Theories of Motivation: Leading and managing people in organizations

Theories of Motivation: Understand how motivation is used to lead and manage people in organizations.

What is Motivation

Motivation is basically the intention or reason for an individual’s activities and desires. It stimulates a person to do things or behave in a definite way. All employees work towards achieving organisational effectiveness but they all have their distinct needs which they would love want to fulfill.

Here are some definitions.

“Motivation is ‘the driving force within individuals by which they attempt to achieve some goal in order to fulfil some need or expectation” (Mullins,2005)

“Motivation concerns what drives a person’s choice of what to do, and how long they keep trying. It is NOT the only factor that influences work performance” Arnold, J (2005) Work Psychology, 4th edition, Harlow: FT Prentice Hall

Organisation’s have to keep the workforce happy and motivated because it is the people which will lead the organization to success (or failure). Employees are often the differentiating factors between organisations so to keep them in high spirits is very important.

Managers have to sense alienation and low morale among employees and do a root cause analysis (usually by talking to employees in different functions). Managers have to understand the reason behind such low motivation; are their certain factors that the organisation is either overlooking?

So managers have to take corrective measure for issues prevailing in the organisation. Addressing such concerns at the earliest helps companies reduce employee turnover.

Motivational Dimensions

• Money is not the only motivator – if it motivates at all.
• Motivation is multi-faceted: complex, often contradictory and prone to variability
• Motivation and job performance are not synonymous: one can exist without the other

Three specific components of motivation:

• Direction: what a person is trying to do
• Effort: how hard a person is trying
• Persistence: how long a person continues trying” (Arnold, 2005)

Stimulating motivation is likely to involve:

• Meeting basic human needs
• Setting goals
• Treating people fairly
• Enhancing rewards and making them attainable
• Designing jobs to make them desirable

Theories of Motivation

There are a variety of theories on motivation:

NEEDS or CONTENT theories

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1954)
• McGregor (1960)
• Herzberg 2 factor theory (1966)
• Clayton Alderfer ERG theory (1972)

COGNITIVE or PROCESS theories

• Expectancy theory – Vroom (1964)
• Equity theory – Adams (1965)
• Goal setting theory – Locke and Latham (1990)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow proposed a theory of human motivation where he categorised the various human needs in the form of a hierarchy, arranged as per their importance to individuals (Maslow, 1943). The five set of needs are (starting from the bottom): Physiological needs, Safety needs, Social needs, Esteem needs and Self Actualisation needs.

Read more on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Clayton Alderfer ERG Theory of Motivation

Human beings have needs; they need various things on a regular basis, from things that are going to simply keep them alive (such as food and water), to things that are going to keep them happy, such as personal relationships and accomplishments. Alderfer’s ERG Theory categorises Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in just three groups – Existence, Relatedness and Growth, which can cover all of the needs required for human experience.

Clayton Alderfer (1972) modified the concept of a hierarchy (Maslow’s model) and developed a three level model:

• Existence needs (E)
• Relatedness needs (R)
• Growth needs (G)

Alderfer suggested that the model was actually a continuum and that rather than progressing from one level up to the next, people can be at more than one level and can also regress.

“Needs theories of Motivation have intuitive appeal and provide possible explanations for some human behaviour, but research suggests that they are difficult to use at work.” Arnold, 2005, p 314

Consider each of the following roles. Which would you feel motivated to do?

• Nurse
• Primary school teacher
• Financial Salesperson
• Machine operator
• Call centre worker
• Retail manager
• Chef
• Mortuary assistant

What if each were paying the same salary?

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation (1966)

As per Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory (also known as the motivator-hygiene theory and dual-factor theory), there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction, while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction.

The first of the two are called hygiene factors – factors that cause dissatisfaction in the workplace, such as compensation, security, politics, working conditions, leadership style.

The second factor is known as motivators or satisfiers – factors for satisfaction such as responsibility, job satisfaction, recognition, achievement, opportunities for growth, and advancement.

Negative Hygiene Factors(extrinsic)

• Low pay
• Poor job security
• Poor working conditions
• Poor relationships within work

Positive Motivators (intrinsic)

• Achievement & Recognition
• Personal Growth & Advancement
• Responsibility
• Work Itself

McGregor Theory X and Theory Y

Douglas McGregor suggested that managers generally treat people according to certain assumptions about the way people ‘are’ and therefore how they expect them to behave.

Manager X believes

• Most people dislike work
• People will only work if they are threatened
• People prefer to be directed, they avoid responsibility and require security above all

Manager Y believes

• Most people enjoy work
• People are self directing, so the task of management is to co-ordinate not control
• Security needs are not the only motivation to work, people have development potential and capacity to take on responsibility

Managers approach in the various stages of group development

Managers may use different types of managers approach depending on the stage of group development.

Theory X Manager Approach:

• Need to motivate, supervise and control employees
• Group meeting discussions about persuasion, rewards and punishments
• Manager controls conversations

Theory Y Manager Approach:

• Employees are self motivated
• Active in decision making
• Ready for growth and development
• Group meeting discussions are about team goals, rules, individual roles
• Employees would control conversations

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

Victor H. Vroom developed the expectancy theory in 1964 which concluded that motivation depends on three factors: Expectancy, instrumentality and valence.

Motivation is a function of the desirability of the outcome of a behaviour and can be calculated as:

Motivational force = Expectancy x Instrumentality x Valence

• Valency: How much do I value the potential outcomes?
• Instrumentality: Will my effort lead to the results?
• Expectancy:Will the results achieve the rewards?

V x I x E = motivation & performance

Equity Theory of Motivation

The equity theory of motivation by John Stacey Adams (1965) states that a person’s motivation level is dependent on how they perceive equity or level of fairness (known as ‘equity’ here) in their environment (Adams, 1963). So, at the workplace, a person will be more motivated if the perceived fairness is high, and vice versa.

Read more on Equity Theory of Motivation

Goal Setting Theory Locke and Latham (1990)

As per Goal-setting theory, people who set specific, difficult goals tend to performed better than those who do not or set general, easy goals. Locke proposed five basic principles of goal-setting: clarity, challenge, commitment, feedback, and task complexity.

• Challenging goals lead to a higher level of performance than un-challenging ones
• Participation in goal-setting process can enhance commitment to goals and performance in achieving them
• Knowledge of results is important for motivation and effective goal achievement
• Specific goals are better than vague ones (SMART)

“The impact of a goal on work performance is small or non-existent if a person does not feel committed to it” Arnold, (2005: 329)

References and Bibliography

• Whetton, D.A. and Cameron, K.S. (2011) Developing Management Skills , (8th edn.) Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson education.
• Hitt, M.A., Black. J.S. & Porter, L.W. (2005) Management, Pearson
• Kopelman, R.E., Prottas, D.J. and Davis, A.L., 2008. Douglas McGregor’s theory X and Y: Toward a construct-valid measure. Journal of Managerial Issues, pp.255-271.
• Martin, J. (2005) Organizational Behaviour and Management, Thomson
• Mullins, L,J., (2010), Management and Organisational Behaviour, (9edn) Harlow, Pearson Education
• Muchinsky, P, M., (2003), Psychology applied to work, Thomson, Wadsworth
• Reiss, S. and Havercamp, S., 2005. Motivation in Developmental Context: A New Method for Studying Self-Actualization. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 45(1), pp.41-53.
• Robbins, S, P., (2003), Organisational Behaviour, Prentice Hall
• Tucker, M.L., McCarthy, A.M. and Benton, D.A. (2003) The Human Challenge: Managing Yourself and Others in Organizations, (7th Edn.) Upper Saddle River N.J. Prentice hall