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As stated at the start of this article the theories presented here are not mutually exclusive, in fact parallels can be drawn between the work of theorist such as Maslow and Herzberg (see the figure below).
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| Fig 3 : Comparing Maslow & Herzberg |
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One might argue for example that the lower level needs of Maslow's Hierarchy relate to the Extrinsic / Hygiene factors of Herzberg's Two Factor Theory. Perhaps satisfaction of lower level needs leads to an absence of 'dissatisfaction' in relation to work, rather than that which herzberg considers true motivation.
So we do not have to face the task of choosing between competing theories, instead we are faced with a far more difficult task - to make the connection between theories and real individuals at work, in order to find ways to increase levels of motivation at work. To achieve this requires, not only an appreciation of business theory, but more importantly a true understanding of those specific individuals, and a creative approach to designing their work experience.
There are many human resource orientated web sites which offer guidance and advice on how this can be achieved, one of the best sites we've found is accel-team.com, which offers details on many of the theorists we've considered here, plus an insight into the methods and techniques which companies apply in practice.
In addition there are many human resource consultancy firms which offer their own theories and techniques for motivating people at work. An interesting example of this is the firm People Management International who promote a system called SIMA.
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'Herzberg described pay as a “hygiene factor” which would remove dissatisfaction but would not create motivation. Identify two factors from the case study ...'
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