What is motivation?

• anything used to encourage persons to complete a task
• it is the will to achieve

Motivation is classified into two types:
Intrinsic - comes from within and doesn’t take external forces/self-motivation
Eg: gaining skills, gaining satisfaction

Extrinsic - takes external forces/gains an external item from it
Eg: a promotion, a financial incentive

Factors that stimulate and influence motivation

• Individual needs - our needs drive us and the things we do are influenced by satisfying those needs

  • an employee's need for clothes, food, and shelter will affect how he operates

• Self-motivation - people who instead of being driven by external forces, are driven by themselves and tend to complete tasks in the face of adversity without encouragement from others

  • driven by the desire to succeed

• Ability to make choices - employees want some form of autonomy in the workplace or else they’ll feel confined and unhappy

  • often said under a democratic leader workers are more motivated than under an autocratic one
  • They want to participate in decision-making while knowing their input is held in high regard

• Environmental opportunities - if the environment offers room for personal growth and promotion opportunities then people may be motivated

  • working in an environment that lacks these will discourage workers from going the extra mile

OTHERS INCLUDE: values, attitudes, beliefs, and goals

Theory

• This is a system of ideas intended to explain something, specifically one based on general principles not directly linked to the thing to be explained.

There are four main theories of motivation. They are split into two groups:

Content Theories

These are theories that primarily focus on needs and how these needs are met. If they aren’t then people won’t work hard.

• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
• Herzberg's Two-factor theory

Process theories

These theories argue that people’s thoughts will influence their behaviour.

• Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
• Adam’s Equity Theory

Content Theories

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Depending on the need a person has, that will drive their motivation
• He called these basic needs physiological needs

Maslow proposed that:

• An individual’s needs will influence his behaviours
• The higher the need, the higher will be its influence on the individual’s behaviour

He developed the hierarchy of needs which is based on the following principles:

1. Each level of need must be acquired or fulfilled before the individual can move on to a higher need
2. After you’ve reached a level the level can no longer satisfy/motivate you but getting to the next level does and so on
3. More people want the lower level which is why it’s the largest and fewer and fewer people want the higher levels since the pyramid shrinks as it goes to the top

Physiological needs

• this includes basic needs like water, food, shelter and clothing
• employees need a sufficient salary to ensure these needs are met
• so if the employees' salary can’t afford this, they won’t be motivated
• some organizations provide subsidised lunches, housing solutions, or motor vehicle purchases

Safety needs

• individuals desire to be safe and secure both physically and emotionally
• job stability, freedom from fear or threats
• management should provide security guards and ensure bad people can’t enter and toxic fumes are avoided

Belongingness needs/Social needs

• employees want to be accepted by their peers, to be loved, and to have friendships
• management should have social events, promoting group work and encouraging interaction between employees and employees and management

Esteem needs

• This includes the desire to have a positive self-image, status, recognition and to be appreciated by others
• Workers want to be credited for helping the organisation
• Management can recognize them through promotions, bonuses, etc
• Employee of the Month Strategy
• here you want people to respect you and want to be you, admire what you’ve accomplished, to reach a level where you’re just that guy!
• very rarely do people skip social needs and go to esteem needs because to be highly respected you may have to sacrifice social life
• When told to focus on the grind and stick to yourself, you tend to skip social needs to reach a point of status, money, and power hence esteem needs

Self-actualization

• This is where employees feel a sense of self-fulfilment
• They wish to reach their full potential while being competent for the task being completed
• Managers can do this by providing training for employees on or off the job
• Some provide scholarships for those interested in higher learning

Implications of Maslow’s Theory of Management

• Management needs to know that the motivation of employees can be used to their advantage
• Opportunities should be given to people to reach their full potential
• Managers should pay workers the appropriate salary to afford the basic needs in life
• Management should provide a safe working environment

Herzberg's Factor Theory

• Factors that cause job satisfaction are ‘motivators’
• Factors that cause job dissatisfaction are ‘hygiene factors’

Motivators

• He suggested that where there is a presence of motivators on the job, workers will be motivated
• recognition, achievement, advancement, responsibilities
• However, lack of motivators will not lead to dissatisfaction, but workers will be neutral towards work
• Instead, it is the lack of hygiene factors that will cause dissatisfaction
• The presence of motivators makes you satisfied but a lack of them doesn’t make you dissatisfied

Hygiene Factors

• These factors attract people to the job and help them keep the job {they’re not satisfied though}
• The presence of these factors will not bring about satisfaction because it’s only achieved through motivators
• The absence will mean that workers are dissatisfied
• Also called dissatisfiers or maintenance factors since they’re required to avoid dissatisfaction (but you’re not satisfied)
• Good working conditions, pay and job security, the policy of the organisation, the quality of management and supervision, salary

The presence of these doesn’t cause satisfaction if you're neutral but the lack of these causes dissatisfaction

Implications of Herzberg’s Two-factor Theory

• Managers should know that workers can be satisfied or dissatisfied with the job. For example; a worker may love the work he’s doing but be dissatisfied whenever he receives his paycheck
• The notion is that unless motivators are present at work, employees will not be motivated. Managers must therefore be aware that improving hygiene factors will not lead to motivation but prevent dissatisfaction (so lack of hygiene factors causes dissatisfaction but presence doesn’t cause satisfaction but neutrality)
• To improve motivation, management needs to design the job to provide an opportunity for growth, recognize employees for work done, and assign responsibility

Maslow vs Herzberg

• They both talk about the same things but in a different way
• The esteem and self-actualization needs of Maslow are the same as the motivators of Herzberg
• The social, safety, and physiological needs of Maslow are the same as the hygiene factors of Herzberg