Motivation Motivation isnt a personal trait, but the result of the interaction of the individual and the situation.

So, level of motivation varies both between individuals and within individuals at different times. A motivation is the process that accounts for an individuals intensity, direction and persistence of effort towards attaining a goal. In every walk of life, we are in the process of attaining one goal or another. So, in general, motivation is concerned with effort towards any goal. There are three key elements in the definition of motivation 1. Intensity i.e. how hard a person tries. 2. Direction i.e. efforts channeled in a direction that benefits the organization. 3. Persistence i.e. measure of how long a person can maintain the same level of efforts. According to Greenberg, motivation is the set of processes that arouse, direct and maintain human behavior towards attaining some goal. The various components of motivation are as follows: 1. Arousal this is concerned with drive behind a persons action. 2. Direction 3. Maintenance it means how much persistent a person is towards attaining his goals. Those who arent persistent enough cant be said to highly motivated. Missing any of these components wont let a person reach his goals. Motivation is a basic psychological process. It cannot be seen. Motivation is a hypothetical construct that is used to help explain behavior. Motivation comes from Latin word movere which means to move. Motivation is one of the key ingredients in employee performance and productivity. Motivation theories Two types of motivation theories are 1. Content theories they focus on identifying factors that cause people to put effort into work. Major content theories include Maslows hierarchy of needs theory, Herzbergs motivation-hygiene theory, McClellands needs theory etc. 2. Process theories they focus on the steps an individual takes in putting forth effort. Major process theories examples are reinforcement/learning theory, goal setting theory, expectancy theory etc. Content theories explain the dynamics of employ needs. Process theories describe the processes through which needs are translated into behavior.

Content theories attempt to determine what is it that motivates people at work? The content theories are referred to as largely static because they incorporate only one or a few points in time and are either past or present-time oriented. At 1st money was thought to be the only incentive (scientific management). Later it was thought that incentives include working conditions, security and perhaps a democratic style of supervision (human relations). Subsequently, the content of motivation was deemed to be so-called higher-level needs or motives such as esteem and self-actualization (Maslow); responsibility, recognition, achievement and advancement (Herzberg); and growth and personal development (Alderfer). Abraham Maslows Need hierarchy theory Its one of the most well-known theories of motivation. According to this theory, within every human being there exists a hierarchy of 5 needs. These are as follows Physiological includes hunger, thirst and other bodily needs. Safety includes security and protection from physical and emotional harm. Social includes affection, belongingness, friendship etc. Esteem includes internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy, achievement and external esteem factors such as status, recognition and attention. 5. Self-actualization drive to become what one is capable of becoming includes growth, achieving ones potential. 1. 2. 3. 4. These needs have been separated into two types lower order, which include 1st two needs and higher order which includes last 3. Higher order needs are satisfied internally whereas lower order needs are predominantly externally satisfied. According to Maslow, no need is ever fully gratified, but a substantially satisfied need no longer motivates. So, as a need becomes substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant. So, if you want to motivate someone, you need to understand what level of the hierarchy that person is currently on and focus on satisfying the needs at or above that level. However research doesnt validate this theory. People are motivated to fulfill their needs. This theory specifies that people are motivated by 5 types of needs. These are activated in order from the lowest level to the highest level. 1. Physiological needs the lowest-order needs involve satisfying fundamental biological drives, such as the needs for air, food, water etc. there are many things that companies do to help meet their employees basic physiological needs. The simplest being paying them a living wage, money that can be exchanged for food and shelter. 2. Safety needs these are concerned with the need to operate in an environment that is physically and psychologically safe and secure, one free from threats of harm. Organizations help satisfy their employees safety needs in several ways. For e.g. they protect employees from hazards in the environment by providing security and fire alarms.

Psychological safety is important as well. By offering health and disability insurance, companies are promoting their employees psychological well-being by assuring them that they will not be harmed financially in the event of illness. (Safety needs are the need for a secure environment, to be free from threats of physical or psychological harm) 3. Social needs social needs is the need to be affiliative that is, to have friends and to be loved and accepted by other people. It is with this in mind that many companies help organize events that build camaraderie among their employees. 4. Esteem needs it refers to the need to develop self-respect and to gain the approval of others. It is the needs to achieve success and have others recognize our accomplishments. The practice of awarding bonuses to people making e.g. 5. Self-actualization it refers to the need to discover who we are and to develop ourselves to the fullest potential. When people are self-actualized they perform at their maximum level of creativity, making them extremely valuable assets to their organization. For this reason, companies are interested in paving the way for their employees to become self-actualized by meeting their lower order needs. Specific elements of the theory, notably, the assertion that there are only 5 needs and that they are activated in a specific order have found limited support. According to Maslow, a persons motivational needs could be arranged in a hierarchical manner. Once a given level of need is satisfied, it no longer serves to motivate. The next higher level of need has to be activated in order to motivate the individual. Maslows model is much too rigid to explain the dynamic and unstable characteristic of employ needs. Researchers have found that individual needs do not cluster neatly around the 5 categories described in the model. Also gratification of one need level doesnt necessarily lead to increased motivation to satisfy the next higher need level. The 3 lowest needs are also known as deficiency needs. According to Maslow, unless these needs are satisfied, an individual will fail to develop into a healthy person, both physically and psychologically. Last two needs are called growth needs. Satisfaction of these needs help a person grow and develop as a human being. The needs hierarchy is based on US cultural values. In cultures that value uncertainty avoidance, such as Japan and Greece, job security and lifelong employment are strong motivators than self-actualization. In countries such as china, Japan and Korea that value collectivist and community practices over individual achievements, belonging and security are considerably more important than meeting growth needs. Therefore, although the needs that Maslow identified may be universal, the logic or sequence of the hierarchy differs from culture to culture. Although Maslows theory has appeal in its simplicity and ease of application, research has not been able to establish the validity of the need hierarchy itself. Needs other those identified by Maslow motivate people for e.g. spiritual needs. People can also operate on more than

one needs level simultaneously or may move to a lower level of needs if their life circumstances change. E.g. downsizing. In an international context, the circumstances and values of a particular culture influence the ordering and importance of needs. Economic and political circumstances also influence the importance of needs. Fredrick Herzbergs two factor theory It is also known as motivation-hygiene theory. Herzberg was interested in knowing ones attitude towards work and so investigated the question what do people want from their jobs? what are the different factors that either lead to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. What he found was that factors that lead to job satisfaction are completely different from job dissatisfaction. For e.g. Growth. According to the responses, he suggested that intrinsic factors such as advancement, recognition, responsibility, achievement were related to job satisfaction. On the other hand external factors like supervision, pay, company policies were related to job dissatisfaction. Based on this data, Herzberg reached to a very important conclusion. According to traditional view, we know that opposite of satisfaction is dissatisfaction. But Herzberg, based on his findings, proposed that there exists a dual continuum: the opposite of satisfaction is no satisfaction and the opposite of dissatisfaction is no dissatisfaction. Since, the factors leading to job satisfaction are separate and distinct from those that lead to job dissatisfaction; the elimination of factors that can create job dissatisfaction wont necessarily bring motivation. Based on this, Herzberg said there are 2 types of factors which influence people. Hygiene factors such as quality of supervision, pay, company policies, job security, when adequate, would lead to no dissatisfaction, but not to satisfaction. Motivators like growth opportunities, recognition, respect and achievement are the factors that motivate employees and can bring satisfaction. Criticisms include 1. No overall measure of satisfaction was utilized. A person may dislike part of a job yet still think the job is acceptable overall. 2. Herzberg assumed a relationship between satisfaction and productivity, but the research methodology looked only at satisfaction, not at productivity. In short, two factor theory is one that relates intrinsic factors to job satisfaction while associating extrinsic factors with dissatisfaction. Herzberg developed his motivation-hygiene theory in the 1950s and 1960s and built on Maslows theory. The premise of Herzbergs theory, often called two-factor theory, is that satisfaction and dissatisfaction represent 2 separate dimensions rather than opposite ends of a single dimension.

Herzberg believed that the 2 factors, hygiene and motivation, have differential effects on motivation. The hygiene factors, also called extrinsic or context factors, are factors outside the job itself that influence the worker. They include company policy and administration, supervision, work condition, salary etc. these factors are associated with dissatisfaction. If they are absent, a worker feels dissatisfied, but their presence only brings s a person to a neutral state. The motivation factors, also called intrinsic or content factors, are aspects of the job itself including achievement, recognition, responsibility and growth. The presence of these factors satisfies and motivates workers. In Herzbergs view, to motivate workers, a job has to include many motivation factors. Herzbergs model suggests that 1. Some job factors lead to satisfaction, whereas others can prevent dissatisfaction but not be sources of satisfaction. 2. Job satisfaction and dissatisfaction do not exist on a single continuum. Motivation factors these factors are related to an individuals positive feelings about the job and to the content of the job itself. These positive feelings, in turn, are associated with the individuals expectations of achievement, recognition and responsibility. They reflect lasting rather than temporary achievement in the work setting. Hygiene factors these factor are associated with an individuals negative feelings about the job and are related to the environment in which job is performed. Criticism 1. Herzberg used a method-bound procedure; that is, the method he used to measure the factors determined the results. 2. Self-serving bias attribution 3. According to various researchers, satisfaction and dissatisfaction arent really 2 separate dimensions/are 2 different continuums. Motivating factors are called motivators because employees experience job satisfaction when they are received and are therefore motivated to obtain them. Herzberg labeled the satisfiers motivators, and he called the dissatisfiers hygiene factors. The term hygiene refers (as it does in the health field) to factors that are preventive; in Herzbergs theory the hygiene factors are those that prevent dissatisfaction. Herzbergs theory is closely related to Maslows need hierarchy. The hygiene factors are preventive and environmental in nature and they are roughly equivalent to Maslows lowerlevel needs. By themselves, the hygiene factors do not motivate. Only the motivators motivate employees on the job. They are roughly equivalent to Maslows higher-level needs.

Herzbergs two factor theory provided a new light on the content of work motivation. Up to this point, management had generally concentrated on the hygiene factors. Management is often perplexed because they are paying high wages and salaries, and provide great working conditions, but their employees are still not motivated. Herzbergs theory offered an explanation for this problem. There seem to be job factors such as pay that lead to both satisfaction and dissatisfaction. These findings indicate that a strict interpretation of 2 factor theory is not warranted. Herzberg has contributed substantially to the study of work motivation. He extended Maslows needs hierarchy concept and made it more applicable to work motivation. He also drew attention to the importance of job content factors in work motivation, which previously had been badly neglected and often totally overlooked. McClellands theory of needs This theory was developed by David McClelland and focuses on 3 needs 1. Need for achievement i.e. the drive to excel, to strive to succeed. 2. Need of power i.e. the desire to have impact, to be influential and to control others. 3. Need for affiliation i.e. the desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships. Charac. Of achievers 1. 2. 3. 4. They have a compelling drive to succeed. They strive for personal achievement They have a desire to do things better than others. They arent gamblers and dislike jobs with high probability of success because then there is no challenge to their skills. They prefer tasks of moderate difficulty.

Characteristic of people seeking power 1. They enjoy being in charge and prefer to be placed into competitive and status oriented situations. 2. They tend to be more concerned with prestige and gaining influence over others. Characteristic of people needing affiliation 1. They strive for friendship 2. Prefer cooperative situations rather than competitive ones 3. Desire relationships that involve high degree of mutual understanding Achievers prefer jobs that offer a) Personal responsibility b) Feedback c) Moderate risks

They are successful in entrepreneurial activities such as running their own business and managing a self-contained unit within a large organization. Achievers not necessarily become good managers since they are more interested in how well they do personally and not in influencing others to o well. The best managers are high in their need for power and low in their need for affiliation. The content motivation models look at the individuals primary or instinctive needs and their relative importance in life. However, people also have secondary needs or drives that are learned and reinforced through childhood learning, parental styles and social norms. Several learned needs can motivate us at the same time. David McClelland based his theory on 3 such needs 1. Need for achievement (nAch) people with a high nAch want to accomplish reasonably challenging goals through their own efforts. ( A learned need in which people want to accomplish reasonably challenging goals through their own efforts, like to be successful in competitive situations, and desire un ambiguous feedback regarding their success. 2. Need for affiliation (nAff) a learned need in which people seek approval from others, conform to their wishes and expectations, and avoid conflict and confrontations. Characteristics 1. People with a strong nAff want to form positive relationships with others. 2. High nAff employees actively support others and try to smooth out conflicts that occur in meetings and other social settings. 3. High nAff employees tend to be more effective than those with a low (nAff in coordinating roles. 4. They tend to be less effective at allocating scarce resources and making other decisions that potentially generate conflict. 3. nPow a learned need in which people want to control their environment, including people and material resources, to benefit either themselves or others. People with high nPow want to exercise control over others and are concerned about maintain their leadership position. They frequently rely on persuasive communication. According to McClelland, the need for power takes 2 forms personalized and socialized. People with a high need for personalized powers enjoy their power for its own sake and use it to advance their career and other personal interests. They desire loyalty from others and gain satisfaction from conquering or dominating them. This contrasts with people who have a high need for socialized power. The latter seek power to help others. People with a high need for socialized power want power, but they also have a strong sense of altruism and social responsibilities.