Theories of Motivation - Essay Example

Theories of Motivation Introduction Explain Maslows theory of motivation and discuss its value in understanding human motivation. b) Discuss Herzbergs theory of motivation and explain Herzbergs model may be applied to de-motivated workers. What might be the evidence of de-motivated employees in a business? What are the three ways by which de-motivated workers may be helped? c) Evaluate your analysis by comparing the above theories to McGregors theory. Maslow’s Law of Motivation Maslow’s law of motivation was proposed by Abraham Maslow. His theory is a part of a theory on human development psychology. There exists a pyramid that explains the laws laid down by Maslow on motivation and they are according to levels. The fifth level is of self actualization. Self actualization consists of fulfillment of goals and creativity. Need for fulfillment of goals is because one has this, he or she gains the desire to fully realize his or herself and become the best he or she is capable of becoming. the creativity part is needed for one to be creative about something then through this he or she gets dedicated and faces challenges which he or she enjoy and after accomplishing the results, he or she feels very enthusiastic about the deed and this motivates them1. Next is level four of needs which is on self esteem. Under self esteem, there is self respect and acceptance and brain power. Self respect and acceptance is all about prestige, reputation and recognition from others. This contains the desire of wanting to feel important, strong and significant and once one accepts him or herself the way they are, they tend to proud to stand with other people proudly. Brainpower is all about one displaying his or her talents and skills. With this, one gets attention from others which he or she appreciates as well as gaining self confidence2. Level three is on Love and Relationships which is inclusive of communication and response as well as validation. Communication and response is about having the desire to be loved and to love as well as have a sense of affection and belonging. Through this, one is able to communicate his or her inner feelings on love and affection to the party concerned. Validation is about joining various clubs and groups, being able to talk to others, contributing to society, marrying and having a family. With this, one is able to live life fully with family and friends and have a very satisfying life. Level two is family and work. Under this lies a social safety and security and survival skill. Social safety and security is all about the need to be safe from physical and psychological harm in ones daily life. When one is assured of his or her present safety, they will always have trust in a safe future3. Survival skills are about working , saving for the future, improving skills and talents and wanting to be organized world. When one thinks about his or her future he or she gains the motivation to work very hard in life. Level one is all about one’s body. Under the body there is physical safety and survival skills again4. Physical safety and security is all about the need and enthusiasm one has of staying alive. This includes ensuring one has enough food, air and water to survive. About the survival skills it is all about eating, sleeping, taking care of bodily needs and being free from pain. The basis and value of this theory in understanding human motivation is the fact that human beings have lower needs as well that need to be satisfied in order to be whole as humans. “In this manner, Maslows model indicates that fundamental, lower-order needs like safety and physiological requirements have to be satisfied in order to pursue higher-level motivators along the lines of self-fulfillment. As depicted in the following hierarchical diagram, sometimes called Maslows Needs Pyramid or Maslows Needs Triangle, after a need is satisfied it stops acting as a motivator and the next need one rank higher starts to motivate” (Worth, 23)5. Below is the pyramid on Maslow’s theory on the law of motivation.   Herzbergs motivation-hygiene theory is also known as Dual factor theory as well as the dual factor theory and Dual-Factor Theory. The theory explains factors in the a persons workplace that cause job dissatisfaction while there exist a certain group that causes dissatisfaction. The theory was developed after Frederick Herzberg, a psychologist. Below is Herzberg’s motivation model6. The above model is a demonstration of the various factors that lead to the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of an employee. This model shows how an employer can give satisfaction to dissatisfied workers. There exist factors like promotions, responsibility, challenging work, giving them the recognition they deserve, an opportunity to grow or advance and a sense of personal achievement7. Workers always will appreciate once the employer does all this as well as take care of their hygiene factors effectively. This will not only promote the status of the employee but the productivity of the company as well; hence promoting the status of the employer too. There exists factors which indicate signs of employees’ de-motivation in a company8. The first factor is strikes, once employees are dissatisfied with the company, they tend to let it out in form of strikes. Through this, they destroy many things as a way of wanting their grievances solved and they at times stop to go on working. Another sign of de-motivation of employees in a company is start up of breakdowns in employee communication and relationships9. The many frustrations faced by employees make them become quite angry about life and since they cannot approach their employer, they tend to let it out amongst themselves; hence there comes up disagreement between themselves. Employees also tend to make many complaints about their pay and working conditions most of the times once they become de-motivated. Poor production or service quality since there exists factors that can motivate the workers as well10. An employee has to be motivated to have a self belief that increased effort will lead to increased performance. An employee who is used to hard work becomes de-motivated when there is no beli9ef around him about the importance of self belief. This is always the case mainly with new employees who come in highly motivated to work. If they are not rained or their efforts do not matter to anyone around, the motivation warns off. Another factor for employee de-motivation is the fact that they do not see the importance of working hard since they do not believe that it can be of any positive change to the company. This can be solved by making clear to the employees what high performance means and explaining to them the fact that it does not come easily and has to be worked for18. They can also be motivated by being rewarded for their hard work11. Employees can also get de-motivated by them working hard yet they do not get the desired or expected reward and instead they get more work. An example is when a sales man sells so much in a month and instead of getting the desired promotion, he or she gets more work from the employer12. This leads to de-motivation. This can be solved by employees seeing the sense in always appreciating employees’ efforts and giving necessary rewards. McGregor developed two theories of work force motivation. He named the theories theory X and theory Y. Theory X is about how management believes that employees are always naturally lazy and will avoid work at all cost or do it with mediocrity13. As a result of this belief which is most common in the modern world, the employers believe that the employees need to be thoroughly monitored. A hierarchical structure is therefore closely formed to monitor all activities of each employees at each level. This employers feel that the sole objective of the employees going to work is for money purposes14. This will often disorient the employees who end up not doing their best under the conditions of mistrust put on them. They end up fearing their leaders and there comes I lack of communication and they become quite de-motivated15. The other theory which is theory Y is about employees assuming that employees are self motivated and exercise thinking and self control in everything they do (. This employees believe that the employees always have the company’s interests at hand; hence they do not have to work under strict control16. Work is as natural compared to play; hence, should be enjoyed 17. Comparing them to theory X employers, it is imminent that theory Y employers will have better relations with the employees and gain much of their trust; hence the theory y employees will always be greatly motivated and do their best for the company19. Conclusion With all this, I come to a conclusion that employers must be friendly to employees and create trust between them to motivate them to work harder. Managers should have a friendly attitude towards all employees and create an impression that productive work can be fun and not necessarily stressful20. List of bibliography Notes 1. Woodside, Arch G, and Drew M., (2008), Tourism Management: Analysis, Behaviour and Strategy, Wallingford, UK: CABI Pub, Print. 2. Maslow, Abraham H., and Deborah C, S., (2000), The Maslow Business Reader, New York: Wiley, Print. 3. Hoffmann, S., (2007), Classical Motivation Theories - Similarities and Differences between Them, Munchen: GRIN Verlag GmbH, Internet resource. 4. Sahni, P., and Etakula, V., (2010), Administrative Theory, New Delhi, India: PHI Learning, Print. 5. Worth, M. J., (2011), Nonprofit Management: Principles and Practice, London. SAGE, Print. 6. Lussier, R., N.,, and Christopher F, A., (2010), Leadership: Theory, Application, Skill Development, Australia: SouthWestern/Cengage Learning, Print. 7. Armstrong, M., (2007), A Handbook of Employee Reward Management and Practice, Philadelphia: Kogan Page, Print. 8. La, Russo A, C, Management: Ready Aim Fire, Bloomington, Ind: AuthorHouse, 2005, Print. 9. Salvendy, Gavriel, Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012, Internet resource. 10. Coates, Michael, (2001), Psychology and Organizations, Oxford: Heinemann, Print. 11. Ahlstrom, David, and Garry, D., B., (2010), International Management: Strategy an Culture in the Emerging World, Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning, Print. 12. French, R., (2011), Organizational Behaviour, Hoboken, N, J: Wiley, Print. 13. Miller, K., (2009), Organizational Communication: Approaches and Processes, Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Print. 14. Gitman, L. J, and Carl, D, M., The Future of Business: The Essentials, Mason, OH: South-Western Cenage Learning, 2009, Print. 15. Barrow, Colin. Starting a Business for Dummies. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley, 2011. Print. 16. Dunne, P., M, Robert F. Lusch, and James R., C., Retailing. Mason, OH: South- Western Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. 17. Pardee, R. L., (1990), Motivation Theories of Maslow, Herzberg, McGregor & McClelland. A Literature Review of Selected Theories Dealing with Job Satisfaction and Motivation, ERIC, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 November 2012 . 18. Seeley, E., (1992), Human Needs and Consumer Economics: The Implications of Maslows Theory of Motivation for Consumer Expenditure Patterns, Journal Of Socio-Economics, 21, 4, pp. 303-324, EconLit with Full Text, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 November 2012. 19. Gawel, J, & ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation, W., (1997), Herzbergs Theory Of Motivation And Maslows Hierarchy Of Needs. ERIC/AE Digest, n.p.: ERIC, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 November 2012. 20. Chung, K., H., (1969), A Markov Chain Model of Human Needs: An Extension of Maslows Need Theory, Academy Of Management Journal, 12, 2, pp. 223-234, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 November 2012. Read More