MODULE 5

Motivation

Alden Nelson, S.T., M.M., CPHRM., CPIR

 Describe the three key elements of
motivation

Learning Identify early theories of

Objectives motivation and evaluate their
applicability today

Compare contemporary theories of

motivation
Motivation Concepts

Luke: “I don’t believe it.”

Yoda: “That is why you fail.”
—The Empire Strikes Back
Motivation Quotes
 Defining Motivation
Motivation
• The processes that account for an individual’s intensity,
direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a
goal.
• The force that energizes, directs, and sustains behaviour
(Steers & Porter, 1991)
 The Three Elements of Motivation

Intensity describes how hard a person tries.

Direction lead to favorable job-performance outcomes.

Persistence how long a person can maintain effort.

 Highly Motivated
Employees will be highly motivated if
• A personality that predisposes them to be motivated;
• The expectations have been met;
• The job and the organization are consistent with their values;
• the employees have been given achievable goals;
• the employees receive feedback on their goal attainment;
• the organization rewards them for achieving their goals;
• the employees perceive they are being treated fairly; and
• their coworkers demonstrate a high level of motivation.
 Theories of Motivation
Needs Theory Motivation

Basic Need Theory

The best-known theory of motivation is Abraham Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs . Maslow hypothesized that within every
human being, there exists a hierarchy of five needs:

➢ Physiological. Includes food (hunger), water (thirsty), shelter,

sex, and other bodily needs.
➢ Safety. Security and protection from physical and emotional
harm.
➢ Social. Affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship.
 Theories of Motivation
➢ Esteem. Internal factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and
achievement, and external factors such as status, recognition,
and attention.
➢ Self-actualization. Drive to become what we are capable of
becoming; includes growth, achieving our potential, and self-
fulfillment.
 Theories of Motivation
McClelland’s Achievement Motivation Theory

McClelland’s theory of needs was developed by David

McClelland and his associates. It looks at three needs:

● Need for achievement (nAch) is the compelling drive to

succeed and to get the job done (love the challenge of work)

● Need for power (nPow) is the need to direct and control the
activities of others and to be influential.

● Need for affiliation (nAff) is the desire to be liked and

accepted by others. Individuals motivated by affiliation needs
strive for friendship.
 Theories of Motivation
Behavior Based Theories Motivation

Reinforcement Theory : the theory that

behaviour is motivated by its consequences
o positive reinforcers desirable events
that strengthen the tendency to
respond
o negative reinforcers events that
strengthen a behavior through the
avoidance of an existing negative state

Punishment unpleasant consequences that

reduce the tendency to respond
 Theories of Motivation
Behavior Based Theories Motivation

• Extrinsic vs Instrinsic Motivation

• Extrinsic motivation Work
motivation that arises from such
nonpersonal factors as pay,
coworkers, and opportunities for
advancement.
• Intrinsic motivation the
notion that people are
motivated by internal rewards
 Theories of Motivation
Behavior Based Theories Motivation

GOAL-SETTING THEORY : the theory that behaviour is motivated

by its consequences
o positive reinforcers desirable events that strengthen the
tendency to respond
o negative reinforcers events that strengthen a behavior
through the avoidance of an existing negative state

Punishment unpleasant consequences that reduce the tendency

to respond
 Theories of Motivation
Behavior Based Theories Motivation
Goal-Setting Theory
A theory that says that specific and difficult goals, with feedback,
lead to higher performance.
Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai Motor Company,
is well known for articulating difficult and specific goals
as a potent motivating force. For example, although
Hyundai was a latecomer in the development of a hybrid
vehicle, the South Korean automaker launched its first
U.S. hybrid in 2010, with annual sales set at 50,000 units.
By 2018, the company expects hybrid sales to balloon to
500,000 units worldwide. Challenging employees to
reach high goals has helped Hyundai experience
tremendous growth in recent years.
 Theories of Motivation
Implementing Goal-Setting As a manager, how do you make
goal-setting
theory operational? That’s often left up to the individual. Some
managers set aggressive performance targets—what General
Electric called “stretch goals.” Some CEOs, such as Procter &
Gamble’s A. G. Lafley and SAP AG’s Hasso Plattner, are known
for the demanding performance goals they set. But many managers
don’t set goals. When asked whether their job had clearly defined
goals, only a minority of employees in a recent survey said yes. A
more systematic way to utilize goal-setting is with management
by objectives (MBO) , which emphasizes participatively set goals
that are tangible, verifiable, and measurable.
 VIEDO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNRNPTsBFfg
How to Create Motivation at Work
 Theories of Motivation
Job Design Theories of Motivation
HERZBERG’S Two-Factor Theory
• Believing an individual’s relationship to work is basic, and that attitude
toward work can determine success or failure, psychologist Frederick
Herzberg wondered, “What do people want from their jobs?”
• He asked people to describe, in detail, situations in which they felt
exceptionally good or bad about their jobs. The responses differed
significantly and led Hertzberg to his two-factor theory —also called
motivation-hygiene theory.
 Theories of Motivation
The two-factor theory has not been well supported in the
literature, and it has many detractors. Criticisms include the
following:
➢ Herzberg’s methodology is limited because it relies on self-
reports. When things are going well, people tend to take credit.
Contrarily, they blame failure on the extrinsic environment.

➢ The reliability of Herzberg’s methodology is questionable.

Raters have to make interpretations, so they may contaminate
the findings by interpreting one response in one manner while
treating a similar response differently.
 Theories of Motivation

➢ No overall measure of satisfaction was utilized. A person may

dislike part of a job yet still think the job is acceptable overall.

➢ Herzberg assumed a relationship between satisfaction and

productivity, but he looked only at satisfaction. To make his
research relevant, we must assume a strong relationship
between satisfaction and productivity. Regardless of the
criticisms, Herzberg’s theory has been widely read, and few
managers are unfamiliar with its recommendations.
 Theories of Motivation
Job Design Theories of Motivation
Job characteristics model : a theory that emphasizes the role that certain
aspects of jobs play in influencing work motivation
• Skill variety—the degree to which a job requires the worker to use a
variety of abilities and skills to perform work-related tasks.
• Task identity—the degree to which a job requires the completion of an
entire job or function.
• Task significance—the degree to which a job has a substantial impact
on other people within the organization.
• Autonomy—the degree to which the job gives the worker freedom and
independence to choose how to schedule and carry out the necessary
tasks.
• Feedback—the degree to which the job allows the worker to receive
direct and clear information about the effectiveness of performance.
 Theories of Motivation
Job Design Theories of Motivation

The Job Characteristics Model of Work Motivation

 Theories of Motivation
Theory X and Theory Y
 Theories of Motivation
Self-Determination Theory
It’s called self-determination theory , which proposes that
people prefer to feel they have control over their actions, so
anything that makes a previously enjoyed task feel more like an
obligation than a freely chosen activity will undermine
motivation.
 Theories of Motivation
Job Engagement
When nurse Melissa Jones comes to work, it seems that everything
else in her life goes away, and she becomes completely absorbed
in what she is doing. Her emotions, her thoughts, and her behavior
are all directed toward patient care. In fact, she can get so caught
up in her work that she isn’t even aware of how long she’s been
there. As a result of this total commitment, she is more effective in
providing patient care and feels uplifted by her time at work.
Melissa has a high level of job engagement , the investment of an
employee’s physical, cognitive, and emotional energies into job
performance. Many studies attempt to measure this deeper level of
commitment.
Theories of Motivation
Theories of Motivation
 Motivation and Performance
Worker motivation could affect productivity with 4 four
categories:

• Systems and technology variables

• Individual difference variables
• Group dynamics variables
• Organizational variables.
 Q&A
1. Basic need theories, goal-setting theory, and
reinforcement theory are very general models of work
motivation. What are the strengths and weaknesses of
such general theories?

2. How would you design a program to improve motivation

for a group of low-achieving high school students? What
would the elements of the program be? What theories
would you use?
THANK YOU