Theories of Motivation - Assignment Example

Introduction Theories of motivation have made huge impact in terms of management of organisation, efficiency and productivity. In fact, these theories have provided basis for understanding management thinking. Managerial attention to the role of employees’ motivation being an ongoing trend, this report paper seeks to critically evaluate how Equity theory, Expectancy theory and Maslow’s theory of hierarchy needs can be used in an organisation to motivate different sets of employees. Question1: Using equity theory to motivate workers at Bain & Company Equity theory holds that employee motivation comes from fair social exchanges (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010, p. 218). The theory of equity developed by Adams is concerned with fair balance that should exist between an employee’s efforts that s/he is going to bring to the organization. Such efforts may include skill level, tolerance, hard work and the employer’s appreciation of such efforts. Employer may give appreciations such as recognition, salary, bonuses and promotions. According to Adams (1963), if fair balance between the employer and employee is found then it will serve to ensure a strong and productive relationship, with overall expectation and result being contented. This simply translates that managers in organization ought to strike a healthy balance with outputs on one side of scale; inputs also on the other. Both should weigh in a manner that is reasonably equal. Understanding Adams’ theory and especially its significant comparative aspects can help Steve Ellis and any other policy maker within Bain and Company motivate its employees. Principles brought out by Adams make Managing Director, Mr. Steve Ellis the managing director of Bain and company appreciate the fact that sometimes in an organization, there exist particular employee(s) with certain unique demand(s) s/he wants the company to satisfy. Such demands may be contrary to what other employees might be expecting as a reward or recognition. In such cases, if Bain and Company is forced to meet such specific demands then equity with other workers might not be reached. Therefore even if the director is trying to solve a particular problem, such efforts might be futile. Bain and Company is an organization which had done and is again doing the exact opposite of other companies at recession. Normally, recessions are periods that prompt a ‘hunker down, reduce head count, and cut every cost’ but this was the time Ellis was busy adding consultants in hot-growth areas (Kreitner and Kinicki, 2010, p180). He particularly targeted former consultants as he describes his move as a great opportunity to attract excellent workers. The question is that how new employees may be blended into the existing employees without causing trouble and disharmony. If organizations face such challenges then theoretical perspective suggested by equity theory will provide a working formula so as to solve such problems. How to motivate employees at Bain & Company with equity theory The equity theory implies that employees will compare amongst themselves their input and return. Ellis’ employees will compare their inputs and benefits with the ones of other employees. Ellis needs to promote a fair go for all his employees as the theory suggests. In other words, Ellis ought to know what his employee want and try to give them the best possible opportunities and rewards they expect. He needs to differentiate rewards to individuals according to the efforts and expectations. One way is to motivate employees by holding regular meetings where the Company and employees set goals such as profit. When setting such goals, Adams as cited in Argote (1999) advices that company should give realistic goals and a reward or recognition plan be laid down so as to promote good performance which is noticed and agreed with other employees. Ellis may not be able to treat the existing and newly recruited employees equally Kreitner and Kinicki (2010 p. 180). In such case, Ellis needs to recognize the rewards that motivate individual employees. Equity theory suggests motivations such as flexible working hours, giving existing employees responsibility with some amount of authority over the newly recruited ones or even wage increase Adams (1963). The Company should know that its employees will be expecting a fair return for what they have contributed, a concept known as "equity norm" (p. 36). Question 2: Expectancy theory and motivation in Bain & Company Victor Vroom has proposed in this theory that employees have different sets of objectives and such objectives can be motivated if they have certain expectations Vroom (1964). Unlike theory of Maslow and Herzberg which has been looking at the relationship between internal needs and the subsequent effort expected to satisfy such needs, Vroom’s theory separates effort, which can arise from motivation, outcomes and performance (pp. 78-83). His hypothesis suggests that for an employer to be motivated in an organization there need to be a link between effort, performance and motivation. Kreitner and Kinicki (2007, p.246) agreed with this hypothesis by adding that if organizations must trust this link, then motivating workers should come down to three basic principle: Effort, Performance and Outcome. It therefore remains that using Vroom’s theory to explain motivation in Bain and Company must be based on three variables he called Valence, Expectancy and Instrumentality. Using expectancy theory to explain motivation in Bain & Company Using expectancy theory in the context of Bain and Company makes us wonder how many leaders Mr. Steve Ellis wants in the company. The company comprises of what I can term as “influx” of talented consultants who have just been recruited by the company. In light of the decision by the company to recruit at such hard economical times, Vroom suggests that blend of such employees will generate two categories of employees; leaders who create vision and strategy and managers who can implement such visions and strategies. Larson et al. (1984) as cited in Argote (1999) explains that Vroom’s theory can be used in a situation as that experienced at Bain and Company. To motivate employees, Argote explains that managers ought to use their legitimate power to push employees towards the set ends while leaders use their influence to pull their juniors towards realistic goals. The theory also suggests that Mr. Steve Ellis should consider different ability of workers the company has at its disposal. It is obvious that the blend of existing employees and the newly employed will bring job different talents, experience, training and educational levels. Therefore at such state Vroom explains that should the Company perceive that particular employer lacks the experience to carry out the allocated task then motivational level will decline due to what Yoo (2002) explains as weak ‘effort performance linkage’. On the other hand, when there is strong expectancy performance linkage then the director should consider rewarding such employer irrespective of whether s/he is what Kreitner and Kinicki described as “stranded former consultants” While using Vroom’s theory to motivate employees, Bain and company must appreciate the fact that workers differ significantly regarding their abilities and levels of self-esteem. That is, if the two sets of employees the company currently have are assessed in terms of abilities, it will be realized that each has unique probabilities connected with different courses of action in line with outcomes that ratify perceptions of the self-concept. In such cases, the principle of instrumentality as suggested by Vroom advices that Bain and company consider spending time with these workers encouraging them to work towards a desired goal (p. 58). Of equal significance is to express appreciation when employees encounter success along the pathway. In my opinion, Vroom suggests that employee’s motivational levels should be carried out regularly and when done, it should be assessed through various techniques such as personal interviews and questionnaire. Question 3: Elements of Maslow’s theory evident in Bain & Company Based on his observation as a humanistic psychologist, Maslow postulated that there is a trend of needs recognition and satisfaction people tend to follow generally in the same sequence. His theory is always illustrated as a pyramid with basic survival needs present at broad-based bottom while self-actualization at the narrow top. Literatures on motivation explain that Maslow’s theory contains what employees are looking for at place of work even though organizations have ignored these elements by suggesting what they would like their workers to achieve. As a person advances through place of work, employers should provide opportunities to satisfy their needs as proposed by Maslow as such elements are evident in any organization. In reference to Bain and Company, the first element evident is the self actualization. According to Maslow, this is the situation where employees at the company have the desire to realize their full potential and become all that they want to be in life or careers. To be specific, the director added consultants in hot-growth areas by recruiting former consultants Maslow (1970). From the description “hot-growth areas” it vividly suggests that new recruits will have potential to work in areas that not only meet their specific professional expectations but an opportunity to try their talent in new ventures thus actualizing their self. Safety is the other element the Company has provided for the employees. From one side, safety means being away from danger or inability to be secure financially. On the other side it means employers providing salaries, employment or unemployment benefits. It is its ability to give its employees chance to earn salary that element of safety is evident in Bain and Company. For instance, during dot-com bust, while other CEOs were cutting back sharply, Bain and Company was doing the opposite by hiring more consultants. This was a provision of safety as postulated by Maslow since they had secure source of income. The case was not different during global financial crisis. Recommendations How managers and employees perceive the organization is critical in terms of how they behave to one another. As a manager it is important to understand the different problems which affect perceptions of people in organisation if productivity is needed. The concept of personality emphasises the issue of diversity, which stresses the importance of appreciating that people are different and that these issues play an important role in managing people. Lastly, I am to the opinion that as workers progresses through firms, their employers should provide opportunities to satisfy needs higher on the pyramid suggested by Maslow. Conclusion I believe that in organisation such as that of Bain and Company, the idea of personality emphasises the concept of diversity. This stresses on the idea that people are different and that these issues are very important to be considered if such organisation needs to manage its people. Reference Lists: Adams, J.S. (1963). Inequity in Social Exchange. In Advance in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol.1. New York, NY: Academia Press Article. Argote, L. (1999). Organizational Learning: Creating and Transferring Knowledge. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston. Kreitner,R., and Kinicki, A. (2010). Organizational Behavior (9th Edition). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin Kreitner, R. & Kinicki, A. (2007). Organizational Behaviour. Boston:McGraw-Hill. Larson, E., Lee, P. C. Brown, M. A., & Shorr, J. (1984). Job satisfaction: Assumptions and complexities. Journat of Nursing Administration, 14, 31 -38. Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and Personality (2nd ed.). New York: Harper and Row. Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and motivation. New York: Wiley. Yoo, B. (2002). Gross-Group Compare: A Cautionary note. Psychology & Marketing, /9(4): 357-368. Read More