The role of intrinsic rewards – the psychological rewards that employees get from doing work that matters to them – is important around the world; But what is meaningful and rewarding can vary from culture to culture. Managers and technicians showed a mixed picture - with at least one goal in the "high" Maslow category.
The Herzberg Theory
Other substantive theories, such as the two-factor theory, add further understanding and effective practical application to motivating staff. The two-factor theory was formulated by the well-known work motivation theorist Frederick Herzberg and his colleagues.
McDonald’s New Latin Flavor
Before examining the two-factor theory in the international arena, it is important to note that Herzberg's theory has been criticized by some organizational behavior academics. Some researchers report that pay is a motivator for some groups, such as workers, or those for whom money is important for psychological reasons, such as a method of keeping score for their power and achievement needs. In other words, if a company gives its employees motivators, they will be satisfied; if it denies them motivators, they will not be satisfied; and if the hygiene factors are deficient, they may well be dissatisfied.
Much of the international research on the two-factor theory discussed next is directed at the satisfaction-dissatisfaction concerns rather than complex motivational needs, drives and goals.
International Findings on Herzberg’s Theory
Based on these findings, he concluded that "Herzberg's model appears to apply at all levels of the profession". Only the categories traditionally identified as hygiene factors were reported as sources of dissatisfaction by the participating Greek managers. contributed more significantly to job satisfaction than to dissatisfaction. Commenting on the results, the researcher noted that "the findings of this study support Herzberg's two-factor hypothesis: satisfaction arises from the nature of the work itself, while dissatisfaction is related to the conditions surrounding the work." 18.
Changes in the nature of the work itself are likely to be more valued than changes in organizational or interpersonal factors.
The Background of Achievement Motivation Theory
In summary, Herzberg's two-factor theory appears to reinforce Maslow's hierarchy of needs through its research support in the international arena. Although there are exceptions, such as in France, there seems little doubt that job content factors are more important than job context factors in motivating not only managers but also lower-level employees around the world, as Hofstede noted. In addition to the need hierarchy and two-factor theories of work motivation, achievement motivation theory has received relatively much attention in the international arena.
Achievement motivation theory has been applied to the actual practice of management more than the others, and has been the focus of a number of interesting international studies.
International Findings on Achievement Motivation Theory
Countries that fall into any of the other three quadrants of Figure 12–7 will not be very supportive of the high need for achievement. If international HR managers cannot change the situation or train the participants, they must adapt to the country's specific conditions and formulate a motivation strategy based on those conditions. 35 In the case of countries trying to implement changes that integrate values from one of the other quadrants in Figure 12–7, the challenge may be even greater.
However, like the hierarchy of needs and two-factor theories, achievement motivation theory must be adapted to meet the specific needs of the local culture.
Equity Theory
This combination (see the upper right quadrant of Figure 12-7) is found almost exclusively in Anglo countries or in nations that have been closely associated with them through colonization or treaty, such as India, Singapore and Hong Kong (associates with Great Britain) and the Philippines (associated with the United States). Yuchtman, for example, studied equity perceptions among managers and non-managers in an Israeli kibbutz production unit. The leaders perceived their contribution to be greater than any other group in the kibbutz.
In conclusion, while the theory may help explain why "equal pay for equal work" is a guiding motivational principle in countries such as the United States and Canada, it may have limited value in other parts of the world, including Asia and Latin America, where disparities have been in compensation according to gender, at least traditionally, culturally acceptable.
Goal-Setting Theory
On the other hand, many studies question the importance of equity theory in explaining motivation in the international environment. For example, equity theory posits that when people are not treated fairly, they will take action to reduce inequality, such as working less, filing a complaint, or being transferred to a different department. Furthermore, in countries such as Japan and Korea, men and women are usually paid differently for doing the same work, but due to long-standing cultural conditioning, women may not feel they are being treated unfairly.
Although this may be true, the results still point to the fact that equity theory is not universally applicable to explain motivation and job satisfaction.
Expectancy Theory
Eden used it when studying workers in an Israeli kibbutz and found some support; 48 and Matsui and colleagues reported that the theory could be successfully applied in Japan. 49 On the other hand, it is important to remember that expectancy theory assumes that employees have significant control over their environment, a condition that does not exist in many cultures (e.g., Asia). It appears that expectancy theory is best able to explain employee motivation in cultures where there is a strong internal locus of control (for example, in the United States).
In short, the theory appears to be culture-bound, and international managers should be aware of this limitation in their efforts to apply this theory to motivate human resources.
Job Design
The Japanese like to structure tasks, so there is no doubt about what needs to be done and how it needs to be done. The masculinity index for the Japanese is high, indicating that they attach great importance to money and other material symbols of success. In designing workplaces, the Japanese structure mandates that work be performed within these cultural constraints.
In Sweden, uncertainty avoidance is low, so job descriptions, policy manuals and similar work-related materials are more open or general in contrast to the detailed procedural materials developed by the Japanese.
Sociotechnical Job Designs
Although Japanese employees contribute many ideas through the extensive use of quality circles, Japanese managers give them very little say in what actually happens in the organization (contrary to the inaccurate image often painted by the media, which portrays Japanese companies as very high-quality depicted). democratic and bottom-up) 50 and rely heavily on monetary rewards, as evidenced by the fact that the Japanese view money as a key motivator more than workers in any other industrialized country. The challenge for multinationals is to adapt job design to the needs of the host country's culture. In fact, there is evidence that the most profitable Japanese-owned companies in the United States are those that delegate a high degree of authority to their American companies.
Some of the best examples of attempts to integrate work designs with culture and personality are provided by sociotechnical work designs.
Work Centrality
The resulting stagnant economies in Asia, along with weakened demand for Volvo's product lines in both Europe and the United States, caused the company to lay off workers and take steps to increase its efficiency. One study on the centrality of work examined the effect of parenthood on men's and women's work-family centrality and investment in them in the bicultural context of the Israeli high-tech industry (ie, family-centered Israeli society on the one hand). and male labor-centered high-tech industry on the other). Especially among Japanese workers, there has been a growing interest in the impact of overwork on the physical condition of employees.
A report by the Japanese government noted that one-third of the working-age population suffers from chronic fatigue, and a recent survey by the Japanese Prime Minister's Office found that a majority of those surveyed complained that they are chronically tired and feel emotionally stressed. and some complained of abusive workplace conditions.
Karoshi: Stressed Out in Japan
63 This study also showed that findings regarding job satisfaction in the international arena are often different from those expected. Also, as in previous studies in the United States, as the size of Korean organizations increased, commitment decreased, and the more positive the climate perceptions, the greater the commitment. This led him to recommend what he calls "balance in synergy" between partners.
This balance will largely require that all three groups – Americans, Europeans and Asians – make changes in the way they approach their work.
Reward Systems
One of the results of these Japanese cultural values is karoshi, which we discussed earlier in this chapter. Perhaps the theory's biggest shortcoming is that it seems culture-bound. Research shows that some motivational approaches in the United States have been successfully transferred to Russia.
Conversely, what should a Japanese company know about the central part of the work in the United States.
In the
International Spotlight
Questions
A company's reputation is important, but it is always a function of the people who work there. Tokyo, whether the company is likely to find that the basic hierarchical needs of the workers are the same. How an understanding of the two-factor theory of motivation might be useful for motivating staff in both locations.
The company plans to send four people to each of these offices and recruit the rest of the staff from the local market.
You Be the International
