Motivation
Introduction
Company's biggest challenge = get work done from employees
This depends on motivation
Motivation comes from movre (Latin) = to move
Motivation:
Psychological force
Within an individual
That sets him in motion
To achieve certain goals
Or satisfaction of certain needs
Motives are somewhere a reflection of human needs.
Needs = physiological and psychological drives
Wants = stuff that the person wants to spend their money on
Incentives = Factors utilized for satisfying or motivating people
"Motivation is the complex set of forces starting and keeping a person at work in an organization." - Robert Dublin
"Motivation represents an unsatisfied need which creates a state of tension or disequilibrium, causing the individual to march in a goal-directed pattern, towards restoring a state of equilibrium by satisfying the need." - Stanley Vance
Characteristics of motivation
Psychological Process:
It is the process to achieve a desired result by stimulating and influencing the behavior of subordinates.
A manager should attempt to understand the needs, motives and desires of every employee in the organization.
This is because everyone is different and the same motivational technique may not apply to all kinds of individuals.
Continuous Process
When one need is satisfied, another one arises.
Thus, the management should develop innovative techniques, systems and methods to satisfy the changing needs of workers.
Complex and Unpredictable:
Human wants are not fixed; they change based on the consequences.
A currently satisfied worker's needs will change and he will no longer remain satisfied.
Moreover, different people have different motives.
Managers must be more conscious to motivate subordinates and to achieve objectives.
Pervasive Function:
Motivation is present in all levels of the management and organization.
Every manager (top level to bottom level) is responsible for motivation.
Along with their subordinates, managers are also responsible for motivating other subordinates in the management hierarchy.
Influences the Behaviour:
This is the most important objective of motivation.
Bringing out behavioral changes
Managers influence the behaviour of workers and encourage them to concentrate more on their goals.
Positive or Negative:
Positive motivation = incentives and rewards to workers
Incentives are both financial and non financial.
Negative motivation is based on punishment for poor performance like reducing wages, demotion, job termination etc.
Based on the requirements, managers have to use both.
Importance of Motivation
Motivating the subordinates is the fundamental duty of the manager as it ultimately helps in fulfilling the goals of the organization.
Cooperation and Goals:
Motivated employee --- cooperates willingly with management and does his best to help fulfil organizational goals.
Productivity:
Motivated employees attempt to enhance their knowledge and skills.
This helps them increase their productivity.
High Efficiency:
It has been observed that motivated employees work sincerely towards their given tasks and develop a sense of belongingness.
This results in them conserving organizational resources. Thus, efficiency improves.
Job Satisfaction:
Higher motivation leads to better job satisfaction
A motivated employee yearns for opportunities to satisfy needs.
In this process, they become loyal to the work and eventually the organization.
Better Relations:
The number of complaints and grievances reduce when the employees are motivated.
Good Image:
Motivated employees help boost the image of the company as a good employer in the industry.
Content / Need Theories
Introduction
Content theories emphasise that motivation depends upon the individual needs.
A need is a state in person’s life that triggers action and activates behaviour.
There are different types of individual needs. They have been grouped into motivation levels.
Answers - "What" motivates an individual
Recognizes needs and relates motivation to the fulfilling of these needs.
Abraham Maslow
One of the earliest works in the field of motivation.
5 levels
Once a lower level need of an individual is met, he moves towards the next level.
Motivation Levels (from bottom to top of pyramid)
Physical or Physiological Needs: Basis needs; Food, air, water and shelter; Lower-order needs - need to be met before an individual can move on to higher level needs.
Safety needs: Staying in a safe and secure environment. In an organization, managers can provide job security, medical insurance and safe gadgets and machines for working.
Social / Belongingness / Affiliation Needs: Needs for love, affection and interaction with people. These are essential so that we don't feel isolated and depressed. They are met through friendships, family and intimacy. In an organization - cooperative teamwork, kind supervision and sufficient work-life balance.
Esteem Needs: Includes internal (self esteem or self respect through personal achievement) and external (social esteem through respect and appreciation from others). Managers should give awards and appreciation certificates for their achievements.
Self Actualisation Needs: It is the pursuit of reaching one's full potential as a person. They are usually not fully satisfied as new opportunities always come up. It also depends from individual to individual. In an organization - challenging tasks and inviting them for decision making.
Herzberg Two-Factor theory
Introduction
Frederick Herzberg
Motivation-hygiene theory
Factors affecting satisfaction or dissatisfaction in a work environment.
Hygiene Factors:
Basic factors in a job
Extrinsic factors.
They do not provide satisfaction
But their absence causes disatisfaction
Taken for granted
Ex. status, job security, salary and fringe
benefits.
Motivators:
Present within the job
Provide satisfaction
Intrinsic factors
Absence does not lead to disatisfaction
But, presence gives satisfaction
Ex. job challenge, advancement, autonomy, responsibility, etc.
Introduction
David McClelland
Needs classified into achievement, affiliation and power
People at any time are guided by multiple motives.
In different situations, one or two needs are dominant and thus, motivation varies with needs.
Need for Achievement:
Seek to excel
Prefer moderate risks
If high need for achievment,
Choose tasks where they can take personal responsibility for finding solutions to the problems.
Require regular feedback in order to check progress
Managers should give challenging projects with attainable goals
Need for Affiliation:
Look out for pleasant relationships with other people
Need to feel accepted by other people.
Companionship
Prefer work that provides them with significant personal interaction.
Tend to conform to the norms of their work group
Managers should create an atmosphere of supportive interpersonal relationships. Ex. team projects
Need for Power:
A desire to influence others
Tend to be outspoken and forceful.
Willing to engage in confrontation
Need for power can be of 2 types
Personal:
Want to direct others
Undesirable
Institutional:
Want to manage the efforts of others to promote the goals of the organization
Managers with a high need for institutional power tend to be more effective that those with a need for personal power.
Note: No one wants a leader who tries to control people for the sake of it. That's just manipulation.
Alderfer's ERG Theory
Introduction
Simplified 5 needs into 3
Developed in line with Maslow's hierarchy of needs
According to Alderfer, there is no hierarchy of needs
A desire to fulfil any of the needs can be activated at any point in time
Lower level needs must not be satisfied to seek higher order needs.
Ex. A homeless (physiological) man may still want friends (social).
Existence:
Basic material existence motivators.
Physical and Safety Needs
Ex. Food, water, health, secure employment
Relatedness:
Maintaining interpersonal relationships
Ex. Friendship, family
Growth:
Intrinsic desire for personal development
Ex. Self-esteem, creativity
Belongingness Needs
Esteem and Self-actualization Needs
Process theories
Introduction
Answers "how"
how behaviour is energised, directed and sustained.
Introduction
Propounded opposing the Herzberg’s two-factor theory.
By Vroom
Explains the behavioural process of why individuals choose one behavioural alternative over another
Individuals are motivated towards objectives if they think that their performance will be rewarded for the efforts they will put.
Three variables - Expectancy, Instrumentality and Valence
Expectancy
Effort ---> Performance
It is the confidence that better efforts will result in better performance.
It is influenced by:
Instrumentality
Performance ---> Outcome
It is the faith that the individual will receive an award if they perform well.
Motivation = Expectancy x Instrumentality x Valence
It depends on:
Trusting the people who decide who receives what outcome (Trusting management)
Having appropriate skills for performing the job
Availability of right resources
Availability of critical information
Getting the required support for accomplishing the goal.
understanding the relationship between performance and reward
Transparency in the system that decides who get what outcomes.
Valence
Is the outcome is valuable?
Based on expected value, not actual value since an employee thinks about all of this before undertaking the task.
It depends on the individual's
Needs
Values
Goals
Preferences
Source of motivation
Introduction
J.S. Adams
Assumption = Employees experience strong expectations of justice, balance and fairness in treatment by their employers.
Individuals are motivated by a desire to be treated equally at work.
Your outcomes / Your inputs =
Others' outcomes / Others' inputs
Employees constantly assess their level of effort against fellow workers and the reward they receive for their effort.
When the employee feels their outcomes are fair in relation to others, they feel motivated and satisfied.
Inputs
The quality and quantity of employee’s contribution to work.
Ex. efforts, experience, education, etc.
Outputs
The positive and negative results that an individual gets after putting inputs into a task.
They can be tangible and intangible.
Ex. job security, salary, praise, etc.
Reinforcement Throry
Influencing behavior by controlling the concequences
Based on the "law of effect" - An individual tends to repeat behaviour which is rewarded while the behaviour which gives punishment is not repeated.
They learn from the past and thus develop patterns of behaviour to regulate the future consequences.
This approach is called operant conditioning
Propagated by B.F.Skinner
Application of operant conditioning = OB modification whereby managers focus on positive rewards to elicit desirable behaviour.
Different methods of motivation
Financial Incentives
Non Financial Incentives
An incentive is something that stimulates a person towards some goals. It stimulates human needs and generates the desire to perform.
Incentives have been directly linked to increased performance in companies. They can be financial or non financial.
Introduction
Incentives that are directly linked to money.
Also known as monetary incentives
Needed for meeting the basic needs of employees
Pay and allowances
Salary + Allowances (dearness allowance (cost of living - beat inflation), house rent allowance, etc.)
Some organizations offer a compensation including both salary and allowances while some provide a consolidated salary.
Bonus
Minimum bonus limit is 8.33% of salary or wages in India under the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965.
Addition, on top of basic pay and allowances
Profit Sharing
Higher level employees
employees are given a certain share in the profits of the company when the profits increase beyond a given limit.
Ex. employee is entitled to 1% profit if profit > 4,00,000
Induces employees to work harder to gain their share of company’s profits.
Commission
Variable pay
Generally, a percentage of sales to the sales personnel as per their contribution.
Rate varies from org to org
Performance linked incentives
Salary / wage linked incentive
The amount of incentive is associated with the performance of the employee.
Stock options
Stock options give employees the right to purchase company’s shares at a future date on a predetermined price.
These shares make them part owners of the firm which increases their sense of belongingness.
Introduction
Financial incentives can only motivate employees to a certain extent
Thus, companies have to use non financial incentives as well
Higher order needs
Status
Status = rank in the society
In org, designations or positions as per their abilities, skills and experience
Praise
Most effective incentive
Should be used with care
Praising an incompetent worker would create resentment among competent workers.
But, genuine praise may motivate an incompetent worker to be better.
Group Incentives
May be more effective than individual incentives
When the prestige or even existence of the team is at stake, group members work with team spirit.
This results in high morale and increases productivity
Participation & Involvement
Allowing them to participate in management and decision making
Provides psychological satisfaction
Imbibes a sense of importance
Opportunity for Growth
Opportunities for growth, career advancement and personality development
Suggestion System
Motivates employees to suggest how to make the company better / more efficient.
Sometimes, name and pic published in company newsletter / magazine.
Cash reward or
Job enrichment
Adding content to the job leading to increased responsibility, scope and challenge in its performance.
pioneered by Frederick Herzberg
In 1986
Management should enrich job by:
Letting employees decide the pace and technique of work
Encouraging participation from the employees
Increasing the responsibility for the job
Giving continuous feedback to the employees.
Instilling a feeling of achievement.
Higher level employees - more satisfaction from challenging jobs
Job enlargement
Scope of the job is increased by increasing the number of tasks associated with the job but at the same level in the organization.
Horizontal expansion
Performing a variety of jobs or operations at the same time.
Reduces monotony in the job
Ex. A person is administration who is doing typing work may also be assigned the tasks of drafting letters, sorting of incoming mail and filing the letters.
Vertical expansion
Advantages
Variety of tasks reduces boredom
Optimum utilisation of physical and mental abilities of workers
Worker paced control: Workers can control their pace. This reduces fatigue and exertion.
Meaningful feedback: Workers receive meaningful performance feedback. When tied to evaluations and rewards, this can be motivating.
Disadvantages
Increases work burden. If the excess work goes unrecognized (salary or praise), this may demotivate the employee.
Increases frustration of the employee if increased activity does not lead to increased incentives.
Problem with union members: Unions may misunderstand job enlargement as exploitation of worker and may object it.
Motivation vs Inspiration
Motivation is external as the individual is persuaded by someone else.
Encouragement comes for someone else offering financial and non financial incentives.
Short lived (as long as the reward is there)
Self oriented as the outcomes matter to the individual.
Competitive by nature
Inspiration is internal as it comes from within the individual.
The encouragement and ideas come from the individual itself.
Long term
Inspiration is service oriented as the outcomes matter to those who are being served. It promotes partnership.
Collaborative by nature.
Behavioral Theories
Introduction
Behaviour: The way a person conducts themselves towards others.
When workers are treated as humans rather than machines, they will work better.
McGregor and William Ouchi
Theory X
Traditional approach to motivation and control.
Traditional stereotyped and authoritarian management style.
Assumptions:
An average human being is lazy and doesn’t like to work. He will avoid work if he can.
Most human beings lack ambition and thus don’t want responsibility. They prefer to be directed rather than to lead.
Most human beings are self centred and indifferent to the organisational goals.
Most people are not creative to solve organisational problems.
Most human beings are motivated with physiological and safety needs. (lower order needs)
Human beings are motivated only by money and benefits required for satisfying the physical and safety needs
Employees are managed by punishments and strict control.
Can only work in the environment where the work is repetitive in nature and promotions are not frequent.
McGregor proposed Theory Y refuting Theory X
Theory Y
People are not unreliable and lazy by nature.
Positive view on employee motivation and their behaviour.
Management helps employees develop and express their creative skills.
Assumptions
An average person doesn’t dislike work rather work is natural as play.
An average human being will exert self control and direct himself for his objectives.
An average individual knows that he will be rewarded if he is committed for the objectives. These rewards are generally higher order needs (ego satisfaction and self-actualisation)
An average person tends to seek responsibility and is ambitious.
Imagination, creativity, and ingenuity can be used to solve work problems most of the people.
Considering the present scenario of present industrial life, the intellectual potential of an average man is only partly utilized.
Theory Y is more used in organizations
McGregor suggested motivational practices like decentralisation, delegation, job enlargement, participation and consultative management.
Ouichi's Theory Z
Based upon a comparative study of American
and Japanese management practices.
Conclusion: many Japanese management practices
can be adopted in American perspective.
Mix of Theory X and Y (leaning more towards Theory Y)
Focuses on long term employment and job security
Higher concern for happiness and well-being of the employees.
Features of an organization according to Theory Z
Trust, integrity and openness should be essential ingredients of an effective organisation.
Theory Z says that involvement of employees in related matters improves their commitment and performance.
The leader’s role should be to coordinate the efforts of his subordinates.
The organization and management team should ensure that measures and programs in place should be there to develop employees.
Employees should be given greater decision making responsibility.
They should be generalists but also undertake some specialized job tasks.
The organization should recognize the contributions of individuals, but always within the context of the team as a whole.
Limitations: does not provide complete solution to motivational problems (since different environments of different organizations)
Philosophy of managing organisations