THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

Introduction

The relationship between the organisation and its members is influenced by what
motivates them to work, the reward system and the fulfilment they derive from it. The
manager or supervisor needs to know how best to elicit the cooperation of staff and direct
their performance to achieving the goals and objectives of the organisation. The manager
must understand the nature of human behaviour and how best to motivate staff so that
they work willingly and effectively. In summary, the study of motivation is concerned
basically with why people behave in a certain way.

Motivation may be defined as the direction and persistence of action. It is concerned with
why people choose a particular course of action in preference to others and why they
continue with a chosen action, often over a long period, and in the face of difficulties and
problems.

Four common characteristics of motivation theories are as follows:

a. Motivation is typified as an individual phenomenon, as each person is unique.

b. Motivation is described, usually as intentional as it is under the worker's control.
c. Motivation is multifaceted as it revolves around what makes a person activated or
aroused and the force of an individual to engage in desired behaviour.

The underlying concept of motivation is some driving force within individuals by which they
attempt to achieve some goal in order to fulfil some need or expectation. The basic motivation
model is as given below.

Performance = function (ability x motivation)

Motivation refers to the psychological process that gives behaviour purpose and direction. By
appealing to this process, managers attempt to get individuals to willing purse organisation
objectives. Motivation theories are generalisations about the “why” and “how” of purposeful
behaviour. An individual’s motivational factors (drives) include – needs, satisfaction,
expectations and goals.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Model

Maslow's basic assumption was that people are wanting beings, they always want more and what
they want depends on what they already have. He suggested that human needs are arranged in
some form of levels, a hierarchy of importance. He identified the hierarchy to range through to
five levels from the lowest level namely physiological needs, through safety needs, love needs,
esteem needs to the need for self-actualisation at the highest level. According to Abraham
Maslow every individual has got a hierarch of needs. Each individual experiences needs
according to the hierarchy

The hierarchy of needs are usually shown in a pyramid,, which reduce as one goes to higher
level needs as follows.

a. Physiological Needs. These include needs for satisfaction of hunger and thirst, need for
sleep, sensory pleasures, activities, material behaviour and sex desire.
 b. Safety Needs. These include safety and security, freedom from pain or threat of physical
attack, protection from danger or deprivation and the need for predictability and
orderliness.

c. Love or Social Needs. These include needs for affection, sense of belonging, social
activities, friendship, and giving and receiving of love.

d. Esteem or Ego Needs. These include self-respect and esteem of others. Self-respect
involves the desire for confidence, strength, independence and freedom and achievement.
Esteem of others means reputation or prestige, status, recognition, attention and
appreciation.

e. Self-Actualisation Needs. This is the development and realisation of one's full potential.
Maslow regards this as what humans can be, they must be, becoming everything that one
is capable of becoming.

Once a lower level need is satisfied, it no longer acts as a strong motivator but the higher
level need becomes the motivator and so on. Thus a satisfied need is no longer a motivator.

Evaluation of Maslow’s theory

Maslow based his theory on the assumption that once lower level needs are satisfied, giving
more of the same does not provide motivation. However there were some problems in applying
the theory to work situations.
i. People do not necessarily satisfy their needs especially higher-level needs, just through
the work situations but other areas.
ii. There is doubt about the time which lapses between the satisfaction of a lower level need
and the emergence of a higher level need.
iii. Individual differences mean that people place different values on the same need.
iv. Some rewards or outcomes at work satisfy more than one need, e.g. salary or promotion.
v. Even for people within the same level of hierarchy, motivating factors will not be the
same.
vi. Maslow viewed satisfaction, as the main motivational behaviour but job satisfaction does
not necessarily lead to improved work performance
HERTZBERG'S TWO-FACTOR THEORY
Hertzberg carried out interviews with 203 accountants and engineers from different
industries. Using critical incident methods, he asked respondents to indicate when
they felt exceptionally good or exceptionally bad about their jobs or previous jobs.
They were requested to give reasons for either condition. The findings revealed two
different sets of factors affecting motivation. The two-factor model of Hertzberg was
born from these interviews namely motivators and hygiene factors.

a. Hygiene or Maintenance factors. These factors are related to the job context,
thus job environment. They serve to prevent dissatisfaction but do not lead to
motivation. These factors are necessary to avoid unpleasantness.
b. Motivators or Growth factors. These are factors that create a feeling of
satisfaction but not dissatisfaction. The motivators relate to what people are allowed
to do and the quality of human experience at work.

Hertzberg's work or the motivation-hygiene theory extended Maslow's hierarchy of

needs theory and is more directly applicable to the work situations

Theory X and Theory Y

In his 1960 book, The Human Side of Enterprise, Douglas McGregor proposed two
theories by which to view employee motivation. He avoided descriptive labels and
simply called the theories Theory X and Theory Y. Both of these theories begin with
the premise that management's role is to assemble the factors of production,
including people, for the economic benefit of the firm. Beyond this point, the two
theories of management diverge.

Theory X
Theory X assumes that the average person:
 Dislikes work and attempts to avoid it.
  Has no ambition, wants no responsibility, and would rather follow than lead.
 Is self-centered and therefore does not care about organizational goals.
 Resists change.
 Is gullible and not particularly intelligent.
Essentially, Theory X assumes that people work only for money and security.

Theory X - The Hard Approach and Soft Approach

Under Theory X, management approaches can range from a hard approach to a soft
approach. The hard approach relies on coercion, implicit threats, close supervision,
and tight controls, essentially an environment of command and control. The soft
approach is to be permissive and seek harmony with the hope that in return
employees will cooperate when asked to do so. However, neither of these extremes is
optimal. The hard approach results in hostility, purposely low-output, and hard-line
union demands. The soft approach results in ever-increasing requests for more
rewards in exchange for ever-decreasing work output.
The optimal management approach under Theory X probably would be somewhere
between these extremes. However, McGregor asserts that neither approach is
appropriate because the assumptions of Theory X are not correct.

The Problem with Theory X

Drawing on Maslow's hierarchy, McGregor argues that a satisfied need no longer
motivates. Under Theory X the firm relies on money and benefits to satisfy
employees' lower needs, and once those needs are satisfied the source of motivation
is lost. Theory X management styles in fact hinder the satisfaction of higher-level
needs. Consequently, the only way that employees can attempt to satisfy their higher
level needs in their work is by seeking more compensation, so it is quite predictable
that they will focus on monetary rewards. While money may not be the most
effective way to self-fulfilment, in a Theory X environment it may be the only way.
Under Theory X, people use work to satisfy their lower needs, and seek to satisfy
their higher needs in their leisure time. But it is in satisfying their higher needs that
employees can be most productive.
 McGregor makes the point that a command and control environment is not effective
because it relies on lower needs as levers of motivation, but in modern society those
needs already are satisfied and thus no longer are motivators. In this situation, one
would expect employees to dislike their work, avoid responsibility, have no interest
in organizational goals, resist change, etc., thus making Theory X a self-fulfilling
prophecy.

From this reasoning, McGregor proposed an alternative: Theory Y.

Theory Y
The higher-level needs of esteem and self-actualization are continuing needs in that
they are never completely satisfied. As such, it is these higher-level needs through
which employees can best be motivated.
Theory Y makes the following general assumptions:
 Work can be as natural as play and rest.
 People will be self-directed to meet their work objectives if they are committed to
them.
 People will be committed to their objectives if rewards are in place that address
higher needs such as self-fulfilment.
 Under proper conditions, people will not only accept but also seek responsibility.
 Most people can handle responsibility because creativity and ingenuity are common
in the population.

Under these assumptions, there is an opportunity to align personal goals with

organizational goals by using the employee's own quest for fulfilment as the
motivator.

Theory Y Management Implications

If Theory Y holds, the firm can do many things to harness the motivational energy of
its employees:
 Decentralization and Delegation - If firms decentralize control and reduce the number
of levels of management, each manager will have more subordinates and
consequently will be forced to delegate some responsibility and decision making to
them.
 Job Enlargement - Broadening the scope of an employee's job adds variety and
opportunities to satisfy ego needs.
 Participative Management - Consulting employees in the decision making process
taps their creative capacity and provides them with some control over their work
environment.
 Performance Appraisals - Having the employee set objectives and participate in the
process of evaluating how well they were met.

If properly implemented, such an environment would result in a high level of

motivation as employees work to satisfy their higher level personal needs through
their jobs.
 PROCESS THEORIES

Expectancy Theory (Victor H. Vroom: 1969s)

The key point of this theory is that an individual’s behaviour is not formed on objective
reality but on the subjective perception of that reality. This perception is based on the
relationship of three things: effort, performance and rewards. Vroom realized that an
employee's performance is based on individuals’ factors such as personality, skills, knowledge,
experience and abilities.

The theory suggests that although individuals may have different sets of goals, they can be
motivated if they believe that:

 There is a positive correlation between efforts and performance,

 Favorable performance will result in a desirable reward,
 The reward will satisfy an important need,
 The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the effort worthwhile.

Vroom concentrated on factors that can be involved in stimulating the individual to put in effort
into something as the basis of motivation. He concluded that there are three factors each based
on the individual personal perception of the situation. These are:

Expectancy

This refers to the extent to which an individual perceives or believes that a particular act will
produce a particular outcome. Employees have different expectations and levels of confidence
about what they are capable of doing. Management must discover what resources, training, or
supervision employees need.

Instrumentality

This refers to the extent to which an individual perceives or believes that effective
performance will lead to desired rewards/outcome. The perception of employees as to
whether they will actually get what they desire even if it has been promised by a manager.
Management must ensure that promises of rewards are fulfilled and that employees are aware
of that.

Valence

This is the strength of the belief that attractive rewards are potentially available. Valence
refers to the emotional orientations people hold with respect to outcomes [rewards]. The
 depth of the want of an employee for extrinsic [money, promotion, time-off, benefits] or
intrinsic [satisfaction] rewards. Management must discover what employees’ value.

The diagram below is a basic summary of the of Vroom’s Theory

Expectancy:
Mo perception
Expectancy:
Expectancy: perception
perception Individual
that effort will lead
Expectancy:
that effort will
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characteristics
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e.g., ability
ability and
and attitudes
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perception
effective that effort Intrinsic rewards
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performance characteristics
External e.g.,
External constraints Intrinsic
will lead to effective constraints Intrinsic rewards
rewards
ability and attitudes
performance External constraints

Instrumentality:
Instrumentality:
Instrumentality:
perception
perception that
that effective
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perception that led to
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will led to
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desired
desired rewards
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will led to desired
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Valence:
Extrinsic rewards
Valence: strength
strength of
of Role
Roleperception
Role perception
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Extrinsic rewards
rewards
Valence: strength
belief of
belief that
that attractive
attractive
belief that attractive
rewards
rewardsare
rewards areavailable
are available
available

According to vroom the 3 factors expectancy, instrumentality and valence combine to create a
driving force which motivates an individual to put in effort into a particular activity.

Force = Expectancy x Valence (encompassing Instrumentality) or F =E X V

It is important to note that Vroom differentiated valence from value. He defined valence as the
anticipated satisfaction the individual hopes to be obtained from an outcome or reward and
defined value as actual satisfaction obtained by an individual.

Vroom suggests that an employee's beliefs about Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence
interact psychologically to create a motivational force such that the employee acts in ways that
bring pleasure and avoid pain.

Another important thing to note is that Effort on is own is not enough. It may not always lead to
effective performance other things may come into play. For instance the prospect of promotion
could be seen by a new recruit as an attractive prospect (valence) but if attainment is based on
seniority or length of service then the expectancy of gaining such a reward is vey low. In such a
situation performance does not lead to expected reward. Effort may also not lead to effective
performance if the individual in question does not have adequate knowledge and skills or if his
perception of his roles does not equate with that of his supervisor.

There are two categories of rewards; extrinsic rewards and intrinsic rewards

Intrinsic rewards; are those rewards gained from fulfilling higher level needs such as self
esteem and personal growth. The individual exercises a degree of control of such rewards.

Extrinsic rewards are provided by the organization and the individual usually has little control
over them they are less likely to come up to the individual’s expectations. For example pay,
promotion, working conditions policies etc.

Contributions to the study of Management today

 It takes a comprehensive view of the motivational process.

 It indicates that individuals will only act when they have reasonable expectancy that
their behaviour will lead to desired outcomes.
 It stresses the importance of individual perceptions of reality in the motivational
process.
 It implies that job satisfaction follows effective job performance rather than the other
way round.
 It has led to developments in job redesign, where emphasis has been laid on intrinsic job
factors such as variety task identity and feedback.

THE EQUITY THEORY

 The theory demonstrates that the individuals are concerned both with their own
rewards and also with what others get in their comparison.
 Employees expect a fair and equitable return for their contribution to their jobs.
 Employees decide what their equitable return should be after comparing their inputs
and outcomes with those of their colleagues.
 Employees who perceive themselves as being in an inequitable scenario will attempt to
reduce the inequity either by distorting inputs and/or outcomes psychologically, by
directly altering inputs and/or outputs, or by quitting the organization.

EQUITY THEORY
Ratio Comparison Perception
O/I a < O/I b Under-rewarded (Equity Tension)
O/I a = O/I b Equity
O/I a > O/I b Over-rewarded (Equity Tension)

The employees who perceive inequity (equity tension) and are under negative tension can make
the following choices:

1. Change in input (e.g. Don’t overexert)

2. Change their outcome (Produce quantity output and increasing earning by sacrificing
quality when piece rate incentive system exist)
3. Choose a different referent
4. Quit the job
5. Change self-perception (I know that I’ve performed better and harder than everyone
else.)
6. 7. Change perception of others (Mwenya’s performance is not as desirable as I earlier
thought it was.)