People rarely work alone. They work in groups and teams, they sometimes clash, and how hard they work depends on what drives them. A manager who understands how groups form, why conflict arises and what motivates people can get far more from the same staff.
This topic covers all three, using the theories the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Business Environment paper tests: Tuckman, Belbin, the Thomas-Kilmann conflict styles, Maslow, Herzberg, Vroom and Adams.
You will meet these theories in scenario questions. The task is rarely to recite a theory. It is to use it to diagnose what is wrong in a team and to recommend what the manager should do.
In 30 seconds
A group is people who interact and share an identity. A team is a group with complementary skills and a shared goal. Tuckman says teams pass through forming, storming, norming and performing. Belbin describes nine roles a balanced team needs. Conflict has many causes and five handling styles. Maslow ranks needs from physiological to self-actualisation. Herzberg separates hygiene factors, which prevent dissatisfaction, from motivators, which create satisfaction.
Vroom links effort to the expected reward. Adams says people compare their rewards with those of others.
Groups and teams
A group is two or more people who interact, depend on each other and see themselves as a unit. A team is a group whose members have complementary skills, share a common goal and hold themselves mutually accountable for the result. Every team is a group, but not every group is a team.
- Formal groups are created by the organisation to do a job, such as a finance department or a project team.
- Informal groups form naturally from friendship or shared interests, such as colleagues who eat lunch together.
Advantages and disadvantages of teams
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| A mix of skills and ideas that one person lacks | Decisions can take longer |
| Shared workload and mutual support | Some members may do less, because others will cover (social loafing) |
| Higher commitment, because people help decide | Personality clashes and conflict |
| Better decisions, with more points of view | Pressure to agree can silence good ideas (groupthink) |
Tuckman’s stages of team development
Bruce Tuckman proposed that teams pass through predictable stages.
| Stage | What happens | What the leader should do |
|---|---|---|
| Forming | Members meet. They are polite, unsure of roles and look to the leader for direction | Give clear goals, introduce people and set the structure |
| Storming | Disagreements surface over roles, leadership and methods. Conflict and frustration are common | Stay calm, encourage open talk and help settle disputes |
| Norming | The team agrees ways of working. Cooperation and trust grow | Encourage the team to own its rules and keep communication open |
| Performing | The team works efficiently towards its goals with little supervision | Delegate, develop people and keep the team stretched |
| Adjourning | The task ends and the team breaks up | Recognise the achievement and support people who move on |
Belbin’s team roles
Background. This framework comes from the previous syllabus.
Meredith Belbin found that successful teams contain a balance of nine roles. One person may fill more than one role. The point is that a team with all strengths and no variety has gaps.
| Role | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Plant | Creative. Generates ideas and solves hard problems. May ignore practical detail |
| Resource investigator | Outgoing. Finds contacts, opportunities and new ideas outside the team |
| Co-ordinator | Clarifies goals, delegates and draws the best from each member |
| Shaper | Driven and challenging. Pushes the team to keep moving. Can upset others |
| Monitor evaluator | Sober and strategic. Weighs options and judges accurately |
| Teamworker | Cooperative and diplomatic. Smooths friction and supports others |
| Implementer | Practical and reliable. Turns ideas into action |
| Completer finisher | Careful and anxious about errors. Checks details and delivers on time |
| Specialist | Brings deep knowledge in one area |
Groupthink
Irving Janis used groupthink for a situation where a cohesive group puts agreement ahead of realistic thinking. Signs include a belief that the group cannot be wrong, pressure on dissenters and a failure to look at alternatives. Leaders reduce it by inviting criticism, appointing a devil’s advocate and consulting outsiders.
Conflict
Conflict is a disagreement or struggle between people or groups whose goals, values or interests appear to clash.
Causes of conflict
- Competition for limited resources such as budget, staff or equipment.
- Different goals between departments, for example sales wanting speed and finance wanting control.
- Unclear roles and overlapping responsibilities.
- Personality clashes and different values.
- Poor communication and misunderstanding.
- Change, which creates uncertainty and fear.
Effects of conflict
Conflict can harm: it causes stress, wasted time, lower morale and staff leaving. It can also help: it surfaces problems, produces new ideas and prompts change. The aim is not to remove conflict but to manage it so that its effects are constructive.
More on the causes of conflict
The syllabus adds these causes to the ones above:
- Unclear areas of responsibility, so each person or group thinks the other is taking away its authority, or each believes a task belongs to the other.
- A belief that another person or group is deliberately spoiling its work, for example operations wanting new equipment and finance refusing the money.
- Incompatible objectives, as between management, who act for the owners, and trade union representatives, who seek the best terms for members.
- One person giving orders that another refuses to follow or to treat as authoritative.
- Tension between operating managers and specialist advisers, who feel their advice is wasted or ignored.
- Work in which one group can succeed only if another fails, such as operating departments and auditors or regulators.
- Political conflict between cliques of directors and senior managers over strategy and appointments.
- Personality differences and different ways of approaching a task.
- Non-compliance with rules, regulations and policies.
- Misunderstanding from poor communication, for example a joke in a written message read as an insult.
- Competition for scarce resources created by quotas and incentives, which can turn destructive.
Characteristics of conflict
- It usually harms the effectiveness of the organisation.
- There are unfriendly rivalries between individuals, work groups or departments.
- Those in conflict do not communicate openly and are unwilling to listen to each other’s ideas.
- There are disputes and arguments between departments, and over rights and responsibilities.
- Each side accuses the other of wrongful treatment.
- Individuals feel frustrated and blame the ‘enemy’.
What happens when conflict is not resolved
Unresolved conflict leads to hurt feelings, resentment and frustration, stress and stress-related illness, passive aggression and communication problems, low morale, reduced productivity and high staff turnover.
How a manager may deal with conflict
- Ignore it, when the matter is trivial and likely to pass.
- Impose a solution after hearing both sides.
- Move one person to a different position when he or she is the main problem.
- Encourage the two sides to talk through their differences and change their attitudes.
- Act as a peacemaker, listening to each side and encouraging a rational approach while showing that the other side has a fair point.
Serious conflict is rarely solved quickly. It often ends only when the people move on or the organisation is restructured.
The Thomas-Kilmann conflict styles
Background. This framework comes from the previous syllabus.
Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann describe five ways to handle conflict, based on how assertive and how cooperative a person is.
| Style | Approach | Useful when |
|---|---|---|
| Competing | Pursue your own view at the other’s expense | A fast, firm decision is needed, as in an emergency |
| Collaborating | Work together to find a solution that fully satisfies both sides | The issue is important to both and there is time |
| Compromising | Each side gives up something to reach a middle position | A quick, workable solution is enough |
| Avoiding | Sidestep or postpone the issue | The issue is trivial, or emotions need to cool |
| Accommodating | Give way to the other side | The issue matters far more to the other person, or the relationship is the priority |
Resolving conflict
- Identify the real cause, not just the symptom.
- Listen to each side and agree the facts.
- Find shared goals.
- Negotiate a solution. If the parties cannot, bring in a neutral third party to mediate, or have a senior manager decide (arbitration).
- Agree actions and follow up. If the cause is structural, such as overlapping roles, change the structure.
Strategies for managing conflict
- Acknowledge the problem. What looks trivial to you may not be trivial to the other person. Listen actively so that they feel heard.
- Gather the information. Investigate every side before choosing a style and a solution.
- Set guidelines before the discussion: speak calmly, listen, try to understand, and stop and resume later if the rules are broken.
- Keep emotion out. An angry outburst may end the conflict for the moment but not for good.
- Be decisive. Act on the solution that has been agreed, and involve the others in the decision.
Good resolution skills are active listening, clear communication, not apportioning blame, staying calm and collaboration. Resolving conflict brings people together to solve a problem, builds teamwork, speeds up the settlement of issues and supports a culture of respect and trust.
Approaches to conflict resolution
| Approach | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Negotiation | The parties put differences aside and work together to reach a solution that suits everyone. It builds better relationships |
| Mediation | A neutral third party helps the sides reach a resolution and gives an unbiased view based on the facts |
| Arbitration | A third party acts as judge and makes a final decision on the evidence. The parties cannot appeal but may negotiate some details |
| Litigation | The dispute goes before a judge, or a judge and jury, who weigh the evidence and decide |
Motivation
Motivation is the internal drive that makes a person choose to put effort into a goal. Theories fall into two groups: content theories ask what motivates people, and process theories ask how motivation works.
In management, motivation means the methods managers use to inspire their teams to reach organisational goals, raise productivity and improve the working experience. Seven things help: understanding each person’s needs, setting clear goals and expectations, creating a positive working environment, giving recognition and rewards, keeping communication open, promoting development, and leading by example.
Effective motivation increases productivity, improves morale and engagement, reduces staff turnover, strengthens team performance and builds a better culture.
Types of motivation
| Type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Intrinsic | The drive that comes from the work itself. It is linked to deeper engagement, creativity and performance, and it is the most lasting form |
| Extrinsic | The drive to act for an outside reward or to avoid a penalty, the carrot and the stick. It can complete tasks but may bring pressure, burnout and disengagement |
| Identified regulation | A type between the two. A person starts for external reasons and comes to value the activity for itself |
Content theories and process theories
| Kind | Question it answers | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Content theories | What motivates people? They assume that the same things motivate everyone, so rewards that satisfy a need produce effort | Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s hygiene and motivator factors, McClelland’s needs theory |
| Process theories | How are people motivated, and how strong is the motivation? Strength depends on needs, personality, beliefs that effort will achieve goals, the rewards, and expectations that the rewards will meet needs | Vroom’s expectancy model, Handy’s motivational calculus |
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Abraham Maslow argued that people have five levels of need. They seek to satisfy lower needs first. Once a need is met, it stops motivating, and the next level takes over.
| Level | Need | Workplace example |
|---|---|---|
| 5 (top) | Self-actualisation: reaching one’s potential | Challenging work, creative freedom, a chance to grow |
| 4 | Esteem: respect and recognition | Praise, status, promotion, responsibility |
| 3 | Social: belonging and friendship | Teamwork, good relations with colleagues |
| 2 | Safety: security and stability | Job security, safe conditions, pension |
| 1 (base) | Physiological: basic survival needs | A living wage, rest breaks, a reasonable working temperature |
Criticisms: people do not always move up in order, needs differ between people and cultures, and the theory is hard to test.
The syllabus describes Maslow as identifying seven built-in needs. Two are higher-order needs: a need for freedom of inquiry and expression, and a need for knowledge and understanding. The other five form the hierarchy above. A lower need dominates until it is met, and only then does the next level take over. A met need stops motivating. Self-actualisation can never be fully satisfied.
Limitations of Maslow’s hierarchy
- People differ in their needs, and not everyone moves up the levels in order.
- It is a content theory. It does not explain the strength of motivation or the effect of people’s perceptions.
- It is vague about what self-actualisation means.
- Self-actualisation is not always possible. A low-level factory job may not offer it.
Herzberg’s two-factor theory
Frederick Herzberg found that the things that make people satisfied at work are different from the things that make them dissatisfied.
| Group | Examples | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Hygiene factors | Pay, working conditions, company policy, supervision, job security, relations with colleagues | If poor, they cause dissatisfaction. If good, they only remove dissatisfaction and do not motivate |
| Motivators | Achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement, growth | Create real satisfaction and motivation |
The lesson is that a pay rise alone does not create lasting motivation. Managers must also design jobs that offer achievement and responsibility.
Herzberg’s research interviewed 200 engineers and accountants and was published in The Motivation to Work (1959). He concluded that the opposite of dissatisfaction is not satisfaction but the absence of dissatisfaction, and the opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction but the absence of satisfaction. Managers must therefore deal with two separate groups of factors.
The hygiene factors are company policy, supervision, relationship with the boss, working conditions, salary and relationship with colleagues. The motivators are achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement and growth.
McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
- Theory X managers assume people dislike work, avoid responsibility and must be controlled and threatened. They tend to be autocratic.
- Theory Y managers assume people enjoy work, seek responsibility and can direct themselves. They tend to delegate and involve staff.
Vroom’s expectancy theory
Victor Vroom argued that people choose to work hard when they believe three things hold:
- Expectancy: effort will lead to good performance.
- Instrumentality: good performance will lead to a reward.
- Valence: the reward is valued.
If any one is weak, motivation falls. A salesperson who thinks the target is impossible, or that the bonus will not be paid, or does not value the bonus, will not push.
Vroom’s formula and what it means for management
Vroom’s expectancy model, published in 1964, predicts the strength of a person’s motivation to put in effort. People work hard when they believe that more effort improves performance, that good performance brings a reward, and that the reward meets an important need. Rewards may be extrinsic, such as pay and bonuses, or intrinsic, such as achievement and recognition. In its simplified form the model is:
Strength of motivation = valence × expectancy
- Valence is the strength of a person’s need for the reward. Managers should find out what their staff really want.
- Expectancy is the belief that more effort will improve performance. In the simplified model it includes instrumentality, the belief that performance will bring the reward. Managers can raise it by providing training, resources, supervision and guidance.
- Instrumentality depends on trust. Managers must keep the promises they make about rewards, and staff must believe they will.
Adams’ equity theory
Background. This framework comes from the previous syllabus.
Stacy Adams said people compare the ratio of what they put in (effort, skill, hours) to what they get out (pay, recognition) with the same ratio for others. If they feel treated unfairly, they act to restore fairness, for instance by working less, asking for more or leaving. Perceived fairness therefore matters as much as the reward itself.
Other theories to know
- Taylor’s scientific management. Workers are motivated mainly by money, so pay by output and design jobs for efficiency.
- Mayo and the Hawthorne studies. Productivity rose when workers felt noticed and part of a group, which showed the importance of social needs and attention.
- McClelland’s needs. People are driven by a need for achievement, power or affiliation, in different proportions.
McClelland’s motivational needs theory
David McClelland argued that everyone has three needs, though one is usually dominant: a need for achievement (n-ach), a need for power (n-pow) and a need for affiliation (n-affil).
| Need | What the person wants | As a leader |
|---|---|---|
| Achievement | Realistic but challenging goals, advancement, feedback on progress and a sense of accomplishment | McClelland argued these make the best leaders, but they can demand too much, assuming everyone shares their drive |
| Power | To be influential, to lead, to have their ideas accepted, and status and prestige | Often poor leaders. Determined and hard-working, but short of people skills and flexibility |
| Affiliation | Friendly relationships, to be liked and held in high regard, and good team play | Often poor leaders, because the need to be liked clouds their objectivity and stops them taking unpopular decisions |
Achievement-motivated people make things happen. They set goals they can influence, value achievement above financial reward, get more satisfaction from completing a task than from praise, do not rely on security or status, look constantly for better ways, and need feedback. For them, pay is a form of feedback on how well they have done.
Practical ways to motivate
- Job rotation: moving staff between tasks to relieve boredom.
- Job enlargement: adding similar tasks to widen a job.
- Job enrichment: adding responsibility, planning and control to deepen a job. This matches Herzberg’s motivators.
- Empowerment: giving staff authority to decide.
- Fair pay and bonuses, tied to performance people can influence.
- Recognition, training and career paths.
Motivation and productivity
A person who enjoys the work and finds it satisfying is likely to be more productive, and research supports this. But productivity is a measure of the speed or quantity of work. A motivated person may not work faster. More often they are more effective, because their satisfaction comes from doing the job well.
Worked example: a team with low morale
Scenario. Chika leads a team of ten salespeople at a distribution firm. Sales have fallen. Staff say pay is low and nobody notices good work. Two senior members argue in every meeting. The team was formed three months ago. Advise Chika.
- Diagnose the team stage. Three months in, with open disagreement over roles, the team is in Tuckman’s storming stage. Chika should stay calm, set clear roles and help settle disputes so the team moves to norming.
- Use Herzberg. Low pay is a hygiene factor. Raising it would remove dissatisfaction but would not motivate on its own. The missing recognition is a motivator, so Chika should add recognition, targets people can reach and more responsibility.
- Use Maslow. The complaint about recognition points to the esteem level. Basic pay needs may also be unmet.
- Use Adams. If staff think colleagues in other teams are paid more for the same work, perceived unfairness is lowering effort. Chika should explain the pay structure and check it is fair.
- Handle the conflict. Meet the two seniors separately, find the cause, then use a collaborating style to agree roles. If they cannot, mediate.
- Recommend. Clarify roles, add recognition and responsibility, check pay fairness and resolve the conflict by collaboration.
Groups, conflict and motivation in more detail
Tuckman’s stages: what each looks like
| Stage | What it looks like | What the leader should do |
|---|---|---|
| Forming | Polite, uncertain, dependent on the leader, testing the boundaries | Give clear direction, purpose and introductions |
| Storming | Disagreement, competition for status, challenges to the leader, conflict over roles | Manage conflict, clarify roles and keep the goal in view |
| Norming | Agreed ways of working, growing trust and cohesion | Encourage cooperation and share responsibility |
| Performing | High output, flexibility, members support one another | Delegate and develop members |
| Adjourning | The task is finished, the team breaks up | Recognise achievement and help members move on |
Maslow applied at work
| Level | Workplace example |
|---|---|
| Physiological | Adequate pay, rest breaks, a safe temperature |
| Safety | Job security, a pension, safe conditions |
| Social | Team spirit, friendly colleagues, belonging |
| Esteem | Recognition, status, promotion, respect |
| Self-actualisation | Challenging work, growth and the chance to use one’s full potential |
Herzberg: why pay alone may not motivate
Herzberg separated hygiene factors, such as pay, supervision, policy and working conditions, from motivators, such as achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility and advancement. Poor hygiene factors cause dissatisfaction, but improving them only removes dissatisfaction. They do not produce lasting motivation. To motivate, a manager must add motivators. So a pay rise reduces complaint but will not by itself make people work harder or enjoy the job.
Vroom’s model with numbers
Motivation = valence × expectancy. A salesperson values a promotion highly (valence 8 on a scale to 10) but believes that effort has only a 50% chance of producing it (expectancy 0.5). Motivation is 8 × 0.5 = 4. If the manager shows a clear path and training so that she believes effort will lead to success with 90% probability, motivation rises to 8 × 0.9 = 7.2. Raising the belief that effort pays off is therefore as important as offering a reward people want.
Conflict: a worked approach
For two senior members who argue in every meeting, the manager should first find out what each wants and fears, meeting each privately. She should then bring them together, set ground rules, focus on the issue not the person, look for common ground and agree an outcome that meets the key interests of both.
If they cannot agree, negotiation, mediation by a neutral person or, in the last resort, a decision by the manager may be used. Ignoring it lets the conflict spread to the team.
Exam focus: terms that appear in Section A
- Maslow’s five levels, from the bottom: physiological needs, safety or security needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-fulfilment or self-actualisation needs. May 2026 (Question 4, part d) asked for all five.
- Vroom’s expectancy theory says behaviour comes from conscious choices between options, based on the expected result of each. It was the answer to a May 2026 Section A question.
- Coordination is the coordinated actions and decisions that help a group achieve shared goals. It is a different idea from cooperation and collaboration, which Section A options place close together.
- Task groups are formed to complete a particular assignment or project within a set time and objective.
- Goal incongruence is a situation where personal goals conflict with business objectives.
- Conflict. Conflict usually harms effectiveness, can create rivalry between workgroups or departments, and makes open communication unlikely. It does not help individuals know where they belong. A May 2026 question asked you to pick the odd one out.
Exam focus: individual and group behaviour, and managing motivation
Factors affecting individual behaviour
- Personality. The Big Five traits are openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
- Values. Principles a person holds dear, which guide decisions.
- Attitudes. Feelings and judgements about people, objects or events. Positive attitudes support satisfaction and performance.
- Motivation. It drives effort and resilience.
- Perception. How people interpret their surroundings, which can lead to different readings of one situation.
- Emotions. They shape relationships, decisions and productivity.
- Social influences. Family, friends and organisational culture.
Types of group
- Formal groups are set up by the organisation, such as teams, departments and committees, with assigned duties.
- Informal (spontaneous) groups form naturally from shared interests or friendships.
- Task groups are assembled for a particular job with a set timeline and objective, and may disband afterwards.
- Interest groups share a common concern, such as safety standards or employee rights, and can influence policy.
- Virtual groups work mainly through digital platforms. They offer flexibility but face communication, trust and cohesion problems.
- Multi-disciplinary groups bring together members from different departments to use diverse skills on complex problems.
Factors affecting group behaviour
Group norms (unwritten rules), roles and accountabilities (clear roles improve responsibility, vague roles cause overlap), leadership approach (controlling, democratic or free), communication patterns, and cohesion and group identity. Too much cohesion can lead to groupthink, where agreement matters more than testing ideas.
Managing conflict: practical steps
Acknowledge the problem; gather the necessary information; set guidelines for the discussion; keep emotion out of it; and be decisive. If the parties cannot settle it, the syllabus moves through negotiation, mediation, arbitration and, as a last resort, litigation.
What managers do to motivate staff
- Understand employee needs.
- Set clear goals and expectations.
- Create a positive work environment.
- Provide recognition and rewards.
- Encourage open communication.
- Promote employee development.
- Lead by example.
The benefits are increased productivity, better morale and engagement, reduced turnover, stronger team performance and a better culture.
Types of motivation
- Intrinsic motivation comes from the satisfaction of the activity itself. It is the most sustainable and is linked to engagement and creativity.
- Extrinsic motivation is the drive to gain a reward or avoid a penalty (the carrot and the stick). It can bring pressure and burnout.
- Identified regulation lies between the two. A person starts for external reasons and later comes to value the activity for its own sake.
Common mistakes in the exam
- Reciting a theory with no link to the scenario.
- Saying that pay is Herzberg’s motivator. Pay is a hygiene factor.
- Forgetting that Maslow’s needs are met in order and that a met need stops motivating.
- Confusing Tuckman’s storming with the end of the team. It is a normal stage.
- Treating conflict as always bad.
- Naming a conflict style without saying when it suits.
Quick revision
- A team is a group with complementary skills and a shared goal.
- Tuckman: forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning.
- Belbin: plant, resource investigator, co-ordinator, shaper, monitor evaluator, teamworker, implementer, completer finisher, specialist.
- Conflict styles: competing, collaborating, compromising, avoiding, accommodating.
- Maslow: physiological, safety, social, esteem, self-actualisation.
- Herzberg: hygiene factors prevent dissatisfaction. Motivators create satisfaction.
- Vroom: expectancy, instrumentality, valence. Adams: fairness of inputs and outputs.
- Motivation types: intrinsic, extrinsic and identified regulation. Content theories: Maslow, Herzberg, McClelland. Process theories: Vroom and Handy.
- Vroom: motivation = valence × expectancy. McClelland: achievement, power and affiliation.
- Conflict: know the causes, characteristics, effects, a manager’s options, the five strategies, and negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation.
Practice questions
These are original questions written in the style of the ICAN exam. Try each one before you open the answer.
Section A style: multiple choice
Question 1. Which need is at the top of Maslow’s hierarchy?
- Esteem
- Self-actualisation
- Social
- Safety
Show the answer
B. Self-actualisation. It is the highest level, the need to reach one’s potential.
Question 2. Which of the following is a hygiene factor in Herzberg’s theory?
- Achievement
- Recognition
- Salary
- The work itself
Show the answer
C. Salary. Pay prevents dissatisfaction but does not motivate on its own. The other options are motivators.
Question 3. At which stage of Tuckman’s model are disagreements about roles and leadership most likely?
- Forming
- Storming
- Norming
- Performing
Show the answer
B. Storming.
Question 4. Which of the following is a content theory of motivation?
- Vroom’s expectancy model
- Handy’s motivational calculus
- McClelland’s motivational needs theory
- None of the above
Show the answer
C. Maslow, Herzberg and McClelland are content theories. Vroom and Handy are process theories.
Question 5. In the simplified form of Vroom’s model, the strength of motivation is:
- Valence multiplied by expectancy
- Hygiene factors plus motivators
- Effort divided by pay
- Instrumentality alone
Show the answer
A. Motivation depends on the strength of the need for the reward and the belief that effort will bring it.
Question 6. Vroom’s expectancy theory says that motivation depends on:
- Hygiene factors only
- Expectancy, instrumentality and valence
- The hierarchy of needs
- Equity between workers
Show the answer
B. Motivation needs the belief that effort leads to performance, that performance leads to a reward, and that the reward is valued.
Question 7. A team that is polite but uncertain and dependent on its leader is in which Tuckman stage?
- Storming
- Forming
- Norming
- Performing
Show the answer
B. Members are testing the boundaries.
Question 8. According to Herzberg, which of these is a motivator?
- Salary
- Working conditions
- Recognition
- Company policy
Show the answer
C. Salary, conditions and policy are hygiene factors.
Question 9. If valence is 6 and expectancy is 0.5, Vroom’s motivation score is:
- 3
- 6
- 12
- 0.5
Show the answer
A. 6 × 0.5 = 3.
Question 10. A third party who helps two disputing sides reach agreement is acting as a:
- Judge
- Mediator
- Litigator
- Auditor
Show the answer
B. Mediation uses a neutral third party.
Section B style: written questions
Question 11 (10 marks). Explain Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, giving a workplace example of each level.
Show the marking guide
Award 2 marks for each of the five levels: 1 for naming and explaining the level and 1 for a workplace example. Physiological: a living wage. Safety: job security. Social: teamwork. Esteem: recognition or promotion. Self-actualisation: challenging work and growth. Credit a sentence on the idea that lower needs are met first and a met need stops motivating, within the 10 marks.
Question 12 (20 marks). Chika leads a team of ten salespeople formed three months ago. Sales have fallen. Staff say pay is low and nobody notices good work. Two senior members argue in every meeting.
(a) Explain Tuckman’s stages of team development and identify the stage Chika’s team has reached. (6 marks)
(b) Using Herzberg’s two-factor theory, explain why a pay rise alone may not motivate the team and suggest two motivators. (8 marks)
(c) Explain two ways in which Chika could resolve the conflict between the two senior members. (6 marks)
Show the marking guide
(a) 6 marks. Forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning, with a line on each (up to 4). The team is in the storming stage, because of the open disagreement three months in (2).
(b) 8 marks. Hygiene factors and motivators defined (2). Pay is a hygiene factor: it prevents dissatisfaction but does not create motivation (2). Two motivators, such as recognition, achievement or responsibility, each explained (4).
(c) 6 marks. Two methods, 3 marks each (description 2, link to the scenario 1): a collaborating approach where Chika meets them, finds the cause and agrees roles with them. Mediation or arbitration by a neutral party or a senior manager if they cannot agree. Clarifying roles to remove overlap is also acceptable.
A further written question
Question 13 (10 marks). Explain Vroom’s expectancy theory and its implications for managers.
Model answers
Show the model answer to Question 11
Maslow’s hierarchy. Maslow argued that people have needs arranged in five levels, and that a lower need must be broadly met before the next level motivates. Physiological needs are the basics of life, met at work by adequate pay and rest. Safety needs are security, met by a secure job, pension and safe conditions. Social needs are belonging and friendship, met by team spirit.
Esteem needs are respect and status, met by recognition and promotion. Self-actualisation is fulfilling one’s potential, met by challenging work and growth. A satisfied need no longer motivates, so managers must find which level their staff are at. The theory is criticised because people differ and do not always move up the levels in order.
Show the model answer to Question 12
(a) Tuckman. Teams pass through forming, when members are polite and uncertain; storming, when conflict appears over roles and leadership; norming, when agreed ways of working and trust develop; performing, when the team is productive; and adjourning, when it breaks up. Chika’s team, formed three months ago with two senior members arguing at every meeting and sales falling, is in the storming stage.
(b) Herzberg. Pay is a hygiene factor. A pay rise removes dissatisfaction but does not create motivation, because motivation comes from the work itself. The staff say nobody notices good work, which points to missing motivators. Two motivators Chika could provide are recognition, for example praising and rewarding good sales publicly, and achievement or responsibility, for example giving members stretching targets and more control over their accounts.
(c) Resolving the conflict. First, meet each member separately to understand his or her interests, then bring them together with ground rules to negotiate an agreement that meets both key interests. If they cannot agree, use mediation, with a neutral person helping to find a solution. Chika should also clarify roles to remove the cause of the disputes.
Show the model answer to Question 13
Vroom’s expectancy theory says that the strength of a person’s motivation to put in effort depends on three beliefs. People work hard when they believe that effort will improve performance (expectancy), that good performance will bring a reward (instrumentality), and that the reward is valued (valence). In the simplified form, motivation = valence × expectancy, so if either is zero, motivation is zero.
Implications for managers:
- find out what rewards staff really value
- give the training, resources and support so staff believe effort will lead to good performance
- make clear and keep the link between performance and reward, because trust that promised rewards will be given is essential
- use both extrinsic rewards, such as pay and bonuses, and intrinsic ones, such as recognition and achievement
Pathfinder on groups, conflict and motivation
These are the ICAN Pathfinder questions that test this topic. ICAN owns the questions and the suggested solutions, so we point you to them and do not copy them. Open your Pathfinder, attempt each question under exam conditions, then check your answer against the notes above.
Draws on managerial roles and on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Revise Maslow and the other motivation theories here, then Mintzberg’s roles in Management and leadership.
Revise first: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
From the earlier Business, Management and Finance paper. Asks for the three groups of Belbin team roles.Asks for the three groups of Belbin team roles, the roles in each group, and what makes teams succeed.
Revise first: Belbin’s team roles
From the earlier Business, Management and Finance paper. Part (a) asks you to define group cohesion and explain five factors that affect it.
Revise first: Groups and teams
From the earlier Business, Management and Finance paper. Asks for the meaning of motivation and productivity, the factors in Vroom’s theory, and the features of achievement-motivated people.
Revise first: Motivation
From the earlier Business, Management and Finance paper. Asks how a manager can find the best way to motivate employees who differ in their drives.
Revise first: Motivation
From the earlier Business, Management and Finance paper. Asks for the causes and characteristics of conflict and the implications of expectancy theory for management.
Revise first: Conflict
Tested coordination, the characteristics of conflict and Vroom’s expectancy theory. Revise the terms list.
Revise first: Exam focus: terms that appear in Section A
Tested goal incongruence and task groups. Revise the terms list.
Revise first: Exam focus: terms that appear in Section A
Multiple-choice questions can test Tuckman, Belbin, conflict styles and the motivation theories. Check Section A of every diet you practise for items on these points.
Revise first: Motivation
Source: ICAN Pathfinder, Business Environment. Diets covered: May Diet, 2021 to May Diet, 2026. November Diet, 2024 is not yet mapped.
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