Motivation

What Motivates You?

What’s important to you or excites you in a job?

Some say “money.” Others might say “challenging work” or

“fun co-workers.” If you have a solid grounding in and
understanding of what motivates you, it can help you make
smart career and job choices.

The following is a list of 12 factors that might enter into your

decision in selecting a job. Read over the list. Then rank
order the items in terms of importance, with 1 being highest
in importance and 12 being lowest in importance.
 What Motivates You?
 High pay
 Good working conditions
 Friendly and supportive colleagues
 Flexible working hours
 Opportunities for growth and new challenges
 Considerate boss
 Inclusion in decisions that affect you Now, compare your list with
 Fair and equitable treatment others in your class. How
similar were your preferences?
 Job security It’s rare for lists to be exactly
 Promotion potential the same. This tells us that
people differ in terms of what
 Excellent benefits (vacation time; retirement they value. Second, use these
contributions, etc.) results to better understand
what you’re looking for in a
 Freedom and independence job.
 Learning Objectives
1 Define motivation.
2 Compare and contrast early theories of motivation.
3 Compare and contrast contemporary theories of
motivation.
● Develop your skill at motivating employees.
4 Discuss current issues in motivation.
● Know how to identify what motivates you.
 Motivation
Motivation refers to the forces either within or external
to a person that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to
pursue a certain course of action.
Employee motivation affects productivity, and part of a
manager’s job is to channel motivation toward the
accomplishment of organizational goals.
The study of motivation helps managers understand what
prompts people to initiate action, what influences their
choice of action, and why they persist in that action over
time.
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
2019

The best-known theory of motivation is probably Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of

needs theory. Maslow was a psychologist who proposed that within every person is a
hierarchy of five needs:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
Maslow argued that each level in the needs hierarchy must be substantially
satisfied before the next need becomes dominant.

In addition, Maslow separated the five needs into higher and lower
levels. Physiological and safety needs were considered lower-order
needs; social, esteem, and self-actualization needs were considered
higher-order needs. Lower-order needs are predominantly satisfied
externally while higher-order needs are satisfied internally.

How does Maslow’s theory explain motivation? Managers using Maslow’s

hierarchy to motivate employees do things to satisfy employees’ needs. But the
theory also says that once a need is substantially satisfied, an individual is no
longer motivated to satisfy that need. Therefore, to motivate someone, you need
to understand what need level that person is on in the hierarchy and focus on
satisfying needs at or above that level.
 McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
Douglas McGregor is best known for proposing two assumptions about human nature:
Theory X and Theory Y.
Very simply, Theory X is a negative view of people that assumes workers have little
ambition, dislike work, want to avoid responsibility, and need to be closely controlled to
work effectively. Theory Y is a positive view that assumes employees enjoy work, seek
out and accept responsibility, and exercise self-direction.
McGregor believed that Theory Y assumptions should guide management practice
and proposed that participation in decision making, responsible and challenging
jobs, and good group relations would maximize employee motivation.
ERG Theory of
Motivation
Existence Needs
Include all material and physiological
desires (e.g., food, water, air, clothing,
safety, physical love and affection).
Maslow's first two levels.

Relatedness Needs
Encompass social and external esteem; relationships with significant others like family,
friends, co-workers and employers . This also means to be recognized and feel secure as
part of a group or family. Maslow's third and fourth levels.

Growth Needs
Internal esteem and self actualization; these impel a person to make creative or
productive effects on himself and the environment (e.g., to progress toward one's ideal
self). Maslow's fourth and fifth levels. This includes desires to be creative and
productive, and to complete meaningful tasks.
 Difference between Maslow Need Hierarchy Theory and
Alderfer’s ERG Theory

ERG Theory states that at a given point of time, more than one need
may be operational. ERG Theory also shows that if the fulfillment of a
higher-level need is subdued, there is an increase in desire for satisfying
a lower-level need.

According to Maslow, an individual remains at a particular need level

until that need is satisfied. While according to ERG theory, if a higher-
level need aggravates, an individual may revert to increase the
satisfaction of a lower- level need. This is called frustration- regression
aspect of ERG theory. For instance- when growth need aggravates, then
an individual might be motivated to accomplish the relatedness need
and if there are issues in accomplishing relatedness needs, then he
might be motivated by the existence needs.
Thus,frustration/aggravation can result in regression to a lower-level
need.
 Contemporary Theories of Motivation
Goal-Setting Theory
Research provides substantial support for goal-setting theory, which says that specific goals
increase performance and that difficult goals, when accepted, result in higher performance
than do easy goals. What does goal-setting theory tell us?

First, working toward a goal is a major source of job motivation. Studies on goal setting have
demonstrated that specific and challenging goals are superior motivating forces. Such goals
produce a higher output than the generalized goal of “do your best.” The specificity of the goal
itself acts as an internal stimulus. For instance, when a sales rep commits to making eight sales
calls daily, this intention gives him a specific goal to try to attain.

Second, the conclusions of goalsetting theory apply to those who accept and are committed to
the goals. Difficult goals will lead to higher performance only if they are accepted.

Finally, we know people will do better if they get feedback on how well they’re progressing
toward their goals because feedback helps identify discrepancies between what they have done
and what they want to do. But all feedback isn’t equally effective. Self-generated feedback
where an employee monitors his or her own progress—has been shown to be a more powerful
motivator than feedback coming from someone else.
 Reinforcement Theory
Reinforcement theory says that behavior is a function of its consequences. Those
consequences that immediately follow a behavior and increase the probability that the
behavior will be repeated are called reinforcers. Reinforcement theory ignores factors
such as goals, expectations, and needs. Instead, it focuses solely on what happens to a
person when he or she does something.

Walmart improved its bonus program for hourly

employees. Employees who provide outstanding
customer service get a cash bonus. And all
Walmart hourly full- and part-time store
employees are eligible for annual “My$hare”
bonuses, which are allocated on store
performance and distributed quarterly so that
workers are rewarded more frequently. The
company’s intent: keep the workforce motivated
to meet goals by rewarding them when they did,
thus reinforcing the behaviors.
 Equity Theory
Equity theory, developed by J. Stacey Adams, proposes that employees
compare what they get from a job (outcomes) in relation to what they put
into it (inputs), and then they compare their inputs–outcomes ratio with the
inputs–outcomes ratios of relevant others. If an employee perceives her ratio
to be equitable in comparison to those of relevant others, there’s no
problem. However, if the ratio is inequitable, she views herself as under-
rewarded or over-rewarded. When inequities occur, employees attempt to do
something about it. The result might be lower or higher productivity,
improved or reduced quality of output, increased absenteeism, or voluntary
resignation.

Originally, equity theory focused on

distributive justice, the perceived
fairness of the amount and
allocation of rewards among
individuals.
 Expectancy Theory
The most comprehensive explanation of how employees are motivated is Victor
Vroom’s expectancy theory. Expectancy theory states that an individual tends to act in
a certain way based on the expectation that the act will be followed by a given
outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual.
1. Expectancy or effort–performance linkage is the probability perceived by the
individual that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to a certain level of
performance.
2. Instrumentality or performance–reward linkage is the degree to which the
individual believes that performing at a particular level is instrumental in attaining the
desired outcome.
3. Valence or attractiveness of reward is the importance an individual places on the
potential outcome or reward that can be achieved on the job. Valence considers both
the goals and needs of the individual.