Which one of the following is not a ‘hygiene factor’ of Herzberg's Two Factor theory ?
Responsibility
Responsibility — option 3. It is a motivator, not a hygiene factor.
The theory. Frederick Herzberg asked accountants and engineers to describe times when they felt exceptionally good and exceptionally bad about their work. The striking finding was that the two lists named different things — the causes of satisfaction were not simply the opposites of the causes of dissatisfaction. He concluded that two separate sets of factors are at work.
| Hygiene factors (maintenance) | Motivators (satisfiers) | |
|---|---|---|
| Relate to | The context of the job — the environment in which the work is done | The content of the job —> the work itself |
| Examples | Company policy and administration, supervision, interpersonal relations, working conditions, salary, status, job security | Achievement, recognition, the work itself, RESPONSIBILITY, advancement, growth |
| If absent | Dissatisfaction | No satisfaction — but not dissatisfaction |
| If present | No dissatisfaction — but not satisfaction | Satisfaction and motivation |
The central claim, which is what the question tests. Satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not two ends of one scale but two separate continua :
| Continuum | Runs from | To | Governed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | Dissatisfaction | No dissatisfaction | Hygiene factors |
| Second | No satisfaction | Satisfaction | Motivators |
So improving pay or working conditions removes discontent but does not motivate; only the content of the work does that. Herzberg’s phrase for merely improving hygiene was “KITA” — movement, not motivation.
Why the three distractors are hygiene factors. Interpersonal relations, working conditions and job security all describe the surroundings of the work rather than the work itself. Responsibility, by contrast, is something the job gives the person to do, which is why it sits with achievement and advancement among the motivators.
What follows for practice. The theory is the direct source of job enrichment — adding planning and control responsibilities to a job vertically, rather than merely adding more tasks of the same kind, which is job enlargement. It also underlies the design of the Job Characteristics Model of Hackman and Oldham.
The criticisms are examinable: the sample was narrow, the critical-incident method invites people to claim credit for good outcomes and blame the environment for bad ones, and satisfaction was assumed to translate into productivity without being measured.
Hence, the answer is Responsibility.
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Which among the following is not a hygiene factor ?
Important Questions from Motivation
What do you think is the best tool to motivate students?
______ is the set of attributes used to describe oneself.
Which of the following statement is correct?
I. Praising children for ability and hard-work comes under intrinsic motivation
II. Giving children money or treats for good grades comes under extrinsic motivation
Which of the following strategies can be used to enhance the motivation level of the learners?
I. Students should be encouraged to make decisions.
II. Students should be praised for desirable behaviour.
III. A teacher should spend more time on student weakness.
Which one of the following is not a function of motivation in learning?
