Chapter 5 Motivation Theories Achievement requires effort

Chapter Study Questions What is motivation? What can we learn from the needs theories of motivation? What is the equity theory of motivation? What are the insights of the expectancy theory of motivation? What is the goal-setting theory of motivation? Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

What is Motivation? Motivation Individual forces that account for the direction, level, and persistence of a person’s effort expended at work. Direction - an individual’s choice when presented with a number of possible alternatives. Level - the amount of effort a person puts forth. Persistence - the length of time a person sticks with a given action. Because motivation influences productivity and job satisfaction, part of being a good manager is understanding what motivates employees to work at their full potential. Motivation is an internal process that energizes, directs, and sustains behavior. Individual differences have a strong impact on behavior motivation patterns. However, all motivated behavior relies to a larger or lesser extent on the forces of direction, level, and persistence. Level is concerned with how hard a person tries. However, unless effort is channeled in a direction that benefits the organization and the individual, high level of effort is not a guarantee of high performance on the job. Finally, persistence (how long a person can maintain effort) is important. A motivated person stays with a task long enough to achieve his or her goal. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

What is Motivation? Types of motivation theories Content theories Focus on individual needs – that is, physiological or psychological deficiencies that we feel a compulsion to reduce or eliminate. Process theories Focus on the thoughts, or cognitive processes, that take place within the minds of people and that influence their behavior. Theories of both types contribute to our understanding of motivation to work. But none offers a complete explanation. Content Theories – Deal with ‘what’ – What internal factors cause us to behave the way that we do. Primarily focused on needs, feelings of satisfaction, and our efforts to satisfy those needs. The influence of blocked needs is also looked at. Process Theories – Deal with ‘how and why’ motivation arises - the interaction between the individual and the environment, and their active thoughts about what is motivating and what is not. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

What is Motivation? Motivation Across Cultures Motivation theories are largely developed from a North American perspective. They are subject to cultural limitations and contingencies. The determinants of motivation and the best ways to deal with it are likely to vary considerably across the cultures of Asia, South America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. We must not assume that people in all cultures are motivated by the same things in the same ways – because they are not. Managers who are placed in global assignments must be knowledgeable about what the members of the culture value. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Content or Needs Theories of Motivation Hierarchy of Needs Theory ERG Theory Acquired Needs Theory Two-Factor Theory Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Hierarchy of Needs Theory (Maslow) Identifies five levels of individual needs. Assumes that some needs are more important than others and must be satisfied before the other needs can serve as motivators. Needs range from self-actualization and esteem at the top, to social, safety, and physiological at the bottom. Physiological needs must be satisfied before safety needs are activated – safety needs must be satisfied before social needs are activated. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Figure 5.1 Hierarchy of Needs Theory Maslow’s theory has some limitations. It presumes that people have to have one need met before the next need emerges. Satisfying the higher-order needs can present more of a challenge, and individuals are different in terms of their ‘level’ of need and at what point they are satisfied. As an individual moves through their career, different needs may vary. To address some of the limitations of Maslow's hierarchy, Clayton Alderfer proposed the ERG theory. It orders needs as a hierarchy (like Maslow). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

ERG Theory of Motivation (Alderfer) Existence: Desire for physiological and material well-being Relatedness: Desire for satisfying interpersonal relationships Growth: Desire for continued personal growth and development. Alderfer’s ERG Theory of Motivation ERG theory helps to explain why a lower-level need can become activated when a higher-level need cannot be satisfied. E.g., if an individual is frustrated in trying to move forward in their growth needs (career advancement), relatedness or existence needs can become key motivations. More than one need can be activated at the same time. In some settings, workers complain about wages, working conditions and benefits (existence needs) and their importance may be exaggerated because they cannot satisfy their growth need. On the other hand, when the workers growth needs are not satisfied they often relate to their wages, benefits and working conditions (existence needs) and their relationships (relatedness). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Acquired Needs Theory (McClelland) Thematic Apperception Test (T.A.T.) What do you see? McClelland developed the TAT, to identify the three basic needs that people develop over a lifetime. The TAT is a projective test that presents people with a series of ambiguous pictures and asks them to develop a story about the pictures. The assumption is that the person will project his or her needs or drives onto the pictures. Achievement (nAch) Affiliation (nAff) Power (nPower) Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Acquired Needs Theory (McClelland) Need for achievement (nAch). The desire to do something better or more efficiently, to solve problems, or to master complex tasks. Need for affiliation (nAff). The desire to establish and maintain friendly and warm relations with others. Need for power (nPower). The desire to control others, to influence their behavior, or to be responsible for others. According to McClelland, the presence of these motives or drives in an individual indicates a predisposition to behave in certain ways. McClelland encourages managers to learn how to identify the presence of nAch, nAff, and nPower in themselves and others, since each need can be linked with a set of work preferences and motivation. Since these three needs are acquired, McClelland believes it may be possible to teach people to develop profiles for success in various types of jobs. It should be noted that these needs can be acquired and it is possible to teach people to develop needs profiles for specific jobs. For example for a senior executive, a moderate to high need for power and for achievement should be stronger than the need for affiliation because you have to make hard decisions about staffing without the fear of being disliked. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Two-factor Theory (Herzberg) Identifies two different factors as primary causes of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction. Also known as the motivator-hygiene theory. Herzberg asked workers to report the times they felt exceptionally good about their jobs and the times they felt exceptionally bad about them. Researchers noticed that people talked about very different things when they reported feeling good or bad about their jobs. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Two-factor theory (Herzberg) Organizational policies Base wage or salary Quality of supervision Working conditions Relationships with peers and subordinates Status Security Hygiene Factors (dissatisfaction) Achievement Recognition Type of work Responsibility Advancement Growth Motivator Factors (satisfaction) Hygiene Factors are sources of job dissatisfaction. They relate more to the environment than to the nature of the work itself. Job dissatisfaction results when the factors are poor. Improving the factors only serves to decrease the job dissatisfaction; it does not improve job satisfaction. The most surprising factor is “salary”. Herzberg found that a low salary makes people dissatisfied but salary is not what satisfies or motivates people. Motivator Factors are sources of job satisfaction. They are related to job content – what people do in their work. They include opportunities for personal growth, recognition, a sense of achievement and responsibility. Job satisfaction, motivation and performance increase when these factors are high. To improve satisfaction, Herzberg suggests the technique of “job enrichment”. He says: “If you want people to do a good job, give them a good job to do.” Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.