HRM practice01
Commitment and engagement: related, not interchangeable
Distinguish attachment to an organisation from involvement in work, and turn employee listening into useful action.
ADM HR2 min
HRM / subject guide
Motivation, commitment & engagement
Understand why people invest effort, what they value and how working conditions affect sustainable contribution.
A suggested reading route
From understanding to practice.
Begin with the first guide, or choose the question you are working on. Each guide connects explanation, application, limitations and further reading.
Autonomy · competence · relatedness02
Self-determination theory
Support the quality of motivation by making room for agency, mastery and connection.
Edward L. Deci4 min
Effort → performance → outcomes03
Vroom’s expectancy theory
People need to believe that effort can work, performance will lead somewhere, and the outcome matters.
Victor H. Vroom3 min
Fairness is comparative04
Adams’ equity theory
Understand why an apparently attractive reward can still feel unfair when people compare contributions and outcomes.
J. Stacy Adams3 min
Clarity, challenge & feedback05
Locke & Latham’s goal-setting theory
Design goals that focus attention without encouraging shortcuts or pretending complex learning is a simple target.
Edwin A. Locke3 min
Conditions & the work itself06
Herzberg’s two-factor theory
Separate preventable dissatisfaction from the features of work that can create meaning, achievement and growth.
Frederick Herzberg, Bernard Mausner3 min
A historical lens on needs07
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
A useful prompt for looking beyond pay—but not a universal staircase every employee must climb.
Abraham H. Maslow3 min
Assumptions shape management08
McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
Examine the beliefs about people hidden inside management systems, rather than sorting employees into two types.
Douglas McGregor3 min
Perceived promises at work09
The psychological contract
Understand the unwritten expectations that shape trust, without confusing them with the legal employment contract.
Denise M. Rousseau4 min
Where this subject grows next
This is a foundation, not complete coverage of every handbook chapter.
- Comparing commitment measures
- Engagement action-planning examples