There has been a lot of research regarding how to managing and leading people at work. The studies observed how people worked and what affected them in their work. They also observed how different factors affected their work such as motivation, power, leadership, and emotional intelligence. There has been a lot of confusion to understanding what motivates people and why do people do that they do. Intrinsic motivation is when people do things purely because they enjoy what they are doing. Extrinsic motivation is when people do things because it will result in a reward, or it will result in not receiving a punishment.
Abraham Maslow is the one who came up with this theory. He argues that the unique qualities of human behavior are the reason why people make their choices and that they have full control over why they decide, which is the total opposite of Sigmund Freud's theory that states that humans act of unconscious processes that are controlled by primal sexual urges.
Maslow's hierarchy explains that the choices we make and the reason why we make them is the result of a hierarchy of needs. At the bottom of the hierarchy and the one with the most priority is physiological needs that we have, next is any safety needs, after that is social, then it is esteem, and finally, it is self-actualization needs. These layers are prerequisite to the last, you need to address all of the safety needs before you can address any social ones. The bottom four lays, which are physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, and esteem needs, are classified as deficiency needs. The top-level is referred to as growth need. Once the deficiency needs are met, then one can focus on growth needs.
Frederick Herzberg is known for differentiating motivation factors and hygiene factors. Motivational factors are those that cause job satisfaction and hygiene factors are those that cause job dissatisfaction. Herzberg observed a sample of workers and noticed that if more supervision, an increase in wage, or an attractive workplace was not present, then it would cause dissatisfaction and would not change the motivation of workers until they were present.
David McClelland came up with this theory. He prosed that a person's needs are acquired or are obtained over a period of time and are affected and changed with their life experiences. The main categories of this theory are:
Achievements affects people as it is something that people might want to strive for. These types of people often avoid low-risk achievements as it is not something that is worth achieving, and also high-risk achievements as it improves their chances to obtain it. These people often want to work alone, or with other people who also are high achievers.
Affiliation affects those who want a harmonious relationship with others and desire to feel accepted by others. They often conform and like to work in a cooperative work environment.
Power can affect people in the form of either personal power or institutional power. Personal power is the power to command others and give orders. While institutional power wants to further the goals of an organization.
People usually only fall into one or two of these categories. The Thematic Apperception Test is based on McClelland's theory and measures the needs of different people.
Douglas McGregor is known for coming up with the Theory X and Theory Y. Through his research, he found that managers have a set of assumptions about their employees' motivation called Theory X. Theory X states that workers hate working about would avoid doing work it possible, so this forces managers to use coercion, threats, and other ways to control their employees to make them work. Research studies have disproven these assumptions so McGregor suggests a different theory he calls Theory Y. Theory Y states that workers do not necessarily hate work, but they consider it a natural action.