2.4 Theories of Motivation
Motivation Theories:
Taylor - Scientific motivations > money is all that matters
Maslow - Hierarchy of Needs
Herzberg - Satisfiers and Dissatisfies
Adams - Inputs = Outputs > Equity Theory
Pink - There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does
What is Process Theory?
Process theories outline various behavioral patterns of individuals in fulfilling their needs and requirements.
Reinforcement theory is another approach to motivation that argues that the behaviour that results in rewarding consequences is likely to be repeated, whereas behaviour that results in punishing consequences is less likely to be repeated. There are four types of reinforcement that can result from behaviour:
Positive reinforcement, avoidance, punishment and extinction.
Expectancy theory indicates that one’s level of motivation depends on the attractiveness of the rewards sought and the probability of the rewards obtained. In the case of employees feeling that they get the value from business organizations and they put higher effort of work effort .
Equity theory expresses that individuals’ perceptions on how they are being treated by the organization comparing to other employees in the similar organizational level.
Goal setting theory, goal difficulty, specificity, acceptance and commitment combine to determine an individual’s goal directed effort. This effort when complemented by appropriate organizational support and individual abilities result in good performance.
What is Content Theory?
Content theory or need theory can be identified as the earliest theories related with the concept of motivation. It outlines the reasons for motivating an individual; that means it explains the necessities and requirements that are essential to motivate a person.
Examples:
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, there are five levels of needs as physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. If one individual could pursue one level of needs of the hierarchy, then he tries to pursue the next level of needs and it is believed that individual fulfill their needs according to the hierarchical order.
Herzberg developed the two factor theory, which indicates that individual’s motivation depends on the two factors; hygiene factors and motivators. Likewise, each of these theories explains the factors that affect the employee motivation .
Motivated Workforce
Motivations: Salary, Perks (healthcare & insurance), good working conditions
Intrinsic Motivation (Internal): Learning, curiosity, meaning to life
Extrinsic Motivation (external): Badges/gold stars/money, fear of punishment/failure, Money/points/rewards
Why is motivation important?
Higher productivity, Better customer service, Improved teamwork, Lower absenteeism
Lower labour turnover, All these lead to lower costs and higher revenue
Methods of Remuneration:
Fringe Benefits, Time based Systems, Salaries, Results based systems, Wages overtime, Piece rates
Commission, bonuses, performance related pay, profit sharing
Organizational Structure
Refers to the ways that businesses organize their employees
As businesses grow there is a growing need for the structure to be formalized and may be shown visually in an organization court.
Motivations:
Salary
Perks – Healthcare, medical, insurance
Good working conditions
Intrinsic Motivation: (Internal)
Learning
curiosity
meaning
Extrinsic Motivators:
Badges/gold stars/money
fear of punishment/failure
Money/points/rewards
Why is motivation important?
Higher productivity
Better customer service
Improved teamwork
Lower absenteeism
Lower labour turnover
All these lead to lower costs and higher revenue
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Frederick Taylor's Theory
Financial Rewards:
Salary - Financial award set at a fixed annual rate paid on a monthly basis
Disadvantages:
Difficult to gauge productivity: difficult to reward those more productive
Because the money is fixed, there is little, if any, incentives to work harder.
Wages: Financial award where the worker gets paid in a per hour basis
Advantages:
Workers are encouraged to work more hours
Commission/Bonus/Gratuity
Performance-Related Pay
Share Schemes
Fringe Benefits
Non-Financial Rewards:
Job enrichment
Job rotation
Workers are less likely to get bored
Workers become more diverse in skill set /become more flexible
Job enlargement
Workers do more work for the business
Workers have a greater sense of accomplishment
Teamwork
Sense of camaraderie
Workers less likely to leave their friends
Could improve efficiency
Making a difference
Workers feel accomplished and may feel more motivated to work
Advantages & Disadvantages of Non Financial Rewards:
Majority of the non financial rewards cater to human's inherent need to be part of something bigger or to be part of the bigger picture (ego).
Job enrichment and enlargement lead to workers feeling as though their jobs are worth doing.
However, non financial rewards don't prevent workers from leaving as these are largely intrinsic motivations appealing to the workers