Herzberg's Theory of Motivation and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Herzberg's Theory of Motivation and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Mentioned Tables Not Included

Among various behavioral theories long generally believed and embraced

by American business are those of Frederick Herzberg and Abraham

Maslow. Herzberg, a psychologist, proposed a theory about job factors

that motivate employees. Maslow, a behavioral scientist and

contemporary of Herzberg's, developed a theory about the rank and

satisfaction of various human needs and how people pursue these needs.

These theories are widely cited in the business literature.

In the education profession, however, researchers in the '80s raised

questions about the applicability of Maslow's and Herzberg's theories

to elementary and secondary school teachers: Do educators, in fact,

fit the profiles of the average business employee? That is, do

teachers (1) respond to the same motivators that Herzberg associated

with employees in profit-making businesses and (2) have the same needs

patterns as those uncovered by Maslow in his studies of business

employees?

HERZBERG'S THEORY OF MOTIVATORS AND HYGIENE FACTORS

Herzberg (1959) constructed a two-dimensional paradigm of factors

affecting people's attitudes about work. He concluded that such

factors as company policy, supervision, interpersonal relations,

working conditions, and salary are hygiene factors rather than

motivators. According to the theory, the absence of hygiene factors

can create job dissatisfaction, but their presence does not motivate

or create satisfaction.

In contrast, he determined from the data that the motivators were

elements that enriched a person's job; he found five factors in

particular that were strong determiners of job satisfaction:

achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, and

advancement. These motivators (satisfiers) were associated with

long-term positive effects in job performance while the hygiene

factors (dissatisfiers) consistently produced only short-term changes

in job attitudes and performance, which quickly fell back to its

previous level.

In summary, satisfiers describe a person's relationship with what she

or he does, many related to the tasks being performed. Dissatisfiers,

on the other hand, have to do with a person' relationship to the

context or environment in which she or he performs the job.