Volume 4, issue 5, 2025
120
THE TEACHINGS OF EUROPEAN SCHOLARS ON LABOR MOTIVATION
Aslanov Aziz Mexmonovich
Researcher at Tashkent State University of Economics
Abstract:
This article examines the teachings of European scientists on labor motivation. The
historical precedence in studying the problem of labor motivation and factors determining the
motivation process belongs to foreign scholars, who first encountered a highly relevant issue in
societies with developed market economies and began to lay the foundation for its study.
Therefore, this article explores the teachings of European scientists on labor motivation.
Proposals and recommendations have been developed for further study of European scientists'
teachings on labor motivation.
Key words:
work, motivation, theory, development, human relations, school, enthusiasm, duty,
conscience, highest human values, theory of needs, motivation models.
Introduction.
Among the numerous studies devoted to labor activity, a special place is occupied
by the study of the problem of labor motivation. Labor motivation is the subject of research by
many scientists both in our country and abroad. World experience shows that the growth of
income of the population can affect the productivity of its labor in different ways. In order to
maintain a high level of labor productivity of employees, it is necessary to constantly encourage
and strengthen external motivation. In this regard, one of the most pressing issues today is the
development of scientific and practical proposals and recommendations for the use of effective
methods of motivating employees in the activities of various enterprises and organizations in a
market economy. Because in order to achieve high competitiveness at enterprises, each work
process must lead to effective results.
Therefore, in the modern era, the study of modern methods of labor motivation is relevant.
Analysis of literature on the topic
In modern conditions, in the process of studying labor incentives, the main subject of
management is the individual. A person's capabilities are determined by their physical and
cognitive abilities. Along with these opportunities, working conditions and preparation for work
ensure efficiency. The desire to work is determined by a person's interest in work and
satisfaction with it, motivation based on needs and work results. When analyzing interest in work,
special attention should be paid to factors of interest - needs, motives, and incentives.
It can be noted that the historical priority in studying the problem of labor motivation and the
factors determining the motivation process belongs to foreign scholars, who first encountered a
problem of high relevance in societies with a developed market economy and began to create a
foundation for its study.
The study of the problems of the concept of motivation appeared long ago, and the necessary
conditions for learning labor management can be indirectly considered in 4000 BC, it is possible
that the first managers who encountered the concept of motivation were Egyptians. In addition,
the problem of labor management can be seen in Chinese history as early as 1100 BC. The
scientific study of the causes of human activity began with the great thinkers of antiquity,
Heraclitus, Socrates, Aristotle, and other philosophers. Throughout the entire period of studying
this problem, the process of changing the concept of "motivation" has undergone significant
Volume 4, issue 5, 2025
121
changes. This can be clearly seen in Table - 1 below, which describes the time frame, authors,
key ideas, and works related to the concept of motivation.
According to B.B. Kovalenko, "A manager plans and organizes the work of executives to
achieve the goals set during their work." Different numbers of people may be involved in this
process, and their work needs to be coordinated to achieve the planned result. However, this is
not enough to fully transform ideas and plans into actions to achieve the result. People need to be
motivated to achieve their goals." [1]
According to N.N. Barabash, "Motivation is the process by which a manager motivates other
people to work in order to achieve the goals of the organization, while simultaneously satisfying
their personal desires and needs. Needs, on the other hand, are feelings that arise and are
contained within a person, common to different people, but at the same time manifested in a
unique way for each person.” [2]
According to L.M. Bazavlutskaya and other scientists, "The theory and practice of motivation
contribute to improving labor and production organization at local enterprises.”
[3]
According to R.A. Isaev, "Motivation is understood as a set of psychological factors that trigger
a person's inner feeling, shaping the direction of their thoughts, actions, and actions." Labor
motivation is typically linked to a person's internal desire to satisfy their needs through work as a
biological being and a subject of social relations.” [4]
According to F.E.Udalov, O.F.Alyokhin, O.S.Gaponov, "Managers have always been motivating
their employees. In ancient times, motivation was mainly carried out by alternating "carrot" and
"stick"." From the end of the eighteenth to the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a
widespread belief that people would always work harder if they had the opportunity to earn more.
It was thus considered that motivation is a simple question, reduced to offering appropriate
monetary rewards in return for the efforts being made. The approach to the motivation of the
scientific management school was based on this.” [5]
According to N.E. Ryabykova, "The more a person believes that all their expectations will be
justified, the stronger the incentive for activity will be. Expectations theory shows what
managers need to do to have a strong incentive to work. 1) To train subordinates to achieve the
desired results and to create all the necessary conditions for this. 2) To establish a direct
relationship between the results of labor and the remuneration of subordinates. 3) To study the
needs of subordinates in order to know what rewards are valuable to them." [6]
In our view, managing labor resources can determine the most optimal cost options for employee
compensation, solving social goals and objectives, organizing labor activity, improving its
conditions, employee development, etc., which can ensure a high level of labor incentives and
motivation for employees to work with high quality.
Research methodology
The methodological foundation of the research is a comprehensive approach to achieving this
through the study of the teachings of European scientists on labor motivation and the
implementation of a research and development environment. The research employed methods of
economic analysis, comparative analysis, and others.
Analysis and results
Based on the analysis of foreign and domestic experience, we have compiled a list of the main
incentives in the organization. Depending on the nature of the impact of these factors on
employees, they are divided into three main groups:
1
Базавлуцкая Л.М. Управление персоналом: учебное пособие // Л.М. Базавлуцкая -
Челябинск: Изд-во ЗАО «Библиотека А. Миллера», 2023. – 58 с.
Volume 4, issue 5, 2025
122
1. Material incentives for labor;
2. Indirect material incentives for labor;
3. Motivation.
Such an analysis reveals the multifaceted nature of motivation methods in the process of labor
activity.
An analysis of the presented theories shows that the process of changing the concept of
motivation is undergoing major changes. For example, in the 19th century, motivation was
viewed as a spiritual, individual process. Since the 20th century, the concept of "motivation" has
been closely related to the concept of "needs" and has begun to be used specifically. Today, there
are many modern motivation theories that solve various problems in enterprises, but they are
narrowly focused and individual. Despite the variety of motivation theories and concepts
presented, we can say that employee motivation does not stand still, it continues to develop and
improve. Because, first of all, the external environment changes, economic relations and people's
attitude to work change. By understanding what motivates a person to perform any activity, what
motives lie behind his actions, it is possible to develop an effective system of personnel
management methods that is relevant in our time.
Table 1
Dynamics of changes in approaches to motivation [11]
Time
Authors
Main differences
535 BC
Heraclitus
Effesky
- analyzed the driving forces, needs, and actions of man.
- it became important that needs are determined by the living
conditions of man.
470-399 BC Socrates
- stated that a person should act in such a way that the pleasure
obtained as a result of his actions is greater than the pain.
384-322 BC Aristotle
Stagirsky
- a person's aspirations for something are considered to be closely
related to the goal set.
- a person's aspirations are related to needs and feelings of
satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
- describes four types of reasons that motivate action, namely:
motivating, purposeful, formal and material.
1401-1464
Nikolai
Kuzansky
- the idea of moving from religious foundations of
motivation to motivation based on rational human goals.
- describes the Yorkine and noble human ideal, emdiving the
essence of the natural harmony of the world.
1596-1650
Rene
Descartes
- he spoke of the spontaneous emergence of a voluntary impulse
and put forward the attraction, which, when realized, turns into
desire, as the most important motive, and also considered it to be
related to both the div and the soul.
1583-1645
Hugo Grotius - explained in detail the necessity of punishment. In his opinion,
without punishment, "injustice grows stronger".
1588-1679
Thomas
Hobbes
-self-preservation and self-interest were considered the main
moral motives and were perceived as inclinations and desires for
"prosperity".
1632-1677
Benedict
Spinoza
- believed that affectivity, enthusiasm, motivational orientation,
and intensity should be considered from an objective point of
view.
Volume 4, issue 5, 2025
123
1723-1789
Paul
Henri
Holbach
- needs are the driving factor of human will and mental activity.
1723-1790
Adam Smith
- gave an understanding of the application of the principle of
specialization to industrial workers.
- developed the control concept.
- considered the salary calculation important.
1773-1836
James Mill
- showed the motivation and analysis of human relations.
1809-1882
Charles
Darwin
- the first step in the behavioral and motivational approach of
living beings, showing that humans and animals share many
common behavioral patterns, especially emotional expressiveness,
needs, and instincts.
1841-1925
Henri Fayol
— developed a system of remuneration for employees. "Payment
should be fair and satisfactory for both the employee and the
employer." - "Order" - ensures that the employee fits into his
position. In addition to the correct selection of employees, it also
implies a clear quantitative balance between managers and those
managed. If a person sees a large number of people in the
administration at his plant and feels completely powerless to
influence their reduction, motivation decreases.
1856-1939
Sigmund
Freud
- gave the main role in the study of behavior to the unconscious
core of mental life, formed by strong needs.
1878-1958
John Watson
— explained the causes of the div's reactions to external
influences by explaining behavioral motives, and created the
"stimulus-response" formula.
1900-1910
Arthur
Schopenhauer
- "The Four Principles of Sufficient Reason"
- proves the illusory nature of free will. Reason allows a person to
rise to the highest level of cause and effect, which determines his
actions not by mechanical impulses, organic nervousness or visual
images, but by concepts capable of preserving the past and
anticipating the future. The development of reason expands the
range of concepts and, therefore, motives, but does not affect their
choice. Behavior is predetermined by the "empirical character" of
a person.
1871-1938
1842-1910
William
McDougal
William
James
- "The Four Principles of Sufficient Reason"
- proves the illusory nature of free will. Reason allows a person to
rise to the highest level of cause and effect, which determines his
actions not by mechanical impulses, organic nervousness or visual
images, but by concepts capable of preserving the past and
anticipating the future. The development of reason expands the
range of concepts and, therefore, motives, but does not affect their
choice. Behavior is predetermined by the "empirical character" of
a person.
1856-1915
Frederick
Taylor
- to maximize the employer's profits while increasing the well-
being of employees. The need to create working conditions in
which employees are interested in working faster and more
efficiently.
Volume 4, issue 5, 2025
124
- introduced the concept of "lesson" as a form of remuneration.
"Lesson" - a strictly defined daily task, production rate.
1861-1919
Henry Gant
- participated in developments in the field of methods of payment
of bonuses, created charts for planning production (which became
known as Gantt charts), and also contributed to the development
of leadership theory.
- emphasized the social responsibility of business and
management, which has broad obligations to society.
1868-1924
Frank
and
Lillian
Gilbreth
— the elements of scientific organization of labor have been
developed at the level of individual actions and operations.
— proposed carefully designed progressive wage models to
motivate workers.
1868-1933
Mary
P.
Follett
— the built management philosophy was based on individual
motivation.
1880-1949
Elton Mayo
- the main task is the "theory of human relations", from which
three main conclusions can be distinguished: people's need to
belong to their work group; there are various formal and informal
groups in production, and any informal group can influence the
entire group through one employee, pursuing the interests of the
enterprise, and thereby increase labor productivity.
1890-1947
Kurt Levine
- a theory called "dynamic theory of personality". According to
the author, the basis of human activity in all its manifestations is
needs. Moreover, the understanding of needs is broader than
previous ideas in psychology, which were mainly associated with
biological, innate needs.
1897-1967
Gordon
Allport
- developed a general concept of personality in opposition to
psychoanalysis, behaviorism and "hormic" psychology.
According to the author, a person is a dynamic organization with
an individual composition of separate motivational systems,
habits, attitudes and personal characteristics, which determine the
specificity of his interaction with the environment, primarily
social.
- a person's motivation for self-development through the
achievement of important long-term goals. Such motivation
implies not a decrease in the level of severity, but growth.
1804-1990
Berres
Fredrick
Skinner
- motivation was considered as a cyclical learning process in
which the consequences of past actions affect the subsequent
actions of a person.
- behavior can be controlled, improved and changed due to certain
changes in the system of rewards and punishments.
1906-1964
Douglas
McGregor
- identified eleven factors that depend entirely on the leader.
Based on these factors, he formulated two different approaches to
management, theory "X" and "Y".
1908-1970
Abraham
Maslow
— Formed a hierarchy of needs, in which he identified five
levels:
Volume 4, issue 5, 2025
125
1) physiological needs;
2) the need for security (both physical and economic);
3) love, belonging (social needs);
4) the need for respect, recognition;
5) the need for self-actualization. If the lower-level needs are
satisfied, then the next, higher-level needs should be activated to
motivate the employee to work.
1923-2000
Frederick
Herzberg
- His main work is "The Psychological Theory of Motivation." It
is based on the fact that, along with certain factors that create job
satisfaction in the workplace, there is a separate set of factors that
cause job dissatisfaction.
1932 to the
present time
Victor Vroom - developed the theory of expectation and believed that man is a
rational being who seeks to get the maximum benefit by limited
use of his energy.
The main rules of expectancy theory are as follows: the
motivation of a person to spend a certain amount of effort to
perform tasks depends on expectancy, that is, the probability of a
connection between the results of work and its payment.
- the motivation of the employee's behavior is determined by three
factors
1) the strength of belief that certain actions will lead to a certain
result;
2) strength of belief that a certain result will lead to a certain
reward;
3) the attractiveness or acceptability of the reward.
1943 to the
present
William
Ouchi
- the employee is introduced to the company that hired him. In
Japan, this is facilitated by the system of lifelong employment,
teamwork, and a spirit of trust between employees and
management. As a result, a Japanese employee develops the belief
that the fate of the firm or company depends on him personally
and his work.
— caring for each employee of the organization, the quality of
working life, and involving employees in group decision-making.
It is known from the above information that at the beginning of the last century, the American
engineer F. U. Taylor formulated the principles of effective organization of work. These
principles, which arose from the social and technological conditions that existed at that time,
were aimed at achieving one goal - a high increase in productivity. Taylor carried out a series of
more extensive studies. In the field of work, his idea was based on the fact that the same work
can be done in different ways and with different actions. The task here was to find the most
reasonable way.
The main characteristic of Taylorism lies in the simple labor principle. According to this
principle, complex labor is less productive than simple labor (consisting of one operation or a
small number of operations). The application of the principle of simplification of labor gave rise
to such a type of labor organization as the assembly line. It took its most complete form,
although it was also used in other industries, in automobile factories. This type of labor
Volume 4, issue 5, 2025
126
organization was associated with a significant increase in its efficiency, but nevertheless, it had
severe consequences for people. Work carried out within such an organization is often
characterized by monotony. Creativity is practically lost in doing such things. There are also
cases where employees do not have information about what the final product will be and how
they will participate in its creation.
Taylor wrote: "The difficulty of finding a person who combines the various cognitive and
various mental and spiritual qualities necessary for the performance of all the tasks assigned to
people arises from the list of nine qualities necessary for the ideal person: education, special or
technical knowledge, physical strength or dexterity, courtesy, energy, determination or common
sense, good health.” [7]
All of this leads to the realization that: “.. because of the significant differences in the specifics
of management and executive work, in most cases the same type of person is needed to develop
plans, but the work itself is completely different." [8] This requires the organization of employee
functions. Today, Taylor is called the founder of the substantive theory of motivation. According
to him, a person is driven by the desire to satisfy growing needs, and for this it is necessary to
work more and more. Recent studies have shown that the principle of simple work is not the only
way to achieve high economic efficiency in the absence of complete automation. This was
necessary for the developing capitalist industry of the first half of the 20th century. It is not
without reason that this principle was widely formulated and applied in the USA. The theoretical
basis for the emergence of the "human relations" and "human resources" schools in management
is numerous studies in the field of motivation. People have high desires and aspirations, and they
are not sufficiently studied in the command style of management. This was clearly demonstrated
in the experiment conducted by Harvard University professor Elton Mayo in the 1930s at
Hawthorne.
D. McGregor noted that the work of A. Maslow had a significant impact on the planning process
in the 1950s and early 60s. The teachings of A. Maslow and D. McGregor helped to change the
view that low morale and bad behavior are caused by a lack of work ethics among workers. A.
Maslow's theory is based on the fact that needs have a hierarchical structure and can be arranged
in order of increasing importance for a person, that is, lower-level needs must be satisfied first
before higher-level needs begin to influence human behavior. In 1960, Douglas McGregor
proposed two approaches to managing employees in his book “The Human Side of Enterprise”,
which later became the symbolic X and Y theories of motivation. According to Theory X, the
employee is genetically unwilling to work and will do everything in his power to avoid work.
McGregor considered Theory X to be ideal for mass production, where the production cycle is
clearly structured and the worker must follow instructions at a certain level of labor productivity.
He considered it necessary to encourage individual initiatives of workers in the conditions of
intellectualization of society, a significant reduction in mass and serial production. Such people
should be considered a valuable asset, a competitive resource of a modern organization. If we
connect this context with the categories of "leadership" and "dominance", we can say that Theory
X is based on an authoritarian management style, which leads to strict regulation and control of
all behavioral components of the organization, while Theory Y focuses on a management style
based on democracy. [9]
R. Johnson and William J. Ouchi (1943) tried to answer the questions about the reasons why
Japanese managers surpassed Americans not only in Japan but also in the United States and why
they should learn from the Japanese. By studying the differences between Japanese and
American management cultures, scientists refuted the myth that the success of Japanese
management is simply tied to Japanese culture and, therefore, the erroneous idea that it is
Volume 4, issue 5, 2025
127
impossible to find it in the United States. David Clarence McClelland (1917-1998) proposed a
theory of motivation for work, which focused on higher-level needs - power, achievement, and
belonging to society. According to McClelland's theory, if a person has these needs, he will
strive to satisfy them. These needs develop under the influence of favorable circumstances,
experience, and education. People who have developed the need for belonging to society are
interested in working with acquaintances and helping others; Employees with this need are
interested in engaging in a wide range of social activities in the organization. The need for
achievement is manifested not in the announcement of personal success, but in the successful
completion of work. Such employees are characterized by the ability to take personal
responsibility for solving problems with a medium level of risk. To motivate such employees, the
leader should assign tasks with a medium level of risk, give them authority to develop initiative,
and regularly reward them for results.
In the second half of the 1950s, F. Herzberg developed another model of motivation, this one
based on needs. According to Herzberg's theory, positive hygiene factors do not motivate
employees to increase their labor activity, but ensure their loyalty to this employer. These
include: salaries and bonuses, administrative policy of management and the general activities of
the organization, relations with colleagues, supervision, status, working conditions, job security
and personal life.
At the same time, motivational factors - achievements, recognition, the work itself, responsibility
and promotion - do not affect loyalty, but increase the labor activity of employees and encourage
them to achieve better results. Herzberg proposed a "job enrichment system", this system is
aimed at the possibility of realizing the employee's personal motives and goals in accordance
with their values.
In addition to motivation theories, process motivation theories are also distinguished. These
include Atkinson's theory of work motivation, Vroom's theory of expectations, Adams' theory of
justice, and the Porter-Lawler theory.
According to the theory created by John Atkinson, a person's labor activity is the result of the
interaction of his individual qualities and the state of his perception. Within the framework of
this theory, motivation is the interrelation of the following elements: the desire to succeed, the
avoidance of failure, the possibility of achieving success, the attractiveness of success and well-
being. According to Atkinson, if a person unconsciously strives to perform simple tasks, he often
focuses on a positive result. People who strive for success and self-realization strive to perform
more complex functions. A certain employee can achieve a positive result under conditions
where he is selected to perform a certain task within a strictly regulated time interval.
Victor Vroom (1932) proposed expectancy theory, according to which a person expects that his
actions will lead to the achievement of his personal goals. [10] Within this theory, expectancy is
an evaluative category that allows you to determine the probability of an event occurring.
Analyzing work motivation, expectancy theory considers the interaction of three components.
These include:
labor costs - this is: labor costs - results;
results - rewards;
the relative level of satisfaction with wages.
Effective motivation can be achieved when employees are confident that their efforts will lead to
specific rewards. If employees perceive the probability of success or the value of rewards as low,
motivation weakens.
“Justice theory” implies that employees constantly subjectively evaluate the rewards they receive
for their work, comparing them with others. If they believe that there is injustice, then their labor
Volume 4, issue 5, 2025
128
productivity decreases. In practice, the factors that cause such injustice are usually the existence
of inequality in the organization of financial incentives, the wage system, and distribution
relations.
The synthetic theory of motivation developed by L. Porter and E. Lawler includes elements of
the theory of justice and the theory of expectations. According to this theory, motivation is a
function of the needs, expectations and perceptions of workers to receive fair rewards. One of the
main conclusions of Porter and Lawler is that effective work always leads to the satisfaction of
the needs of the worker. Thus, it can be concluded that in the study of labor motivation, scientists
such as F. Taylor, E. Mayo, A. Fayol, R. Johnson, G. Ford, A. Maslow, D. McGregor, K.
Alderfer, D. McClelland, F. Herzberg, L. Porter, E. Lawter, W. Vroom, R. Huzman, J. Hatfield,
W.E. Deming, B.F. Skinner and others have a great role. These scientists have created various
theories and models related to the study of motivation and job satisfaction, developed practical
recommendations for the application of their theories.
Conclusion.
The study of the teachings of European scientists on labor motivation, presented in
the article, is of great importance in increasing the efficiency of enterprises. The role of the
human relations school in the development of the theory of labor motivation is that it proposed to
consider the labor productivity of workers in relation to social relations in the workplace and the
recognition of the worker as a unique individual. Improving working conditions, including
expanding the opportunities of employees and a positive attitude of management towards them,
also increases labor productivity.
However, this issue cannot be said to be fully studied. Many models and theories contradict each
other, defending opposing views on the phenomenon under study. Each theory and model has
been criticized by other scientists, and it should be noted that these theories and models created
by foreign scientists are the products of other societies, reflect other cultural norms, and therefore
do not always correspond to the conditions of Uzbekistan.
References :
1. Коваленко Б. Б. Основы менеджмента: учебник. — СПб.: Издательство Университета
при МПА ЕврАзЭС, 2022. — 306 с.
2. Барабаш Н.Н.
Менеджмент: учебное пособие для среднего профессионального
образования /Чебоксарский кооперативный техникум Чувашпотребсоюза. - 3-е изд., испр.
и доп. – Чебоксары: Единение, 2019. - 64 с.
3.Базавлуцкая Л.М. Управление персоналом: учебное пособие // Л.М. Базавлуцкая -
Челябинск: Изд-во ЗАО «Библиотека А. Миллера», 2023. – 58 с.
4. Исаев Р. А. Основы менеджмента: Учебник / Р. А. Исаев. — М.: Издательско&торговая
корпорация «Дашков и К°», 2010. — 264 с.
5. Удалов Ф.Е., Алёхина О.Ф., Гапонова О.С. ОСНОВЫ МЕНЕДЖМЕНТА: Учебное
пособие. – Нижний Новгород: Нижегородский госуниверситет, 2013. – 363 с.
6. Рябикова, Н.Е. Основы менеджмента. Учебное пособие. I часть / Н.Е. Рябикова,
Р.И.Рябиков, Е.Г.Кащенко, – 3-еизд., доп. и перераб; Оренбургский гос. ун-н - Оренбург:
ОГУ, 2011. - 211 с.
7. Тейлор, Фредерик Уинслоу (1856-1915). Научная организация труда [Текст] / Тэйлор
Фредерик Уинслоу; с предисл. П. М. Керженца; пер. с англ. А. И. Зак и Б. Я. — Москва:
Транспечать, [1924]. — [2], VI, 284 с. : табл. : 22 см.
https://rusneb.ru/catalog/000199_000009_006537610/
8. Тейлор Ф. Принцип научного менеджмента / пер. с англ. М.: ИНФРА, 1991. 29 с.
9. McClelland D. The Achieving Society. Princeton, N.J.: Van Nostrand, 1961. P. 102.
Volume 4, issue 5, 2025
129
10. Хагур Ф.Р. Значение теорий Д. Мак-Грегора в определении стилей и подходов к
управлению // Наука, образование, общество: проблемы и перспективы развития: сборник
научных трудов по материалам Международной научно-практической конференции: в 10
ч.
11. https://moluch.ru/conf/econ/archive/76/3716/
