Nucor Uses an Integrated Approach to Employee Motivation Essay

Nucor Uses an Integrated Approach to Employee Motivation - Essay Example Nucor’s HRD program is consistent with Maslow in providing a fixed, though comparatively lower level, of regular pay, just enough for the worker to meet his basic sustenance. But at Nucor higher pay must be justified by higher productivity, which in effect pertains to the workers’ esteem needs through pride in their workmanship. By linking good workmanship with performance bonuses, Nucor is able motivate its workers to be rewarded not only financially but with a feeling of pride in their work. Alderfer’s ERG Theory builds on Maslow’s Theory but groups the needs into a simpler hierarchy of Existence, Relatedness and Growth needs. But Alderfer differs from Maslow in that the ERG hierarchy need not be satisfied one level before the other, that is, a lower motivator does not need to be satisfied before higher motivators take over. In Nucor, this was evident in the situation in Hickman, where company electricians, without any order from supervisors, took the initiative to respond to an emergency including defraying traveling expenses from their own pockets and working 20-hour shifts to repair the damage. The case study states that this was done without any extra remuneration nor any kind of financial incentive. This is indicative of the ERG theory, since the workers fulfilled their relatedness and growth needs (i.e., pride in their company and commitment to their job) even above and beyond additional pay that would have meant to fulfilling existence needs. On the other hand, McClelland’s acquired-needs theory (also three advances the proposition that an individuals’ specific needs are acquired over time and are shaped by life experiences. The needs are classified as either achievement (nAch), affiliation (nAff) or power (nPow), and that a person’s motivation and effectiveness on the job are influences by these three needs. All three of these needs are present in Nucor’s system,