27 Meaning, Importance and Theories of Motivation

Tejinder Sharma

Learning Outcome:

After completing this module the students will be able to:

• Understand the concept and meaning of motivation.
• Understand the nature of the motivation.
• Describe the importance of the motivation.
• Define the theories of motivation.

1. Concept and Meaning of Motivation

Motivation is the process of stimulating people to action to accomplish desired goals. Motivation is a managerial function which has been defined by different scholars. Some of the important definitions are as follows:

According to Edwin B.Flippo, “Motivation is the process of attempting to influence others to do your will through the possibility of gain or reward.”

According to Dalton E. McFarland, “Motivation refers to the way in which urges, drives, desires, aspirations, strivings or needs direct, control or explain the behavior of human beings.”

According to William G. Scout, “Motivation means a process of stimulating people to action to accomplish desired goals”.

According to Fred Luthans, “Motivation is the process which begins with a physiological or psychological need or deficiency which triggers behavior or a drive that is aimed at a goal or incentive.”

2. Nature of Motivation

1. Motivation is an internal feeling which influences the human behavior.

2. Motivation is affected by way the individual is motivated.

3. Motivation results in achieving goals positively in the organization.

4. Motivation is related to satisfaction.

5. Motivation can be positive and negative.

6. Motivation is a complex process as the individuals are heterogeneous in their expectations, perceptions and reactions.

7. Motivation is stronger when it springs from a person’s needs which are consistent with his values.

3. Importance of Motivation

1. It helps the manager to ignite the will to work amongst the workmen.

2. Good motivation method helps in improving the abilities and capabilities of the employees.

3. It helps in finding out the hidden talents and calibre of the employees.

4. Motivated employees means satisfied employees i.e. satisfied in terms of job as well as their personal motives.

5. Motivation reduces the chances of industrial unrest, strikes and similar labour problems.

6. Motivation helps to change the negative or indifferent attitudes of employee to positive attitudes so as to achieve organizational goals.

7. motivation helps to reduce the employee turnover and thereby saves the cost of new recruitment and training.

8. motivation helps in reducing the absenteeism in the organization.

4. Theories of Motivation

A. Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory:

This is the most well-known theory of motivation of Abraham Maslow, a clinical psychologist. A basic assumption of this model is that as we satisfy one type of need, other needs then occupy our attention. Once we satisfy our need for food, air and shelter, then we can move on to safety needs, love needs and so on. Although Maslow argued that most people tend to experience these needs in the order that he described, for some people, the so-called higher-level needs will dominate lower-level needs. Some people will be so enthralled by a book or a movie that they will forget they are really hungry. Maslow described the hierarchy of needs as follows:

_{Figure1- Maslow’s need Hierarchy Theory of Motivation}

i. Physiological needs: These refer to physical or biological needs meant for survival and maintenance of life. These include food, clothing, shelter, air, sleep and other basic needs.

ii. Safety needs: Once the physiological needs are satisfied a person aspires for safety needs. These includes security for life, job, protection from environment, animals etc. As a manager, you can account for the safety needs of your employees by providing the safe and secure working conditions, proper compensation (such as a salary) and job security, which is especially important in a bad economy.

iii. Social needs: After the first two needs are satisfied, social needs become important in the need hierarchy. Since man is a social being , he has a need to belong and to be accepted by various groups. It includes need for acceptance, need for belonging, need for love, affection, friendship etc. As a manager, you can account for the social needs of your employees by making sure each of your employees know one another, encouraging cooperative teamwork, being an accessible and kind supervisor and promoting a good work-life balance.

iv. Esteem and status needs: these needs are concerned with self-respect, self-confidence, a feeling of personal worth, feeling of being unique, and recognition. As a manager, you can account for the esteem needs of your employees by offering praise and recognition when the employee does well, and offering promotions and additional responsibility to reflect your belief that they are a valued employee.

v. Self-actualisation needs: Self-actualisation is the need to maximize one’s potential whatever it may be. These needs arise only after the four categories of need are fulfilled. These needs are more like mission, lifetime aspiration, e.g., leprosy eradication mission, mission of Mahatma Gandhi to liberate India from British Rule.

Maslow’s needs theory has received wide recognition, particularly among practicing managers. This can be attributed to the theory’s intuitive logic and ease of understanding. Following are some problems which are not solved by this theory:

a) This theory is common with many other theories also, that there is lack of direct cause-effect relationship between need and behaviour. Thus a particular need may cause behaviour in different ways in different needs.

b) There is another problem in applying the theory into practice. A person tries for his higher-level need when his lower-order need is reasonably satisfied. What is this reasonable level is a question of subjective matter. Thus, the level of satisfaction for particular need may differ from person to person.

B. Theory X and Theory Y: Douglas McGregor has proposed two models i.e., Theory X and Theory Y. Under Theory X, managers believe that employees inherently dislike work and must therefore be directed or even coerced into performing it. In this type of theory, workers generally shirk work and do not like to work. They avoid responsibility and need to be directed. While under theory y , manager assume that employees can view work as being as natural as rest or play and therefore the average person can learn to accept, and even seek responsibility. Good motivation makes workers readily accept responsibility and self-direction.

C. Hezberg’s Two-Factor Theory: Frederick Herzberg proposed a two-factor theory or the motivator- hygiene theory in 1959. According to Herzberg, there are some job factors that result in satisfaction while there are other job factors that prevent dissatisfaction. According to Herzberg, the opposite of “Satisfaction” is “No satisfaction” and the opposite of “Dissatisfaction” is “No Dissatisfaction”.

Herzberg classified these job factors into two categories-

i. Hygiene Factors: Herzberg used the term ‘hygiene’ to describe factors which are related to the conditions under which job is performed such as compensation, job security, organizational politics, working conditions, quality of leadership, and relationships between supervisors, subordinates, and peers. These factors are extrinsic to work. Hygiene factors are also called as dissatisfiers or maintenance factors as they are required to avoid dissatisfaction. Since any increase in these factors will not affect employee’s level of satisfaction, these are of no use for motivating them.

ii. 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: achievement, recognition, advancement, works itself, possibility of growth and responsibility. Most of these factors are related with job contents. Any increase in these factors will satisfy the employees; however any decrease will not affect their level of satisfaction.

D. McClelland’s Theory of Needs: This theory was developed by David McClleland and his associates. The theory focuses on three needs, defined as follows:

• Need for achievement (nAch): it is the drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive to succeed. McClleland has identified four basic features of high achievers:

i. Always ready to take risks.

ii. provide immediate feedback

iii. accomplish the task easily on time.

Iv. Preoccupied the task till its completion.

• Need for Power (nPow): it is the need to manipulate others or the drive for superiority over others. People with high power need have a great concern for exercising influence and control.
• Need for Affiliation (nAff): It is a need for open and sociable interpersonal relationships. In other words, it is a desire for relationship based on co-operation and mutual understanding. Such individuals are effective performers in a team. These people want to be liked by others. They prefer having friends rather than experts as work partners, and they avoid conflict whenever possible.

E Alderfer’s ERG Theory:

Clayton Paul Alderfer, an American psychologist further expanded Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by categorizing the hierarchy into his ERG theory (Existence, Relatedness and Growth). Alderfer has categorized the various needs into three categories:

• Existence Needs: it consists of physiological and safety needs such as hunger ,thirst etc (Maslow’s first two levels)
• Relatedness Needs: it consists of social and external esteem needs that involve relationship with other people. (Maslow’s third and fourth level).’
• Growth Needs: it consists of self-actualization and internal esteem needs like feeling of being unique, feeling of personal growth etc. (Maslow’s fourth and fifth level)

ERG Theory recognizes that the importance of the three categories may vary for each individual. Managers must recognize that an employee has multiple needs, which must be satisfied simultaneously. According to the ERG theory, if you focus exclusively on one need at a time, this will not effectively motivate. In addition, the ERG theory acknowledges that if a higher level need remains unfulfilled, the person may regress towards lower level needs, which appear easier to satisfy. This is known as: the frustration-regression principle.

F. Vroom Expectancy Theory: This theory was first proposed by Victor Vroom of the Yale School of Management in 1964. Expectancy theory says that employees will be motivated to exert a high level of effort when they believe:

• That effort will lead to a good performance appraisal;
• That a good appraisal will lead to organizational rewards, such as bonus, a salary increase, or a promotion; and
• That the rewards will satisfy the employees’ personal goals.

Expectancy theory must focus on three things i.e. Efforts (E), Performance (P) and Outcomes (O). In order to be motivated to act or perform their job, employees must perceive that their efforts (E) are likely to lead to good performance (P). In other words, effort has to be instrumental to good performance. Second, people must expect that their performance is clearly linked to certain outcomes (O). And finally they have to value (V) the outcome they obtain when they perform. If all these paths and linkages are clear, the person will be motivated. Two other factors that can affect motivation are ability and role clarity. A person might be highly motivated, but if she does not have the ability to perform the job or task and a clear understanding of how to direct her efforts in a manner that is appropriate to her organizational role, then the task might not be accomplished.

                            Ability                                       Role Clarity

One of the important features of this theory is that it recognizes individual differences in work motivation and suggests that motivation is a complex process as compared to Maslow’s or Herzberg’s simplistic models. It also clarifies the relationship between individual and organizational goals. Further, this theory is difficult to research and apply in practice. This is evident by the fact that there have been only a few research studies designed specifically to test the Vroom theory.

G. Equity Theory:

As per this motivation theory, an individual’s motivation level is correlated to his perception of equity, fairness and justice practiced by the management. Higher is individual’s perception of fairness, greater is the motivation level and vice versa.The theory states that when a person compares himself to his co-workers and finds the results to be fair, he will be more motivated. If, on the other hand, he compares himself to his co-workers and finds the results to be unequal or “unfair,” he will be less motivated. The essence of the Equity Theory lies in this sense of motivation through perceived fairness.

A referent group is a selection of people an individual relates to or uses when comparing themselves to the larger population. If a salesperson compares themselves to the rest of the sales staff, the referent group is the sales staff.

There are four referent comparisons that an employee can use:

a. Self-inside: An employee’s experiences in a different position inside the employee’s current organization.

b. Self-outside: An employee’s experiences in a situation or position outside the employee’s current organization.

c. Other-inside: Another individual or group of individuals inside the employee’s organization.

d. Other-outside: Another individual or group of individual outside the employee’s organization.

There are two assumptions on which the theory works:

a. Individuals make contributions (inputs) for which they expect certain rewards (outcomes).

b. Individuals decide whether or not a particular exchange is satisfactory, by comparing their inputs and outcomes with those of others and try to rectify any inequality.

Various types of inputs and outcomes of an individual which are as follows:

Inputs: Efforts, Time, Education, Experience, Training, Ideas, Ability

Outcomes: Pay, Promotion, Recognition, Security, Personal Development, Benefits, Friendship opportunity

Employee might compare themselves to friends, neighbours, co-workers or colleagues in other organizations or compare their present job with past jobs. Which referent an employee chooses will be influenced by the information the employee holds about referents as well as by the attractiveness of the referent. This has led to focusing on moderating variables, such as gender.

Exchange relationship between a person’s inputs/outcomes in relation to those of other persons may be of three types: overpaid inequity, underpaid inequity and equity.

Overpaid Inequity: In this case, the person perceive that his outcomes are more as compared to his inputs in relation to others. This relationship can be expressed by:
In this case, the person experiences satisfaction.

The impact of inequity on the person is as follows:

i. Perceived inequity creates tension in the person.

ii. The amount of tension is proportional to the magnitude of inequity.

iii. The tension created in the person will motivate him to reduce it.

iv. The strength of the motivation to reduce inequity is proportional to the perceived inequity.

Elements of Sound Motivation System:

1. Adequate Motivation: The motivation system should be adequate covering the entire workforce in the organisation and it should also cover entire activities of the workforce. Sometimes, the presence of a motivational factor fails to produce any effective result, particularly when its amount is too small.

2. Analysis of Motives: A good motivation system also attempts at analysing the factors which motivate the employees in the prevailing organisational environment.

3. Simplicity in Motivation System: The system should be simple both in terms of its understanding by the employees and its applicability in the organization.

4. Uneven Motivation: In an organization, all the employees are not of same type. They differ in education, attitude, ambition, etc. Thus, more educated, ambitious persons can be motivated up to very high level, while others cannot be.

Summary

Motivation is an important element in the management without which the working of the organization cannot be performed smoothly. Number of theories of motivation have been
proposed over the years. Most popular theories of motivation have been discussed in this module that can help increase workplace productivity. These are Maslow’s need Hierarchy Theory of Motivation, Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, Hezberg’s Two-Factor Theory, McClelland’s Theory of Needs, Alderfer’s ERG Theory .Various theories regarding motivation have their own implications but all of them have one common motive i.e. to urge the employees for attaining their aim and goals.

References:

• Sinha, B.P. (2013). Culture and Organisational Behaviour, 3rded, SAGE publications Ltd.
• Nahavandi. A., Denhardt. R, Denhardt. J, Aristigueta. M., (2015) .Organisational Behaviour,New Delhi-110044, SAGE Publications Limited.
• Robbins. S.P., Judge., T.A., Sanghi.S. (2010) Essentials of Organizational Behaviour, 1st ed.,Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Limited.
• NCERT (2009), Business Studies, Publication Department by the Secretary, National Council of Educational
• Prasad. L.M., (2007), Organizational Behaviour, Sultan Chand & Sons publications.
• http://smallbusiness.chron.com/theory-can-management-apply-workplace-motivation13145.html
• http://study.com/academy/lesson/equity-theory-of-motivation-in-management-definitionexamples quiz.html