Motivation of Employees in the Real Estate Industry - Research Paper Example

Motivation of Employees in the Real E Industry Introduction The word “motivation” has been derived from the word “movere” that means “to move”(Barnet, 2011). “A person who feels no impetus or inspiration to act is thus characterized as unmotivated, whereas someone who is energized or activated toward an end is considered motivated” (Ryan and Deci, 2000, p. 54). This paper discusses some theories of motivation and the levels of motivation of employees in the real estate industry. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is one of the most popular theories of motivation. Abraham Maslow has categorized human needs and arranged them in the form of a pyramid. The needs range from basic to opportunistic as we move from the bottom to the top of the pyramid. The needs identified by Maslow include physiological needs, safety needs, love and belongingness needs, self-esteem needs and the need to self-actualize. Maslow asserts that self-actualization is the fundamental need that inculcates motivation in people. According to Maslow, an individual cannot satisfy his/her higher level need unless all lower level needs have been satisfied. Physiological needs include but are not limited to air, food and water. These are the necessities of basic human survival. When an individual is able to satisfy his/her physiological needs, he/she looks for safety. This means a number of factors including attainment of accommodation and job security. After the satisfaction of the safety needs, the individual tries to gain love and a feeling of belongingness, followed by self-esteem. Finally, the individual is able to self-actualize. Implications of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory upon management in the real estate industry is that workers need to be provided with the necessary privileges so that they may optimize on their potential for work. Alderfer’s ERG theory Alderfer’s ERG theory eradicates the limitations imposed by the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory to some extent. Unlike Maslow, Alderfer has identified three types of needs. E stands for existence, R stands for relatedness, while G stands for growth. There are quite a lot of similarities along with some differences between the Alderfer’s ERG theory and the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. Although the number of needs differ between the Alderfer’s ERG theory and the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, yet there is correspondence between them. The existence needs in the Alderfer’s ERG theory correspond to the physiological and safety needs of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. The relatedness needs correspond to the love and belongingness, and self-esteem needs whereas the growth needs represent the need for self-actualization. In this sense, Alderfer has confined Maslow’s needs to the ERG needs. Like the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, the Alderfer’s ERG theory is also hierarchical; the most important is the existence need, followed by the related needs and finally the growth needs. There are three fundamental ways in which the two theories differ (NetMBA, 2010). Firstly, Maslow’s theory suggests that different needs’ levels cannot be satisfied simultaneously whereas Alderfer’s ERG theory suggests that they can. Secondly, Maslow has standardized the hierarchical order of the needs for all people whereas Alderfer asserts that the order of needs can vary from one case to another. Thirdly, the ERG theory promotes the frustration-regression principle according to which, an individual regresses to the satisfaction of a lower level need if the higher level need can somehow not be satisfied. Taking this into consideration, it can be said that the Alderfer’s ERG theory is more flexible than the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and thus, the former explains the motivation and behavior of a wider population than the latter. Role of Employee’s Locus of Control in Motivation The tendency of management to motivate a particular employee depends to a large extent on the locus of control of the employee. There are two types of loci of control; the external locus of control and the internal locus of control. Employees who have an external locus of control feel that they have no control over circumstances and so, there is little they can do to change them. On the other hand, employees that have an internal locus of control believe that they can adjust their behavior to bring a big change in the circumstances. It is generally easier for the management to motivate the employees with the external locus of control because these employees are not too demanding in nature. Employees with the internal locus of control make it challenging for the management to motivate them as management has to fulfill the wishes expressed by such employees to get them motivated. While management has greater control over employees with the external locus of control, power shifts from the management to the employees with the internal locus of control. Levels of Motivation of Employees in the Real Estate Industry Quality of work in the real estate industry is primarily controlled by supervisors, foremen and tradesmen that include but are not limited to masons, plumbers, painters, steel fixers, and laborers. These tradesmen are practically involved in the work. Hence, their motivation level has a direct impact on their productivity and the quality of work they produce. Nanayakkara and Green (2005) conducted a research to study the motivation levels of masons in the Sri Lanka construction industry. Masons and supervisors in the Sri Lanka construction industry know the benefits of employee training and development as well as the rewards. However, efforts of the management towards employees’ development and reward have conventionally played a marginal role in motivating the employees (Nanayakkara and Green, 2005, p. 229). Construction industries frequently adopt the processes of employee’s development (Harrison, 1992; Bratton and Gold, 1999). Appreciation and encouragement of the workers is required to satisfy their love and belongingness, and self-esteem needs or the relatedness needs. “Expressing warm approval, respect and gratitude for high-quality work is also considered to be a reward system in SL” (Nanayakkara and Green, 2005, p. 235). Bansal, Thind, and Jaswal (2006) studied the impact of locus of control on the home environment. They found a positive correlation between the internal locus of control and the quality of home environment and a non-significant correlation between the external locus of control and the quality of home environment. References: Bansal, S., Thind, S. K., and Jaswal, S. (2006). Relationship Between Quality of Home Environment, Locus of Control and Achievement Motivation Among High Achiever Urban Female Adolescents. J. Hum. Ecol. Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 253-257. Barnet, T 2011, Motivation and Motivation Theory, Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed. viewed, 12 March 2012, . Bratton, J and Gold, J 1999, Human Resource Management: Theory and practice, 2nd ed. Basingstoke RG21 6XS: Macmillan Press Ltd. Harrison, R 1992, Employee development. London: Institute of Personnel Management. Nanayakkara, L and Green, S 2005, The Motivation of Masons in the Sri Lankan Construction Industry, viewed, 12 March 2012, . NetMBA 2010, ERG Theory, viewed, 12 March 2012, . Ryan, R. M. and Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology. Vol. 25. pp. 54-67. Read More