Theories of motivation - 1-Maslow theory 2-Herz berg theory 3- MC Greger theory 4- Alderfer theory

 

Theories of motivation

NEED THEORY

1-Maslow theory                 2-Herz berg theory

3-MC Greger theory            4-Alderfer theory

1-Maslow theory (Need Hierarchy Theory) - Specifying that there are five human needs (physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization) that are arranged in such a way that lower, more basic needs must be satisfied before higher-level need become activated.

§  Physiological Needs- Include hunger, thirst, shelter, sex and other bodily needs. Untill these needs are satisfied to the degree needed for the efficient operation of the body, the majority of the activities will probably be at this level and other level will provide him with little motivation.

§  Security and safety Needs- Need for being free of physical danger or self-prevention. It includes security and protection from physical as emotional harm. It can be satisfies through pension plan, insurance plan, job security etc,

§  Social Needs – Since man is a social being, he has a need to belong and to be accepted by various groups existing inside and outside the organization. It includes Affection, belongingness, acceptance and friendship.

§  ESTEEM NEEDS-  They are concerned with self-respect, self-confidence, a feeling of personal worth, feeling of being unique and recognition, status, attention, autonomy and achievement. Satisfaction of these needs provides feeling of self-confidence, prestige, power and control.

§  Self – actualization – This is related with the development of  intrinsic capabilities. It is the desire to became more and more, what one is capable of becoming. It includes growth, achieving ones potential and self-fulfillment.

Lower Order Needs- Needs that are satisfied externally such as Physiological and safety needs.

Higher Order Needs- Needs that are satisfied Internally such as social, esteem and Self-actualization needs.

 

2       2. HERZBERG THEORY- It is a two factor theory:-

(i)                10 Maintenance/Hygiene factors-

1.     Company policy and administration.

2.     Technical supervision.

3.     Interpersonal relationship with supervisor.

4.     Interpersonal relationship with pears.

5.     Interpersonal relationship with subordinates.

6.     Salary.

7.     Job security.

8.     Personal life.

9.     Working condition.

10. Status.

These Factors are necessary to maintain at a reasonable level of satisfaction in employees. Any increase beyond this level will not provide any satisfaction to the employee’s. However, any cut below this level will-dissatisfy them and these are called as dissatisfiers.

Since, any Increase in these factors will not affect employees level of satisfaction, these are of no use for motivating them.

(ii)             MOTIVATION FACTORS (SIX – FACTORS)-

1.     Achievement

2.     Advancement

3.     Possibility of growth

4.     Recognition

5.     Work itself

6.     Responsibility

These factors are capable of having positive effect on job satisfaction and results in an increase in ones total output.

Any increase in these factors will satisfy the employee however, any decreases will not affect their level of satisfaction.

Since; these increase level of satisfaction in the employees these can be used in motivating them for the higher output.

 

3-MC.GREGOR THEORY-  (Theory X and Theory Y)

Douglas MC Gregor proposed 2 distinct view of human being.

1.  THEORY X-one basically negative labeled theory X.

 

·        Managers believe that employees inherently dislike work and must therefore be directed /even forced into performing it.

·        Here, workers has to be forced, supervised, control and directed.

·        They think workers are motivated by only lower level.

·        Workers don’t like to do work. They have to punished.

·        They work as little as possible, lack ambition, dislike responsibility, prefers to be led.

·        They are inherently self-centered, resistant to change.

 

2-Theory Y- And another basically positive labeled theory y.

·        Managers 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.

·        Managers think workers work as natural as play means they enjoy their work.

·        No one can supervise/control them.

·        They are governed by high level.

 

4-ALDERFER THEORY (ERG THEORY)-

Clayton Alderfer attempted to rework Maslow’s need hierarchy theory. He has categorized the various needs into 3 categories:

       I.            Existence Needs- Includes all needs related to Physiological and Safety aspect of an individual. Thus it group Physiological and Safety needs of Maslow into one category as these have similar impact on the behavior of the individual.

    II.            RELATEDNESS- includes all those needs that involve relationship with other people whom the individual cares it covers Maslow’s Social needs and part of esteem needs which is derived from relationship with other people.

 III.            GROWTH- involve the individual making creative efforts to achieve full potential in the existing environment. It includes Maslow’s self-actualization need as well as that part of the esteem needs which is internal to the individual like feeling of being unique, feeling of personal growth etc.

Meaning of Motivation, Definitions of motivation, Nature of motivation, Types of motivation

 

MOTIVATION

Motivation is the set of processes that arouse, direct and maintains human behavior toward attaining some goal.

Motive means an inner edge; which directs a person’s behavior. Inner edge can also be quarreled by another people.

 

What is the meaning of motivation?

Motivation is a reason for actions, willingness, and goals. Motivation is derived from the word ‘motive’, or a need that requires satisfaction. These needs, wants or desires may be acquired through influence of culture, society, lifestyle, or may be generally innate.

Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. Motivation is an important factor that encourages individuals to give their best performance and help them reach enterprise goals. A strong positive motivation will enable increased production of employees but a negative motivation will reduce their performance. A key element in personnel management is motivation.

Definitions of motivation

1.     Berelson and Steiner: – “A motive is an inner state that energizes, activates, or moves and directs or channels behaviour goals.”

2.     Lillis: – “It is the stimulation of any emotion or desire operating upon one’s will and promoting or driving it to action.”

3.     The Encyclopedia of Management: – “Motivation refers to degree of readiness of an organism to pursue some designated goal and implies the determination of the nature and locus of the forces, including the degree of readiness.”

4.     Dubin: – “Motivation is the complex of forces starting and keeping a person at work in an organization.”

5.     Vance: – “Motivation implies any emotion or desire which so conditions one’s will that the individual is properly led into action.”

Nature of motivation

Motivation is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a person. A person lacks some needs, which makes him satisfied that he works more. The need to satisfy the ego motivates a person to do better in general.

The following conclusions can be drawn from the definitions given earlier: –

• Motivation is an inner feeling that makes a person excited to do more work.
• A person’s feelings or desires motivate him to perform a particular task.
• A person has unsatisfying needs that impair his balance.
• A person proceeds to fulfill his dissatisfied needs by conditioning his energies.
• A person has passive energies that are activated by channeling in actions.

Types of motivation

When a manager wants to take more work from his subordinates, he has to be motivated to improve his performance. They will either be offered incentives for more work, or they may be in place of rewards, better reports, recognition, etc., or they may instill fear in them or use force to achieve the desired task.

The following are the types of motivation: –

1. Positive motivation: –

• Positive motivation is based on reward. Workers are offered incentives to achieve desired goals. Incentives may be in the form of higher salaries, promotions, recognition of work, etc. Employees are offered incentives and seek to improve their performance voluntarily.
• According to Peter Drucker, genuine and positive motivators are responsible for placement, high levels of performance, sufficient information for self-control, and worker involvement as a responsible citizen in the plant community. Positive motivation comes from the support of employees and they feel happy.

2. Negative motivation: –

• Negative or fear is based on motivation or fear. Fear causes employees to act a certain way. In case, they do not act accordingly then they can be punished with demotion or take-off. Fear acts as a pushing mechanism. Employees do not cooperate voluntarily; instead they want to avoid punishment.
• Although employees work to a level where punishment is avoided, this type of motivation leads to anger and frustration. This type of motivation usually becomes the cause of industrial unrest. Despite the drawbacks of negative motivation, this method is commonly used to achieve desired results. There can hardly be any management who has not used negative motivation at one time or another.

Techniques of Directing

 

Techniques of Directing

In performing directing function, manager use different techniques:-

1.     Giving orders and instructions

2.     Follow-up orders and instructions

3.     Standardized practice and procedure

4.     Behavioral pattern

 

1.     Giving orders and instructions-

A superior directs his subordinate by giving orders and instructions to them about what work they should do, how to do, and when to do. In order to make given orders effective, the superior should take into consideration the following factors:

·        General or specific

·        Written or oral

·        Formal or informal

·        Timing

 

2.     Follow-up orders and instructions-

Once orders and instructions are issued, it is not necessary that these are carried out instantly or fully to the satisfaction of the superior. There may be 3 types of problem:

·        Subordinate might not have understood the order.

·        They may not have adequate organizational resource to carry out orders.

·        There may be contradictory order and instruction creating confusion and conflict among subordinates.

 

In order to overcome these problems,  the superior has to monitor whether the subordinates have carried out order and instructions properly. There should be proper follow-up of order and instructions.

3.     Standardized practice and procedure-

Superior may rely on various standardized organizational practices and procedures for getting things done. This happens in case of routine work which is performed under set procedures and fresh instructions are required whenever there is any change in that. Organization establish certain practices and procedures for work performance which work as guidelines for people in the organization.

4.     Behavioral pattern-

Superior provide direction to his subordinate by adopting a particular behavioural pattern. He may adopt one of 3 behavioural pattern:

·        Autocratic Pattern- In this, the superior gives orders and instructions in detail as he does not involve his subordinate in decision-making process. Therefore, there is a gap between decision maker and decision implementer. In order to make a decision fully understandable, the superior is required to provide detailed instructions.

·        Participative Pattern- In this, decision-making is a joint process between the superior and his subordinates. Therefore, they understand the decision and how it can be implemented. In this detailed order or instruction is not required.

·        Free-rein Pattern- It is just opposite of autocratic pattern, Subordinates are given authority to make decisions within the broad guidelines provided by the superior. In this, the superior does not give orders and instructions for doing specific work except the broad guidelines for arriving at decisions.

Performance Appraisal

 Performance Appraisal

The term performance appraisal refers to the regular review of an employee's job performance and overall contribution to a company. Also known as an annual review, performance review or evaluation, or employee appraisal, a performance appraisal evaluates an employee’s skills, achievements, and growth, or lack thereof.

Companies use performance appraisals to give employees big-picture feedback on their work and to justify pay increases and bonuses, as well as termination decisions. They can be conducted at any given time but tend to be annual, semi-annual, or quarterly.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

·         A performance appraisal is a regular review of an employee's job performance and contribution to a company.

·         Companies use performance appraisals to determine which employees have contributed the most to the company’s growth, review progress, and reward high-achieving workers.

·         Although there are many different kinds of performance reviews, the most common is a top-down review in which a manager reviews their direct report.

·         Employees who believe the evaluation's construction isn't reflective of their company's culture may feel dissatisfied with the appraisal process.

·         Performance appraisals are also called annual reviews, performance reviews or evaluations, or employee appraisals.

How Performance Appraisals Work

Performance appraisals are usually designed by human resource (HR) departments as a way for employees to develop in their careers. They provide individuals with feedback on their job performance. It ensures that employees are managing and meeting the goals expected of them, giving them guidance on how to reach them if they fall short.

Because companies have a limited pool of funds from which to award incentives, such as raises and bonuses, performance appraisals help determine how to allocate those funds. They provide a way for companies to determine which employees have contributed the most to the company’s growth so companies can reward their top-performing employees accordingly.

Performance appraisals also help employees and their managers create a plan for employee development through additional training and increased responsibilities, as well as to identify ways the employee can improve and move forward in their career.

Ideally, the performance appraisal is not the only time during the year that managers and employees communicate about the employee’s contributions. More frequent conversations help keep everyone on the same page, develop stronger relationships between employees and managers, and make annual reviews less stressful.

Types of Performance Appraisals

Most performance appraisals are top-down, meaning supervisors evaluate their staff with no input from the subject. But there are other types:

·         Self-assessment: Individuals rate their job performance and behavior.

·         Peer assessment: An individual's workgroup or coworkers rate their performance.

·         360-degree feedback assessment: Includes input from an individual, supervisor, and peers.

·         Negotiated appraisal: A newer trend that utilizes a mediator and attempts to moderate the adversarial nature of performance evaluations by allowing the subject to present first. Also focuses on what the individual is doing right before any criticism is given. This structure tends to be useful during conflicts between subordinates and supervisors.

 

Performance Appraisal is the systematic evaluation of the performance of employees and to understand the abilities of a person for further growth and development. Performance appraisal is generally done in systematic ways which are as follows:

1. The supervisors measure the pay of employees and compare it with targets and plans.

2. The supervisor analyses the factors behind work performances of employees.

3. The employers are in position to guide the employees for a better performance.

Objectives of Performance Appraisal

Performance Appraisal can be done with following objectives in mind:

1. To maintain records in order to determine compensation packages, wage structure, salaries raises, etc.

2.  To identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees to place right men on right job.

3. To maintain and assess the potential present in a person for further growth and development.

4. To provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related status.

5. To provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related status.

6. It serves as a basis for influencing working habits of the employees.

7. To review and retain the promotional and other training programmes.

Advantages of Performance Appraisal

It is said that performance appraisal is an investment for the company which can be justified by following advantages:

1.     Promotion: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to chalk out the promotion programmes for efficient employees. In this regards, inefficient workers can be dismissed or demoted in case.

2.     Compensation: Performance Appraisal helps in chalking out compensation packages for employees. Merit rating is possible through performance appraisal. Performance Appraisal tries to give worth to a performance. Compensation packages which includes bonus, high salary rates, extra benefits, allowances and pre-requisites are dependent on performance appraisal. The criteria should be merit rather than seniority.

3.     Employees Development: The systematic procedure of performance appraisal helps the supervisors to frame training policies and programmes. It helps to analyse strengths and weaknesses of employees so that new jobs can be designed for efficient employees. It also helps in framing future development programmes.

4.     Selection Validation: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to understand the validity and importance of the selection procedure. The supervisors come to know the validity and thereby the strengths and weaknesses of selection procedure. Future changes in selection methods can be made in this regard.

5.     Communication: For an organization, effective communication between employees and employers is very important. Through performance appraisal, communication can be sought for in the following ways:

a.     Through performance appraisal, the employers can understand and accept skills of subordinates.

b.     The subordinates can also understand and create a trust and confidence in superiors.

c.      It also helps in maintaining cordial and congenial labour management relationship.

d.     It develops the spirit of work and boosts the morale of employees.

6.     Motivation: Performance appraisal serves as a motivation tool. Through evaluating performance of employees, a person’s efficiency can be determined if the targets are achieved. This very well motivates a person for better job and helps him to improve his performance in the future.