Motivational Theories
Introduction
In all enterprises whether private or state owned, motivation plays a key role in driving employees
towards achieving their goals, organizational goals and to a certain extent the dreams of their
nations. There are many theories of motivation, and they mostly give a relation or influence the
outcomes of employee job satisfaction. Generally speaking, these theories include Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene (or two-factor) theory, Alderfer’s Existence,
Relatedness and Growth theory, and McClelland’s needs theory. How motivation comes about
and how it leads to satisfaction is explained by process theories; theories that fall into this
category include Porter-Lawler’s model and expectancy theory by Vroom. Contemporary theories
of motivation incorporate equity, control and agency theory, as well as goal setting,
reinforcement, and job design theory. The theories of motivation maybe categorized according to
their definitions and purpose but critical analysis reveal that they are all linked, they lead to
serving satisfaction in employees. The use of both content and process theories must be put into
practice to motivate employees effectively.
Motivation
Motivation as “a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job
experiences”. This definition draws attention to two aspects, in particular, namely the emotional
attachment an employee has to their job, and the deliberate review of an employee’s work by the
employer. According to David and Anderzej (2010), motivation can be understood as cognitive
decision making in which the intension is to make the behavior that is aimed at achieving a certain
goal through initiation and monitoring. At work places, reviews are done using appraisals and
appraisals at work have predetermined standards, and their outcome may provoke an emotional
reaction in the employee, and this reaction will determine how satisfied or dissatisfied an
employee is. Good marks in reviews may reflect that an employee is satisfied and bad marks may
reflect the opposite. In every employee, motivation maybe because outside factors (extrinsic) such
as rewards or within an individual (intrinsic), desire to do better.
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Theories of Motivation
1. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model
of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. From the bottom of the
hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological (food and clothing), safety (job security), love
and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization.
Maslow (1943, 1954) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs and that some
needs take precedence over others.
Our most basic need is for physical survival, and this will be the first thing that motivates our
behavior. Once that level is fulfilled the next level up is what motivates us, and so on.
a. Physiological needs - These are biological requirements for human survival, e.g. air, food,
drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, etc. If these needs are not satisfied the human body cannot
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function optimally. Maslow considered physiological needs the most important as all the other
needs become secondary until these needs are met.
b. Safety needs - Once an individual’s physiological needs are satisfied, the needs for security
and safety become salient. People want to experience order, predictability and control in their
lives. These needs can be fulfilled by the family and society (e.g. police, schools, business and
medical care).
For example, emotional security, financial security (e.g. employment, social welfare), law and
order, freedom from fear, social stability, property, health and wellbeing (e.g. safety against
accidents and injury).
c. Love and belongingness needs - after physiological and safety needs have been fulfilled, the
third level of human needs is social and involves feelings of belongingness. The need for
interpersonal relationships motivates behavior
Examples include friendship, intimacy, trust, and acceptance, receiving and giving affection and
love. Affiliating, being part of a group (family, friends, work).
d. Esteem needs are the fourth level in Maslow’s hierarchy - which Maslow classified into two
categories: (i) esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery, independence) and (ii) the
desire for reputation or respect from others (e.g., status, prestige).
Maslow indicated that the need for respect or reputation is most important for children and
adolescents and precedes real self-esteem or dignity.
e. Self-actualization needs are the highest level in Maslow's hierarchy, and refer to the realization
of a person's potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. Maslow
(1943) describes this level as the desire to accomplish everything that one can, to become the
most that one can be.
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2. McClelland’s Theory of Needs
McClelland’s theory of needs is one such theory that explains this process of motivation by
breaking down what and how needs are and how they have to be approached. David McClelland
was an American Psychologist who developed his theory of needs or Achievement Theory of
Motivation which revolves around three important aspects, namely, Achievement, Power And
Affiliation.
This theory was developed in the 1960s and McClelland points out that regardless of our age,
sex, race or culture, all of us possess one of these needs and are driven by it. This theory is also
known as the Acquired Needs as McClelland put forth that the specific needs of an individual are
acquired and shaped over time through the experiences he has had in life.
a. Need For Achievement
The need for achievement as the name itself suggests is the urge to achieve something in what
you do. If you are a lawyer it is the need to win cases and be recognized, if you are a painter it is
the need to paint a famous painting. It is the need that drives a person to work and even struggle
for the objective that he wants to achieve. People who possess high achievement needs are
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people who always work to excel by particularly avoiding low reward low-risk situations and
difficult to achieve high-risk situations.
b. Need For Power
The need for power is the desire within a person to hold control and authority over another
person and influence and change their decision in accordance with his own needs or desires. The
need to enhance their self-esteem and reputation drives these people and they desire their views
and ideas to be accepted and implemented over the views and ideas over others.
These people are strong leaders and can be best suited to leading positions. They either belong to
Personal or Institutional power motivator groups. If they are a personal power motivator they
would have the need to control others and an institutional power motivator seeks to lead and
coordinate a team towards an end. The individuals motivated by the need for power have a desire
to control and influence others. Competition motivates them and they enjoy winning arguments.
Status and recognition is something they aspire for and do not like being on the losing side.
c. Need For Affiliation
The need for affiliation is the urge of a person to have interpersonal and social relationships with
others or a particular set of people. They seek to work in groups by creating friendly and lasting
relationships and has the urge to be liked by others. They tend to like collaborating with others to
competing with them and usually avoids high-risk situations and uncertainty
The individuals motivated by the need for affiliation prefer being part of a group. They like
spending their time socializing and maintaining relationships and possess a strong desire to be
loved and accepted. These individuals stick to basics and play by the books without feeling a
need to change things, primarily due to a fear of being rejected.
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3. Vroom expectancy theory
Whereas Maslow look at the relationship between internal needs and the resulting effort
expended to fulfill them, Vroom's expectancy theory separates effort (which arises from
motivation), performance, and outcomes.
Vroom's expectancy theory assumes that behavior results from conscious choices among
alternatives whose purpose it is to maximize pleasure and to minimize pain. Vroom realized that
an employee's performance is based on individual factors such as personality, skills, knowledge,
experience and abilities. He stated that effort, performance and motivation are linked in a
person's motivation. He uses the variables Expectancy, Instrumentality and Valence to account
for this.
Expectancy:- It is the belief that increased effort will lead to increased performance i.e. if I
work harder than this will be better. This is affected by such things as:
1. Having the right resources available (e.g. raw materials, time)
2. Having the right skills to do the job
3. Having the necessary support to get the job done (e.g. supervisor support, or correct
information on the job)
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Instrumentality:- It is the belief that if you perform well that a valued outcome will be received.
The degree to which a first level outcome will lead to the second level outcome. i.e. if I do a
good job, there is something in it for me. This is affected by such things as:
1. Clear understanding of the relationship between performance and outcomes – e.g. the
rules of the reward 'game'
2. Trust in the people who will take the decisions on who gets what outcome
3. Transparency of the process that decides who gets what outcome
Valence:- It is the importance that the individual places upon the expected outcome. For the
valence to be positive, the person must prefer attaining the outcome to not attaining it. For
example, if someone is mainly motivated by money, he or she might not value offers of
additional time off.
The three elements are important behind choosing one element over another because they are
clearly defined: effort-performance expectancy (E>P expectancy) and performance-outcome
expectancy (P>O expectancy).
E>P expectancy: our assessment of the probability that our efforts will lead to the required
performance level.
P>O expectancy: our assessment of the probability that our successful performance will lead to
certain outcomes.
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4. Adam’s Equity theory
Adams’ equity theory of motivation says that to be motivated, individuals need to perceive that
the rewards they receive for their contributions are fair, and these rewards are similar to those
received by their peers. If individuals perceive that their rewards are not fair, they will feel
distressed and try to change things to create a sense of fairness.
Contributions and benefits
Adams’ Equity Theory of Motivation says that the relationship between an individual’s inputs
(contribution) and their benefits (reward) is important for their sense of fairness and equity, thus
for their motivation. To make more sense of this though, we need to understand what types of
things constitute both inputs and benefits.
Contributions (inputs or costs):
The further you run, the more rewarding the achievement feels Inputs can be thought of as the
things that an individual does to help an organization achieve a goal. These the the things that the
individual contributes to the organization. Often the first thing that springs to mind is the time
that an individual spends working. However, there is actually a lot more to it than just this.
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There are many different types of factors that can be thought of as inputs. These include: time,
education, prior experience, effort, loyalty, hard work, adaptability, resilience, flexibility,
determination, enthusiasm, adaptability, tolerance, support of others and trust and the willingness
to follow leaders. Captured in these inputs are both physical labor and a wide range of things
considered to be emotional labor.
Basically, any time an individual contributes effort or exerts psychological effort to help an
organization achieve a goal can be thought of as contribution.
Benefits (outputs or rewards)
Benefits are the things that an individual receives as a result of helping an organization achieves
a goal. These are the things that the individual receives from the organization, or agents of the
organization. Often, the first thing that springs to mind is salary, or other financial contribution
for time. However, there is actually a lot more to it than simply remuneration.
There are many different types of factors that can be thought of as inputs. These include: salary,
benefits, job security, structure and routine, recognition, responsibility, a sense of community,
praise, thanks and recognition, stimulating work, education and development, pride, the
opportunity to progress and purpose. Basically, anything that an employee receives and sees as
making a positive contribution to their life is a benefit.
5. Carrot and stick approach
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The Carrot and the Stick approach to motivation, makes use of rewards and penalties in order to
induce desired behavior.
The philosophy of this approach comes from the old story that the best way to make a donkey
move is to put a carrot out in front of it or jab it with a stick from behind.
Meaning and Implications of Carrot and Stick Approach:
Carrot refers to rewards, which are offered or promised to individuals to act in the desired way;
while stick refers to punishments which are to be inflicted on individuals, for not acting in the
desired way. In away, carrot refers to positive motivation; and stick refers to negative
motivation.
Following are the implications of Carrot and Stick Approach:
(i) An overdose of ‘Carrot’ element, in the system of motivation invites laziness and fewer
attitudes towards work on the part of individuals. This happens, specially, because many- a-
times, people get carrot i.e. rewards regardless of their performance e.g. salary increase, seniority
based promotions, etc.
(ii) An overdose of ‘stick’ element, in the system of motivation leads to retaliatory behaviour on
part of people, strong organization of labour unions against management atrocities, poor quality
workmanship etc.
The Carrot and Stick approach of motivation is based on the principles of reinforcement and is
given by a philosopher Jeremy Bentham, during the industrial revolution. This theory is derived
from the old story of a donkey, the best way to move him is to put a carrot in front of him and jab
him with a stick from behind. The carrot is a reward for moving while the stick is the punishment
for not moving and hence making him move forcefully.
Thus, an individual is given carrot i.e. reward when he performs efficiently and is jabbed with a
stick or is given a punishment in case of non-performance. While giving the punishments, the
following points need to be taken care of:
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Punishment is said to be effective in modifying the behavior if an individual selects a desirable
alternative behavior.
If the above condition does not occur the behavior will be temporarily suppressed and may
reappear after the punishment is over.
The punishment is more effective when given at the time the undesirable behavior is actually
performed.
The management should make sure, that punishment is properly administered and does not
become a reward for the undesirable behavior.
Thus, carrot and stick approach of motivation should be applied carefully such that, both have
the positive motivational effect on the people in the organization.
6. Skinner reinforcement theory
Reinforcement theory of motivation was proposed by BF Skinner and his associates. It states that
individual’s behavior is a function of its consequences. It is based on “law of effect”, i.e,
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individual’s behavior with positive consequences tends to be repeated, but individual’s behavior
with negative consequences tends not to be repeated.
Reinforcement theory of motivation overlooks the internal state of individual, i.e., the inner
feelings and drives of individuals are ignored by Skinner. This theory focuses totally on what
happens to an individual when he takes some action. Thus, according to Skinner, the external
environment of the organization must be designed effectively and positively so as to motivate the
employee. This theory is a strong tool for analyzing controlling mechanism for individual’s
behavior. However, it does not focus on the causes of individual’s behavior.
The managers use the following methods for controlling the behavior of the employees:
Positive Reinforcement- This implies giving a positive response when an individual shows
positive and required behavior. For example - Immediately praising an employee for coming
early for job. This will increase probability of outstanding behavior occurring again. Reward is
a positive reinforce, but not necessarily. If and only if the employees’ behavior improves,
reward can said to be a positive reinforce. Positive reinforcement stimulates occurrence of a
behavior. It must be noted that more spontaneous is the giving of reward, the greater
reinforcement value it has.
Negative Reinforcement- This implies rewarding an employee by removing negative /
undesirable consequences. Both positive and negative reinforcement can be used for increasing
desirable / required behavior.
Punishment- It implies removing positive consequences so as to lower the probability of
repeating undesirable behavior in future. In other words, punishment means applying
undesirable consequence for showing undesirable behavior. For instance - Suspending an
employee for breaking the organizational rules. Punishment can be equalized by positive
reinforcement from alternative source.
Extinction- It implies absence of reinforcements. In other words, extinction implies lowering
the probability of undesired behavior by removing reward for that kind of behavior. For
instance - if an employee no longer receives praise and admiration for his good work, he may
feel that his behavior is generating no fruitful consequence. Extinction may unintentionally
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lower desirable behavior.
Implications of Reinforcement Theory
Reinforcement theory explains in detail how an individual learns behaviour. Managers who are
making attempt to motivate the employees must ensure that they do not reward all employees
simultaneously. They must tell the employees what they are not doing correct. They must tell the
employees how they can achieve positive reinforcement.
7. Equity Theory of Motivation
The core of the equity theory is the principle of balance or equity. As per this motivation theory,
an individual’s motivation level is correlated to his perception of equity, fairness and justice
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practiced by the management. Higher is individual’s perception of fairness, greater is the
motivation level and vice versa. While evaluating fairness, employee compares the job input (in
terms of contribution) to outcome (in terms of compensation) and also compares the same with
that of another peer of equal cadre/category. D/I ratio (output-input ratio) is used to make such a
comparison.
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)
Negative Tension state: Equity is perceived when this ratio is equal. While if this ratio is
unequal, it leads to “equity tension”. J.Stacy Adams called this a negative tension state which
motivates him to do something right to relieve this tension. A comparison has been made
between 2 workers A and B to understand this point.
Referents: The four comparisons an employee can make have been termed as “referents”
according to Goodman. The referent chosen is a significant variable in equity theory. These
referents are as follows:
a. Self-inside: An employee’s experience in a different position inside his present organization.
b. Self-outside: An employee’s experience in a situation outside the present organization.
c. Other-inside: Another employee or group of employees inside the employee’s present
organization.
d. Other-outside: Another employee or employees outside the employee’s present organization.
An employee might compare himself with his peer within the present job in the current
organization or with his friend/peer working in some other organization or with the past jobs
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held by him with others. An employee’s choice of the referent will be influenced by the appeal of
the referent and the employee’s knowledge about the referent.
Moderating Variables: The gender, salary, education and the experience level are moderating
variables. Individuals with greater and higher education are more informed. Thus, they are likely
to compare themselves with the outsiders. Males and females prefer same sex comparison. It has
been observed that females are paid typically less than males in comparable jobs and have less
salary expectations than male for the same work. Thus, a women employee that uses another
women employee as a referent tends to lead to a lower comparative standard. Employees with
greater experience know their organization very well and compare themselves with their own
colleagues, while employees with less experience rely on their personal experiences and
knowledge for making comparisons.
Choices: The employees who perceive inequity and are under negative tension can make the
following choices:
a. Change in input (e.g. Don’t overexert)
b. Change their outcome (Produce quantity output and increasing earning by sacrificing
quality when piece rate incentive system exist)
c. Choose a different referent
d. Quit the job
e. Change self perception (For instance - I know that I’ve performed better and harder
than everyone else.)
f. Change perception of others (For instance - Jack’s job is not as desirable as I earlier
thought it was.)
Assumptions of the Equity Theory
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a. The theory demonstrates that the individuals are concerned both with their own rewards and
also with what others get in their comparison.
b. Employees expect a fair and equitable return for their contribution to their jobs.
c. Employees decide what their equitable return should be after comparing their inputs and
outcomes with those of their colleagues.
d. 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.
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CONCLUSIONS
Motivation is very much needed for employees in an organization to be productive, and
management or leadership style has an important role to play. Motivation is not always based on
financial rewards, but non-financial rewards methods can also be used to derive the best out of
employees. Although individuals have their expectations, it is the leadership’s responsibility to
develop and align with theories that are suitable to bring job satisfaction to their employees.
However, there is no single reliable theory to be used, a mixture of them can be utilized. In terms
of empowering workforce, employees should be encouraged and given a platform to voice out
their concerns on how they can be motivated. Rewards and promotions following performance
appraisals maybe used to boost employee’s moral as well as feedback. All employees should
understand the company’s vision and goals and work together towards those. In some
organizations, workers perform their duties in an assembly whereby if a certain section of
employees is affected it will affect the whole plant. Employees perform their duties diligently if
they are inspired and motivated as the results will always be positive with efficient production.
Organizations which are results oriented will go all the way to motivate their employees for them
to reach their goals.
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