Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Theory; Skinner and the Expectancy Theory & Reward in the Workplace

Executive Summary

As part of the partial requirement of Organizational Behavior and Leadership an individual assignment must be completed. Three questions have been posed in the study manual- the aim of this paper is to provide relevant answers to each.

Question one requires a comparison of Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Theory (Maslow) and Skinner’s Reinforcement Theory (Skinner) with reference to motivation in the SA workplace. Two extremities have been used in the SA workplace namely, the recent strikes and the so called ‘best companies to work for’. Both Maslow and Skinner are evident in the motivation of the strikers and the employees of companies that thrive. Neither of the theories prevail; both have their positives and negatives. In order to be successful companies have to integrate the theories and use a particular theory where it will yield the better result.

Question two asks for a critical evaluation of Skinner and the Expectancy Theory (ET) by listing similarities and differences and commenting on which theory has the most relevance to the motivation of SA employees. From the similarities it becomes clear that there is definite cross pollination - elements of each of the theories do occur in both. It is concluded that depending on the work environment each have its relevance in the workplace. Skinner leans more towards a production environment where exact behavior is required. ET is more applicable in a flat structured work environment where each person is in fact his own manager.

Question three poses the question of how managers can apply the reward process in their organization in order to encourage effective performance? Any two motivational theories in the pre-scribed textbook can be used to illustrate this question. Performance is governed by motivation - a motivated employee will perform better. One of the ways in which motivation can be enhanced is through reward. By systematically applying both Maslow and ET, from a rewards point of view,...