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first reserve list; those who you may call on if the appointment goes wrong 
for any reason; it is worth taking particular care with your reply。 Here you 
can emphasize the strength of their application but that the background 
of another candidate was closer to your needs。 You don’t have to go into 
details as to specifically why a particular candidate got the job and they 
did not。 
Aside from exuding professionalism and being plain good manners; 
the job…hunting world is big and deep and at some stage you and your 
organization will be fishing there again。 
MOTIVATION 
As a subject for serious study motivation is a relatively new ‘science’。 
Thomas Hobbes; a 17th…century English philosopher; suggested that human 
nature could best be understood as self…interested cooperation。 He claimed 
that motivation could be summarized as choices revolving around pain or 
pleasure。 Sigmund Freud was equally frugal in suggesting only two basic 
needs: the life and the death instinct。 These ideas were the first to seriously 
challenge the time…honoured ‘carrot and stick’ method of motivation that 
pervaded every aspect of organizational life; from armies at war to weavers 
in Britain working through the Industrial Revolution。 
The first hint; in the business world; that there might be more to 
motivation than rewards and redundancy came with Harvard Business 
School professor Elton Mayo’s renowned Hawthorne Studies。 These were 
conducted between 1927 and 1932 at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works 
in Chicago。 Starting out to see what effect illumination had on productivity; 
Mayo moved on to see how fatigue and monotony fi。。ed into the equation 
by varying rest breaks; temperature; humidity and work hours; even 
providing a free meal at one point。 Working with a team of six women; 
Mayo changed every parameter he could think of; including increasing and 
Organizational Behaviour 141 
decreasing working hours and rest breaks; finally he returned to the original 
conditions。 Every change resulted in an improvement in productivity; 
except when two 10…minute pauses morning and a。。ernoon were expanded 
to six 5…minute pauses。 These frequent work pauses; they felt; upset their 
work rhythm。 
Mayo’s conclusion was that showing ‘someone upstairs cares’; engendering 
a sense of ownership and responsibility were important 
motivators that could be harnessed by management。 A。。er Mayo came 
a flurry of theories on motivation。 William McDougall in his book The 
Energies of Men (1932; published by Methuen) listed 18 basic needs that 
he referred to as instincts (eg curiosity; sell…assertions; submission)。 H A 
Murray; assistant director of the Harvard Psychological Clinic; catalogued 
20 core psychological needs; including achievement; affiliation and power。 
The motivation theories most studied and applied by business school 
graduates are those espoused by Maslow (see Chapter 3) and these below。 
Theory X and theory Y 
Douglas McGregor; an American social psychologist who taught at two 
top schools; Harvard and the Massachuse。。s Institute of Technology (MIT); 
developed these theories to try to explain the assumptions about human 
behaviour that underlies management action。 
Theory ‘X’ makes the following assumptions: 
。 The average person has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it 
if possible。 So management needs to put emphasis on productivity; 
incentive schemes and the idea of a ‘fair day’s work’。 
。 Because of this dislike of work; most people must be coerced; controlled; 
directed and threatened with punishment to get them to achieve the 
pany’s goals。 
。 People prefer to be directed; want to avoid responsibility; have li。。le 
ambition and really want a secure life above all。 
But; while Theory ‘X’ does explain some human behaviour; it does not 
provide a framework for understanding behaviour in the best businesses。 
McGregor; and others; have proposed an alternative。 
Theory ‘Y’ has as its basis the belief that: 
。 Physical or mental effort at work is as natural as either rest or play。 
Under the right conditions; hard work can be source of great satisfaction。 
Under the wrong conditions it can be a drudge; which will inspire li。。le 
effort and less thought from those forced to participate。 
。 Once mi。。ed to a goal; most people at work are capable of a high 
degree of self…management。
142 The Thirty…Day MBA 
。 Job satisfaction and personal recognition are the highest ‘rewards’ that 
can be given; and will result in the greatest level of mitment to the 
task in hand。 
。 Under the right conditions; most people will accept responsibility and 
even wele more of it。 
。 Few people in business are being ‘used’ to anything like their capacity。 
Neither are they contributing creatively towards solving problems。 
A typical Theory…X boss is likely to keep away from their employees as 
much as possible。 However small the business; for example; they may make 
sure that they have an office to themselves; and its door is kept tightly shut。 
Contact with others will be confined to giving instructions about work and 
plaining about poor performance。 A Theory…Y approach will involve 
collaborating over decisions rather than issuing orders; and sharing 
feedback so that everyone can learn from both success and failures; rather 
than just reprimanding when things go wrong。 
Hygiene and motivation theory 
Frederick Hertzberg; professor of psychology at Case Western Reserve 
University in Cleveland; United States; discovered that distinctly separate 
factors were the cause of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction。 His research 
revealed that five factors stood out as strong determinants of job 
satisfaction。 
Motivators 
。 Achievement: People want to succeed; so if you can set goals that people 
can reach and be。。er; they will be much more satisfied than if they are 
constantly missing targets。 
。 Recognition: Everyone likes their hard work to be acknowledged。 Not 
everyone wants that recognition made in the same way; however。 
。 Responsibility: People like the opportunity to take responsibility 
for their own work and for the whole task。 This helps them grow as 
individuals。 
。 Advancement: Promotion or at any rate progress are key motivators。 
In a small firm; providing career prospects for key staff can be a fundamental 
reason for growth。 
。 The a。。ractiveness of work itself (job interest): There is no reason why a 
job should be dull。 You need to make people’s jobs interesting and give 
them a say in how their work is done。 That will encourage new ideas on 
how things can be done be。。er。 
When the reasons for dissatisfaction were analysed they were found to be 
concerned with a different range of factors。
Organizational Behaviour 143 
Hygiene factors 
。 pany policy: Rules; formal and informal; such as start and finish 
times; meal breaks; dress code。 
。 Supervision: To what extent are employees allowed to get on with the 
job; or do people have someone looking over their shoulders all day? 
。 Administration: Do things work well; or is paperwork in a muddle and 
supplies always e in late? 
。 Salary: Are employees ge。。ing at least the going rate and benefits 
parable with others? 
。 Working conditions: Are people expected to work in substandard 
conditions with poor equipment and li。。le job security? 
。 Interpersonal relationships: Is the atmosphere in work good or are 
people at daggers drawn? 
Hertzberg called these causes of dissatisfaction ‘hygiene factors’。 He 
reasoned that the lack of hygiene will cause disease; but the presence of 
hygienic conditions will not; of itself; produce good health。 So the lack of 
adequate ‘job hygiene’ will cause dissatisfaction but hygienic conditions 
alone will not bring about job satisfaction; to do that you have to work on 
the determinants of job satisfaction。 
Other theories of motivation 
There are a plethora of theories of how to motivate people at work and elsewhere。 
(See the partial list below。) As the subject has matured; researchers 
have segmented the market into ever…smaller sub…topics; for example 
focusing on certain subgroups; difficult peop

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