Academic Writing for International Students of Business

2 Example literature review

 Study the following example, from a student essay on motivation theory. Answer the
questions that follow.

222 Part 4: Writing Models

CONTENT AND PROCESS THEORIES

The various theories of motivation are usually divided into content theories and

process theories. The former attempt to ‘develop an understanding of fundamental

human needs’ (Cooper et al., 1992: 20). Among the most significant are Maslow’s

hierarchy of needs theory, McClellan’s achievement theory and Herzberg’s two-

factor theory. The process theories deal with the actual methods of motivating

workers, and include the work of Vroom, Locke and Adams.

Content theories

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory was first published in 1943 and envisages a

pyramid of needs on five levels, each of which has to be satisfied before moving up

to the next level. The first level is physiological needs such as food and drink,

followed by security, love, esteem and self-fulfilment (Rollinson, 2005: 195–196).

This theory was later revised by Alderfer, who reduced the needs to three:

existence, relatedness and growth, and re-named it the ERG theory. In addition, he

suggested that all three needs should be addressed simultaneously (Steers et al.,

2004: 381). McClelland had a slightly different emphasis when he argued that

individuals were primarily motivated by three principal needs: for achievement,

affiliation and power (Mullins, 2006: 1999).

In contrast, Herzberg suggested, on the basis of multiple interviews with engineers

and accountants during the 1950s, a two-factor theory: that job satisfaction and

dissatisfaction had differing roots. He claimed that so-called hygiene factors such

as conditions and pay were likely to cause negative attitudes if inadequate, while

positive attitudes came from the nature of the job itself. In other words, workers

were satisfied if they found their work intrinsically interesting, but would not be

motivated to work harder merely by good salaries or holiday allowances. Instead

workers needed to be given more responsibility, more authority or more

challenging tasks to perform (Vroom and Deci, 1992: 252). Herzberg’s work has

probably been the most influential of all the theories in this field, and is still widely

used today, despite being the subject of some criticism, which will be considered

later.