Conventional Theories of Motivation

 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When
one need is fulfilled a person seeks to fulfill the next one, and so on.The earliest
and most widespread version of Maslow's (1943, 1954) hierarchy of
needs includes five motivational needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within
a pyramid.
1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter.
2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability,
etc.
3. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships,
etc.
4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status,
dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.
5. Self-Actualization needs - realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking
personal growth and peak experiences.
Limitations
Maslow says people attend to basic needs first and progressively deal with more
complex matters until they reach a point he calls self-actualisation at the top of
the hierarchy’s pyramid. Not everyone gets that far.

The theory makes crude assumptions that don’t apply to everyone.

Maslow’s idea belongs to a time and place. Maslow was American and he first
suggested the hierarchy in the 1940s. The ideas are highly specific to America’s
individualist culture where middle-class people worry about their personal needs
more than any collective needs.

 Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation

In 1959, Frederick Herzberg, a behavioral scientist proposed a two-factor theory or
the motivator-hygiene theory.
Hygiene factors- Hygiene factors are those job factors which are essential for
existence of motivation at workplace. These do not lead to positive satisfaction for
long-term. But if these factors are absent / if these factors are non-existent at
workplace, then they lead to dissatisfaction. In other words, hygiene factors are
those factors which when adequate/reasonable in a job, pacify the employees and
do not make them dissatisfied. These factors are extrinsic to work. Hygiene factors
are also called as dissatisfiers or maintenance factors as they are required to avoid
dissatisfaction. These factors describe the job environment/scenario. The hygiene
factors symbolized the physiological needs which the individuals wanted and
expected to be fulfilled. Hygiene factors include:
 Pay - The pay or salary structure should be appropriate and reasonable. It
must be equal and competitive to those in the same industry in the same
domain.
 Company Policies and administrative policies - The company policies
should not be too rigid. They should be fair and clear. It should include
flexible working hours, dress code, breaks, vacation, etc.
 Fringe benefits - The employees should be offered health care plans
(mediclaim), benefits for the family members, employee help programmes,
etc.
 Physical Working conditions - The working conditions should be safe, clean
and hygienic. The work equipments should be updated and well-maintained.
 Status - The employees’ status within the organization should be familiar
and retained.
 Interpersonal relations - The relationship of the employees with his peers,
superiors and subordinates should be appropriate and acceptable. There
should be no conflict or humiliation element present.
 Job Security - The organization must provide job security to the employees.

Motivational factors- According to Herzberg, the hygiene factors cannot be

regarded as motivators. The motivational factors yield positive satisfaction.
These factors are inherent to work. These factors motivate the employees for
a superior performance. These factors are called satisfiers. These are factors
involved in performing the job. Employees find these factors intrinsically
rewarding. The motivators symbolized the psychological needs that were
perceived as an additional benefit. Motivational factors include:
  Recognition - The employees should be praised and recognized for
their accomplishments by the managers.
 Sense of achievement - The employees must have a sense of
achievement. This depends on the job. There must be a fruit of some
sort in the job.
 Growth and promotional opportunities - There must be growth and
advancement opportunities in an organization to motivate the
employees to perform well.
 Responsibility - The employees must hold themselves responsible for
the work. The managers should give them ownership of the work.
They should minimize control but retain accountability.
 Meaningfulness of the work - The work itself should be meaningful,
interesting and challenging for the employee to perform and to get
motivated.

Limitations of Two-Factor Theory

The two factor theory is not free from limitations:

1. Herzberg assumed a correlation between satisfaction and productivity. But

the research conducted by Herzberg stressed upon satisfaction and ignored
productivity.
2. The two factor theory is not free from bias as it is based on the natural
reaction of employees when they are enquired the sources of satisfaction and
dissatisfaction at work. They will blame dissatisfaction on the external
factors such as salary structure, company policies and peer relationship.
Also, the employees will give credit to themselves for the satisfaction factor
at work.
3. The theory ignores blue-collar workers.
4. It is difficult to differentiate between hygiene factors and motivators.

 McClelland's Theory
He identified three motivators that he believed we all have: a need for
achievement, a need for affiliation, and a need for power. People will have
different characteristics depending on their dominant motivator.

These characteristics are as follows:

Dominant
Characteristics of This Person
Motivator

 Has a strong need to set and accomplish challenging

goals.
 Takes calculated risks to accomplish their goals.
 Likes to receive regular feedback on their progress and
achievements.
 Often likes to work alone.
Achievement

 Wants to belong to the group.

 Wants to be liked, and will often go along with whatever
the rest of the group wants to do.
 Favors collaboration over competition.
 Doesn't like high risk or uncertainty.
Affiliation

 Wants to control and influence others.

 Likes to win arguments.
 Enjoys competition and winning.
 Enjoys status and recognition.
Power

 Douglas McGregor's XY Theory

Douglas McGregor, an American social psychologist, proposed his famous

X-Y theory in his 1960 book 'The Human Side Of Enterprise'. Theory x and theory
y are still referred to commonly in the field of management and motivation

Theory x ('authoritarian management' style)

 The average person dislikes work and will avoid it he/she can.
  Therefore most people must be forced with the threat of punishment to work
towards organisational objectives.

 The average person prefers to be directed; to avoid responsibility; is

relatively unambitious, and wants security above all else.

Theory y ('participative management' style)

 Effort in work is as natural as work and play.

 People will apply self-control and self-direction in the pursuit of

organisational objectives, without external control or the threat of
punishment.

 Commitment to objectives is a function of rewards associated with their

achievement.

 People usually accept and often seek responsibility.

 The capacity to use a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in

solving organisational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the
population.
Self-Monitoring

Self-monitoring is a personality characteristic that makes an individual

pay closer attention to a social situation so that they can change their
behaviors to fit that situation.

High self-monitors easily blend into social situations, knowing what to do

or say with each person. They appear more friendly and less anxious to
observers, and are sensitive to social cues are likely to vary their behavior
from situation to situation. High self-monitors read non-verbal behavior better,
and will change their behavior to suit the situation as they perceive it. They
are more concerned with acting appropriately than being true to themselves.

If an outcome depends on another person, high self-monitors will recall

more information about the other person, and make more confident judgments
and extreme inferences about the other person.

Low self-monitors (LSMs), on the other hand, act themselves regardless

of the situation, so they rarely conform to the norms of the social setting.
LSMs are less sensitive to social cues, and less likely to change their behavior
from one situation to another.

LSMs prefer to be seen as they really are, and they behave so as to

express internal attitudes and dispositions. Their attitudes are more
accessible, so LSMs have a greater consistency between their attitudes and
their behavior. LSMs are more likely to show effects of fatigue and moods
than HSMs.