The purpose of the study is to determine if long-term reductions in Dissertation

The purpose of the study is to determine if long-term reductions in employee compensation, benefits, and incentives directly aff - Dissertation Example Having a clear understanding of the motivation of employees is tremendously significant to managers as well as the supervisors, particularly in the industries today where the limited budgets make it complicated to reward workers monetarily. The supervisors have to possess a clear idea of how the monetary incentives can motivate the employees to work harder in an organization (Bin Saeed, 1985). In order to analyze the effect of the long-term reductions in employee compensation, benefits, and incentives directly affecting the State of Colorado workers’ motivation, job satisfaction and morale, it is important to include the two well-known motivational theories i.e. Herzberg’s two factor theory (1959) as well as Adam’s equity theory (1963), into the project’s theoretical framework. The Herzberg’s Two-factor theory (1959), also commonly known as the motivation-hygiene theory, implies that there are certain factors at a workplace that result in job satisf action, while an entirely different set of factors cause employee dissatisfaction (Herzberg, 1959). According to the theory, employee motivation is influenced by two distinct factors. Psychological well-being and satisfaction were factors of the ‘motivation factors’, while dissatisfaction resulted from the ‘hygiene factors’. ... n the other hand, employee dissatisfaction is usually a result of missing extrinsic motivation factors or the hygiene factors, that include pay, security, conditions, and so on (Wigdor & House, 2006). If we take into consideration the decrease in hygiene factors of the State Workers for e.g. pay, security, and fringe benefits we see that over the previous 3 fiscal years (2007-2010) there was a decrease in typical intrinsic motivators (opportunities of advancement, statewide hiring, and promotion freeze). Herzberg’s theory helps explains the reasons for lack of motivation among the Colorado employees and their consistent job dissatisfaction. As the hygiene factors decrease, the employees lose their motivation to work and this is presumably characteristic of the department of EHS at CSU, since a steady decline in their motivational levels, job satisfaction and productivity is seen. Herzberg’s two factor theory can also be connected to Maslow’s levels of hierarchy i n order to provide comprehensive understanding of the fact that negligent incentives can contribute to employee dissatisfaction. Abraham H. Maslow made an effort to devise a needs-based structure of human motivation. Moreover, White & Pierce (2000) also imply that the foundation of Maslow’s motivation theory suggests that human beings are pushed forward by unsatisfied wants, and that some lower  factors need to be fulfilled before higher needs can be satisfied. According to Maslow, the needs can be divided into certain categories such as physiological, survival, safety, love, and esteem, that must be fulfilled before a person can act selflessly. He gave these needs the name of "deficiency needs" (White & Pierce, 2000). Relating the research of Maslow as well as Herzberg, we understand that their