A powerful new model by Nitin Nohria, Boris Groysbergand Linda- Eling Lee

A ARTICLE OF HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW-

JULY-AUGUST 2008 (page- 78 onward)

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The research made suggested that, people guided by four

basic emotional needs or drives.

As stated by PAUL R. LAWRENCE AND NITIN NOHRIA, in their 2002 book “DRIVEN- How human nature shapes our choices” . The drivens are:-

1. Acquire (Obtain scare good, including social status)

2. Bond (connections with the Individual and groups)

3. Comprehend (satisfy our curiosity and master the world around us)

4. Defend (protect against external threat and promote justice)

Research:-

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Two major studies done by them (PAUL R. LAWRENCE

AND NITIN NOHRIA) about the employee motivations.

1. In one, they surveyed 385 employee of two MNC’s –a financial services and a leading IT firm.

2. In other, they surveyed employee of 300 fortune 500 companies.

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1) Engagement (Represent to the energy, effort and initiative employee bring to their jobs)

2) Satisfaction (Reflects the extent to which they feel that the company meet their expectation at work and satisfies its implicit and explicit contract with them)

3) Commitment (Capture the extent to which employee engage in corporate citizenship)

4) Intention to quit (It is the best proxy for employee turnover)

In this survey they focused on

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Both studies showed that an organization ability to

meet the four fundamental drives explain, on average about 60% of employee variance on motivational indicators.

Conclusion of the Studies:-

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1. The drive to ACQUIRE

2. The drive to BOND

3. The drive to COMPREHEND

4. The drive to DEFEND.

The four drives to motivation

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We are all driven to acquire scarce goods that bolster(long/ up) our sense of well-being. We experience delight when this drive is fulfilled, discontentment when it is thwarted. This phenomenon applies not only to physical goods like food, clothing, housing, and money, but also to experiences like travel and entertainment --not to mention events that improve social status, such as being promoted and getting a corner office or a place on the corporate board.

The drive to ACQUIRE

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The drive to acquire tends to be relative (we always

compare what we have with what others possess) and insatiable (we always want more). That explains why people always care not just about their own compensation packages but about others' as well. It also illuminates why salary caps are hard to impose.

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Many animals bond with their parents, kinship

group, or tribe, but only humans extend that connection to larger collectives such as organizations, associations, and nations.

The drive to bond, when met, is associated with strong positive emotions like love and caring and, when not, with negative ones like loneliness and anomie.

The drive to BOND

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At work, the drive to bond accounts for the enormous

boost in motivation when employees feel proud of belonging to the organization and for their loss of morale when the institution betrays them.

It also explains why employees find it hard to break out of divisional or functional silos: People become attached to their closest cohorts(Group of people). But it's true that the ability to form attachments to larger collectives sometimes leads employees to care more about the organization than about their local group within it.

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COMPREHEND:- TO UNDERSTAND/ TO INCLUDE

We want very much to make sense of the world around us, to produce theories and accounts -- scientific, religious, and cultural -- that make events comprehensible and suggest reasonable actions and responses.

We are frustrated when things seem senseless, and we are invigorated( TO STRENGTHEN/ TO REFRESH), typically, by the challenge of working out answers.

The drive to COMPREHEND

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In the workplace, the drive to comprehend accounts

for the desire to make a meaningful contribution. Employees are motivated by jobs that challenge them and enable them to grow and learn, and they are demoralized by those that seem to be monotonous or to lead to a dead end. Talented employees who feel trapped often leave their companies to find new challenges elsewhere.

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We all naturally defend ourselves, our property and

accomplishments, our family and friends, and our ideas and beliefs against external threats. This drive is rooted in the basic fight-or-flight response common to most animals. In humans, it manifests itself not just as aggressive or defensive behavior, but also as a quest to create institutions that promote justice, that have clear goals and intentions, and that allow people to express their Ideas and opinions. Fulfilling the drive to defend leads to feelings of security and confidence; not fulfilling it produces strong negative emotions like fear and resentment.

The drive to DEFEND

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Fulfilling the “drive to bond” has the greatest effect

on employee commitment.

Meeting the “drive to comprehend” is most closely linked with employee engagement.

But the company can improve overall motivational score by satisfying all the four drives in concert.

Some key point from the study

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