Chapter – 11

Motivation
What is meant by motivation?
It is defined as a management process of influencing people’s behaviour to achieve
stated goals. When employees are motivated, it means that the they are satisfied and
they enjoy the job they are doing. Motivation is a tool used by leaders and managers
to encourage their employees to work willingly as hard as they can. Thus
motivation refers to the desire to do something or the drive to reach a goal.
Benefits of having well motivated staff
Higher levels of productivity: Workers will perform their tasks quickly. They work
harder and will be more productive.
Lower labour turnover: Employees won’t be willing to look for other jobs
elsewhere. They are satisfied with their current job.
Lower absenteeism rate: Employees won’t absent themselves from work for no
apparent reason. Employees who are not motivated are likely to take time off when
it is not absolutely necessary.
Creativity: Employees are more likely to come up with new ideas and they will be
willing to take up responsibilities.
Employees’ loyalty: Employees when they feel trusted or valued, they tend to give
their best to the business.
Improved customer service: Well motivated employees will recognise that a happy
customer is likely to be a repeat customer and also that the reputation of the
business rests not only on the goods produced but on the quality of aftercare that
their customers receive.
Better quality products: more attention will be paid to the way in which work is
carried out, whether that is the production of goods or the provision of services.
Increased likelihood of achieving business goals: when employees are work as hard
as they can the business will have the best chance of achieving any stated
objectives. Employees will even be willing to work for unpaid overtime.
MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES
Motivational theories are divided into two namely content theories and process
theories.
Content Theories include:
Taylor
Mayo
Maslow
Herzberg
Process Theories include:
Vroom
McClelland
F.W.Taylor’s theory of motivation and scientific management
Taylor put forward the idea that workers are motivated mainly by pay. Taylor
believed that people are were motivated by money and that they should be paid
according to the output that they produce. His idea was that employees should be
observed in order to identify the most efficient way of working. Once the best
method had been decided, all employees should carry out the required task in the
same way. Managers were required to breakdown production into series of small
tasks. Workers should then be given appropriate training and tools so that they can
work as efficient as possible on one set task. Performance is then recorded and
working conditions will be altered. This approach of detailed recording and analysis
of results is known as scientific management. Workers are then paid according to
the number of items they produce in a set period of time. i.e piece rate pay. Piece
rates encourages workers to work harder and maximise productivity. An employee
is referred to as an economic man i.e he/she is driven by the desire to earn more
money. The chance of earning extra money stimulate further effort.
Limitations of Taylor’s Theory
 Piece rate payment is not suitable in a service industry where the product itself
is invisible.
  The theory encourages autocratic style of management which can demotivate
staff.
 Money is not the need at work. Employees have a wide range of needs.
Taylor’s theory does not address the problem of how to motivate employees
once their desire for money has been satisfied.
 Mass production can lead to repetitive or boring tasks which the demotivate
employees.
Abraham Maslow’s Need hierarchy theory
Maslow based his theory on a series of human needs which he believed could be
placed in order of importance. Human needs are the wants or desires of people that
they hope will be met at their work. Maslow put forward that there are five levels of
human needs which employees wants to fulfill at work. All of the needs are
structured into a hierarchy and only once a level of needs has been fully met, would
a worker be motivated by the opportunity of having the next need up in the
hierarchy satisfied. For example, a person who is dying of hunger will be motivated
to achieve a basic wage in order to buy food before worrying about having a secure
job contract or the respect of others. Maslow views that once a need is satisfied, it
no longer motivates the worker.
Application of Maslow in the business environment
Basic needs: paying a fair wage which enable employees to buy essentials for life.
Safety: provide a contract of employment; follow the health and safety guidelines
for a safety work environment
Social needs: encourage team work; encourage social activities and communication
between all levels of employees. Eg social soccer, hosting Christmas party etc.
Esteem needs: give recognition for good work; show appreciation eg employee of
the month; motivating job titles (eg a security guard-security enforcement director;
garbage Collector- environment sanitation Technician); promote people to give
them additional responsibilities.
Self-actualisation: meet the need for feeling of achievement perhaps through
assigning more difficult and challenging tasks. Allow for further training and
progression within the business.

Limitations of the theory

 Not everyone has the same needs as assumed by the hierarchy. It is possible
for a person not to desire the approval of others and therefore, once their
‘safety needs’ have been met, self-actualisation might be their next goal.
 In the real world, it is very difficult to identify the degree to which each need
has been met and which level a worker is on. Thus it is very difficult for the
manager to know for sure which level on the hierarchy each employee is on.
 Money is necessary to satisfy basic needs, yet it might also play a role in
satisfying the other levels of needs such as status and esteem.
 Self-actualisation is never permanently achieved as the hierarchy has
suggested. In the real world, life jobs must continually offer challenges and
opportunities for fulfilment.
Elton Mayo’s human relation theory
Elton Mayo thought that the productivity of employees is affected by the physical
conditions in which they were placed. r. Mayo conducted a series of experiments at
the Hawthorne Factory of the Western Electric Company in Chicago. He isolated
two groups of women workers and changed factors such as lighting, financial
incentives and working conditions. He expected to see productivity levels declining
as lighting and other conditions become progressively worse. What he actually
discovered surprised him. Whatever the change in lighting or working conditions,
the productivity levels of workers improved or remained the same. These results
forced Mayo to conclude that working conditions in themselves were not that
important in determining productivity levels.
The conclusion of Mayo’s work
 Changes in working conditions and financial rewards have little or no effect
on productivity.
 Workers are motivated by better communication between managers and
workers when they had the opportunity to give feedback.
 Workers are motivated by working in teams or groups.
 Workers are also motivated by a greater manager involvement in employees
working lives. Hawthorne workers responded very well to increased level of
attention they were receiving.
 Mayo concluded that workers are not just concerned with money but could be
better motivated by having their social needs met while at work.
Fredrick Herzberg’s two factor theory
Frederick Herzberg believed in a two factor theory of motivation. He argued that
there are certain factors that a business could introduce that would directly motivate
employees to work harder (motivators). However there are also factors that would
demotivate employees if not present but would not in themselves actually motivate
employees to work harder (Hygiene factors). Thus Herzberg analysed motivational
factors by grouping them into two broad categories namely hygiene factors and
motivators.
Motivators
Motivators drive people to achieve more in their work as these are what lead to
employees gaining job satisfaction. Job satisfaction results from five main factors –
achievement, recognition for achievement, the work itself, responsibility and
advancement.
Hygiene Factors
It refers to the aspects of work that do not motivate but, if not present, cause
dissatisfaction. These are factors which surrounds the job rather than the job itself.
Job dissatisfaction also results from five main factors – company policy and
administration, supervision, salary, relationships with others and working
conditions.
Herzberg argued that people do not work harder if the hygiene factors are present at
work, but their output can decline if conditions deteriorate. Motivators on the other
hand are the real motivating factors that produce job satisfaction and higher output.
Ways to improve the nature and content of the actual Job
a) Job enlargement: Workers are given a variety of tasks to perform which would
make the work more interesting. The tasks are not necessarily challenging.
Additional tasks are given to broaden the employee’s skills and experience.
b) Job Enrichment: involves workers being given a wider range of more complex,
interesting and challenging tasks surrounding a complete unit of work. This would
give a greater sense of achievement
c) Job Rotation: This involves changing a worker’s tasks more regularly to
overcome boredom from doing a repetitive task.
d) Empowerment: delegating more power to employees to make their own decisions
over areas of their working life.
McClelland’s motivational need theory
McClelland argued that the effort exerted by individuals or the way they behave
depends on three motivational needs. Both managers and employees are driven by
these three motivational forces.
i) Achievement Motivation (N-ach): These are result oriented individuals.
Their main aim is to achieve goals especially the challenging ones. Such
individuals are further motivated if they can produce results that are better
than the expected or required.
ii) Authority/Power Motivation (N-pow): Such people are power or authority
seekers. They always want to lead and control others. They feel very much
comfortable when they gain control over others. Their fulfilment would
also come from self-esteem and respect that would be acquired if there was
a successful outcome as a result of their influence.
 iii) Affiliation Motivation (n-affil): Some people just need to be liked by
others. This need is likely to drive a person to want to work as part of a
team where they feel respected and also supported.
Victor Vroom’s Expectancy theory
Vroom believed that employees behave in different ways depending on what they
think will lead to desired outcome. Thus effort exerted by individuals depends on
the expectancy of where that particular course of action will lead to. Vroom thought
that employees are prepared to work harder if they feel that their efforts will be
suitably rewarded.
The three beliefs of Expectancy Theory
a. Valence: refers to the depth of the want of an employee in relation to desire or
need for the reward. The reward can be intrinsic i.e job satisfaction or extrinsic i.e
money
b. Expectancy: the degree to which people believe that putting effort into work will
lead to a given level of performance or result. Employees need to believe that
increased effort on their part can actually lead to a better performance.
c. Instrumentality: employees need to fill confident that if they deliver an
increased level of performance they will receive their expected reward. The
employees must have confidence in whatever they have been promised by the
manager.
Financial methods of motivation
a) Wages: It is a payment for work usually paid weekly. It is usually given in
cash or credited to bank account. Wages can be calculated on the basis of time
rate or piece rate.
i. Time rate system: When wages are calculated on the basis of hours worked,
it is called as time rate system.
Wage = Rate per hour X hours worked
ii. Piece rate system: When wages are calculated based on the number of units
produced.
Wage = Rate per unit X total units produced
b) Salaries:
 Salaries are paid monthly, normally credited to the bank account. It is usually
given to professionals, supervisory and managerial staff.
c) Commission: They are payment given usually to the sales staff, based on the
sales made.
d) Bonus and performance related pay:
It is an additional payment made to the employee in addition to their wages or
salary as a reward for good work. It is usually paid annually or at the end of
regular intervals.
e) Profit sharing:
Employees receive a share of the profits in addition to their basic salary. This
helps in motivating the workers to work better as they are also receiving a
share of profits earned by the business.
f) Fringe benefits:
They are non-cash rewards given to the employees in addition to their salary
as a part of their job. They are also called as fringe benefits or perks. This may
include company vehicle, health insurance, children’s education fees paid,
free accommodation, free holidays, discount on firm’s products etc.
Non-financial methods of motivation:
1. Job rotation:
It involves the workers swapping around and doing each specific task for
only a limited time and then changing round again.
Advantages:
 It increases the variety in the work.
 If one worker is absent production will not suffer as everyone knows
how to perform a specific task.
 Workers become flexible and multi-skilled.
2. Job enlargement:
It involves adding tasks of a similar level to a worker’s job. It simply gives
more variety to employees’ work which makes it more enjoyable. Job
enlargement can lead to job satisfaction in the short-term. It also used to
reduce absenteeism. Additional tasks are given to broaden the employee’s
skills and experience.
3. Job enrichment:
 It involves workers being given a wider range of more complex, interesting
and challenging tasks surrounding a complete unit of work. This would give
a greater sense of achievement. Job enrichment allows for two-way
communication and workers must be given complete units or work so that
individual contribution can be identified. It often involves a reduction of
direct supervision as workers take more responsibility for their own work
and are allowed some degree of decision making authority.
4. Job redesign:
It involves the restructuring of a job. It can be in the form of adding and
sometimes removing certain tasks and functions on a worker’s job
description. It encompasses job enlargement, enrichment and rotation.
Employees should be part and parcel of the job redesigning exercise. The job
can be made more challenging and interesting. A bored employee is more
likely to lose concentration and can easily make costly mistakes.
5. Training:
Improving and developing skills of employees is an important motivator.
Training can increase the status of employees and gives them a better chance
of promotion to better paid jobs. It can also lead to employee loyalty.
Training leads to long-term job satisfaction. Training can also lead to
employees leaving a business as they are now better qualified and can get
better jobs in some other organisations.
6. Quality circles:
They are voluntary groups of workers who meet regularly to discuss the
work related problems and issues. These are not formal meetings led by
managers, but are informal and all workers are encouraged to participate in
the discussions. Workers get paid for attending these meetings and the most
successful circles may be awarded with a team prize.
7. Worker participation:
Workers are actively encouraged to be part of the decision making process.
Employee participation recognises that employees are likely to have some
worthwhile ideas to contribute to the business and that, in some instances,
they might have a better solution to a problem than their managers.
Managers can allow the employees to elect their own worker representative.
The worker representative will represent employees at council meetings.
Worker participation will lead to quality decisions. It can lead to greater
commitment since management considers employee feelings and opinions.
8. Team working:
Employees are organised into groups and each group is given a certain task
to perform. A team is a group of people who work together to achieve a
common goal. Team working involves cell production. Cell production
occurs when employees are given the responsibility to produce a certain
product or to complete a certain process. Cell production is deemed to be
motivating because the group gets the satisfaction of completing a product or
a substantial part of the product.
9. Target setting:
Targets or goals are assigned to the employees. The employees are given a
direct feedback on their performance. Employees tend to perform well if a
clear goal or target is assigned to them.
10. Delegation:
It refers to the passing of authority down the organisational hierarchy.
Subordinates are given the responsibility and authority to do a given task. It
is done to enable top managers to concentrate on major issues especially as
the organisation grows in size. The subordinates will feel valued and more
trusted.
11. Empowerment:
It involves delegating more power to employees to make their own decisions
over areas of their working life. Workers are allowed some degree of control
over how the task should be undertaken.

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