The Elements of Different Motivation Theories - Term Paper Example

WORKFORCE MOTIVATION Motivation is one of the main individual phenomenon which influences productivity and performance, relations and communication between employees. In order to improve performance and productivity, the HR consultant should take into account motivational theories and human needs, desires and personal values of employees. This is because of individual differences and perceptions, which are highly personalized. Different employees will perceive the nature of a given prescription in different ways. Likewise, a given prescription may affect a given employee in different ways at different points in time because conditions, needs, moods, and personal goals, for example, change over time Maslows Theory of Motivation and Its Application Maslows theory of motivation claims that human motives develop in sequence according to five levels of needs. These needs are: psychological (hunger, thirst), safety (protection), social (be accepted, belong to a certain group), esteem (self-confidence, achievements, respect, status, recognition), and self-actualization (realizing one’s potential for continued self-development) (Maslow, 1970). For employees to be productive in an organization, they need to hold positive attitudes toward the elements of organizational life. For example, one should view such factors as work, authority, taking risks in decision making, the need for control, and the need for change in a positive way. A negative attitudinal posture toward these factors will keep ones job satisfaction continually low as well as stimulate considerable resistance to many normal organizational processes and activities. Someone with the wrong attitudes shies away from high effort because the performance it yields is not perceived as worthy. It is not "real" performance from the viewpoint of the employee (Armstrong, 2003). Expectancy Theory and its Application For employees to exert high effort, they must see that it makes a difference in their performance. Employees must sense that effort will pay off in terms of performance--that it is highly correlated with performance and that higher effort will yield better performance. The stronger the perceived correlation, the stronger the motivation. Employee-job performance is a function of ability, job design, and motivation. If the employee has adequate ability and the job is designed well, then performance is solely dependent on the level of motivation. Assuming ability and job design are in order, high motivation becomes a necessary and sufficient condition for high performance. If employees know their ability is high and the design of their job is "top notch," then high performance is perceived as indeed possible and perceived to depend on their efforts. On the other hand, low ability and faulty job design limit the effect of effort on performance. They reduce the perceived correlation between effort and performance and, thus, the slope of the effort-reward function. When the slope of the reward curve decreases, motivation decreases (Simon, 1997). One of the most popular motivation theories is expectancy theory. Following expectancy theory of motivation, people act only when they have reasonable expectation that their actions will lead to desired goals (Simon, 1997). They will perform better if they believe that money will follow effective performance, so if money has a positive value for an individual, higher performance will follow. This theory places emphasis on perfor­mance noting that there must be a clearly recognized goal and relationship between performance and result. In general, this theory explains that motivation is a function of the expectancy of attaining a certain outcome in performing a certain act mul­tiplied by the value of the outcome for the performer (Armstrong, 2003). Outcomes that are highly valued and having higher expectations of being realized will direct a person to make a greater effort in his task. Outcomes with high expectations which are less highly valued (or even disliked) will reduce effort expended. Other studies on expectations and job performance emphasize the greater importance of intrinsic motivation factors. (Robbins, 2002). Employees must sense that the costs (negative outcomes) they experience at work do not encourage low effort expenditure. Negative outcomes from work can overshadow rewards and render a high-quality reward system relatively useless for employee motivational purposes. The less the positive correlation between effort and costs or the stronger the perceived inverse relation between effort and costs, the stronger the motivation (Reed 2001). The implicit assumption is that the eventual self-view has a basis in the persons relation to the environment. It would be hard to imagine that society would form its perspectives about individuals in a totally random manner, but rather, society waits until there is some basis for forming its perspective. Then, once the individual understands that perspective, the eventual selfview will correspond to his own accomplished, behavioral history. Should the system break down, that would be due to faulty perspective taking, or perhaps to the fact that a particular group would have come to the incorrect conclusion by faulty observations of the individuals behavior. X and Y Theory of Motivation For employees to perceive that effort will in fact result in performance, they must sense they either have the ability or can easily get it. Providing readily available help, or guidance, makes them feel they can easily gain the required skills and knowledge, if they do not already possess it ( Reed 2001). They must know that when they run into difficulties because of a skill or knowledge deficiency, they have ready access to a source that can resolve the deficiency. Accessible help allows them to sense that the lacking ability is not a "block" to performance. X and Y theory was formulated by Douglas McGregor in the book "The Human Side of Enterprise" appeared in 1960. X theory, based on direction and control, explains that: “the average person inherently dislikes work and will avoid it if at all possible; as a result, most people have to be coerced, controlled and threatened if they are to put in enough effort to achieve the organization’s goals; the average person prefers to be directed, avoids responsibility, isnt ambitious and simply seeks security” (McGregor, 2005). Within this theory management approaches involve hard and soft ones. The hard approach emphasizes the quantitative, calculative and business strategic aspects of managing the headcount resource in as rational as way as for any other economic factor. Another approach is called the soft model and traces its roots to the human-relations school; it emphasizes communication, motivation and leadership. The main limitation of this theory is that “the only way employees can attempt to satisfy their high level needs, … is by seeking more compensation” (McGregor, 2005). In terms of this theory, a supervisor, available to willingly provide help when such is needed, is one key source (Brown, 1971), An unstated principle of the above two schools, as well as an assumption of psychology in general, is that ones objective "success" in the environment and ones self-conceptions are closely intertwined. If we focus just for a moment on characteristics that society values, such as diligence, creativity, intelligence, generosity, reliability, and others, the conceptions lead one to suppose that a positive self-conception, in any given specific respect, represents a positive or successful relation to some facet of the environment (Armstrong, 2003). The implementation of Theory Y assumptions could at the very least result in a truce in the conflict between management and labor. In any case, surely it is evident that an enormous amount of debilitating stress, for both workers and managers, would be eliminated and trust would become a possibility. Group dynamics techniques help individuals develop awareness of the extent to which they are open about themselves and their relations to group members, the kind of facade they use to keep group members from knowing who they are, and the ways in which they accept and use feedback from group members about their interactions. The changing nature of the economy from an industrial mix that accommodated persons with relatively little skill and education to one that has become a knowledge economy requiring considerable basic reasoning, math, and language skills. Equity Theory Equity theory of motivation states that peoples feelings depend upon how fairly they have been treated in comparison with the treatment received by others. It is based on exchange theory (Armstrong, 2003). Feelings about the equity of the exchange are affected by the treatment they receive when compared with what happens to other people (Robbins, 2002). Permissiveness, or the absence of structure, encourages the unmediated operation of drives or affects, whereas informational environments encourage self-determination (Armstrong, 2003). They decrease intrinsic motivation and interest, increase pressure and tension, create a dynamic such that people either comply with the controls or rebel against them, and have a generally negative effect on the quality of performance which requires autonomy and independence. For practical purposes, however, it is important to keep in mind that any of the events that are sometimes controlling can also be made to be informational, and in that case will not have the deleterious effect Often autonomy is confused with permissiveness or the complete absence of structure (Porter 1978). Conclusion In order to achieve the best results, the HR consultant should take into account elements of different motivation theories and their practical application. What is occurring in business and industry is a historic upheaval and inevitable painful transition, especially for those who lose their jobs. It is unlikely that management will ever be able to offer lifetime jobs to those who work hard and play by the rules. Global competition is too intense for that. What can be hoped for is that management will handle the transition with honesty and integrity so that it can still be trusted in the conditions that seem to be shaping the future. The employees would gain a clearer picture of the organization in which they are risking their vulnerability and a more informed basis for fostering their independence--their responsibility for themselves. Some commentators suggest that younger workers are already adopting these values of independence, counting only on their own skills for employment security. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Armstrong, M. 2003, Human Resource Management. Kogan Page 2. Brown, J. A. C. 1971, Social Psychology of Industry. Business Library, Penguin. 3. Porter, L. Managerial Attitudes and Performance, 1978, Irwin. 4. Maslow, A. H. 1970, Motivation and Personality edn, Harper & Row. 5. McGregor, D. X and Y theory. Retrieved 30 July 2008 from http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/mcgregor/ 6. Reed A. 2001, Innovation in Human Resource Management. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. 7. Robbins, S. 2002, Organizational Behavior. Pearson Higher. 8. Simon, H.A. 1997, Administrative Behavior. Free Press; 4 Sub edition. Read More