Fundametal Management

Fundamental Management Course

Motivation


Contents

Table of contents 2

Introduction 3

Needs, Motivation and Job Satisfaction 4

Systematization of the main theories of motivation 7

Content and Process Motivation Theories 8

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy 8

David McClelland’s Theory of Needs 10

Clayton Alderfer - ERG Theory 11

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory 12

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory 13

Adams’ Equity Theory 15

Locke’s Goal Theory 15

Conclusion 16

References 17

Introduction

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Motivation was taken from the Latin word 'move' for the first time. Motivation is the why of behavior. In other words, all human behaviors are stimulated by a motivation or need. Human motivation, whether conscious or unconscious, stems from his needs. Therefore, in defining motivation it can be stated that motivation or need is an inner state and shortage or deprivation which makes the individual to carry out something. In another definition, motivation is the desire to make considerable effort in order to meet organization objectives so that this effort is directed toward satisfaction of some personal needs (Robbins, 1998).

One of the first duties of manager is to provide the grounds for motivation of staffs in high levels of performance. That is to say, the manager must ensure that employees are busy, attend the organization regularly, and possess a positive share in the mission of organization. Job performance is associated withability, environment and motivation.

Motivation is a chain process which is initiated with the feeling of need, shortage or deprivation. It is followed with desire and leads to tension and action toward an objective whose outcome is the behavior of movement toward objective. Continuity of this process may lead to the satisfaction of need. Therefore, motivation encourages and persuades people to do something or to show a behavior. However, motivation reflects a general desire. The position of punishment and encouragement as strong motivations is clear in all studies. In this regard, money is considered as a tool for giving rewards, but it is not the only motivational factor.

One of the important responsibilities as the manager of an organization is to find out the potential talents of staffs and to provide the context for their growth and flourish which leads to the promotion of productivity. It is now impossible to take steps toward sustainable development without taking productivity level and effective factors on its increase into account. As human-being plays a key role in the development as its realization factor, eliminating his mental and psychological needs is of vital importance. Therefore, one of important duties of manager is to motivate his forces to achieve organization objectives. Generally, motivation is categorized into physical, social and mental motivation. Physical motivation is referred to the needs of individuals in work environment like well-fare facilities (adequate work area, climate, light, etc.). Those human needs which are associated with behavior of others and manager

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in particular and satisfy social needs are referred to as social motivation. The needs that lead to mental satisfaction are mental motivation.

The term motivation can be used in different ways, but in essence it refers to any sort of general drive or inclination to do something. Cognition, whichhas dominated psychological theory in recent decades, is ultimately just a tool in service of motivation. That is, the reason evolution selected in favor of increased powers of thought is that those increased powers enable people to get what they want and need. If people did not have wants and needs, there would be little or no reason to think. Human agency or the self’s executive function, which includes active initiative, choice and self-regulation, is thus probably an adaptation to facilitate motivated behavior.

Needs, Motivation and Job Satisfaction

The relationship between job satisfaction and motivation at work has been one of the widely researched areas in the field of management in relation to different professions. According to Khan (1997), in the current business environment, organizations in all industries are experiencing rapid change, which is accelerating at an enormous speed. Finck (1998) also stated that companies must recognize that the human factor is becoming much more important for organizational survival, and that business excellence will only be achieved when employees are excited and motivated by their work. In addition, difficult circumstances, such as violence, tragedy, fear, and job insecurity create severe stress in employees and result in reduced workplace performance (Klein, 2002).

According to Watson, business has come to realize that a motivated and satisfied workforce can deliver powerfully to the bottom line. Since employee performance is a joint function of ability and motivation, one of management’s primary tasks, therefore, is to motivate employees to perform to the best of their ability.

In economic theory and practice, salary is one of motivation tools that significantly influence people's workloads. Salary is a factor that plays a particularly important motivation of human resources. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly on 10 December 1948 stated that: "Everyone has the right to work, to free choice

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of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment".

Motivation and job satisfaction of human resources consider others should be one of the main priorities of the management organization to have a sustainable development of its medium and long term. Along the last years there is a growing interest for effective wage policy within the organizations. As some of the scholars pointed out that motivation is not only a consequence but also a prerequisite for an effective social and economic activities.

One interesting idea is that motivation like a part of the organizational wages policies has to be judiciously prepared and perfectly damped with the general policy of the organization in order to stimulate economic efficiency rather than to affect it.

Job satisfaction is achieved according to a variety of sizes. Over time, they conducted a series of research that aimed to determine the dimensions or factors that generate state of satisfaction / dissatisfaction and weight to establish that they have these dimensions, types and levels of satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Making ideals, obtaining cash rewards in exchange for work performed, the development of personality traits, the employee contribution to the production of goods and services, development of human relations and shaping welfare state benefits, depend primarily on the relationship between expectations, abilities and goals of the person, on the one hand and existing conditions at work on the other hand.

A fair wage and incentive system should be able to meet the following criteria for assessing the rationality and efficiency: a) remuneration proportional to the relative importance of the work; b) consistency levels of pay between jobs with tasks compatible; c) pay adjustment in accordance with changes in the labor market; d) recognition of professional capacity and efficiency of the individual; e) understanding by senior management oversight and payroll system, the principles of; f) the existence of rational methods for solving the problems of pay.

Job Satisfaction

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Job satisfaction refers to “the pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job as achieving or facilitating the achievement of one's job values” (Locke, 1969). Job satisfaction is a multidimensional construct the conceptualization and measurement of which has long been of interest in the industrial and organizational psychology literatures where according to Bowling and Hammond, it has been the most widely studied topic. This is reflected in the various operationalisations proposed involving for example, perceptions about work itself, relationships with co-workers and supervisors, job control, job security and feelings such as self-accomplishment and self-advancement. Similarly, Rutherford’s approach include aspects such as satisfaction with supervision, satisfaction with overall job, satisfaction with policy and support, promotion and advancement, satisfaction with pay, co-workers and customers. While it is evident from the above that various factors can influence job satisfaction, a misfit between what one expected and what one received, may cause a decrease in job satisfaction (Robinson and Rousseau, 1994). In fact, Job satisfaction has been linked to individual outcomes or work related behaviors such as job performance, absenteeism and turnover.

Regarding the link between motivation and job satisfaction all content theories link the Herzberg's two- factor theory, that distinguishes between factors preventing dissatisfaction and affecting motivation: the hygiene and the motivation factors. Hygiene factors are needed to ensure an employee is not dissatisfied. Motivation factors are needed to motivate one to higher performance. More specifically, Herzberg’s motivation theory highlights two kinds of factors in working environments, hygiene factors and motivators. The hygiene factors’ presence (e.g. working conditions, job security, pay, company policies and administration, level and quality of supervision, interpersonal relationships) cannot motivate employees but prevent dissatisfaction.

Unlike hygiene factors, motivators are intrinsic to a job and create employee satisfaction (e.g. the work itself, responsibility, sense of achievement, recognition by others, advancement, personal growth). This is in line with Hackman and Oldham’s (1980) view arguing that job characteristics can motivate employees and the motivating potential of a job is expected to affect the resulting job satisfaction, too.

Theories of motivation

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Systematization of the main theories of motivationMotivation theory development history noted various motivation models

assumed by managers. The most important ones are: Traditional model Co-operation relations model Human resources model

Traditional model is associated with F. Taylor and academic school of organization. Within this model the maximum number of products manufactured was the most important issue. Work pay was the main motivator to make them work faster and better.

Co-operation model. Elton Mayo claimed that, apart from enumeration it is also relations between employees at work whereas boredom and repetitiveness of many tasks lowered motivation. A conclusion followed that managers may motivate employees by recognizing their social needs and ensuring their usefulness and self-importance.

Human resources model – subsequent researchers such as McGregor, Maslow, Arygis and Likert showed that employee motivation consists of many elements, not only financial but also needs to have achievements and perform important work. Employees may therefore derive satisfaction from work, may be entrusted with a higher rank responsibility for decisions and performing tasks. Managers shall not only use financial stimuli but also share responsibility for reaching goals.

At the moment an approach to motivation rules has been changing, F. Landy and W. Backer (Stoner, 2001) divided modern views on motivation theory and practice, represented by various authors, into five categories:

Needs category (A.H. Maslow, C.P. Alderfer, J.W.Atkinson, D.McClelland),

Justice theory (G. C. Homans, Fastinger, V. Pareto, J. S. Adams), Expectation theory (D. Nadler, E. Lawler, L. Porter), Reinforcement theory (B. F. Skinner), Goal setting theory (E. Locke, Ch. Early, Ch. Shally).Depending upon their views managers and their employees in different way

finalize the following statement: “One is motivated if…”. All those views share basic level of importance attached to the awareness of each person as to what is important to him and working conditions.

R. Kanfer in turn divides motivation theories into three groups:• Cognitive decision theory, they tie motivation problem with individual

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decision process (V. Vroom, E. Lawler),• Self regulatory theory, based upon motivation power following goal

orientation (A. Bandura, E. Locke, R. Kanfer, D. Mc Clelland, G. S. Odiorne),• Stress reduction theory, emphasizes the role of personality and particular

motives or needs that constitute basis for human activity (A. Maslow, M.Weber, M. Richards, P. Grennlaw, F. Herzberg).

Employee’s motivation is a decisive factor for the success and future of organization as a whole. All theories, approaches and vies on motivation mentioned analyse causative factors, deal with motivation initiatives, rules of motivation, getting to know human needs at work and outside work, getting to know factors that stir work satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction etc.

Subject literature lacks a holistic approach to include all potential motivating elements that influence individual well being of employees and the increase of organization’s effectiveness.

Content and Process Motivation Theories

Content theories attempt to explain those specific things that actually motivate the individual at work. These theories are concerned with identifying people’s needs and their relative strengths, and the goals they pursue in order to satisfy these needs. Content theories place emphasis on the nature of needs and what motivates.

There is the assumption that everyone responds in much the same way to motivating pressures and that there is, therefore, one best way to motivate everybody. These theories provide a prescriptive list which managers can follow in an attempt to increase productivity.

Maslow’s Need HierarchyAbraham Harold Maslow proposed a theory that outlined five

hierarchical needs which could also be applied to an organization and its employees’ performance. According to Maslow’s theory, one does not feel the second need until the demands of the first have been satisfied or the third until the second has been satisfied, and so on.

The different levels of needs on Maslow’s hierarchy are discussed as follows: 1. Physiological needs

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These are biological needs which consist of the need for oxygen, food, water, and a relatively constant body temperature. They are the strongest needs because if a person were deprived of all needs, it is these physiological ones that would come first in the person's search for satisfaction. 2. Safety needs When all physiological needs are met and are no longer controlling thoughts and behaviors, the needs for security can become active. While adults have little awareness of their security needs except in times of emergency or periods of disorganization in the social structure (such as widespread rioting), children often display the signs of insecurity and the need to be safe. 3. Needs for love, affection and belongingness When the needs for safety and for physiological well-being are satisfied, the next class of needs for love, affection and belongingness can emerge. Maslow states that people seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation. This involves both giving and receiving love, affection and the sense of belonging. 4. Needs for esteem When the first three classes of needs are satisfied, the needs for esteem can become dominant. These involve needs for both self-esteem and for the esteem a person gets from others. Humans have a need for a stable, firmly based, high level of self-respect, and respect from others. When these needs are satisfied, the person feels self-confident and valuable as a person in the world. When these needs are frustrated, the person feels inferior, weak, helpless and worthless. 5. Needs for self-actualization When all of the foregoing needs are satisfied, then and only then are the needs for self-actualization activated. Maslow describes self-actualization as a person's need to be and do that which the person was "born to do." "A musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write." These needs make themselves felt in signs of restlessness. The person feels on edge, tense, lacking something, in short, restless. If a person is hungry, unsafe, not loved or accepted, or lacking self-esteem, it is very easy to know what the person is restless about. However, it is not always clear what a person wants when there is a need for self-actualization. The aforementioned theory may be applied to the roles of organizational cultural and human resource management in improving employee’s performance despite some criticism or limitations of the theory.

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David McClelland’s Theory of NeedsDavid McClelland was an American psychologist who developed a

theory in the 1980s that ascribes human motivation into a set of basic needs often referred to as "the three social motives". According to McClelland everyone is more strongly motivated by some needs and less strongly by other needs. Everyone has all three of these motives but simply with a different relative degree. The result of the needs is a unique mix that gives one its personality. What McClelland found out during his research was that 80 percent of the daily mental activity could be related to three social motives. They are with other words those motives that are most common in the everyday life. Though the needs for security and nurturing are legitimate and widely studied motives they do occupy so little of most western civilized people's regular concerns that McClelland meant that it is possible to ignore them to a wide extend.

His three social motives are:Need for achievement:- The drive to transcend- The drive to accomplish in relation to a set of standards- The drive to endeavor to succeedNeed for affiliation- The need for friendly and close interpersonal relationshipsNeed for power- The need to make others behave in a way they would not have behaved otherwise

The most essential part of McClelland’s theories is that different people have different motives and therefor, different personalities. The result of this is that one is more or less suited to different roles. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses in different situations and the tendency is that one guides itself toward situations in which he or she can do its best.

Clayton Alderfer - ERG Theory An attempt to simplify Maslow's needs theory was put forward by psychologist Clayton Alderfer with his ERG theory. Both theories see needs as the motivating force behind behavior. People are motivated to do things by different needs, of which Alderfer identified three:

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Existence Needs - those which give us physical well-being Relatedness Needs - the need for social relationships Growth Needs - the need for personal growth and development.

Besides establishing only three, instead of Maslow's original five needs, the second difference between Maslow and Alderfer is that Alderfer considered that people could move around the hierarchy meeting their needs. People do not start at the bottom and work their way up. People might be meeting their relatedness or social needs whilst tired or hungry. They might meet their need for personal growth by studying alone, even though they feel lonely. Alderfer also argued that people could go backwards in meeting needs. If people are frustrated in meeting their higher order needs - no recognition of their work, feeling unvalued, they may start meeting lower order needs even though these are already satisfied. People may eat too much, drink too much, concentrate on making money, etc. to compensate themselves for not achieving the higher order needs. In a learning environment, recognition of learner achievement and positive feedback helps to satisfy Maslow's need for recognition and need for self-actualization, and Alderfer’s need for personal growth. Learning itself helps to satisfy Maslow's need for self-actualization and Alderfer's need for personal growth. Social contact, maybe experienced during the learning process, helps to satisfy Maslow's social need and Alderfer's relationship need. Thus, in order to optimize learning according to the above theories and principles, the learning environment and experience should be such that both the learners’ physical and psychological needs are met.

Herzberg’s Two Factor TheoryHerzberg published the two-factor theory of work motivation in 1959.

The theory was highly controversial at the time it was published, claims to be the most replicated study in this area, and provided the foundation for numerous other theories and frameworks in human resource development. The theory states that job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are affected by two different sets

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of factors. Therefore, satisfaction and dissatisfaction cannot be measured on the same continuum.

Herzberg developed an initial hypothesis that satisfaction and dissatisfaction could not be reliably measured on the same continuum. Herzberg next conducted an empirical study to test the hypothesis. After two pilot programs, the design and hypothesis were further developed and expanded. The main hypothesis stated that factors leading to positive attitudes and those leading to negative attitudes will differ. The second hypothesis stated that factors and effects involved in long-range sequences of events would differ from those in short-range sequences.

He suggested that there are two kinds of factors affect motivation, and they do it in different ways:1) Hygiene factors: A series of hygiene factors create dissatisfaction if individuals perceive them as inadequate or inequitable, yet individuals will not be significantly motivated if these factors are viewed as adequate or good. Hygiene factors are extrinsic and include factors such as salary or remuneration, job security and working conditions.2) Motivators: They are intrinsic factors such as sense of achievement, recognition, responsibility, and personal growth.

The hygiene factors determine dissatisfaction, and motivators determine satisfaction. Herzberg theory conforms with satisfaction theories which assert that “a satisfied employee tends to work in the same organization but this satisfaction does not always result in better performance”. In other words, satisfaction does not correlate with productivity.

Process theories (expectancy and goal) change the emphasis from needs to the goals and processes by which workers are motivated. They attempt to explain and describe how people start, sustain and direct behavior aimed at the satisfaction of needs or reduction of inner tension. They place emphasis on the actual process of motivation.

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Process theories also attempt to identify major variables that explain behavior, but the focus is on the dynamics of how the variables are interrelated in explaining the direction, degree and persistence of effort. The major variables in process models are incentive, drive, reinforcement and expectancy.

Vroom’s Expectancy TheoryVroom’s expectancy theory differs from the content theories of Maslow,

Alderfer, Herzberg, and McClelland in that Vroom’s expectancy theory does not provide specific suggestions on what motivates organization members. Instead, Vroom’s theory provides a process of cognitive variables that reflects individual differences in work motivation.

From a management standpoint, the expectancy theory has some important implications for motivating employees. It identifies several important things that can be done to motivate employees by altering the person’s effort-to-performance expectancy, performance-to-reward expectancy, and reward

valences. Expectancy theory is based on four assumptions (Vroom, 1964). One

assumption is that people join organizations with expectations about their needs, motivations, and past experiences. These influence how individuals react to the organization. A second assumption is that an individual’s behavior is a result of conscious choice. That is, people are free to choose those behaviors suggested by their own expectancy calculations. A third assumption is that people want different things from the organization (e.g. good salary, job security, advancement, and challenge) A fourth assumption is that people will choose among alternatives so as to optimize outcomes for them personally.

The expectancy theory based on these assumptions has three key elements: expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. A person is motivated to the degree that he or she believes that effort will lead to acceptable performance (expectancy), performance will be rewarded (instrumentality), and the value of the rewards is highly positive (valence).

Expectancy is a person’s estimate of the probability that job-related effort will result in a given level of performance. Expectancy is based on probabilities and ranges from 0 to 1. If an employee sees no chance that effort will lead to the desired performance level, the expectancy is 0. On the other hand, if the employee is completely certain that the task will be completed, the expectancy has a value of 1. Generally, employee estimates of expectancy lie somewhere between these two extremes.

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Instrumentality is an individual’s estimate of the probability that a given level of achieved task performance will lead to various work outcomes. As with expectancy, instrumentality ranges from 0 to 1. For example, if an employee sees that a good performance rating will always result in a salary increase, the instrumentality has a value of 1. If there is no perceived relationship between a good performance rating and a salary increase, then the instrumentality is 0.

Valence is the strength of an employee’s preference for a particular reward. Thus, salary increases, promotion, peer acceptance, recognition by supervisors, or any other reward might have more or less value to individual employees. Unlike expectancy and instrumentality, valences can be either positive or negative. If an employee has a strong preference for attaining a reward, valence is positive. At the other extreme, valence is negative. And if an employee is indifferent to a reward, valence is 0. The total range is from -1 to +1. Theoretically, a reward has a valence because it is related to an employee’s needs. Valence, then, provides a link to the need theories of motivation (Alderfer, Herzberg, Maslow, and McClelland).

Vroom suggests that motivation, expectancy, instrumentality, and valence are related to one another by the equation:

Motivation = Expectancy x Instrumentality x ValenceThe multiplier effect in the equation is significant. It means that higher

levels of motivation will result when expectancy, instrumentality, and valence are all high than when they are all low. The multiplier assumption of the theory also implies that if any one of the three factors is zero, the overall level of motivation is zero. Therefore, for example, even if an employee believes that his/her effort will result in performance, which will result in reward, motivation will be zero if the valence of the reward he/she expects to receive is zero.

Adams’ Equity TheoryDeveloped by John Stacey Adams in 1963, Equity Theory suggests that if

the individual perceives that the rewards received are equitable, that is, fair or just in comparison with those received by others in similar positions in or outside the organization, then the individual feels satisfied. Adams asserted that employees seek to maintain equity between the inputs that they bring to a job and the outcomes that they receive from it against the perceived inputs and outcomes of others.

When people sense inequities in their work they will be aroused to remove the discomfort and restore a state of felt equity to the situation by:

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changing work inputs changing rewards received leaving the situation changing the comparison points psychologically distorting the comparisons

People who feel overpaid (feel positive inequity) have been found to increase the quantity or quality of their work, whilst those who are underpaid (feel negative inequity) do the opposite. Feelings of inequity are determined solely by the individual’s interpretation of the situation - the fact that a manager feels that the annual pay review is fair is immaterial.

Locke’s Goal TheoryEdwin Locke proposed Goal Theory in 1968, which proposes that

motivation and performance will be high if individuals are set specific goals which are challenging, but accepted, and where feedback is given on performance.

The theory emphasizes the important relationship between goals and performance. Research supports predictions that the most effective performance seems to result when goals are specific and challenging, when they are used to evaluate performance and linked to feedback on results, and create commitment and acceptance. Deadlines improve the effectiveness of goals. A learning goal orientation leads to higher performance than a performance goal orientation, and group goal-setting is as important as individual goal-setting.

The two most important findings of this theory are:1. Setting specific goals generates higher levels of performance than setting

general goals (e.g. I want to earn a lot of money).2. The goals that are hard to achieve are linearly and positively connected to

performance. The harder the goal, the more a person will work to reach it.

Conclusion

In the process of management motivation is considered only as a „management function” but management

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theoreticians and practitioners realize that without motivating employees, no organization can survive not only while facing labour market competition but even as a player in the sector. Motivation understood in a wider perspective is not one word but a continuous process that changes with time, depends upon employees personality and conditions and, first of all fast changes on the market that a company must constantly adjust to.

The main challenge of an organization is to establish equivalence between the general and explicit needs of organization and personal values of its employees. Therefore, motivation is the outcome of participation and interaction between the individual and his situation.

Each of the presented theories has potential advantages for management which can be employed in combination with each other. The similarity between these theories indicates that duty of manager is to create a work environment which is answerable to employee's needs. Poor performance, undesirable behavior and reduction of satisfaction can be explained somehow by blocked needs or unsatisfied work needs. The motivational value of needs can be assessed as active areas. The general guidelines of content theories are: Understand the personal needs from the viewpoint of work needs.

On the whole, motivation is a complicated issue which cannot be easily clarified. Personal differences of people influence the structure of their needs and the environment of organization influences motivation. Desirable work environment and considered reward lead to job satisfaction, high productivity of employees and their motivation.

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Bibliography

1. A. H. Maslow, A Theory of Human Motivation, 1943;2. Nadia Ayub, The relationship betweenwork motivation and job

satisfaction, 2011, Department of Business Psychology Karachi;3. Pamela A. Braden, McClelland’s Theory of Needs,2000,

Parkersburg University;4. Fred C. Lunenburg, Expectancy Theory of Motivation: Motivating

by Altering Expectations, 2011, Sam Houston State University.5. Nancy H. Shanks, Management and motivation, 2009, Jones and

Bartlett Publishers;6. Weiner B., Graham S., Theories and principles of motivation,

1996, National Science Foundation;

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Fundametal Management