Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
prosperous times. They're less likely to be innovators and will be more concerned about
getting a “tried-and-true” product at the lowest cost. In such an environment, safety is a
much more important motivator than the prospect for larger fi nancial rewards.
Belongingness
. After they have achieved a reasonable degree of confi dence in their safety,
people become concerned with their social acceptance and belonging. Social approval
and peer acceptance can cause a great deal of self-applied pressure and can be a strong
source of motivation. If others are shifting to a new product or practice, farmers may be
motivated to try the idea to “keep up” with their neighboring producers. Likewise, food
consumers may be interested in trying out the latest energy drink as they “keep up” with
other members of the health club where they work out.
Ego status
. With a comfortable degree of social acceptance, most individuals become con-
cerned with their self-esteem or status relative to their group. Group respect and the
need to feel important depend heavily on the responses of other group members.
Recognition from superiors and peers is a compelling drive for many people and may be
responsible for the upward movement of a great many successful people. When sales-
people help customers excel, they're appealing to the customer's self-esteem or egos.
For example, a livestock or poultry producer may be motivated to have the top rate of
gain, highest milk production, or fewest days to market. An incentive/recognition pro-
gram such as “Salesperson of the Year” may work well for salespersons in a food man-
ufacturing fi rm who are highly motivated to be the very best in the region.
Self-actualization
. The highest level of need, and the one that becomes important only when
lower-level needs have been relatively well satisfi ed, is self-actualization, the feeling of
self-worth or personal accomplishment. This category of needs is highly abstract and
takes a multitude of forms among different individuals. Self-actualization may be
achieved through creative activities such as art, music, helping others in community
activities, or building a business. The results of self-actualization embrace an attitude of
“I feel I've made an important and worthwhile contribution.”
In our society, most people's survival and safety needs are relatively well taken care of, so
these are seldom strong motivators. Only when these needs are threatened do they become
much of an issue. Although employees may feel good about a retirement plan, retirement
benefi ts are seldom a factor in motivating them to higher levels of productivity. Even when
job security becomes the focal point of labor negotiations, few would argue that such factors
motivate employees to a very large degree, since they are becoming expected as normal and
reasonable.
Belongingness or group acceptance can exert somewhat more pressure on people. New
line workers may seek out belongingness as they try to fi t in with other workers on their shift.
The dynamics of the group will determine whether or not this attempt to fi t in results in
positive or negative outcomes from the fi rm's standpoint. Supervisors must recognize and
encourage peer group acceptance and manager acceptance as important to employee
performance.
Ego status or recognition is one of the most common and most productive needs through
which agribusiness managers supervise and motivate employees. A great many people seem
to be responsive to ego need fulfi llment. Nearly everyone feels they want to be important and
recognized. Managers who give employees recognition frequently, honestly, and positively
are often rewarded with highly motivated personnel. Such recognition can take many forms.
The simplest kind may be verbal: compliments are very effective when they are honest. They
can also be nonverbal: simply a smile or a nod of approval. Listening is also very powerful.
