Applying Motivational Theories - Case Study Example

Applying Motivational Theories Introduction The term “motivation” comes from the Latin word movere which means “to move”. There are several definitions to describe this concept of “motivation”. Andrews cites one as: “...the willingness to do something, and is conditioned by this action’s ability to satisfy some need for the individual. A need, in our terminology, means some internal state that makes certain outcomes appear attractive” (Andrews 252). Motivation refers to a set of reasons which are responsible for determining how a person engages himself in some action. Motivation has an impact on the yield of a business and it concerns quantity and also the quality. It is the duty of the managers to provide their employees with the required motivation. Any business is dependent on the efficiency of the workers for the manufacture of products in the required quantity which would fulfill the demand. In the case when the production staff is not provided with the motivation to produce end products, to be able to fulfill the demand, the manager would be in serious trouble and it may contribute to majorly drastic consequences. Importance of Motivation at Workplace If the efficiency of an organization is to be promoted there has to be provision of motivation. The case can be such that the business division has the very products and resources. However, merely a combination of superior products and resources cannot lead to the best consequences: there is a need for motivation as well if a company aims to be successful (Strategic Direction 22). Simply training the employees and delegating them to work does not ensure loyalty and dedication on their part. Employees have to be motivated in order to attain this. Motivation affects work performance to a great degree, thus it holds a great significance for any organization. As clichéd as it may sound employees are an organization’s greatest asset and without motivated workers a company cannot be efficient. A company can only go as far as its workers would lead it, as they are the ones who drive it. An organisation is simply a group of individuals who work together for a general reason. Actually they make up the company. No matter how effective the organisation’s technology or devices are, their employees remain as the most valuable asset. Therefore, it is necessary that they are provided with motivation so as to encourage them to perform better and better, which would lead to the company’s increased productivity. Managers’ Duty of Motivating Employees Several of the business managers of today do not know how effective motivation can be on the efficiency of their company. Therefore, they are required to learn its importance and to recognize the ways through which they can positively motivate their employees at the workplace. The size of the company is not to be considered – every person requires motivation, whether the employee staff consists of fifty workers or just a couple of them. Various companies look upon to motivation differently. It is the responsibility of the business owners to commence motivation as a tactic for attaining the organizational aims. Those individuals who commit themselves for the achievement of the aims set by the company normally perform much better than those who do not take on such an attitude. The ones who get intrinsic rewards by achievements at the workplace get more of satisfaction from their work and these persons have high self-confidence. Thus, among the main responsibilities of the manager one is to bring satisfaction to the employees through the work they do and to consistently provide motivation to them in relation to the aims of the organization. This does not turn out to be an easy task when the variance of today’s workplaces in taken into account. Several elements, which include the impact that various cultures has, have an influence on the priorities of individuals and the things that they value and feel are rewarding. When looking from the viewpoint of the manager there is a requirement of understanding the factors which prompts people, which has an impact on them, and the reasons due to which they continue to do certain tasks consistently. Motivational Theories There have been various studies of motivation published and research on it has stretched beyond the 19th century. Resultantly there have been several motivation theories put forward by behavioral scientists and psychologists which attempt at recognizing the elements that motivate a person. Some of them include the hierarchy of needs (Maslow), the motivation/hygiene theory (Herzberg), and the expectancy theory (Vroom). Each of these theories has made a contribution in this section and can allow a manager to identify what his employees require and help in motivating them. A manager if understands the motivational theories, can apply them in daily life in relation to his sub-ordinates and improve their performance. The Hierarchy of Needs: Maslow (1954) Abraham Maslow was a behavioral scientist and he brought about his “hierarchy of needs” in order to offer with an explanation regarding the way individuals meet their demands through work. Maslow investigated into the human nature and he took the motivation perspective in order to do so. According to him humans are “creatures of desire” and are always in need of one thing or the other (Reiss 8). Maslow had actually intended his theory for a general use, and about the elements which make people act. However, it was then applied to the work state as well. According to Maslow there exist five levels of requirements that can be responsible for providing motivation to individuals. These are the physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and the need for self-actualization. Physiological needs are the very basic and essential ones and those people who struggle at looking for enough food in order to rid themselves of hunger, or looking for shelter where they can live, get motivation through obtaining these kinds of objects. At this level the people would be motivated through the actions that give them such basic necessities. After having the essential requirements the people look for ways through which they can stay safe and away from danger. The danger can be physical or emotional. Next is the social needs wherein the person wishes that he is accepted and taken into a social group, and this is what motivates them at this level. The fourth need is that of esteem. The person looks for praise and recognition to help him acquire motivation for working. Lastly there is self-actualization which is the pinnacle of Maslow’s theory. It relates to a person’s pursuit for reaching his absolute capability. According to Maslow’s theory the requirements of the people that are yet to be satisfied are what motivate them for improved performance and for putting in more effort, and not the requirements that have already been satisfied. This is due to the fact that the latter can be met with if and when they come up. Therefore, a manager learning from Maslow’s theory should understand that it is his responsibility to provide his employees with several inducements which would help in the fulfillment of each of their requirements in turn and would reach up to the hierarchy. This is how he would be able to raise the performance of his organization. Along with this the manager is required to look into the fact that each of his employees is different and thus every one of them need to have a different kind of motivation in order to climb up the hierarchy. For this to happen the manager is required to offer different kinds of inducements for every worker, and the inducement depends on his requirements and demands. Through this the manager would be able to motivate every worker and improve on the performance of the organization on the whole. Motivation/Hygiene Theory: Herzberg (1959) Frederick Herzberg was another significant psychologist and had a lot of influence in business management. He looked at the subject differently. Maslow had approached the topic and investigated into what leads to motivation from the perspective of a general life; Herzberg, however, took a different approach and focused more on the elements leading to motivation which can be more pertinent to work and work success. Through the studies of Herzberg it can be seen that the requirements, which had been almost the same as the ones that Maslow recognized, function in the professional situation. The motivational factors attempt at encouraging the person and they do so through changing the nature of his work and this is what allows the person to get challenged for improving and expanding on his talents and for meeting his capacities. The dissatisfaction (hygiene) factors motivate to the level that they provide assistance to the persons in avoidance of unwanted moments. For instance, given that the employees continue to show a good performance at work they would continue to get their pay. Hygiene factors can only provide with short terms benefits to the employees (Freeman, 1999). However, the motivational elements offer longer term job contentment. According to Herzberg’s theory there are two types of requirements of a person and there is an influence over satisfaction or dissatisfaction of such requirements of elements which affect work conditions. The two types are that of hygiene and growth needs. The former consist of the very basic survival needs while the latter includes those kinds of factors that are inherent in the work; such as recognition and praise and these are called the motivating factors. Managers can understand Herzberg’s theory and apply it in daily life. It is because of Herzberg’s theory that the idea of job enrichment came up. Managers can employ job enrichment at workplace in order to better the performance of their employees and thus, that of the overall organization. Job enrichment means raising the significance of work in a work in order to provide with challenging work and opportunities for progress (Bogardus, 2009). A manager can follow this and be able to improve the performance of his employees. Expectancy Theory – Vroom (1964) Another theory that is discussed in this paper is the expectancy theory of motivation and it was developed by Victor Vroom. It is the “most widely accepted explanation” for the fact that people are motivated towards work, to perform, to learn, and to modify (Lawler, Worley & Poras, 2006: 237). This theory allows for the parts that are missing in the two theories mentioned above. Vroom attempts at explaining the conducts in accordance with an individual’s objectives and his expectations of achieving those objectives. The expectancy theory assumes that individuals have the ability of assessing the consequences which they would rather want and that they are also capable of making practical approximations of the opportunities which they might obtain for attaining them. Thus, this theory is also called the preference-expectancy theory. Vroom’s theory relates that there has to be emphasis on the requirements of an organization to associate rewards with the kind of performance that is obtained and also on making sure that the rewards provided are such which have been earned and needed by the receiver. There is an application of expectancy theory in every company with workers. The reason that the workers go to their job is that they get a salary for it, and they work even if they do not like what they are doing. If they do like their job, it would be another advantage. It is from the alternatives which they have and also the probability of their attaining advantageous consequences that the employees choose. This allows for determining the degree of energy and encouragement which the employees would be spending for the achievement of their aims. Managers can adjust the degree of motivation and energy which the workers are ready to give in into the job they do and for doing this they can determine what their employees are seeking regarding aims and purposes. However, this does not relate to the fact that managers have to provide their subordinates with everything they would like to have but that they should frame their incentive plan in such a way that it would promote yield. Conclusion Managers are required to understand the motivational theories and then apply them at workplace. Through this the managers would be able to form work conditions and employee recognition mechanisms which would allow the employees in the fulfillment of their requirements. Quoting Maslow: "man has a higher nature…and…this higher nature includes the needs for meaningful work, for responsibility, for creativeness, for being fair and just, for doing what is worthwhile and for preferring to do it well" (Maslow 244-245). There are certain regular tasks of a job which workers may find dull, but the managers can develop other tasks for promotion of job satisfaction and for increasing the quality of performance. By sharing the work it can lead to providing opportunities for progress, regeneration, and accomplishment. If the managers empower their employees in such ways they can assist by heightening employee motivation and also by improving their confidence. Managers are required to provide their employees with long term as well as short term incentive programs in order for there to be employee commitment and efficiency which is essential if an organization is to meet its aims. Other than this the managers are required to treat each of their subordinates fairly. There are continuous alterations occurring at the workplace and due to this there is a requirement on the part of managers to provide with consistent notice to such elements which have an effect on the conduct of the employees and to align them with the aims of the organization. There is no particular theory which can be applicable to every individual and situation. Each person has different capabilities and particular standards. In business environment, managers can make the motivational theories applicable so as to have an influence on the workers, work on their confidence, and employ inducement and reward programs. Work Cited Andrews, Yvonne. The Personnel Function. Pearson South Africa, 1988. Bogardus, Anne. PHR / SPHR: Professional in Human Resources Certification Study Guide. 3rd ed. US: Sybex, 2009. Freeman, Robert. Correctional Organization and Mgmt. UK: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1999. Lawler, Edward, Chris Worley, and Jerry Poras. Built to Change: How to Achieve Sustained Organizational Effectiveness. US: Jossey-Bass, 2006. Maslow, Abraham. Toward a Psychology of Being. 3rd ed. New York: Wiley, 1998. “New generation organizations: Motivating employees through creative working practices”. Strategic Direction 22.11 (2006): 22-24. Reiss, Steven. Who am I? The 16 Basic Desires that Motivate Our Actions and Define Our Personalities. USA: Berkley Trade, 2002. Read More