Motivation Theories Applied to Sanderson Soaps Family Business
This paper examines motivational deficiencies at Sanderson Soaps, a family-owned business, through the lens of two foundational motivation theories. Using Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's two-factor theory, the paper identifies why both family and non-family employees lack sufficient motivation to perform at their best. Key issues include blocked upward mobility for non-family members, a sense of entitlement among family members, and interpersonal conflict that creates a toxic work environment. The paper concludes by recommending that senior leadership open growth pathways for non-family employees and address internal family conflict to restore motivation and improve overall productivity.
- Motivational Gaps Through Maslow's Hierarchy: Maslow's framework reveals motivation gaps by role
- Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory at Sanderson Soaps: Hygiene needs met but motivators absent
- Additional Motivational Considerations and Recommendations: Family conflict and growth pathways as solutions
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What makes this paper effective
- Applies two well-established motivation frameworks (Maslow and Herzberg) directly to a specific organizational case, grounding abstract theory in concrete workplace dynamics.
- Identifies distinct motivational problems for both family and non-family employees, showing an awareness of how organizational structure shapes individual motivation differently depending on role.
- Connects interpersonal conflict (the John and twins dynamic) to broader motivational consequences for the entire organization, demonstrating systems-level thinking.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper effectively uses comparative theory application — analyzing the same organizational problem through multiple theoretical lenses and showing how each framework reveals a different dimension of the same underlying issue. Rather than treating Maslow and Herzberg as redundant, the writer shows that both converge on the same diagnosis, which strengthens the overall argument.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by applying Maslow's hierarchy to differentiate family from non-family employee motivation, then applies Herzberg's two-factor model to reinforce the diagnosis. A third section broadens the analysis to include family-specific dynamics and toxic workplace culture, closing with actionable recommendations. The structure follows a classic theory-application-recommendation pattern appropriate for an organizational behavior case analysis.
Motivational Gaps Through Maslow's Hierarchy
There are several motivational issues at work in Sanderson Soaps. Examining the company through the lens of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the family members are secure and have little reason to work too hard, but the non-family members have zero reason to work hard because they know that their upward mobility is stifled. This creates a situation where some people feel entitled to promotions and opportunity without really having to earn them, and any non-family member would either lack intrinsic motivation or view Sanderson as a stepping stone to success elsewhere. In either case, nobody is particularly motivated by higher-order needs relating to personal fulfillment or self-actualization (McLeod, 2018).
Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory at Sanderson Soaps
Herzberg's two-factor theory reveals a similar problem. While everybody at Sanderson has their hygiene needs taken care of, there is little left to motivate people because one's career path at Sanderson almost seems predetermined (MindTools, 2019). These theories are relevant because they speak to the fundamentals of what motivates people in the workplace. If productivity is low, these factors can help explain why people lack the motivation to improve, to work hard, and to do better. In the case of Sanderson Soaps, there are fairly clear and obvious gaps between where a company should be in terms of motivation and where it actually is.
References
Buckman, E. (2018). Motivating and retaining non-family employees in family-owned businesses. Family Business Center. Retrieved March 23, 2019 from http://www.fambizpv.com/articles/nonfamily_managers/motivating_retaining.html
McLeod, S. (2018). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Simply Psychology. Retrieved March 23, 2019 from https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
MindTools.com (2019). Herzberg's motivators and hygiene factors. MindTools. Retrieved March 23, 2019 from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/herzberg-motivators-hygiene-factors.htm
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