Herzberg

Herzberg

ONE MORE TIME: HOW DO YOU MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES?
FREDERICK HERZBERG, HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW CLASSIC, JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1968
How many articles, books, speeches, and workshops have pleaded plaintively, "How do I get an employee to do what I want?" The psychology of motivation is tremendously complex, and what has been unravelled with any degree of assurance is small indeed. But the dismal ratio of knowledge to speculation has not dampened the enthusiasm for new forms of snake oil that are constantly coming on the market, many of them with academic testimonials. Doubtless this article will have no depressing impact on the market for snake oil, but since the ideas expressed in it have been tested in many corporations and other organizations, it will help - I hope - to redress the imbalance in the aforementioned ratio. Frederick Herzberg complements the article with a retrospective commentary
'MOTIVATING' WITH KITA
In lectures to industry on the problem, I have found that the audiences are anxious for quick and practical answers, so I will begin with a straightforward, practical formula for moving people.
What is the simplest, surest, and most direct way of getting someone to do something? Ask? But if the person responds that he or she does not want to do it, then that calls for psychological consultation to determine the reason for such obstinacy. Tell the person? The response shows that he or she does not understand you, and now an expert in communication methods has to be brought in to show you how to get through. Give the person a monetary incentive? I do not need to remind the reader of the complexity and difficulty involved in setting up and administering an incentive system. Show the person? This means a costly training program. We need a simple way.
Every audience contains the "direct action" manager who shouts, "Kick the person!" And this type of manager is right. The surest and least circumlocuted way of getting someone to do something is to administer a...