwin, pg. >).
2.Adams’ !uity Theory

AdamsB CDuity !heory is named for 8ohn 'tacey Adams, a workplace and behavioralpsychologist,
who developed his
"ob motivation theory
in )*?E. "uch like many of themore prevalent theories of motivation (such as
Mas#o$%s Hierarchy o&'eeds
and
Herzberg%s T$o-Factor Theory
, AdamsB CDuity !heory acknowledgesthat subtle and variable factors a3ect an employeeBs
assessment and perception of theirrelationship with their work and their employer. !he theory is
built#on the belief that employees become de#motivated, both in relation totheir 2ob and their
employer, if they feel as though their inputs are greater than theoutputs. Cmployees can be
e5pected to respond to this is di3erent ways, including de#motivation (generally to the e5tent the
employee perceives the disparity between theinputs and the outputs e5ist , reduced e3ort,
becoming disgruntled, or, in more e5tremecases, perhaps even disruptive.How to Apply the AdamsB
CDuity !heory1t is important to also consider the AdamsB CDuity !heory factors when striving
toimprove an employeeBs 2ob satisfaction, motivation level, etc., and what can be done topromote
higher levels of each. !o do this, consider the balance or imbalance that currently e5ists between
youremployeeBs inputs and outputs, as follows/1nputs typically include/
•
C3ort.
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@oyalty.
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Hard work.
•
ommitment.
•
'kill.
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Ability.
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Adaptability.
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Fle5ibility.

•
!olerance.
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etermination.
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Cnthusiasm.
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!rust in superiors.
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'upport of colleagues.
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6ersonal sacri ce.
••••••
Outputs typically include/
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Financial rewards (such as salary, bene ts, perks .
•
1ntangibles that typically include/
7ecognition.
7eputation.
7esponsibility.
'ense of achievement.

6raise.
'timulus.
'ense ofadvancementGgrowth.
8ob security.
••
0hile obviously many of these points canBt be Duanti ed and perfectlycompared, the theory argues
that managers should seek to nd a fairbalance between the inputs that an employee gives, and the
outputsreceived.
•
And according to the theory, employees should be content where theyperceive these to be in
balance.
•
Tip:
•
!his is similar to Frederick HerzbergBs
Motivation(Hygiene Theory
. 0hileAdamsB CDuity !heory obviously has a strong element of truth to it, itBsprobably fair to say
that HerzbergBs "otivationGHygiene !heory has greatermotivational signi cance.
•
E.
C5pectancy theory
•
ictor room introduced one of the most widely accepted e5planations ofmotivation. ery
simply, the
e)*ectancy theory

says that an employee willbe motivated to e5ert a high level of e3ort when he or she believes
that/).C3ort will lead to a good performance appraisal.I.A good appraisal will lead to organizational
rewards.E.!he organizational rewards will satisfy his or her personal goals.
•
!he key to the e5pectancy theory is an understanding of an individualBs goalsand the relationships
between e3ort and performance, between performanceand rewards, and nally, between the
rewards and individual goalsatisfaction. 0hen an employee has a high level of e5pectancy and
thereward is attractive, motivation is usually high.
•
!herefore, to motivate workers, managers must strengthen workersBperceptions of their e3orts as
both possible and worthwhile, clarifye5pectations of performances, tie rewards to performances,
and make surethat rewards are desirable.J.7einforcement theory
•
!he reinforcement theory, based on C. @. !horndikeBs law of e3ect, simplylooks at the relationship
between behavior and its conseDuences. !his theory
focuses on modifying an employeeBs onKtheK2ob behavior through theappropriate use of one of
the following four techniDues/
•
+ositive rein&orcement
rewards desirable behavior. 6ositive reinforcement, suchas a pay raise or promotion, is provided as
a reward for positive behavior with theintention of increasing the probability that the desired
behavior will be repeated.
•
Avoidance
is an attempt to show an employee what the conseDuences ofimproper behavior will be. 1f an
employee does not engage in improper behavior, heor she will not e5perience the conseDuence.
•
)tinction
is basically ignoring the behavior of a subordinate and not providingeither positive or negative
reinforcement. lassroom teachers often use thistechniDue when they ignore students who are
:acting out= to get attention. !histechniDue should only be used when the supervisor perceives the
behavior astemporary, not typical, and not serious.
•

+unishment
(threats, docking pay, suspension is an attempt to decrease thelikelihood of a behavior recurring
by applying negative conseDuences.
•
!he reinforcement theory has the following implications for management/
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@earning what is acceptable to the organization inLuences motivated behavior.
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"anagers who are trying to motivate their employees should be sure to tellindividuals what they are
doing wrong and be careful not to reward all individuals atthe same time.
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"anagers must tell individuals what they can do to receive positive reinforcement.
•
"anagers must be sure to administer the reinforcement as closely as possible tothe occurrence of the
behavior.
•
"anagers must recognize that failure to reward can also modify behavior.Cmployees who believe
that they deserve a reward and do not receive it will oftenbecome disenchanted with both their
manager and company.+.Moal#setting theory
•
!he goalKsetting theory, introduced in the late )*?Ns by Cdwin @ocke,proposed that intentions to
work toward a goal are a ma2or source of workmotivation. Moals, in essence, tell employees what
needs to be done andhow much e3ort should be e5panded. 1n general, the more di cult the
goal,the higher the level of performance e5pected.
•
"anagers can set the goals for their employees, or employees and managerscan develop goals
together. One advantage of employees participating ingoal setting is that they may be more likely to
work toward a goal theyhelped develop.
•
-o matter who sets the goal, however, employees do better when they getfeedback on their
progress. 1n addition to feedback, four other factorsinLuence the goalsKperformance relationship/
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!he employee must be committed to the goal.

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!he employee must believe that he is capable of performing the task.
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!asks involved in achieving the goal should be simple, familiar, and independent.
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!he goalKsetting theory is culture bound and is popular in -orth American cultures.
•
1f the goalKsetting theory is followed, managers need to work with theiremployees in determining
goal ob2ectives in order to provide targets formotivation. 1n addition, the goals that are established
should be speci crather than general in nature, and managers must provide feedback
onperformance