Fredrick Herzberg is the mastermind behind the two-factor theory. He has categorized motivation as stemming from the presence of the hygiene factors and motivator factors. The presence of both these factors is essential in order to motivate employees at the workplace. SAP has ensured to incorporate a certain level of hygiene and motivator factors to keep their workers happy. On the other hand, Saviour Beds has adopted these factors according to the requirements of its workforce and organizational culture. The way both companies have embedded motivation within its work environment is evident from the results it generates. Both companies have varying cultures and nature of businesses; however, both have made use to Herzberg’s motivational factors.
It is important to recognize that even though, a combination of hygiene factors and motivators provides for motivation of the employees, but an absence of hygiene factors would result in dissatisfaction. Saviour Beds may be a victim of employee dissatisfaction which they are choosing to ignore. Employee recognition, employee involvement, and job enlargement are all motivator factors. The aforementioned motivators are very prominent at Saviour Beds, but there is little evidence to support the presence of hygiene factors. As Saviour Beds is a small company working on limited number of orders they are not in a strong financial position compared to SAP. Saviour Beds is unable to provide its employees with hefty bonuses and other forms of remunerations. They have focused most of its attention in giving importance to their employees and during this process they have largely ignored ways of motivating through financial means. SAP has been successful in integrating motivators and hygiene factors to keep its workforce motivated and high on morale. They have been recognized for their innovative and novel ways to keep workers satisfied. This also helps workers take pride in their organization that in turn results in greater worker loyal and employee citizenship behavior.
Amongst the two companies; SAP and Saviour Beds, the former company is doing a better job in motivating their employees and keeping them satisfied. SAP does not only focus or emphasize upon motivators as compared to Saviour Beds. Saviour Beds is doing a great job in keeping their employees morale high. However, they are unable to provide for monetary incentives, working conditions or any other hygiene factors. On the other hand, SAP is providing flexible packages and bonuses to its employees. They have not only focused upon Herzberg’s theory they have also taken into consideration Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. As SAP is able to provide for varying benefits and depending upon employees requirements, they have been able to cater for all their employees and help them keep satisfied and motivated. It is vital for organizations to help cater for the employee’s social needs and SAP has been doing this successfully. This has a positive impact upon employee behavior as they are more efficient and productive in their work.
In order to gain maximum benefit from employee’s efforts it is essential for companies to have a motivated and satisfied workforce. SAP has been able to achieve their business goals by involving workers, encouraging creativity, and rewarding employees adequately. Saviour Beds is also able to achieve their business goals because they do not burden their workers beyond their potential. By restricting the number of orders per week, they have set a standard and employees are not pressurized to work more. Both companies have been able to achieve their goals depending on their workers requirements and their abilities. The management of both companies function differently because they are from completely different industries.
Bibliography
BBC News. (2003). Lunch Lesson 20 – Motivating your staff. Retrieved 8 April, 2014 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/working_lunch/2988186.stm
