explores various ways of thinking about motivation, in particular trying to see if there is more to motivating people at work than buying their commitment. Managing rewards – and the use of reward as a strategic tool – has become one of the key elements of HRM. After working through this chapter, you should be able to advise on which different systems of payment may suit a particular organisational context and outline the case for and against performance-related pay. You should also be able to discuss different types of pay scheme, differentiating between the schemes and showing how through linking pay to organisational goals, effective reward management can enhance organisational effectiveness.
Chapter objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
• provide advice about how to motivate and reward people so as to maximise employee contributions to organisational performance
• advise management on the circumstances under which different payment systems may be appropriate for your organisation
• outline the case for and against the introduction of performance-related pay and specify the conditions under which it is appropriate.
And you should understand and be able to explain:
• the principal differences between types of pay scheme
• the importance of linking the pay system to wider organisational goals and other HR strategies
• how effective reward management practice can contribute to enhanced employee motivation and satisfaction at work.
Chapter outline
Theories of motivation and rewards
The chapter begins with a discussion of content (Maslow, McGregor, Herzberg) and process (Vroom, Nadler and Lawler) theories of motivation, and introduces two ways of conceptualising workers: Taylor’s ‘economic man’ versus the human relations movement and ‘social man’. Some content models (Maslow, Hertzberg, Taylor, Mayo) suffer because they seem to be based on the assumption that all employees are alike, sharing similar bases for motivation....