Rational Authority Bureaucracy: Frederick Herzberg Motivation Job Satisfaction

1. Weber visited the United States in 1904 to study the U.S. economy.
It was here that

he observed the spirit of capitalism. He noted that capitalism in the United States
encouraged competition and innovation. He also realized that businesses were run by
professional managers and that they were linked through economic relationships. He
contrasted this with capitalistic practices in Germany where a small group of powerful
people controlled the economy. In Germany, tradition dictated behaviors. People were
given positions of authority based on their social standing and connections, and
businesses were linked by family and social relationships.
Weber was concerned that authority was not a function of experience and ability, but
won by social status. Because of this, managers were not loyal to the organization.
Organizational resources were used for the benefit of owners and managers rather than
to meet organizational goals. Weber was convinced that organizations based
on rational authority, where authority was given to the most competent and qualified
people, would be more efficient than those based on who you knew. Weber called this
type of rational organization a bureaucracy.
Weber identified six characteristics or rules of a bureaucracy. They are summarized in

the following table.
2. Weber thought bureaucracy would result in the highest level of efficiency, rationality,
and worker satisfaction. In fact, he felt that bureaucracy was so logical that it would
transform all of society. Unfortunately, Weber did not anticipate that each of the
bureaucratic characteristics could also have a negative result. For example, division of
labor leads to specialized and highly skilled workers, but it also can lead to tedium and
boredom. Formal rules and regulations lead to uniformity and predictability, but they
also can lead to excessive procedures and “red tape.” In spite of its potential problems,
some form of bureaucracy is the dominant form of most large organizations today.
*This theory, also called the Motivation-Hygiene Theory or the dual-factor theory,
was penned by Frederick Herzberg in 1959. This American psychologist, who was very
interested in people’s motivation and job satisfaction, came up with the theory. He
conducted his research by asking a group of people about their good and bad
experiences at work. He was surprised that the group answered questions about their
good experiences very differently from the ones about their bad experiences.
Based on this, he developed the theory that people’s job satisfaction depends on two
kinds of factors. Factors for satisfaction (motivators/satisfiers) and factors
for dissatisfaction (hygiene factors/ dissatisfiers).
3. In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioural scientist proposed a two-factor theory or

the motivator-hygiene theory. According to Herzberg, there are some job factors that
result in satisfaction (motivational) while there are other job factors that prevent
dissatisfaction (Hygiene). According to Herzberg, the opposite of “Satisfaction” is “No
satisfaction” and the opposite of “Dissatisfaction” is “No Dissatisfaction”.
4. Herzberg classified these job factors into two categories-
a. Hygiene factors- Hygiene factors are those job factors which are essential for existence of
motivation at workplace. These do not lead to positive satisfaction for long-term. But if these
factors are absent / if these factors are non-existant at workplace, then they lead to
dissatisfaction. In other words, hygiene factors are those factors which when
adequate/reasonable in a job, pacify the employees and do not make them dissatisfied. These
factors are extrinsic to work. Hygiene factors are also called as dissatisfiers or maintenance
factors as they are required to avoid dissatisfaction. These factors describe the job
environment/scenario. The hygiene factors symbolized the physiological needs which the
individuals wanted and expected to be fulfilled. Hygiene factors include:
 Pay - The pay or salary structure should be 

appropriate and reasonable. It must be equal
and competitive to those in the same industry
in the same domain.
 Company Policies and administrative policies
- The company policies should not be too
rigid. They should be fair and clear. It should
include flexible working hours, dress code,
breaks, vacation, etc.
 Fringe benefits - The employees should be
offered health care plans (mediclaim),
benefits for the family members, employee
help programmes, etc.
 Physical Working conditions - The working
conditions should be safe, clean and hygienic.
The work equipments should be updated and
well-maintained.
 Status - The employees’ status within the
organization should be familiar and retained.
 Interpersonal relations - The relationship of
the employees with his peers, superiors and
subordinates should be appropriate and
acceptable. There should be no conflict or
humiliation element present.
 Job Security - The organization must provide
job security to the employees.
b. Motivational factors- According to Herzberg, the hygiene factors cannot be regarded as

motivators. The motivational factors yield positive satisfaction. These factors are inherent to work.
These factors motivate the employees for a superior performance. These factors are called
satisfiers. These are factors involved in performing the job. Employees find these factors
intrinsically rewarding. The motivators symbolized the psychological needs that were perceived
as an additional benefit. Motivational factors include:
 Recognition - The employees should be praised and recognized for their
accomplishments by the managers.
 Sense of achievement - The employees must have a sense of achievement. This
depends on the job. There must be a fruit of some sort in the job.
 Growth and promotional opportunities - There must be growth and advancement
opportunities in an organization to motivate the employees to perform well.
 Responsibility - The employees must hold themselves responsible for the work. The
managers should give them ownership of the work. They should minimize control but
retain accountability.
 Meaningfulness of the work - The work itself should be meaningful, interesting and
challenging for the employee to perform and to get motivated.
Limitations of Two-Factor Theory

The two factor theory is not free from limitations:
1. The two-factor theory overlooks situational variables.

2. Herzberg assumed a correlation between satisfaction and productivity. But the research
conducted by Herzberg stressed upon satisfaction and ignored productivity.
3. The theory’s reliability is uncertain. Analysis has to be made by the raters. The raters may spoil
the findings by analyzing same response in different manner.
4. No comprehensive measure of satisfaction was used. An employee may find his job acceptable
despite the fact that he may hate/object part of his job.
5. The two factor theory is not free from bias as it is based on the natural reaction of employees
when they are enquired the sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work. They will blame
dissatisfaction on the external factors such as salary structure, company policies and peer
relationship. Also, the employees will give credit to themselves for the satisfaction factor at work.
6. The theory ignores blue-collar workers. Despite these limitations, Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory is
acceptable broadly.
Implications of Two-Factor Theory
The Two-Factor theory implies that the managers must stress upon guaranteeing the adequacy of
the hygiene factors to avoid employee dissatisfaction. Also, the managers must make sure that the
work is stimulating and rewarding so that the employees are motivated to work and perform harder
and better. This theory emphasize upon job-enrichment so as to motivate the employees. The job
must utilize the employee’s skills and competencies to the maximum. Focusing on the motivational
factors can improve work-quality.

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1. Weber visited the United States in 1904 to study the U.S. economy.

It was here that

Weber identified six characteristics or rules of a bureaucracy. They are summarized in

3. In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioural scientist proposed a two-factor theory or

 Pay - The pay or salary structure should be 

b. Motivational factors- According to Herzberg, the hygiene factors cannot be regarded as

Limitations of Two-Factor Theory

1. The two-factor theory overlooks situational variables.

Implications of Two-Factor Theory

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