Chapter 7

MOTIVATING
Productivity has always been a serious concern of the management of firms. If it improves, it means greater
chances for the company to grow and be more stable. One reason why the Philippine economy cannot move
steadily forward is our record of low productivity for so many years.

Higher productivity, however, is not a result of chance. It happens because of harder, more efficient, and more
intelligent work made by the employees. To be willing partners, however, the requirement is for them to be
properly motivated. An example is the management of a construction firm wanting its employees to finish
projects on time, with the quality required at the least cost. To achieve this, various methods of motivation may
be applied.

When the cost of the other factors of production is seriously affecting the viability of the firm, the remaining
factor (i.e., labor) may save the company from financial difficulties. However, this will depend on whether or not
labor will be motivated to perform their assigned task. WHAT IS MOTIVATION?
Motivating refers to the act of "giving employees reasons or incentives... to work to achieve organizational
objectives." Motivation, on the other hand, refers to the "process of activating behavior, sustaining it, and
directing it toward a particular goal." This definition is useful because it specifies three stages: activating,
sustaining, and directing actions towards the achievement of objectives.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO MOTIVATION

There are certain factors influencing a person's desire to do his job well. They are the following:3
1. Willingness to do a job. People who like what they are doing are highly motivated to produce the expected
output.
2. Self-confidence in carrying out a task. When employees feel that they have the required skill and training to
perform a task, the more moti- vated they become.
3.Needs satisfaction. People will do their jobs well if they feel that by doing so, their needs will be satisfied.

THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
There are various theories of motivation, but only the four most influential ones will be discussed. They consist
of the following:
1.Maslow's needs hierarchy theory
2. Herzberg's two-factor theory
3. Expectancy theory
4.Goal setting theory

Maslow's Needs Hierarchy Theory

Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, theorized that human beings have five basic needs which are as fol- lows:
physiological, security, social, esteem, and self- actualization. These needs are hierarchical, which means, one
need will have to be satisfied first before the other need.
Physiological Needs. Those that are concerned with biological needs like food, drink, rest, and sex fall under
the category of physiological needs. These needs take priority over other needs.
Security Needs. After satisfying the physiological needs, people will seek to satisfy their safety needs. These
needs include freedom from harm coming from the elements or from other people, financial security which may
be affected by loss of job or the breadwinner in the family, etc.

Figure 7.1 The Process of Motivation

 Figure 7.2 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Social Needs. After satisfying his physiological and security needs, the employee will now strive to secure love,
affection, and the need to be accepted by peers.

Esteem Needs. The fourth level of needs is called esteem needs and they refer to the need for a positive self-
image and self-respect and the need to be respected by others.6

Self-Actualization Needs. The fifth and the topmost level needs in the hierarchy are called self-actualization
needs and involve realizing our full potential as human beings and becoming all that we are able to be.

The Relevance of Maslow's Theory to Engineering Management. Even if Maslow's theory has been largely
questioned, one basic premise cannot be discarded: a fulfilled need no longer motivates an individual. If this is
the situation the subordinate is in, the engineer manager must identify an unfullfilled need and work out a
scheme so that the subordinate will be motivated to work in order to satisfy the unfulfilled need.

Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory

The two-factor theory is one developed by Frederick Herzberg indicating that a satisfied employee is motiva-
ted from within to work harder and that a dissatisfied employee is not self-motivated."
Herzberg identified two classes of factors associated with employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction. In his
research, Herzberg found out that satisfied employees mentioned the following factors (called satisfiers or
moti- vation factors) responsible for job satisfaction: achieve- ment, recognition, work itself, responsibility,
advance- ment. and growth. Dissatisfied employees mentioned the following factors (called dissatisfiers or
hygiene factors) as responsible for job dissatisfaction: company policy and administration, supervision,
relationship with supervisor, work conditions, salary, relationship with peers, personal life, relationship with
subordinates, status, and security.
If Herzberg's theory will be considered by the engi- neer manager in motivating employees, he must do
something to eliminate the dissatisfiers and install satisfiers. As shown in Figure 7.3, even if the dissatisfiers
are eliminated (at point zero), the employee is still not Imotivated to work hard.

Expectancy Theory
Expectancy theory is a motivation model based on the assumption that an individual will work depending on his
perception of the probability of his expectations to happen.
The theory poses the idea that motivation is determined by expectancies and valences. An expectancy is a
belief about the likelihood or probability that a particular behavioral act (like attending training sessions) will
lead to a particular outcome (like a promotion). Valence is the value an individual places on the expected
outcomes or rewards.

1.A combination of forces within the individual and in the environment determines behavior.
2. People make decisions about their own behavior and that of organizations
3. People have different types of needs, goals, and desires.
4. People make choices among alternative behaviors based on the extent to which they think a certain
behavior will lead to a desired outcome. Shown in Figure 7.4 is a model of the expectancy theory.

Goal Setting Theory

Goal setting refers to the process of "improving performance with objectives, deadlines or quality standard."10
When individuals or groups are assigned specific goals, a clear direction is provided and which later motivates
them to achieve these goals.

The goal setting model drawn by Edwin A. Locke and his associates consists of the following components:"1
1. goal content
2. goal commitment
3.work behavior
4. feedback aspects

Goal Content. To be sufficient in content, goals must be challenging, attainable, specific and measurable,
time- limited, and relevant.
When goals are challenging, higher performance may be expected. The sales quotas imposed by companies
to individual members of their sales force indicate reliance of these companies to the use of challenging goals.

Goals must be attainable if they are to be set. If they are not, then workers will only be discouraged to perform,
if at all.
Goals must be stated in quantitative terms when- ever possible. When exact figures to be met are set,
understanding is facilitated and workers are motivated to perform.

There must be a time-limit set for goals to be accomplished.

The more relevant the goals are to the company's mission, the more support it can generate from various
levels of employment in the organization.
Goal Commitment. When individuals or groups are committed to the goals they are supposed to achieve,
there is a chance that they will be able to achieve them.

Work Behavior. Goals influence behavior in terms of direction, effort, persistence, and planning. When an
individual is provided with direction, performance is facilitated. In trying to attain goals that are already
indicated, the individual is provided with a direction to exert more effort. The identification of goals provide a
reason for an individual to persist in his efforts until the goal is attained.
Once goals are set, the first important input to planning is already in place.
Feedback Aspects. Feedback provide the individuals with a way of knowing how far they have gone in
achieving objectives. Feedback also facilitate the introduction of corrective measures whenever they are found
to be necessary.

TECHNIQUES OF MOTIVATION
Individual or groups of individuals may be motivated to perform through the use of various techniques. These
techniques may be classified as follows:12
1. motivation through job design
2. motivation through rewards
3. motivation through employee participation
4. other motivation techniques for the diverse work force

Motivation Through Job Design

A person will be highly motivated to perform if he is assigned a job he likes. The first requisite, however, is to
design jobs that will meet the requirements of the organization and the persons who will occupy them. Job
design may be defined as "specifying the tasks that constitute a job for an individual or a group."13
In motivating through the use of job design, two approaches may be used: fitting people to jobs or fitting jobs to
people.
Fitting People to Jobs. Routine and repetitive tasks make workers suffer from chronic dissatisfaction. To
avoid this, the following remedies may be adapted:
1. Realistic job previews - where management provides honest explanations of what a job actually entails.
2. Job rotation- where people are moved periodically from one specialized job to another.
3.Limited exposure - where a worker's exposure to a highly fragmented and tedious job is limited.
of employees to take the 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM schedule, another group takes the 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM schedule,
and another takes the 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM schedule.
An alternative to this arrangement is the adaption of the forty-hour work in four days allowing the employee to
choose a "day-off".
An innovation of a popular bank in Makati is the hiring of part-time tellers to work four hours a day from
Monday to Friday.
There are certain benefits that are offered by flexible work schedules, although it is not appropriate for all
situations. Nevertheless, the engineer manager must decide when it is applicable..
Family Support Services. Employees are oftentimes burdened by family obligations like caring for children.
Progressive companies provide day care facilities for children of employees. A multinational company in far
flung Davao province has even opened an elementary and a high school within the plantation site.
Sabbaticals. A sabbatical leave is one given to an employee after a certain number of years of service. The
employee is allowed to go on leave for two months to one year with pay to give him time for family, recreations,
and travel.
It is expected that when the employee returns for work, his motivation is improved.
SUMMARY
Motivating is the management action of giving employees reasons or incentives to work to achieve
organizational objectives. Motivation is the process of activating behavior, sustaining it, and directing it towards
a particular goal.
The factors contributing to motivation consist of: (1) willingness to do a job, (2) self-confidence in carrying out a
task, and (3) needs satisfaction.
There are four theories of motivation that are crucial
to management: These are:
1.Maslow's need hierarchy theory
2. Herzberg's two-factor theory
3. Expectancy theory
4. Goal setting theory
Various techniques of motivation consist of: a) motivation through job design, 2) motivation through rewards, 3)
motivation through employee participation, and 4) other motivation techniques like flexible work schedules,
family support services, and sabbaticals.

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND DISCUSSION

1. Why is motivating relevant to the job of the engineer manager?
2. Are motivation techniques applicable to engineers? Cite examples.
3. When Maslow insinuated that needs are hierarchical, what does he mean?
4. What factors are associated with employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction?
5. What are expectancies and valences? How do they affect performance?
6. What is meant by goal setting? What are the components of the goal setting model?
7. How may an individual be motivated through job design?
8. How may rewards be classified?
9. In what specific activities may employees participate?
10. What benefits are made possible under flexible work schedules?

SUGGESTED ITEM FOR RESEARCH

1. List down the financial and non-financial benefits given to employees by an engineering firm of your choice.
Case 7. BATANGAS POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE: The Morning After
Engineer Felicidad Lazaro, a mechanical engineering graduate of Adamson University, has been operating in
the past five years an auto parts supply in Kumintang Пlaya, Batangas City. It is a lucrative business she inhe-
rited from her father.
Four years ago, she started teaching on a part-time basis at the Batangas Polytechnic College. After a year,
she became a full-time faculty member of the college of engineering. She attended to her auto parts business
after her official hours at the school.
Miss Lazaro's dedication to her duties earned her the chairmanship of the Mechanical Engineering Depart-
ment. When her boss, the dean, was offered a good paying job abroad, he resigned. Miss Lazaro was named
the new dean of the College of Engineering.
Miss Lazaro feels that even if she is offered a job anywhere, she cannot accept it because of her concern for
her business. This made her also think that she must take her new job as dean, seriously.
Miss Lazaro's first concern is to recruit well-qualified engineers to fill up the slots left by five faculty members
who resigned. An advertisement for the vacancies was made. After a few weeks of waiting, only ten
applications were forwarded to her. Nine of the applicants were new graduates and have no job experience of
any kind. The tenth applicant is a newly retired government employee with no teaching experience.
Miss Lazaro slowly realized that there are good engineers in the area but they are not attracted by the prospect
of teaching engineering subjects. Miss Lazaro is also aware that even those that are currently employed by the
school are only waiting for a good job offer from other institutions.