Essay on Managing People Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

On Managing People - Essay Example Some of the theories which have been used are the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s two factor theory, McClelland theory of motivation, Alderfer's ERG theory. Theories and their applications in the context of the case As per the goal setting theory, individuals generally have a clear drive towards reaching towards a certain state or goal. Reaching this end state is perceived as being a reward in itself. However the goals’ efficiency is affected by the following features, namely, specificity, proximity and difficulty. Such was the case with Steve Jobs. Jobs motivation was derived largely through his desire to change the world through his innovation. It is true that he was much lower in comparison to his competitors in terms of riches or wealth. However, it was not his motive to earn the reputation of being the wealthiest of his time; he was rather focused towards creating such innovative products which would be appreciated and accepted by all and would be ac cepted and perceived as such a thing which changed their lives. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Abraham Maslow has presented the hierarchy of needs of individuals which can be explored to explain the context of the case study. ... Being the owner of Apple, which is one of the largest multinational organizations in the world, it is imperative to understand that he had reached the pinnacled of success in his career. Thus it can be said that all of his self esteem needs had been satisfied. However, the fact that he continued to work on innovation and creation depicts that he was still in the lookout to attain his needs to attain self actualization. His continuous strive towards enhancing his performance as being a leader as well as his people in the organization demonstrate his craving for the need of self actualization (Gorman, 2004, p.34). Herzberg’s two factor theory ‘Herzberg’s two factor theory’ is different from that of Maslow in that the former presents two categories of conditions which are known as ‘motivators’ and ‘hygiene factors’ respectively. Factors which contribute directly towards motivating people to work harder is named as motivators and facto rs which de-motivate employees in their absence but do not motivate them when present are known as hygiene factors. In the case of Steve Jobs, the fact of being the CEO does not act as a motivator for him. It is rather a hygiene factor for him. Even though he produced the successful iPod player and iTunes which was considered to be quite a revolution in recording industry he was not quite content with it. This was followed by the production of the iPhone and the Macbook Air in 2007 (Mullins, 2010, p.411-413). Such big achievements could not satisfy him much and thus they can be considered to hygiene factors. They did not contribute towards making him work harder; however, their absence could have acted as de-motivators in his career. The case reveals that Steve Jobs was not the