Motivation Theory and Job Design - Assignment Example

Motivation Theory and Job Design Leading a team and managing subordinates are two different qualities. An effective manager is one who can motivate himself and his team. Each individual is unique and has different needs and wants. Accordingly, different factors motivate different employees. Employee performance is directly related to his motivation (Oyedele, 2010). To motivate is to provoke someone to act positively and productively. Motivation is required at all levels in an organization. To motivate his team, the manager needs to understand individual behavior and identify individual needs. Once a manager understands different needs, and only when he has an understanding of different motivational theories, would he be able to apply the right motivation theory. To a manager, motivation should be of great concern because “motivation produces” (Ryan & Deci, 2000). The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) of human motivation states that intrinsic motivation is the tendency to seek out novelty and challenges. Intrinsic motivation requires supportive conditions to maintain and enhance these tendencies. Moreover, intrinsic motivation requires a sense of autonomy. Managers must possess this sense of autonomy and only then they can motivate the team or their subordinates. Intrinsic motivation encourages people to venture into new projects. When the manager is aware of this principle, he would be able to identify workers that have intrinsic motivation and delegate autonomy and individual innovative projects to such workers. Autonomy is essential because a controlled approach can reduce initiative and this can be detrimental where creativity is required. At the same time, the manager would know how to arouse intrinsic motivation among those that do not posses this motivation. Most workers will work up to the minimum required level but beyond they need to be pushed. Why should they be pushed and what would make them motivated enough to exert extra effort? Manager needs to understand the five levels of needs as specified by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Unsatisfied needs motivate employees to work, as per Maslow’s theory. As the needs are satisfied, the employees move up the ladder and their motivating factor is also altered (Jones, 2007 p12). Unless a manager is aware of such theories, he would not be able to identify and encourage employees towards attaining higher levels of achievement. Self direction and autonomy are esteem needs which employees need once they have been able to meet and satisfy the lower needs. An understanding of the five different levels would help the manager to recognize the different levels at which each individual employee is, and accordingly provide to fulfill his needs. He cannot direct an employee to take initiative whose basic physiological needs remain unfulfilled. Motivation is the key to performance improvement. Performance is a function of ability and motivation. Ability depends upon education, experience and training and is a long-term procedure. Motivation, on the other hand, can improve the situation and encourage an employee to work instantly. There is a gap between an individual’s actual state and the desired state (Accel-Team, 2010). The role of the manager is to reduce this gap. However, the manager must be initiated into the theories of motivation to be able to apply them effectively as the situation demands. He must be able to initiate and motivate the people in the right direction and the motivational system must be tailored to suit individual needs, situation and the organization. A manager’s responsibility is to manage people. Managing people is essential to get timely outcome as per organizational needs. Getting people to work requires a great deal of tact and motivation is one such tact. Merely providing them autonomy is not sufficient. They need to be motivated to work. To deal with people is to deal with people’s mind (Kanji, 1995). The mind needs to be motivated and once again, the theories have to be applied according to individual needs. This is because people are moved by different factors. Motivation should not stem from a fear of being surveilled but from a sense of personal commitment (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs suggests that the basic physiological needs have to be met first before the employee clamors for safety needs, need for love, recognition and self-actualization. The manager should be aware that as one need is somewhat fulfilled, other needs become important and these influence his behavior (Gallagher & Einhorn, 1976). Unless the manager is aware of these principles, he would not be able to recognize the change in the needs and hence motivators. Herzberg also proposes that an employee’s motivation is understood when his attitude is understood (Tietjen & Myers, 1998). Herzberg maintained that happy feelings or a positive attitude is task-related while unpleasant feelings depend upon the surroundings. A manager would hence ensure that the work environment is pleasant and happy to get the best out of the employees. Motivators cause positive job attitudes and satisfy the need for self-actualization, which is last in the Hierarchy of Needs as specified by Maslow. For some employees, rewards work as incentive to work. Rewards too have a role in motivation (Ryan & Deci). Verbal praise can increase intrinsic reward and a manager should recognize that money should not be the focus as attention is diverted towards that. Verbal praise can augment internal motivation. Vroom’s expectancy theory suggests that some employees are motivated to work hard when they know that their hard work will fetch them the desired results (Jones, p213). Some employees are also motivated by the needs that can be satisfied outside the workplace and the manager needs to account for these as well. Some may not perform to high standards if they are asked to work over the weekends but another employee with a large family may be motivated to work for better pay and comforts. Thus, a manager should be able to identify and motivate based on individual needs. Another theory states that if difficult but achievable goals are set many may be motivated to achieve it because the risks are high and so are the outcomes (McClleland, 2006). However, since individual attitudes differ, some may be contented with low gains and do not like to take risks. The gamblers take reasonable amount of risks for moderate benefits. The achievement-motivated people feel that their efforts and abilities will influence the outcome. These people are not concerned with the reward of success but with the personal achievement. To enhance their self-esteem, to make the subordinates attain their full potential, the manager must know how different individuals respond to goals and risks. Once the manager has the knowledge of the theories, it would be easier for him to identify and set goals. People by nature are curious, vital and self-motivated (Ryan & Deci, 2000). They do master new skills but after reaching a certain point they reject growth and responsibility. This theory would enable the manager to understand individual levels where growth is rejected. If the manager is unaware of this particular principle, misunderstanding may arise and a wrong decision may be taken by the manager. The manager must know that innate psychological needs are the basis for self-motivation. People with satisfactory may not be motivated with small raises in pay and these may offer only short-term boosts of energy (Dewhurst, Guthridge & Mohr, 2010). The manager should then apply the non-cash motivators that make employee feel values. These include praise from managers, leadership attention and a chance to lead projects. These non-financial motivators require more time and commitment from managers. This means the managers should spend time in fruitful interactions with the subordinates. Extrinsic rewards of money and threats of punishment decrease intrinsic motivation while verbal praise can increase intrinsic motivation. If money and control influence behavior then attention is diverted and the outcome may not be desirable. Managers should also know that verbal praise in public can boost the self-esteem and personal worth of the subordinate (Gallagher & Einhorn). Maslow’s theory also states that internal reward system results in less anxiety and is hence better than external reward system. A manager can enhance his own achievements when is aware that monetary incentives should be limited. He would be able to motivate his team to be more productive by maintaining a balance of cash and non-cash incentives. Thus, without knowledge of the theories of motivation managers may struggle to keep the employees happy and may not achieved the desired outcome. By having an in-depth understanding of the motivational theories, a manager can advance his own career, the career and growth of those for whom the manager is responsible, and also lead to the growth of the organization. Managers need to be aware of how rewards and monetary benefits influence motivation. Rewards have a vital role in motivation. Monetary benefits and incentives serve the purpose only up to a certain level. Manager would also know how to encourage people to participate in finding solutions to the problems. He would know how to extract the best from the employees only when he knows their attitude their behavior and how they respond to different incentives. The motivational theories serve a guide to the manager as it enables him to apply specific theory to specific individuals. References Accel-Team, 2010, 'Employee Motivation: Theory & Practice', retrieved 29 November 2010 from http://www.accel-team.com/motivation/ Dewhurst, D Guthridge, G & Mohr, M 2010, 'Motivating people: Getting beyond money', McKinsey Quarterly; 2010, Issue 1, pp. 12-15 Gallagher, WE & Einhorn, HJ 1976,' Motivation Theory and Job Design', The Journal of Business, vol. 49, no. 3. pp. 358-373. Jones, G 2007, 'Introduction to Business: How Companies Create Value for People', Chapter 7 Motivating and Managing People and Groups in Business Organizations, The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2007. Kanji, GK 1995, 'Total Quality Management & Business Excellence', Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 427 - 434 McClelland, D 2006, 'Human Relations Contributors', Achievement Motivation, ACCEL Team, retrieved 29 November 2010 from http://www.accel-team.com/human_relations/hrels_06_mcclelland.html Oyedele, O 2010, 'How Managers can Motivate their Employees', retrieved 29 November 2010 from http://www.scitopics.com/How_Managers_can_Motivate_their_Employees.html Ryan, RM & Deci, EL 2000, 'Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being', American Psychological Association, vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 68-78 Tietjen, MA & Myers, RM 1998, 'Motivation and job satisfaction', Management Decision, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 226–231 Read More