THE THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

Karungi Acheles

Department of Biosystems engineering - Gulu University

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Motivation is essential to almost any aspect of life. Nature has an intrinsic motivation that is it
does what it does in and out of itself, without further reflection. (www.yourcoach.be) According
to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, a motive is a need or desire that causes a person to act.
Motivate, in turn, means to provide with a motive.

Motivation can be defined as, the act of providing motive that causes someone to act. In other
words, according to Nancy Shanks, motivation causes someone to act and someone else cannot
make someone motivated. It is the discretion of the person to decide if they are going to be
motivated or not. (Burton, 2012). Both motivating and motivation deal with the range of conscious
human behavior between reflex actions and learned actions.

2.0 THEORIES OF MOTIVATION USED BY MANAGERS TODAY

Psychologists have studied human motivation extensively to derive theories about what motivates
people and this is adopted by most of the managers. They focus on motivation being function of
the following:

2.1 EMPLOYEE NEEDS-BASED THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

2.1.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:
This postulated a hierarchy of needs that progresses from the lowest, subsistence-level needs to
the highest level of self-awareness and actualization. (Maslow, 1943). Once each level has been
met, the theory is that an individual will be motivated by and strive to progress to satisfy the next
higher level of need. The five levels in Maslow’s hierarchy are shown in the diagram below.
 Figure 1; Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow, 1943)

 Physiological needs- for example; food, sexual drive, and other subsistence related needs.
 Safety needs- including shelter, a safe home environment, and other basic necessities.
 Belonging needs like, the desire for social contact, friendship, and various types of support.
 Esteem needs such as status, recognition, and positive regard.
 Self-actualization needs including the desire for achievement, development and autonomy.

The advantage of this theory is how well it serves to interpret human behavior and motivation. It
has relevance in modern day applications, especially in the world of business. Managers can
benefit from understanding their employees’ basic human needs of friendship, job security, and
recognition for a task well done. Creating an environment which meets these needs will result in
self-actualized team members who operate at their full potential for the business.

A criticized disadvantage of the theory is in creating the hierarchy; Maslow studied only a narrow
segment of the human population. Therefore, it’s hard for researchers to measure these needs or to
generalize them across all human populations. The hierarchy fails to take into account individual
and cultural differences. Managers today also use other theories in sections 2.1.2, 2.1.3, and 2.1.4.
2.1.2 Alderfer’s ERG theory
Clayton Alderfer modified Maslow's Need Hierarchy to align it more closely with empirical
research. Alderfer's theory is called the ERG theory - Existence, Relatedness, and Growth.
Existence refers to people’s concern with basic material existence requirements; what is called
physiological and safety needs according to Maslow. Relatedness is the desire for maintaining
interpersonal relationships; similar to Maslow's social/love need, and the external component of
his esteem needs. Growth is an intrinsic desire for personal development which is the intrinsic
component of Maslow's esteem need, and self-actualization. (Alderfer, 1969).

The advantages of this theory include;

 All three needs have valid and reliable measures for both the levels of desire and satisfaction.
 Scholars and practitioners all agree that the fulfillment of human needs has an important role
in human motivation.
The disadvantages include;
 It only tends to approach a set of experimental generalities.
 The theory is difficult to test with our current tools and research methods.
 Doesn't provide a motivational value for each motivator. them satisfaction

2.1.3 Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory.

Herzberg's Two Factor Theory which modified Maslow’s needs theory, is consolidated down to
two areas of needs that motivate employees. These include; hygiene factors and, motivation
factors. These hygiene factors mean that basic needs do not give motivation but merely create a
conducive working environment. There would be no dissatisfaction among workers when basic
needs are fulfilled, but it does not motivate them or give them satisfaction; it merely removes
dissatisfaction. The motivation factors are the top two needs in the hierarchy that is esteem and
self-actualization. These needs, when fulfilled, would give employees satisfaction. Before
satisfaction can actually be achieved, there must not be any element of dissatisfaction.

Advantages
 Herzberg’s Theory can be applied by managers to motivate employees by identifying the
hygiene factors removing any element of dissatisfaction.
 It makes employees be motivated by fulfilling their esteem and self-actualization needs.
 This theory enables managers to work on basic needs, once identified, and then go to more
complex needs of employees.

Disadvantages
 There are no standardized scales of satisfaction for job factors of which cause satisfaction
and dissatisfaction. This may have caused errors in his findings.
 Herzberg failed to recognize the existence of substantial individual differences.

2.1.4. McClelland’s Acquired Needs Theory

The idea here is that needs are acquired throughout life. That is, needs are not innate, but are
learned or developed as a result of one’s life experiences. (McClelland & Boyatzis, 1982) This
theory focuses on three types of needs: need for achievement, need for affiliation, and need for
power.
The advantage or strength of this theory is that McClelland developed training programs for
managers to increase their need for achievement. This need correlates well with positive
organizational behaviors and performance. While other needs theories are more descriptive,
McClelland offers a better mix of description and prescription enabling organizations to
proactively encourage beneficial corporate behavior through both training programs and matching
motivational needs with job situations. However critics of McClelland's theory state that there are
issues with its validity concerning the TAT projection used to determine the level of individual
needs (Redmond, 2009).

2.1.5. Hackman and Oldham’s job characteristics theory

The theory focuses on the task itself. It identifies five core job characteristics (Skill variety, Task
identity, Task significance, Autonomy, Feedback) that influence three critical psychological states
(Meaningfulness, Responsibility, Knowledge of outcomes). These, in turn, influence motivation
and work outcomes (job satisfaction, absenteeism).

2.2 EXTRINSIC FACTOR THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

Another approach to understanding motivation, is where managers focus on external factors and
their role in understanding employee motivation. The best known of these is:

 Reinforcement- individuals are motivated when their behaviors are reinforced (Skinner, 1953).
 Positive reinforcement - This relates to taking action that rewards positive behaviors;
 Avoidance learning - it’s used when actions are taken to reward behaviors that avoid
undesirable or negative behaviors. This is sometimes referred to as negative reinforcement;
 Punishment- managers design actions to reduce undesirable behaviors by creating negative
consequences for the individual.
 Extinction - Managers remove positive rewards for undesirable behaviors.


2.3 MANAGEMENT THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

These approaches to motivation of employees by managers are driven by aspects of management,

such as productivity, human resources, and other considerations. The notable theories include;

2.3.1. Theory X and Theory Y:

This was developed by Douglas McGregor’s. According to him there are two diametrically
opposing viewpoints of managers about their employees, one being Theory X and it is negative
while the other is called Theory Y and it is positive. The following are the assumptions of managers
who believe in the respective theories in regard to their employees.
Theory Y
• Employees accept and seek responsibilities
• Employees are self-directed and self-controlled and committed to the organizational objectives
• Employees love work just like playing or resting.
• The Innovative spirit is not confined to managers alone, some employees also possess it

Theory X.
• Employees avoid responsibilities and seek formal direction
• Employees dislike work or monotony
• Most employees consider job security, above all other factors in the job and are less ambitious.
• Employees must be coerced, controlled or threatened to do the work.

The biggest advantage of using Theory X and Theory Y is that they are easy to understand. In
addition to this, they can help a manager to focus on his thoughts on the different ways in which
individuals relate to and carry out work. The disadvantage of the above theories based on its
assumptions include;
 McGregor suggests that most people fall into certain work attitude extremes but his samples
did not provide the evidence to support it.
 Theory X style of management fosters a very hostile and distrustful atmosphere.
 Theory Y style of management is tough to uphold in reality.
 Theory X and Theory Y are very hard to be used with each other.
 Theory X and Theory Y makes employment harder.

2.3.2 Theory Z - Ouchi’s theory.

This theory is based on the Japanese approach to management and has the idea that employees
who are involved in and committed to an organization will be motivated to increase productivity.
Managers who use theory Z provide rewards, such as long-term employment, promotion from
within, participatory management, and other techniques to motivate employees (Ouchi, 1981).

One of the most important advantages of this theory is that management must have a high degree
of confidence in its workers in order for this type of participative management to work
Theory Z suffers from the following limitations:
 Provision of lifetime employment to employees to develop a strong bond between
organiasation and employees may fail to motivate employees with higher level needs.
 Participation of employees in the decision making process is very difficult.
 Theory Z suggests organization without any structure. But without structure there may be
chaos in the organization as nobody will know who is responsible to whom.
 It may not be possible to develop a common culture in the organization because people differ
in their attitudes, habits, languages, religions, and customs.
 It is based on Japanese management practices which may not be applicable in different
cultures.

2.3.3. Scientific Management Theory—Frederick Taylor’s theory

This focuses on studying job processes, determining the most efficient means of performing them,
and in turn rewarding employees for their productivity and hard work. It assumes that people are
motivated and are able to continually work harder and more efficiently. It encourages employees
should be paid on the basis of the amount and quality of the work performed.
The advantages can be seen in Taylor’s four principles on; revolutionizing labor advancement,
careful employee’s scientific selection, training and development, conduction of employees to
perform work according to the laws of the scientific discipline and lastly ensuring equivalent
number of administrators versus workers.

Disadvantages of the Scientific Management theory being used on a company operation are;
misuse and abuse of information by management, economic competition in itself cannot generate
organizational efficiency and thus, leading to inefficiency, the managers work yielding might be
impeded by being illogical, insatiable and unwieldiness. This approach is limited by the capacity
of employees to continue to increase the quantity of work produced without sacrificing the quality.

2.4. INTRINSIC FACTOR THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

These are based on endogenous factors and focus on internal thought processes and perceptions
about motivation. Several of these are highlighted below:

2.4.1. Adam’s Equity Theory

This proposes that individuals are motivated when they perceive that they are treated equitably in
comparison to others within the organization (Adams, 1963); it states that people seek to maintain
a balance between their inputs and the outcome they receive, also in relation to the outputs of
others. Fair treatment creates motivation.

2.4.2. Vroom’s Expectancy Theory:

This addresses the expectations of individuals and hypothesizes that they are motivated by
performance and the expected outcomes of their own behaviors. It suggests that the individual will
consider the outcomes associated with various levels of performance from an entire spectrum of
performance possibilities, and elect to pursue the level that generates the greatest reward for him
or her. The key elements to this theory are Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence. Advantages
of the Expectancy Theory include;
 It is based on self-interest individual who want to achieve maximum satisfaction and who
wants to minimize dissatisfaction.
 This theory stresses upon the expectations and perception; what is real and actual is
immaterial.
 It emphasizes on rewards
 It focuses on psychological extravagance where final objective of individual is to attain
maximum pleasure and least pain.

Limitations of the Expectancy Theory include;

 The expectancy theory seems to be idealistic because quite a few individuals perceive high
degree correlation between performance and rewards.
 The application of this theory is limited as reward is not directly correlated with performance
in many organizations.

2.4.3. Goal setting theory

This was Proponed by psychologist Edwin Lock and suggests that the natural human inclination
to set and strive for goals is useful only if the individual both understands and accept a particular
goal. Workers will not be motivated if they do not know that they do not possess the skill needed
to achieve the goal. Individuals are motivated when they behave in ways that move them to certain
clear goals that they can accept and reasonably expect to attain.
The theory defines four Phases of a Person’s Reasoning which include; Establishment of a standard
to be attained, Evaluation of whether the standard can be achieved, Evaluation of whether the
standard matches personal goals, and acceptance of the standard and setting of the goal. The
advantages of the theory are;
 Sets a Course; the goal-setting theory is based on the notion that a goal establishes a purpose
or path for a person or group.
 Establishes Commitment.
 Drives planning and Feedback Goals create the impetus for strategic planning and task
assignments.

Disadvantages of Goal Setting Theory include;

 When two separate goals are set at the same time, exerting too much focus on one may make
it difficult to achieve the other
 A tunnel vision. This is when employees focus so intently on their goals that they will ignore
other aspects of their job.
 This approach also does not account for actions motivated by the subconscious; as the goal-
setting theory focuses on cognition with no regard to the subconscious
 Goal setting theory focuses on how goals are related to job performance, but does not take
into account the "why", and does not account for why setting goals is linked to performance

3.0 CONCLUSION
Managers are always consistent and timely in applying these positive motivational techniques for
effectiveness. Proper use of positive motivation is critical for managers in today's constantly
changing business environment. How well managers use these techniques to motivate employees
directly affects the productivity and efficiency that employees need to compete in business today.
Companies with effective motivational programs continue to have the extra edge needed to stay
ahead of their competitors and lead in their respective industries.

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