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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
  1. 1. Job rotation
      - Workers are less likely to get bored
        Workers become more diverse in skill set /become more flexible
    2. Job enlargement
      - Workers do more work for the business
        Workers have a greater sense of accomplishment
- Teamwork
  1. 1. Sense of camaraderie
      - Workers less likely to leave their friends
    2. Could improve efficiency
- Making a difference
  1. 1. 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

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