A Level Business: Motivation and Management (Cambridge 9609)

This guide covers sections 2.2 Motivation and 2.3 Management of the Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Both are AS Level content, so they are examined on Paper 1 and Paper 2 and are assumed knowledge for the A Level papers. The wider topic, including recruitment and training, is in the Human resource management study guide. Condensed recall is in the revision notes and the earlier HRM revision notes. Test yourself with the practice questions and the wider HRM practice set. Course links: the Cambridge A Level Business hub, the checklist and the free diagnostics.

What the syllabus lists

Section	What you must be able to do
2.2.1	Explain the need to motivate employees to achieve business objectives
2.2.2	Explain human need simply, and how needs may or may not be met at work
2.2.3	Outline the content theories (Taylor, Mayo, Maslow, Herzberg, McClelland) and the process theory (Vroom)
2.2.4	Apply the theories; compare eight payment methods; compare nine non-financial motivators; describe ways employees can take part in management and control
2.3.1	Describe the four traditional manager functions, the role of managers (Fayol, Mintzberg), managers’ contribution to performance, four management styles and McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

2.2.1 and 2.2.2 Why motivate, and what people need

Motivation is the desire to put effort into a task. A business has objectives such as profit, growth, quality or survival, and employees deliver them. Staff who are motivated tend to work harder, stay longer and take more care. That can raise productivity, reduce labour turnover and absence, and lift service quality. Staff who are not motivated tend to do the minimum. Motivation is therefore a tool of management and leadership: managers cannot complete every task themselves, so they have to get results through other people.

A human need is something a person must have, or strongly wants, to feel secure or fulfilled. Needs range from food and shelter to belonging and a sense of achievement. Work can meet some of them directly: a wage buys housing and food, a team gives belonging, a promotion gives status. Work can also fail to meet them. Long unpredictable shifts may damage health, a temporary contract removes security, and a repetitive task offers no sense of achievement. Employees also differ, so one job can satisfy one person and not another.

2.2.3 The theories

Taylor (scientific management). Workers are mainly motivated by money. Taylor broke jobs into simple tasks, timed them to find the fastest method and paid by output. Management plans and workers carry out instructions. His ideas suit repetitive work.

Mayo (human relations, from the Hawthorne studies). Output rose when workers received attention and were treated as a group, even when conditions did not change much. Social needs, belonging and being listened to matter. Mayo’s ideas support teamwork and consultation.

Maslow (hierarchy of needs). Needs sit in five levels: physiological, safety, social (belonging), esteem and self-actualisation. A lower need must be reasonably met before a higher one motivates. At work: wages and rest breaks (physiological), secure contracts (safety), team membership (social), recognition and status (esteem), and chances to use and grow one’s abilities (self-actualisation). Criticism: people do not always climb in order, and the same reward means different things to different people.

Herzberg (two-factor theory). Hygiene factors, such as pay, working conditions, supervision, company policy and job security, can cause dissatisfaction if poor, but improving them does not motivate for long. Motivators, such as achievement, recognition, responsibility, the work itself and advancement, create satisfaction. A manager should remove dissatisfaction first, then add motivators.

McClelland (acquired needs). People are driven by differing strengths of three needs: achievement (taking on challenges, wanting feedback), affiliation (liking, belonging) and power (influencing others). A high achiever may respond to stretching targets, a person high in affiliation to team projects, and a person high in power to a chance to lead.

Vroom (expectancy, the process theory). Content theories ask what motivates. A process theory asks how motivation works. Vroom’s view is that people choose how much effort to give by weighing three beliefs: expectancy (effort will lead to good performance), instrumentality (good performance will lead to a reward) and valence (how much the reward is wanted). The standard form is motivational force = expectancy × instrumentality × valence. If any term is zero, motivation is zero. The scores below are illustrative, not data from the syllabus.

Worked example. Calder Reach Logistics offers drivers a bonus if the whole depot hits its delivery target. A driver rates expectancy 0.9 (hard work usually hits the target), instrumentality 0.4 (the depot as a whole often misses, so the bonus is rarely paid) and valence 7 out of 10.

0.9 × 0.4 × 7 = 2.52

The bonus is changed to an individual one. Instrumentality rises to 0.9:

0.9 × 0.9 × 7 = 5.67

The reward is unchanged, but the driver now sees a clear link between performance and pay, so motivational force more than doubles (5.67 / 2.52 = 2.25 times). The problem lay in the link, not the size of the reward.

2.2.4 Theories in practice: financial motivators

Method	How it works	Fits best	Main drawback
Time based (hourly rate)	Hours × rate	Work where output is hard to count	Little link to output
Salary	Fixed annual sum, paid monthly	Professional or managerial roles	No direct reward for extra effort
Piece rate	Pay per unit made	Repetitive output	Quality may fall; unfair if machines break
Commission	Percentage of sales	Selling roles	Pressure selling; unstable income
Bonuses	Extra lump sum for meeting a target	Short-term goals	Effect fades; targets can be gamed
Profit sharing	Share of profit	Building loyalty to the business	Individual effort has a weak effect on profit
Performance-related pay (PRP)	Pay linked to assessed performance	Roles with measurable goals	Appraisal can feel subjective
Fringe benefits	Non-cash extras: company car, health cover, staff discount	Retaining skilled staff	Costly; may be valued unequally

Worked example: time rate against piece rate. At Thornwick Hollow Pottery a decorator can be paid £13.20 an hour for a 38-hour week, or £1.10 per mug decorated. In a typical week she decorates 450 mugs.

Time rate: 13.20 × 38 = £501.60
Piece rate: 1.10 × 450 = £495.00

Pay is about the same, but the business’s cost per mug differs when output changes. At 520 mugs:

Piece rate: 520 × 1.10 = £572.00, still £1.10 per mug
Time rate: £501.60 / 520 = £0.96 per mug (it was £1.11 at 450)

Piece rate keeps labour cost per unit fixed and rewards the worker for extra output, but encourages rushing. Time rate gives the firm a falling labour cost per unit when output rises, but gives the worker no gain.

Worked example: commission. An Orrin Vale Tailors sales adviser earns £1,900 a month basic plus 4% commission on monthly sales above £15,000. In a month of £26,500 sales:

Commission: 0.04 × (26,500 − 15,000) = 0.04 × 11,500 = £460
Total pay: 1,900 + 460 = £2,360
Commission share: 460 / 2,360 = 19.5%

Worked example: profit sharing and PRP. Hollin Fell Outdoor Gear shares 15% of profit equally among 14 staff. With profit of £84,000 the pool is £12,600, so each gets £900. One employee also earns PRP of 6% on a £31,500 salary: £1,890 extra, making £33,390. Notice the contrast: profit sharing rewards the whole team, PRP rewards one person.

2.2.4 Non-financial motivators and participation

Link each method to a theory, because exam answers gain from that link.

• Training and development: builds skills and confidence; links to Maslow’s esteem and self-actualisation and to Herzberg’s advancement.
• Opportunities for promotion: a ladder with visible steps; esteem needs and McClelland’s achievement.
• Status: a title or office signals standing; esteem. It can annoy those without it.
• Job re-design: changing the tasks in a job, for example rotating tasks to reduce boredom.
• Job enrichment: adding responsibility, planning or decision-making to a job; Herzberg’s motivators.
• Team working: groups share tasks and goals; Mayo’s social needs and McClelland’s affiliation. Weak members may be carried.
• Empowerment: giving employees the authority to take decisions about their own work, with the resources to carry them out.
• Participation: involving employees in decisions that affect them.

Participation in management and control can take several forms: a works council or consultation committee; suggestion schemes; quality circles; team briefings with two-way discussion; employee representatives or worker directors on the board; and employee share ownership or a co-operative, where staff share control. These range from being asked for views to having a vote, so judge how real the influence is. Benefits include better ideas, more commitment and less resistance to change. Costs include slower decisions and raised expectations that managers may not meet.

Choosing a method. Match the method to the people and the job. A repetitive, low-paid, short-term role may respond to piece rate or a bonus. A skilled professional with a comfortable salary may value autonomy and enrichment. Whatever you choose, check the cost and whether the effect will last.

2.3.1 Management and managers

The traditional functions of a manager are four:

• Planning: deciding objectives and the route to them.
• Organising: arranging people, tasks and resources.
• Directing: guiding and supporting staff so work is done (also called leading).
• Controlling: comparing results with plans and taking corrective action.

Fayol described management as a set of elements. In the standard form there are five: planning, organising, commanding, coordinating and controlling. Fayol is about what managers do in principle. Mintzberg observed what managers do in practice: their days are fragmented and reactive, and they fill ten roles in three groups (standard form).

Group	Roles
Interpersonal	Figurehead, leader, liaison
Informational	Monitor, disseminator, spokesperson
Decisional	Entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, negotiator

Contribution to performance. Managers affect results by setting clear direction, allocating resources well, motivating staff, solving problems and controlling cost and quality. Worked example: after a new supervisor reorganised shifts at Sablecombe Dairy, an 18-person packing line rose from 1,260 to 1,512 crates a day.

Before: 1,260 / 18 = 70 crates per worker
After: 1,512 / 18 = 84 crates per worker
Change: (1,512 − 1,260) / 1,260 = 20%

Be careful about cause. The rise may owe something to new equipment or seasonal demand, so look for evidence in the case before crediting the manager.

Management styles.

Style	Description	Suits	Risk
Autocratic	Manager decides and instructs	Crisis, unskilled or inexperienced staff	Low morale, no ideas
Democratic	Staff are consulted and influence decisions	Skilled staff, complex decisions	Slow
Laissez-faire	Staff are left to decide how to work	Experienced, self-motivated experts	Lack of direction
Paternalistic	Manager decides, but with concern for staff welfare and explains why	Staff who value security and loyalty	Staff may feel talked down to

McGregor. A Theory X manager assumes people dislike work, avoid responsibility and need close control and threats or rewards, which leads to autocratic management. A Theory Y manager assumes people can enjoy work, seek responsibility and are self-directed, which leads to democratic or laissez-faire management. The theories describe a manager’s beliefs, not the workers themselves. Treating people as Theory X can itself make them behave that way.

Common errors

• Describing a theory without applying it to the case.
• Saying money is the only motivator, or that it never works. The answer depends on the workforce.
• Confusing job enrichment (more responsibility) with job re-design in general.
• Treating a style as always good or always bad. Justify it by the situation.
• Calling a profit-share a bonus for individual effort.

Frequently asked questions

What are the four traditional functions of a manager? Planning, organising, directing (also called leading) and controlling, as covered in Cambridge 9609 section 2.3.

What is the difference between job enrichment and job re-design? Job re-design is any change to the tasks in a job, such as rotating tasks to reduce boredom. Job enrichment specifically adds responsibility, planning or decision-making to a job.

What is a paternalistic management style? The manager still makes the decisions but shows concern for staff welfare and explains the reasons. It suits staff who value security but can be seen as patronising.

Is money a motivator? It depends on the workforce and the job. Taylor saw pay as the main motivator, while Herzberg treats pay as a hygiene factor, so answers should avoid saying money always or never motivates.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International AS & A Level Business 9609, syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028, published by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, sections 2.2.1 to 2.3.1.