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Understanding the ‘human’ dimension of change
to a strategy which requires the provision of extrinsic motivation to elicit per-
formance, while self-actualizing assumptions lead to a strategy which requires
the provision of opportunities for the employee’s existing motivation to be used.
The former needs extrinsic rewards (economic or social) to be exchanged for per-
formance; the latter needs the exchange of opportunities to gain intrinsic
rewards (the satisfaction of higher-order needs within the work situation) for per-
formance. In addition, the performance criteria used would differ. In the former,
the emphasis is on compliance with desired behaviour patterns but in the latter
emphasis is placed on quality and creativity.
The implications for work design are also radically different. Instead of telling
people how to do the job, managers using this approach explain what is to be
achieved and allow the employee to exercise his or her own discretion. Emphasis
is placed on making the work itself more challenging and meaningful and man-
agement relinquish much of the direct control of work to the employee.

‘Complex man’

There is a certain amount of evidence to support all the assumptions outlined so
far. In many cases the models can be used to explain and predict some behaviour,
but there is also considerable contradictory evidence. People not only are more
complex than the models suggest but also differ.
Schein (1965) outlines the following five assumptions on which this model of
‘complex man’ is based:

1 People are complex and variable. They have many needs, arranged in a hier-
archy of personal importance but the hierarchy varies over time and according
to the situation. In addition, their motives interact and form complex moti-
vational patterns.
2 People can adopt new motives as a result of their experiences and hence the indi-
vidual’s pattern of motivation and relationship with the organization results from
a complex interaction between individual needs and organizational experiences.
3 People’s motives may vary in different organizational situations. If they can-

not satisfy their needs within the formal organization they may do so in the
informal organization or in other activities. If the job itself is complex, differ-
ent parts of it may engage different motives.
4 People’s work involvement may stem from a variety of motives and the out-
come in terms of their performance and satisfaction is only partly dependent
on their motivation. The nature of the task to be performed, relations with
others, abilities and experience all interact to produce particular outcomes. For
example, a highly skilled, poorly motivated worker may be as effective and sat-
isfied as an unskilled, highly motivated worker.
5 People will respond to different management strategies in ways dependent on
their own motives and abilities and the nature of the task. Therefore, no sin-
gle correct managerial strategy exists.
The overall lesson of these assumptions is not that the earlier models are wrong,
but that each is right with particular people in particular circumstances. Hence

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