The study of motivation in the business field has thus far been the most challenging and confusing area (Steers, Porter & Bigley, 1991). Managers often fail to motivate their staff because of their wrong views in motivation (McNamara, 1999; Cole, 1998) (refer to Appendix A). There is an abundance of work motivation theorists that have proposed different ideas on motivation but only few stands out from the test of time in the ever-changing workforce values (Hodgetts, 1990). Among these few theorists are Maslow (a clinical psychologist) and his Hierarchy of Needs, Hertzberg (an organizational psychologist) with his hygiene-motivator factors, and Frederick Winslow Taylor (an engineer), the father of Scientific Management (refer to Appendix B). Three of them are widely acclaimed among the business field and it is worthwhile to understand the similarities and differences found in their respective perspectives.
             Among the three theorists, there were more similarities identified between Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Hertzberg's hygiene-motivator factors. Firstly, it is verified that both Maslow & Hertzberg from the Cognitive Growth School introduced non-identical but similar models (Fulop & Linstead, 1999) (refer to Appendix C). Maslow's lower-order needs are analogous to Hertzberg's hygiene factors; Maslow's higher-order needs corresponded to Hertzberg's motivation factors (Hodgetts, 1990; Coles, 1998). It was clear that Hertzberg's hygiene factors overlapped with Maslow's physiological (money), safety (company policy, working conditions), social (interpersonal relations), and some degree of esteem needs (status) (Fulop & Linstead, 1999). Nonetheless, Hertzberg's motivators fit nicely onto Maslow's esteem (advancement, recognition) and self-actualisation (work itself, achievement, and possibility of growth) needs (Fulop & Linstead, 1999). Hertzberg, who adapted Maslow's theory in an i...